Your President is a NERD
By: Savannah Snow, SARDP President
Do you know what I love after a long day of student leadership? Sitting down and playing some video games. There is simply no better way to unwind and forget about the little stresses of life. I’m going to talk about some of my favourite video games in this blog post – something lighthearted to alleviate the stress of midterms!
My very first video game was Barbie: Rapunzel when I was four years old. My grandpa would put me in his lap and let me play on his big desktop computer back in the early 2000’s. I LOVED that game! It truly sparked my interest in video games, and I’m grateful to my grandpa for having the patience to play with me.
Another historical and current favourite of mine is Animal Crossing. I have played since the very beginning – all the way from the GameCube Animal Crossing to Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch. I have sunk upwards of 700 hours on my current town. The premise of Animal Crossing is that you live in a village of talking animals. You get a house and have to pay off your loans through activities like fishing, hunting bugs, or collecting fruit. You can collect furniture items to decorate your house the way you wish! The most recent release is every decorator’s dream: The entire island you inhabit in-game can be customized! From the way the rivers flow to the houses that your villagers inhabit, you can create a world that is perfectly reflective of you. My favourite part of the game is seeing what other people have created. There are some truly incredible islands on the server! See the photo below to take a sneak peek as to what my island currently looks like!
Moving on to some current favourites! Lately I have been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 Online, Sea of Thieves, Moonlighter, and The Outer Worlds. The Red Dead storyline game is an absolute masterpiece, would highly recommend playing if you are looking for an immersive storyline paired with breathtaking graphics. In the online version, you are a cowboy, and the world is yours for the taking! You can choose if you would like to be honorable or dishonorable, every action you take impacting your status. You can also join posses of other players, wreaking havoc or doing good deeds. I personally belong to a group of 60 people who play together or simply come to each other’s rescue when other online players are causing you trouble. Pictured below is my character along with my beloved horse, Hera.
Sea of Thieves is an online pirate game where you sail the seas, battle monsters, and search for booty! I am a solo player here, which presents its own challenges. There are often events where you go on wild seabound adventures! Since I am a solo player, I captain one of the lightest ships, meaning I am usually able to run away from person vs person (PVP) fights. My proudest moment was leading a hostile ship on a goose chase across the whole map for over an hour, making them so frustrated that they logged off! I may be a cowardly pirate, but a pirate nonetheless! See below for a photo of me on my ship and my fox companion, Alice!
Moonlighter is a bit different than other games I like to play. There is no character customization as with the rest, but it doesn’t make this game less addicting! You play as Will, a local shop owner. There are abandoned mines nearby which have been overrun with monsters. You forge your way into the mines at night, defeat the monsters, and collect the loot to sell in your shop during the day. The dungeons are randomly generated, making for endless enjoyment!
Most recently I’ve been playing The Outer Worlds upon recommendation from my fiancé. The game is set in the future, where they’ve sent ships full of frozen humans out to colonize planets. You belong to a ship that has been lost for 60 years, and a scientist has pulled you out and unfrozen you. The game is quite similar to Fallout, where you create your character and pick different stats you would like proficiency in, which shapes your gameplay. It is another choose-your-adventure type game, where all of your actions impact how the game will end. You also collect non-player characters along the way to fill out your crew and bring new abilities. See below for a photo of my character!
I have started a Twitch streaming channel which me and my fiancé share. Due to the busy nature of my schedule, I don’t get to stream often but enjoy it when I can. I am always looking for new people to play with, so if you enjoy any of these games please reach out and I will send you my gamertag!
Thanks for going on this little digital adventure with me!