For the next few months, from the rest of the summer and throughout the beginning of fall, I continue to go through the routine of eat, watch, eat, sleep. Of course, I also take breaks to maintain personal hygiene. As a music lover, I carry an ipod with earphones, which I use to record and listen to music I enjoy. At times, after the arcade closed for the rest of the day, I would stay briefly in the game to dance like crazy to the music transferred to my ipod. I liked it best when no one was looking, although someone does occasionally notice my dancing. As the shy, yet kooky, girl I am, it has felt a bit awkward to have, instead of be in, an audience. I've also watched briefly the action taking place in other games from the window of the console, taking peaks while watching the rock stars or dancers in "my" game during game hours. As much as I love having this much access to music, I've begun to want something more. I may be a possum girl, but I know I need more than just music, food, and good hygiene.
As I've been observing other games and their characters from the console of "my" game and in Game Central Station at the beginning and end of each day, I've grown more curious about environments in other games. Certain characters, in particular, have caught my attention. Lately, they happened to be a giant guy with spiky hair, enormous arms and hands, red-orange plaid shirt with a green one underneath, and dark red overalls; a very short guy with neatly-combed hair, blue cap and shirt and jeans, golden gloves and shoes, and a shining golden hammer; a small girl with black hair decorated with candy, wearing a green hoodie, brown skirt, green and white striped tights, and black shoes; and a tall, fierce woman with short, blonde hair and dark body armor. From my observations, I quickly figure out their roles and the games they came from. The first two are the villain and hero, respectively, of Fix-it-Felix Jr; the girl a misunderstood, aspiring racer from Sugar Rush; and the woman the leader of a troop of soldiers fighting against mutated creatures called cybugs from Hero's Duty. For two people who appear very pixelated onscreen, the wrecker and fixer look just as high-definition as the armored woman, outside their game. I'm not sure why, but observing them somehow makes my day more interesting. I would've liked to see what they and their lives are like outside game hours.