I'm not generally the type of individual whom finds this inherit joy in "acting youthful" or trying to avoid growing older, I just happen to try and enjoy as much as possible and for me that sometimes means acting a bit immature. I will make juvenile jokes in the work place or high five perfect strangers at the mall because they wore some SWEET ASS SNEAKERS. These activities are things I consider "playing". I find that if I walk through life as though it is a much more tame version of Grand Theft Auto (unless I really need a car in pinch) that I am constantly trying to "win" or score more points. Here are the general rules to my "Life Game" that I play daily:
1) Friends and family are kind of like "booster packs" or "character mods". You can score in different ways and at different rates based on the grouping of people you surround yourself with and whom is actually with you. IE: Shopping alone fore jeans may be worth 10 points based on how many people you know that would care about your purchase, but you can add 5 points for each of those people that ACTUALLY COME with you for the shopping adventure. HOWEVER, you will lose points for each person that is with you that keeps saying "are you done yet?".
2) Interactions with strangers are kind of like going into an unknown house or building in "Zelda"... you can learn something, or you might just lose some strength or money. You could certainly win big in the case of my "high five scenario" from earlier, in that you could actually make a new friend. Bear in mind that you will lose a significant amount of points if you talk to a stranger and they knock you out and throw you in the back of their van.
3) Food can both help you or hurt you. Eat too much or too little or the wrong thing and you could end up weakening yourself. You must take care to nourish yourself for the long journey ahead of you and in the case of a feeding "mis-hap" be ready to take a nap. The same rule applies to alcohol consumption. There is a parabolic arch that shows an increase to your strength as you consume while consuming too much will cripple you to defending against dark forces like crazy girls that just want to "check out your place and grab a burrito" and... STAY FOREVER!!! Be careful ranger.
4) You make your own soundtrack. The music you listen to can change your mood and the functional ability of your character. Don't drive to meet friends for a fun night out while listening to "August and Everything After" from the Counting Crows... your mood will become morose and you may end up bringing down more people based on your introspective comments on how sad everyone in the world truly is. In short, don't be a debbie downer because you will LITERALLY bring DOWN everyone's scoring potential.
5) Hobbies and extra curricular activities add strength and experience. Join a band, an intramural team or maybe an exercise group and your scoring chances increase exponentially. Isolate your self and you'll have limited add-on capability while being less likely to experience and learn. Remember to be careful though (rule 2).
6) Having children is kind of like adding a "life heart" to your total life gauge, though the more life capacity you have the quicker it actually drains. Your overall strength quotient is also severely affected by the addition of your personal spawn to the playing field; however, upon said offspring's 18th birthday you will actually experience a 15% gain in overall strength and the ability to replenish your cash stores.
Those are just my main guidelines. You can purchase my complete Life strategy guide with maps and secret area reveals for 3 easy payments of $24.95 and one REALLY HARD Payment of a sock, two pounds of cooked spaghetti and a wooden nickel.
Have fun!
love ya.
