=== Idle Kingdoms - Mobile Game Review, Idle / Active City Builder - 4/10 ===

     I'm always on the lookout for new games to play especially when I'm looking to kill some time on the go. Unfortunately, this one isn't one of the best games I've played. As with all idle-type games, this one has an aspect of it where you still make progress even when you're not actively playing the game.

     Strangely with this game, there's an option whenever you turn the game back on to watch a video to get double rewards. This means you get more out of NOT playing the game for a long period, then turn the game on, upgrade a bunch of things, and do it again. I'm not sure I agree with this approach; while I do think it's good for there to be a level of progress in some way while not having the game turned on... I wouldn't want to encourage people to not play at all.

     Now we must keep in mind that this game is a game in progress. There are no sounds or music to listen to, so at this time this game doesn't get any bonus points on that front. The gameplay also seems to not be set in stone. I started playing Idle Kingdom when everything was immediately gathered by clicking the gather button. Recently there has been an update where you have manually sent out carts from your castle and gather points to bring back resources. A little bit of it is automatically gathered and there is no limit to the stockpile of resources which can sit at each location. This update seems to have made the game slower which does not feel as fun to me.

     As with most other idle games, there is a system of restarting the game to gain prestige which makes you produce and carry more with each point. Unfortunately this doesn't really solve the problem of the game still being quite slow and then rewarding you for forgetting about it for a while.

     Progressing through the game involves saving up enough food to buy the next tile which you can then build on. Every once in a while you come across a shrine which unlocks new structures or bonuses such as more prestige or faster production. There does come a point where things get so expensive that once again the game becomes so slow that it doesn't hold much interest.

     Idle Kingdom at this time gets 4/10 from me. At this time it's unfinished and I'm not a fan of the current gameplay and rewards.

~ Kyle Welykholowa

And So I Have Four Less Teeth Than Before

     Seems like I've had a pretty short day so far. Two hour drive with my mother up to Saskatoon, followed by missing out on a about an hour of my day due to anesthetic. Then I happily slept the entire way home. I really haven't done much today / yesterday and I'm perfectly alright with that. My gums hurt a it, but for the post part, I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe just a little bit groggy and perhaps a little slow likely due to the strong dose of painkillers.

     Today was a good day though. I can definitely think of a rant that I'd like to post about in the near future, but I'm going to wait on that for now until I've had more time to articulate my thoughts.

     In the mean time, I'm eating some wonderful banana bread made my by amazing mother and I'm looking forward to a feast of soft foods tomorrow for supper. If I get around to it, I'll post another video or two tomorrow and we'll go from there.

Have a great one everybody! ^_^

~ Kyle

The Anticipation Is Killing Me

     I've had people complain about me being too slow, or taking too much time to do things or say something. I think it's one of my strongest qualities to be so patient. One of the hardest things to do is to wait for something. I've definitely been in some situations in my life that have required me to wait for something to happen. Yeah, I absolutely get just as impatient as the next person when having to wait for a period of time for something to happen. Even a short time sometimes feels like an eternity.

     Once again I find myself waiting. Perhaps I'm waiting for nothing. Or perhaps I'm waiting for what I've always wanted in my life. I can't really be sure as of yet. All I know is that once again, I find myself waiting for something in my life. It sucks to have to wait, but I believe having adequate patience is the difference between true happiness and settling due to rushing too quickly. I want to find the missing piece of myself that is floating throughout the world somewhere. I'm confident that with a little bit of effort on my part, and some patience... I will find that which I am looking for.

     If you're reading this right now thinking about how much you want something to just happen already... perhaps you're in the same position. Maybe you just need to slow down a little and take the time to let things happen on their own time. There are many things that can seem right at the time when done quickly... but in the end, you realize it's all just a cover-up. Anything that is rushed too quickly will only leave you feeling like something is wrong afterwords. Perhaps you'll try to bring back that spark by having more of it, but it won't be the same. Rushing through something before you're truly ready may give you a rush that you'll forever be searching for after the fact. A feeling that will be difficult to ever get again.

     The words "I Love You" for instance. The first time these words are said in a new relationship should be a special time; one which should not be rushed. Said too soon, and the words may feel awkward... or they could feel like the beginning of a roaring flame. That uneasiness when you're unsure if the time is right may translate into a rush of adrenaline as you say those amazing words. And then forever after, your memory of the experience is one of adrenaline... one that you likely cannot replicate. Thus, every time those words are used after that moment, it will feel like a band-aid that doesn't quite cover the scratch. More and more band-aids you try to put on the scratch, but no matter how hard you try, you just can't quite cover it.

     And so I say to have patience. As hard as it can be, it is a must if anything is to ever last. Patience with activities, but more importantly with people. Any relationship, whether a friend, relative, or significant other... needs patience and understanding between the two. In the end, having patience will pay off. So have patience with everything you do. Patience is the key to happiness no matter the timeline.

~ Kyle

Waiting For The Time To Go By

     At this point in time, yeah, I'm looking for a job, but I'm not in a hurry. Right now, I'm quite happy to take things slowly. Now that I've had the time to slow down and think about things for a bit, I can definitively say that I much prefer to take things slowly. I feel like in the past while (not sure how long exactly), things have been flying by. It's nice to finally be able to sit down and have some time to myself where things aren't trying to race by.

     Sure, I'd like to have a job RIGHT NOW, but at the same time... I'm happy that it's not happening RIGHT AWAY. I think I've needed this time to slow down and figure out what I want. Do I definitely know one hundred percent what I want right now? No, of course not. I do know that I want to be able to focus on myself one step at a time and figure things out. Take the time to get back in touch with friends I haven't taken the time to talk to in a long time. And more importantly... take the time to get back in touch with myself.

     I shouldn't have to be so worried about what someone else thinks. I only have to worry about what I think. Am I happy with myself? Do I like my choices? Where do I want to see myself? Those are the important questions I should be thinking about rather than things like: What does he or she think of me? Or what if that person thinks I'm weird?

     So now is my time to focus on myself. I'm using this as an excuse to get more into writing seeing as I like sharing my words with whomever takes the time to read them. I'm also using this as a time to relax and be comfortable with myself. I'd like to start reading some of my books again like I used to every night. I'd like to start playing my violin again... maybe learn to play some cool things. Now is my time to be me.

~ Kyle

Banished - Game Review - 7/10

     This game, I have put so many hours into. Partly because I'm a perfectionist and I don't like to leave a game without 100% of the achievements finished, but also because this game is a nice city-builder.

     My first instinct is to call it "casual". I'm not actually sure if that's accurate or not. I mean, you aren't really playing against anything besides the elements, and basic human survival. The goal of the game is to make a settlement/village/town/city/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. You don't have to worry about being attacked by anything besides tornadoes and fires. It's just you and your people. As long as you make sure they have enough food and supplies, they're good to go.

     So in terms of a city-builder, this is a really fun game. Even though you don't have to play "against" anything, and don't have any specific goal besides making a city and keeping your people alive... this game captures enough attention to keep me playing it even when there's only one achievement left to get... that takes FOREVER I might add.

     The only thing about this game I can REALLY harp on is the fact that it slows down a ton as your population increases. I assume it's a problem with having to render/calculate every one of the sprites in the game. Figuring out what each and every one of them have to do, because they all have their own lives. I would imagine the more powerful your computer, the better the game would run at higher populations. Now, I have a pretty beefy machine... and my game starts to crap out around 200 population. I've searched for fixes for this kind of thing and unfortunately haven't really come across anything. I'm pretty sure it's just the way the game is made/encoded.

     Now, saying that. I do highly recommend this game. I have found it very interesting to learn how to take care of my people. If you're into tackling achievements, then that's what really makes this game worth it's money is the time you have to take to figure out how to get those elusive achievements.



     I'm going to give this game 7/10 for a city-builder. I haven't played many of them, but this one caught my eye. It could be better, but it's not bad at all.

~ Kyle