Life can be a Pain...

   OK, so this isn't going good so far. I haven't posted in almost three weeks, I don't really have anything written, and I'm not going to be able to do the A to Z challenge, all because life keeps getting in the way. I've been dealing with a bad case of lethargy lately , plus i spent most of last week helping someone move out of a storage unit (and i was the only person helping...). BUT, I still want to do this thing, and the near future looks promising.
   You see, the major reason I didn't start on this type of stuff earlier was because I really didn't have the right equipment. Before January i didn't even have my own Internet access, and the only computer i had was an (at-least) three-year-old notebook laptop that couldn't effectively run any of my game making programs (the lack of writing i can only blame on sheer laziness and lack of inspiration). However, in the last week, I've acquired three very useful tools that should help me get off the ground. The first is a cheap desktop that does need some work, but is still WAY faster and stronger than my little laptop. The second is the smart phone that I finally broke down and bought (I had an up-grade pending anyways), so now I update this blog and other projects on the go. And the final tool is this: Habit RPG

   A while ago, I had read an article about apps and programs designed to "gameify" a person's life. The idea was for a person to write down their goals and assign a certain amount of points to each activity, and then the app would track these points to show the person's progress and allow them to "purchase" real-life rewards (such as junk food or an episode of their favorite TV show), as well as giving out in-game rewards. In turn, the "player" would be able to track their progress and make sure they get enough done each day to justify their vices. 
   Now, anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a gamer. Heck, you probably figured it out from this blog alone. But instead of shooting and fighting games, I love to see the medium used in new, interesting ways, and this fits the bill. Habit RPG lets me put down habits that I want to encourage or break ( stop drinking Rockstar energy drinks), events that I want to do on a daily or weekly basis (exercise and work on homework/yard work/personal projects), and items that I need to do eventually (see the start of my list). each completed activity gives me experience points (an RPG mainstay) and coins that I can then trade in for "rewards" (which i haven't modified yet, but i wanna see how many coins i get in a week first). If i give into a bad habit, or fail to complete a daily activity, then my little avatar will lose health and eventually die if i neglect  it for too long. In reality, it's nothing more than a glorified checklist, but it is a fun way to encourage good behavior and progress. I've already used it for a few days and so far I'm getting ahead a little, even if it's something small like doing this blog. If your wanna join me, check out the link above. I do need to warn you though, it DOES NOT WORK with Internet Explorer. You can go there, but all the clicking in the world won't do anything. The creator mentioned that the program he's using to make it isn't compatible with IE, and that Google Chrome seems to work the best (and it does). Also, it is in its early stages, so there are a few bugs, but nothing major. Check it out if you wanna try a different way to organize your life. Now If you'll excuse me, A pack of wild dishes just appeared! And I must slay them!