New Achievement Unlocked: Vocal+

I don’t consider myself a gamer, but I do enjoy playing video games, especially survival horror.

My husband bought me some PlayStation games for Christmas in 2023… this was six days after our son was born. Yesterday, I finally had some time. I was rested, and for once, I wasn’t battling any illnesses, so I decided to pick up the controller.

That afternoon, I finally upgraded my membership to Vocal+, and my gaming time inspired me to write this.

Although I was playing Uncharted, all of my images were created by AI and inspired by the retro Sierra King’s Quest games I played as a child. They’re still some of my fondest memories of computer gaming.

🎮 Player 1: Ready 🎮

I began as a noob, playing the game of Vocal Media in free-to-play mode. I tested the waters as a casual player with my first story, and I really enjoyed the thrill of writing.

Everyone’s path is different in this game. You can’t download a walkthrough or call the cheat hotline (unless you’re still living in the ‘80s and ‘90s). I quickly came to realise, I wasn’t just button-mashing. I actually knew what I was doing and I was crafting some great pieces.

I levelled up a few times with some Top Stories.

It was then that I decided I needed to equip the Vocal+ badge.

I continued writing and played some mini-games with the unofficial challenges I found along the way. But I always came back to my main quest: acquiring Vocal+.

I started collecting treasure wherever I could: the change from my morning coffee, a tip from a poetry challenge, a coin I found at the checkout while shopping, but I still had a long way to go.

I faced a few battles along the way, and started to have my doubts as I experienced some bugs in the game. Those Expedia posts were relentless; they were even infiltrating the Book Club community!

Then it all came crashing down as some of us had our commenting ability disabled.

The cheating AI bot conflict made it unpleasant for everyone. They started targeting Top Stories, copying them word for word without even trying to add their own touch. One evil bot tried to steal a story of mine, but it just couldn’t compete with my personal, heartwarming flair.

Things are heading in the right direction again, and I can see the developers are working hard on solutions to fix the bugs.

Just when everything seemed to be running smoothly, my gaming station came under threat. My laptop started falling apart! I thought I might have to hit “pause” for a while, but I’ve created a new command centre: hunched over on the lounge with a box of books propping the screen upright. Looks like I haven’t reached the final boss yet.

Then yesterday, I had a random encounter with The Husband. He appeared to be a friendly NPC, strategically placed to offer assistance. I think all the Wife XP I’ve collected over the years really paid off, because I just smiled at him sweetly and he said “Just take the credit card.”

Finally! The upgrade I’d been trying to obtain all these months was mine!

Where do I go from here? What’s my next quest?

I’m going to enter some Vocal+ challenges. I’ll take myself out of my comfort zone and play some different genres of the game such as fiction and poetry.

I’ll also need to hit “Tab” for some much-needed inventory management. If I want to keep playing, I’ll eventually need to acquire a new laptop.

Time for a break — AFK.

🎮 Player 1 Has Left the Game 🎮