Last week featured a lot of ups and downs. I finally recovered from a terrible cold (two tests insisted it wasn’t COVID) and felt like a human again. I got to spend a whole day playing and writing about the new Sims 4 expansion pack.
Then, because the Sims 4 articles didn’t do enough traffic, I was asked to pivot to something that is. Enter LEGO Fortnite.
I have never played Fortnite. I have also never played Minecraft, which I’m told is quite similar to LEGO Fortnite. My colleagues had already been playing the game for two days when I stumbled my way in, and let me tell you, I did not know what was going on.
The thing about writing gaming guides is that it’s tough to do when you have no idea what you’re doing. Generally, I think this is a strength because it helps me really slow down and break things down for players who aren’t pro gamers. But feeling the pressure to learn a game everyone else already knows in a single day so you can guide it… did not go well.
My little LEGO person was a man, and I couldn’t figure out how to make them a woman. Years of being forced to play with a male avatar because it was the only option meant I was NOT willing to accept this. I needed a female avatar, but HOW?!
Realizing I couldn’t figure out this most basic of things about the game tipped my overwhelm into sheer panic. I broke into tears, over a video game. A LEGO video game.
This is very funny in hindsight, because Fortnite is well known for being popular with youths. As in, it’s really not that hard. Thankfully, my husband’s friend had been playing for a while and I asked him to hop into my world and shop me the ropes. Soon, I felt better. I’m still not a professional LEGO Fortnite player but I did manage to write a guide about how to pet the animals (much more my wheelhouse, gaming wise).
P.S. apparently you can only make your avatar look different if you purchase a skin. Which I did, because I was NOT gonna play as a dude. I am now a happy little sunflower lady, running around petting chickens and building things with LEGO.
What I’ve Been Up To
Work/Writing
Honestly, just… see the story above. That was my week, mostly. I also taught my last two classes of the semester, so once I wrap up grading I will be done. As much as I’ll probably miss teaching next semester, I will not miss the hour drive at 6am every Tuesday.
Current Obsessions
Gaming
No time for obsessions, only LEGO Fortnite.
I did also finish The Teal Mask Pokemon Violet DLC so I can play the new one when it comes out on Thursday. This was partly for work but also partly for fun because I do know how to play Pokemon.
Books
I’ve finally broken out of my slump and finished three books this week! Two of them were pretty standard rom-com fare, but one of them was the wonderful memoir The Witching Year, which I adored. Check out my mini review if you want to know more.
Words on the Web
I got to guide the heck out of The Sims 4 For Rent for all of a day, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Please enjoy this explanation of how to torture your Sims with the new death by mold.
Also, I pet all the nice animals in LEGO Fortnite.