R P G A M E R . C O M   -   E D I T O R I A L S

A Way to Save Some Time

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Sarah Williams
STAFF EDITORIALIST

It is so much easier to be a gamer, particularly someone who plays a lot of RPGs, before you graduate from college. Real life is pushing more and more incessantly into my time. I can't afford to ignore it like I used to just so I can spend hours on end to plow through yet another dungeon, grinding my levels. It feels a little silly to complain about something like not having all the time I want for video games, but I'm a geek, what do you want from me? Soon I'll have a real career, my own home to take care of, and down the road, a family. But as that time looms closer, I've found tricks or ways around some of my more time consuming games. RPGs are no exception. And, if it's as helpful as I've found it to be, I've figured out one way on how to play through RPGs in a more efficient and timely manner.

Trust me when I say this, because it cuts down on so much wasted time while playing an RPG. Take notes. Seriously, this is a really good idea, especially for all those sidequests. Get a notebook and start writing down things that might pop up at another point in the game. Areas or items you can't get to, suspicious/interesting NPCs, whatever you think might be of importance. Playing Kingdom Hearts? Jot down all those paw print locations when you first encounter them so you know exactly where to find them later. Shin Megami Tensei games? Write down possible fusions you might be interested in later before getting rid of your monsters. Create character schedules for Radiata Stories so you can be sure of who is where at all times. If you're not provided with a dungeon map, make your own map as you go to prevent getting lost or turned around. Note-taking eliminates a lot of back tracking farther in the game, and I've found it to be a great time saver. Plus, I don't find myself getting laywayed by so much by things that might've hinder my progression through the story.

I am bound and determined not to be one of those stereotypical gamers who can't balance real life and their hobby. This note-taking method is great because I'm not skipping through anything or cutting corners in my RPGs. I still get the full experience, just in a more organized sense. If I can plan ahead more and not be muddling aimlessly, I can get through the game that much faster to the next RPG I'm looking forward to.