Couch Lizard

The lone adventurer sits by the fire, on the hard packed embittered earth of the wastland. Warm. Fed. With 4 days of water left.

He left the oasis 4 days earlier. He had water and food there, but the crude and simple gravestones were a monument to what lies at the end of the safe road. A quiet soft-whispered surrender and snuffing out of life.

Although not often in company, he is not lonely even in the sweeping wasteland flats. As the soft rustling of tumbleweed and the crackle of fire are the only sign of activity from horizon to horizon, in his heart he carries the memory of deep connections. The heroes he has admired, fought beside, celebrated victories with and mourned tragic bone crushing defeat with. Bonds that will outlast the sands of time. As he sits under the stars he thinks of them. He assumes they are well, if he has found a way to keep drawing breath despite the odds he’s faced; he has faith in their ability to do the same.

life is analogous to a game.

As far as I can tell it’s a mix of an Unreal Tournament death match, Mario Kart and D&D.

The goal is not to win a single encounter; beat a mini boss and lose all your credits, but to orient yourself to a final boss who guards a prize congruent with your values and develop your ability to win the greatest number of encounters (level up)

There would be nothing worse than spending your life levelling yourself up, sacrificing all the opportunity that comes with choosing a different game; only to beat the final boss; save princess peach and discover Bowser was more your type.

The good thing though, and it might take some time to figure out; is that the skills and knowledge required to be competent in one game are hugely transferable to all other games. Creativity, conscientiousness and a relentless insatiable desire to accomplish the mission.