The Adventures Of Pirotess: A Musical Starlight Celebration

The holidays are here in Final Fantasy XIV and that means it's time for the annual Starlight Celebration. Starlight is a fun Christmas event and I always look forward to it because the rewards you get for the event are quite nice and they vary each year. The event started on December 18 and will be running until December 31. To start the festivities, head to Old Gridania where everything is decorated for the Christmas holiday and is quite pretty. Remember, your adventurer must be at least level 15 to participate.

Pirotess in Old Gridania. 

Talk to the NPC Amh Garanjy to start the first quest, All I Want For Starlight. This sends you to Bentbranch Meadows to look for a young boy's father who is a singer and helping to fulfill his wish of seeing his father for Starlight. Once you talk to the father, you head back to Old Gridania to turn the quest in.

Pirotess starts the first Starlight quest. 

When you turn in the quest, you can now start the next quest, A Chocobo Carol by again talking to Amh Garanjy. She tells you that all you have to do is talk to one of the two NPCs to start the Starlight Celebration concert that you are to conduct.

Pirotess starts the next Starlight quest. 

When you talk to one of the NPCs they will ask you if you are ready to start the concert. This gives you a brief instruction on how the musical mini game for the event works and what the controls for it are. There are two songs to choose from, Starlight de Chocobo which is easy and Starlight Star Bright which is harder. 

Brief instructions for the mini game. 

The musical mini game takes a bit of getting used to as you have to time when you hit the prompts as they appear. You have a meter that you need to keep full as you play this mini game and if the meter empties, you fail the quest. Don't worry if you fail, you can try again until you get it. It took me a couple of tries before I got it right. 

Pirotess plays the music mini game. 

When you do complete the concert successfully, a cutscene will play showing your character finishing conducting and everyone takes a bow while the audience cheers and applauds. I felt pretty good when I was able to complete the quest and the songs for the mini game are cheerful and catchy. 

Pirotess conducts the concert. 

The music mini game is repeatable and when you complete it you receive certificates of good cheer. You use these certificates to trade in to the NPC vendor for items commemorating the Starlight event ranging from furniture items to barding for your chocobo. 

Items you can get from the event. 

I love the chocobo barding you get because it is very festive and cute. The holiday wreath you get for your house is also adorable. The orhestration scroll you get is great because you can learn the Starlight de Chocobo song and play it on the jukebox in your house. 

Pirotess and her chocobo Mouse who is dressed in full Starlight barding.

This year's Starlight Celebration was a lot of fun and the rewards for it are great. It shows off the joy and magic of the season. It's a nice break from adventuring and allows you to enjoy yourself and celebrate with everyone. Thanks for reading seeing you at the next adventure! I will be back in the new year. Happy holidays and happy new year everyone!

See you at the next adventure! Happy holidays and happy new year!

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: PC and Playstation 4

*Join our community as we enjoy gaming and talk about mental health on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mother Gamer Plays Dreaming Sarah

A friend of mine gifted me Dreaming Sarah on Steam telling me that they thought I would like it as it seemed to be my kind of game. I was curious as I read the description of the game explaining that it is a platformer where you play as Sarah, a girl in a coma and you are to explore and help her wake up. I started playing the game and was drawn in by the image of Sarah lying on a grassy hill and the gentle music. It is obvious Sarah is in a dream world with the whimsical things you find and the people you talk to.

Sarah meets a person fishing.

Dreaming Sarah is a side scroller platform game and you can see the nods to old school 16 bit gaming and the homage to the game Yume Nikki. There's no combat, but the game encourages you exploring each area on the map and sometimes the map loops on itself guiding you to new discoveries and experiences. There are different tools you find in this dreamworld that help Sarah navigate through different obstacles on her journey. 

Items in your inventory help on your journey. 

If you get lost in the game, you can always loop back to a previous map and see if there's anything you missed. The various tools help you with these things such as using the umbrella to jump across large gaps and gently float to the ground or wear glasses that help you see invisible things in the area. 

Sarah gently floats to her destination. 

The game doesn't really hold your hand and you have to figure out things with a lot of trial and error. I admit a couple of times I had to look up what I was supposed to do because I got really stuck and had been several places at once with no clue what I had to do to move forward. Other times, the people Sarah meets in her dream will give hints about specific items that are needed in order to move ahead. It was a bit frustrating getting stuck, but I did find myself enjoying the relaxed vibe of the game. 

Sarah gets a hint from the bartender. 

There are some areas in the game that are a little creepy such as the room with giant eyes watching you and some that are beautifully serene. The musical score aptly fits each area and is very well done. It fits the calm, relaxing vibe of Dreaming Sarah really well. 

Sarah in one of the unsettling dream world areas.

The game is not that long; I finished it in a couple of hours. Dreaming Sarah is an interesting and thoughtful game that shows it's all about the journey. Beautiful music, great pixel art, well designed levels, and insightful moments in the story made the game quite enjoyable for me. If you are into games that inspire old school gaming nostalgia you will like Dreaming Sarah. 

This is a beautiful game. 

*Dreaming Sarah is available for PC on Steam

*Join our community on Twitch as we stream games and talk about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

The Adventures Of Pirotess: All Saints Wake 2019

Halloween is my favorite time of year and one of the things I love about Final Fantasy XIV is all the seasonal events that they have every year. The Halloween event for Final Fantasy XIV is All Saints Wake and it is a fun and nice break from the level grinding and adventuring. In order to participate in the event you must be at least level 15 and must have completed the quest It's Probably Pirates. To start the event you need to go to Old Gridania to start the festivities. The first quest of All Saints Wake is Fear and Delight.

The first quest in the All Saints Wake event. 

You will want to talk to the Impresario who will instruct you on what you need to do. You will need to go to Jadeite Thick in Central Shroud and go to the location marked on your map. After that, you will do your quest event and complete it. Once that is finished, you return to the Impresario in Old Gridania. 

Pirotess talks to the Impresario to start the event quest. 

The reward for completing the first event quest is the Circus Ahriman mount. The fun doesn't stop there however, because there are two more event quests that you can do. The next quest A Glamorous Guise has you talking to the Impresario again for an invitation to the haunted mansion. 

Starting the second event quest. 

This is a simple fun quest that allows you to change your form. Just talk to the imp in the manor and you can pick from a selection of choices from the story chapters in Final Fantasy XIV. For mine I chose to take the form of Hien from Stormblood. You can run around the mansion enjoying your new Halloween costume. You can remove the glamour when you are ready to leave the area. 

Pirotess in a Hien costume. All hail the king!

There is one last quest and this one is repeatable. Speak to the Impresario to start Haunting Grounds. For this quest you will need a party of four and you will need to work together as a team. 

Starting the last event quest. 

Your team of adventurers will be transported to the haunted mansion and there are a few tests that you will need to do for this challenge. You need to work as a team to complete each task. There are monsters all over the mansion that you need to sneak around. If you are seen, you get turned into a pumpkin and your party's group sanity meter drops. There are charms throughout the mansion that help with this, turning you invisible for a few minutes. Once you have successfully completed the challenges in the haunted mansion you are rewarded with five pumpkin cookies. 

Work together to complete the haunted mansion challenges.

The pumpkin cookies can be traded to the event vendor for items which are furnishings for your house in the game. There is a poster and an adorable pumpkin carriage. There are also magicked prisms which make fireworks in the shape of pumpkins. 

Trade your pumpkin cookies for these great items. 

All Saints Wake is one of my favorite events because Halloween is my favorite time of year. This year's event was a lot of fun and the items are great. The pumpkin carriage is fantastic, but make sure you have plenty of room in your yard outside your house because it is rather large. The event is ongoing until November 1, 2019 7:59 a.m. PDT. Get out there, celebrate, and have fun! Happy Halloween!  See you at the next adventure! 

Happy Halloween! See you at the next adventure! 

*Final Fantasy XIV is available on the following platforms: Windows, OS X, and Playstation 4

*Join our community as we enjoy gaming and mental health discussions on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Furistas Cat Cafe, A Cuddly Fun Time

I love cats and dogs and cute games. Furistas Cat Cafe, a mobile game appealed to the cats and cute game part. It's a simple concept, but one that works really well. You run a cat cafe and customers come in with a variety of personalities and you pair the cats with the customer matching the symbol they have in their thought bubbles. When you pair them correctly, the customers are happy and spend time with the cats and you earn hearts for your cafe. You can also earn coins from filling customer's drink and food orders.

Match cats with customers.

As you level up you will be able to expand your cafe and adopt more cats. You can also level up your cats with the hearts and fish you earn so they can spend longer amounts of time with the customers. The artwork for the cats is really cute with a description of each cat's personality. It's a lot of fun seeing the different types of cats you can adopt. You can also learn more about the customers when you click on them to see what types of cats they like. 

Adopt a variety of adorable cats.

You can decorate your cafe any way you wish. It's pretty easy to earn a lot of hearts, fish, and coins so that you can buy a variety of items. There are lots of cute cat themed furniture items and you can get pillow beds for all your cats as well. 

Decorating the cafe.

There are daily tasks you can do to earn coins and fish for your cafe. There are mini games too with the cats and with the customer orders. This gives you a little variety from the matching cats with customers grind. The mini games with the cats are my favorite because they are so cute and appeal to my love of cute and fun games. 

Play cute mini games with the cats.

Furistas Cat Cafe is a simple game, but a fun one. If you love adorable cats you will enjoy this game. It's easy to follow and doesn't take a lot of effort to play. It owns the fact that it is a simple, cuddly fun game with cats. I personally like it a lot because of the cats and cheerful atmosphere of the game. It is a cuddly fun time. 

Cuddle all the cute cats!

* Furistas Cat Cafe is available for Android and ios phones. 

* Come hang out with our community as we play games on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mother Gamer Plays Celeste

On my day off from streaming, I decided to play Celeste. I had seen others play it and the story, artwork, and gameplay intrigued me. I realized the keyboard controls were rough on my arthritic hands so I hooked up a controller to play. Celeste starts with an introduction to the platform jumping gameplay of the game. You play as a young woman named Madeline as she climbs the mountain avoiding various hazards and obstacles.

Madeline learns about the mountain.

There was a bit of a learning curve for me with Celeste as I tried to figure out when to air dash and how quickly I had to jump and move across ledges, whether or not I could climb up a wall, and trying not to panic as pathways crumbled underneath me. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to enjoy the game. I did turn on Assist Mode because it was my first time playing the game which helped a bit. I failed a lot of course as I missed a jump or Madeline ran out of stamina as she climbed a wall. However, I wasn't mad about it because I was having fun with the game and genuinely loving the story as well as appreciating the art style and the music. 

Timing those jumps and dashes!

As I progressed through the game, it added a few more mechanics I had to learn. This took me quite a few tries, but I appreciated the care and thought that went into this game as I followed the story. I liked meeting all the different characters on Madeline's journey because it added different layers and viewpoints. The characters were likable and that includes the main character herself. I related so much to Madeline because of the anxiety she feels and the depression that lies to her. I have lived with depression and anxiety for so long that there are days where it feels like it is a great burden of grey that will consume me. Playing through Celeste was cathartic for me in a way because here was the main character going through these things and having similar thoughts that I have had when trying to do better about caring for my own mental health. One of my favorite scenes in Celeste is the gondola and feather breathing scene. I understood all too well that feeling of overwhelming panic that is so intense you feel as if you can not breathe. That scene was so beautiful and deeply personal to me, that I realized just how special Celeste is. 

This moment in the game was a favorite for me.

As I kept playing the game, I found more and more details that I loved. The big thing is the story because it is so well done as it gently conveys the message that it's okay to fail and that it's vital for us to be kind to ourselves and take care of our mental health. It also homed in on the point that sometimes we have to take a step back in order to take care of ourselves and not hurt others. Celeste is a challenging platform jumper game, but it's also so much more. It is a beautifully thoughtful story about the importance of being honest with ourselves about our mental health and take the steps to practice self care. It also shows us that it's okay to fall and be scared, but that there is always hope and that is what we hold onto to get us through the grey days. Celeste moved me to tears with the story because it made me feel so deeply and intensely for the characters. I appreciated the message about loving and accepting myself as I am. The gameplay is well done and the music fits each scene and level perfectly. We need more games like Celeste because we need that gentle reminder that it's okay to not be okay and it's okay to need help and ask for it. I am going to play through it again because it was that good for me. 

This is such a beautiful game. 

*Celeste is available to play on the following platforms: Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One

*Come hang out and discuss mental health with our community as we enjoy games: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

How Gaming And One Year Of Twitch Streaming Helped Me

 I have been an avid gamer since I was a kid and gaming has helped my mental health a great deal. I live with depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety can be such a rough thing for me and there are days when grey days are really bad. It can be difficult to remember the negative voices lie all the time and while I have gotten better about that, it's still something I am working on every day. One of the big things that has helped me with a bad grey day is gaming. Being able to enjoy a favorite game helps me to distract my mind from those negative thoughts and just have a break from stressing myself out.

When I first decided to stream on Twitch a year ago it was to challenge myself to try something new and do something that scared me. For those who know me really well they will tell you I am a very quiet and shy person especially when I'm meeting new people. I don't really talk much and I observe until I feel comfortable. The idea of streaming and talking on a mic scared me, but I challenged myself to do it. Everyone starts somewhere and the first night I streamed I streamed directly from my PS4 and I did not talk on the mic. The first game I ever streamed was Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age. I typed in chat with people while playing the game. It was definitely an interesting first night, but I did it. The second night I tried talking on a mic. Looking back, my voice was a little shaky and quiet. I was so nervous! What matters however, is I did it and as I kept talking I started to relax and became a bit more comfortable because everyone in my chat was so kind and encouraging. I found that the more I streamed, the easier it got and I figured out a schedule that worked for me and found my rhythm with my streams. I am still not ready to be in a front of a camera while streaming, but talking on the mic works for me and our community is very kind and understanding about it.


I love story driven and indie games such as Wandersong. There's just something about a good story and gameplay that I love. Wandersong was a favorite for me because not only was it a good story game it was also fun to play and it had some thoughtful insights about the meaning of friendship and reaching out to people who need kindness. This showed me what I wanted for our community. I started speaking openly and honestly about my own mental health to show others that it's okay to not be okay, it's alright to talk about it, and that there is no shame in seeking help from a licensed therapist. I continue to advocate for open and honest conversation about mental health and seeking help when we need it because our mental health is just as important as our physical health.

Wandersong was one of my favorite games to stream. 

I always make it perfectly clear that I'm not an expert and point out the importance of getting professional help from a licensed therapist. I get a lot of young people telling me how scared they are of therapy and I do everything I can to talk to them kindly and gently about it explaining how it works. I use my experience with therapy as an example because it has helped me a lot and continues to help me. Our community does our best to be kind, welcoming, and supportive of everyone. Everyone is welcome and we have a lot of important conversations about mental health and gentle reminders that it's okay to take time for ourselves and take care of our mental health. Sometimes with some of the games I play for streams, there are moments or situations in the game that bring up some of these topics organically. For example, the Shane personal story arc in Stardew Valley. There is a scene with Shane that addresses his depression and it is in a word intense. Shane has a crisis moment with his depression and the main character in Stardew Valley does her/his best to help Shane. It's a powerful scene in the game and we had a conversation about it in our community about what it means to need help and why sometimes it's hard to ask for help. Stardew Valley helped us to talk honestly about mental health and learn some things too. 

Stardew Valley offers more than farming, it offers important lessons about mental health also.

Being able to play games and talk to people about mental health openly and honestly has helped me a great deal. It's helped me to make new friends, to come out of my shell a bit, and to be kind to others the way so many were kind to me when I needed someone to talk to or just needed some help. One of the best friendships I made was with m friend and fellow streamer tifad0esart. Tifa is an insanely talented artist and I always love watching her art streams. Not only that, she does emote art commissions. She is my go to emote artist always because of the incredible work she does. Tifa does a fantastic job of sketching out exactly what I want and communicates with me about every detail until it's done. So many people love the emotes she's done for my stream channel which makes me very happy because Tifa deserves that recognition. If you're looking for an emote artist hit her up on twitter. She's fantastic!

Amazing emotes done by tifad0esart

As my year progressed, streaming got easier. I slowly did upgrades. I tried remote play for streaming. That was an adventure in itself. Remote play for PS4 and streaming is not always reliable and that's putting it lightly. I did my best to make it work, but sometimes there were so many technical issues it drove me up the wall. My husband Ron has been my biggest supporter and he's my tech guy. Ron is the one who is at my side for every moment and he is the one who helps me test things to see what works, what doesn't, or what needs to be fixed. Ron did everything to set up his streaming PC for me so I could use the capture card and go from there. It was definitely a vast difference. There are still tech issues sometimes, but that is rare. Ron has always cheered me on, assured me that I'm doing fine when I have a grey day, and always lets me know that I am loved. Sometimes he hangs out with me for streams and chats with everyone sometimes offering sage advice and kind words. There's a reason everyone in our community calls him Stream Dad. Ron was there for my one year anniversary on Twitch which was on September 7, and it was amazing. 

Celebrating 1 year on Twitch with Ron. 

Gaming and streaming for one year on Twitch has helped me to not be afraid to be myself, to talk openly and honestly about my own health and encouraging others to be able to talk about their own mental health journey without fear. Everyone in our community has helped to build a place that is kind, supportive, and understanding. I'm grateful to everyone who has been there for me through all of it. I am also grateful to my friends and fellow streamers who encouraged me with their kind words and support. It's hard to believe that it's been one year on Twitch and I'm looking forward to many more. To everyone in our community, thank you for the love, support, and kindness. Remember to be kind to yourselves and to each other. Love you all!

Thank you for an amazing year! Here's to many more! 

*Come join us for gaming and great conversations about mental health on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

*You are not alone. If you need someone to talk to, there is help: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/

*Heart Support is a kind and welcoming mental health community. You can join the conversation here: https://heartsupport.com/

The Adventures Of Pirotess: So You Want To Be A Dancer

With the Shadowbringers expansion in Final Fantasy XIV one of the jobs you can unlock is Dancer. Those of us who played Final Fantasy XI remember the Dancer job class pretty well. I was excited to get it unlocked and try it out. Want to get Dancer unlocked yourself? Here's how. First, you will need to have a disciple of war job class to at least level 60 since Dancer starts at level 60. Next, head to Limsa Lominsa lower decks and talk to the NPC called Eager Lominsan which will start the quest, Shall We Dance.

Talk to Eager Lominsan and start the Shall We Dance quest. 

Shall We Dance gives you an introduction to the Dancer job class. You get a great cutscene with it and you can see how it looks. After the cutscene you receive all the equipment you need for Dancer. Make sure you talk to the NPC again to get your next Dancer quest, Gamboling For Gil. 

Pirotess gets her Dancer equipment.

You will need to travel to Costa del Sol and talk to the NPC Nashmeira for the Gamboling for Gil quest. This gives you a chance to use your Dancer skills. You need to perform specific moves in order to finish the quest. It's a good introduction to the job class and figuring out what each skill does. 

Pirotess shows off her dancing skills. 

Dancer is a lot of fun and I am enjoying leveling it. Dancer has a lot of great combat skills as well as support skills for party members. It's interesting and adds a unique style to the world of Final Fantasy XIV. Get out there and get dancing! Thanks for reading, see you at the next adventure!

See you at the next adventure!

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Playstastion 4

*Come hang out with our community on Twitch as we play games and talk about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

The Adventures Of Pirotess: Celebrating Moonfire Faire 2019

The Moonfire Faire is back in Final Fantasy XIV. This is a fun seasonal event because it really captures the fun spirit of Summer with hanging out on the beach, eating delicious food, and having a good time with your friends. To start the event, you need to be at least level 30 and you will need to go to Limsa Lominsa's Upper Decks and talk to the NPC Mayaru Moyaru which gives you the Feels Like Moonfire quest. Head to Costa del Sol where the Moonfire Faire is held each year.

Head to Cost del Sol to start celebrating. 

There are a couple of activities you can do at Moonfire. One is a jumping puzzle course a la Ninja Warrior which is decently challenging. It took me a couple of tries to get through this course, but it was a lot of fun trying it out. Don't worry if you fall in the water, you can go back to the beginning and try again. When you complete the course, you get tokens that you can exchange for prizes. 

Pirotess and Mouse the chocobo check out the jumping course.

There is also a little side quest at the event called Anything You Can Do. It only takes a few minutes to do and you get to see a cute story at the event and when you complete it you get the white Moonfire happi set. 

Do this quest and get the white Moonfire happi set as a reward. 

If you're not into jumping hijinks, don't worry. You can try your culinarian skills instead. Talk to the NPC Hildelana to get the Frying for Fame and Fortune quest. Having culinarian unlocked and at least level 5 is a good advantage because you will need to make the battered fish recipe. If you have fisherman unlocked this is good too. You can get the haddock you need by either fishing for it and getting the Hook, Line, and Sinker fishing quest done or you can buy some haddock from the fishing vendor. 

Unlock this quest to get cooking at the Faire. 

The nice thing about the cooking quest is that it is repeatable so you can turn in as many battered fish as you want during this ongoing event in order to get tokens that you turn in to the NPC vendor for various prizes. There are a lot of great prizes this year ranging from Moogle masks to a portable pool. 

Trade tokens in for a variety of great rewards. 

The Moonfire Faire is a lot of fun each year and it's a nice break from the leveling grind and adventuring. The event is running until August 26. Get out there, celebrate, and have fun! See you at the next adventure! 

Pirotess enjoys the Moonfire Faire fireworks. See you at the next adventure!

*Final Fantasy XIV is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, OSX, and Playstation 4

*Come hang out with our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer