How NiGHTS has affected you...

When my ex-girlfriend broke up with me about two years ago, I was completely crushed. Nothing could console me, but I had the strangest urge to draw. Picture after picture I drew of NiGHTS and his wonderful world of dreams and flight. Rings, blue chips, Nightopians, rolling hills, and windswept valleys intricately worked their way into my subconscious every night, filling me with hope as NiGHTS comforted me each night with two words.

"Let's fly."

I'd like to know how NiGHTS has influenced your life, because he's certainly had an effect on mine.

EDIT: I forgot the happy ending! I met someone about nine months ago, and ever since she's made me the happiest guy alive!

Hmm... I guess NiGHTS has helped me mostly to be carefree and somewhat childish. Which is important to me, because a while ago, I just felt like dying and I was never happy, and I was usually a goof and carefree all the time. I tried really hard to look at the good things in life, and over time it worked, and I'm back to my old self. Kinda. Maybe a bit more mature, but still.

NiGHTS has saved me from madness.

Before I joined the forum, I had no one with which to discuss my love of NiGHTS. Not only can I ramble on about video games, but people resond and know what I'm talking about! I talk to myself much less now.

Well. This may require a brief background. ~5 years ago, I hit puberty and moved from Florida to Virginia at the same time, because Dad was in the military. All this sudden change and having to leave the extended family and friends back "home" took a toll on me, and I sunk into what I guess was a depression. I changed from an energetic kid into a quiet, timid "sheep", isolating myself in my own little world of Pokemon and Mega Man and flinching at contact with people outside. After 2 & 1/2 years, I was adopted into a group of five (making me the sixth) and I started recovering after that. I was much more confident by the time I got into high school, and I wasn't as timid anymore. But my sophomore year was getting to me, because with all the work I had almost no time for myself. I even had to rush eating dinner, and lost 5 pounds over the year without trying. The stress was getting to me, and I knew I could go one of two ways: either continue to become more and more confident and outgoing, or sink back into the low of sixth grade (and I didn't want to experience that again).

This is where NiGHTS came in. I found out about him through JoD, visited NiD.com, bought the game, had a blast playing it. JoD seems to have some kind of magic about it, because I remembered my dream the night after I first played it, for the first time in months. To my further surprise, I remembered my dreams for the next several nights as well, after playing JoD each day. This was great, because before I played that game, I only remembered my dreams about once or twice a month, if even that much. I also had my first real nightmare in a while, which shocked me because I'd thought I had stopped having nightmares. Apparently, I'd had several but hadn't remembered them. After six days, Lent arrived, and I gave up playing JoD because I was obsessed with it, and you're supposed to give up things you're very attached to. I was afraid the dreams would stop after I stopped playing, but they kept on coming every night/morning. It was around then when I started writing down my dreams, and thus my dreaming adventures started. I later met NiGHTS himself on Valentine's Day morning 2008, when we fled from Nightmarens in Target. After that, he popped in pretty often for him, dualizing with me and teaching me to fly and fight off nightmares. He took me "under his wing", so to speak, and I became a much stronger individual because of it and the moral lessons of my own unconscious. NiGHTS drew out the hidden bit of myself that kind of resembled him: mischievous, fun-loving, a little daring, outspoken, etc. My attitude changed in the waking world for the better, I laughed more, I became more enthusiastic about life, and I survived the school year. Eventually, I got to the point where I could handle most nightmares on my own, so he stopped coming as often, but whenever I need help in a nightmare, or comfort when deeply injured by an event in the waking world, he always comes. Sometimes he visits just so we can hang out and have some fun together. It means a lot to me, because for much of my life, I've been afraid of being annoying and clingy to my friends, but NiGHTS likes spending time with me, and with him I don't have to worry about that. He just comes and goes as he pleases, and I always know I'll see him again.

NiGHTS also has had an effect on my talents. I couldn't draw very well before. Now that I think about it, that's probably why I started focusing on writing instead, because that was the easiest way for me to put my mind's image down on paper. But when I played JoD I started drawing NiGHTS constantly, because he was so beautiful I wanted to try to express that the best I could. As a result, I turned from a 4th/5th-grade level artist into a competent (but still not incredible) sketcher. I do still draw NiGHTS, but I also am trying to draw a variety of other things so I can improve and eventually put the images in my head on paper exactly as I see them. In the meantime, I'm improving in my gaming skills ("What skills?" my brothers would say. ), a process that JoD helped me on a lot. I used to be terrible at platformers. I'd fall into bottomless pits and lava if they were there (it was almost a guarantee), never beat bosses on the first try (to the point that I went in expecting it to be only a 'first try'), and always got hit by enemies (one bro: "Dodge it! Just jump!" me: "Eek! I'm trying!" other bro: "You suck."). The problem was, I think, that I usually didn't last long enough to get a lot of experience and figure out the timing and feel of a game. JoD gave me the opportunity to do this because I didn't have to worry about bottomless pits or a small amount of max HP. My reflexes and judgment improved, and that has allowed me to do much better at harder games (like Klonoa, Ocarina of Time, and Metroid Prime 3).

Gosh, I can never write something short.

That's a great story, Penelopi. It's amazing that a binch of pixels can have such a powerful impact on so many people.

That was an amazing story, Penelopi. I had heard some stories about NiD changing people's life like that but I think it's awesome that even JoD can have such an impact.
Personally I feel a bit ashamed that NiGHTS didn't really brought me anything positive like that...

That was an amazing story, Penelopi. I had heard some stories about NiD changing people's life like that but I think it's awesome that even JoD can have such an impact.
Personally I feel a bit ashamed that NiGHTS didn't really brought me anything positive like that...

Well, he gave you the opportunity to make a fun fan game, right? Has that given you a bit of a challenge, a different experience from other things you've programmed? And NiGHTS is responsible for you meeting all us crazies on the forums. That is positive, right?...Maybe?... I've enjoyed talking (er, typing) with you, at least. That's another thing I forgot to attribute to NiGHTS: fun/intense discussions prying at every little detail of a deep, yet unexplored game, and other things I'd never thought of, like whether or not Nintendo should try making a female Link.

Well, he gave you the opportunity to make a fun fan game, right? Has that given you a bit of a challenge, a different experience from other things you've programmed? And NiGHTS is responsible for you meeting all us crazies on the forums. That is positive, right?...Maybe?... I've enjoyed talking (er, typing) with you, at least.

Well, making the fangame(s) was an interesting experience, but nothing life-changing like other people have experienced. And I've enjoyed talking to you too, but all in all I feel I've had more negative than positive from this place... I'd better stop now, I think I'm derailing this thread.

Hm, I suppose this explanation would work best as a dialogue, so I'll use that format.

Sand3: I don't think I want to be a girl.
NiGHTS: So don't be.
Sand3: But I don't think I make a very good boy. And I like pretty things.
NiGHTS: So don't be a boy.
Sand3: But I have to be something.
NiGHTS: You are something. You're Sand3.
Sand3: But I have to present either 'boy' or 'girl' to the world.
NiGHTS: Why?
Sand3: Because Western civilization thinks in terms of platonic-dualism. Everybody has to fit into binary categories.
NiGHTS: 'Blah blah blah!' What the hell was that?
Sand3: If I'm going to have a gender that isn't obvious and directly tied to my sex, then I have to dress and in such a way that demonstrates it, or people will be confused and they'll make weird assumptions about me, or they'll just see me as a girl. I could try out that Japanese trend where you make yourself look and sound completely androgynous, but my voice is high...
NiGHTS: So?
Sand3: ... So I don't want people to think I'm a girl.
NiGHTS: Because strangers are going to *think* you into one? That's stupid! Don't you have any sense of self?
Sand3: I do. I worked really hard and I have a 'self' now. But I don't want to loose it. I'm afraid that if people see me as a girl, I could easily become one, and then I'll loose my 'self' and then I'll be back at square-one!
NiGHTS: Well then you're not taking very good care of your 'self'! How the hell old are you? This ain't high school anymore!
Sand3: I'm a very impressionable person! 'Self' requires constant vigilance!
NiGHTS: PFFFFFFT! I'm made of dreams! Every night I'm libel to look different or sound different, all at the behest of whatever new friends I play with! I have 'self'! I am NiGHTS! For as much as other people impress themselves upon me, I will impress myself upon them! You may be constantly changing, but you have a strong voice and people listen to you, that's your 'self' changing them.
... Did I just say 'behest'?
Anyway! Let's go get you a pink dress!
Sand3: What? I can't wear pink!
NiGHTS: Why not?
Sand3: It's PINK!
NiGHTS: PFFFFFFT!
Sand3: ... How about a butch hair-cut and a stupid little pink bow?
NiGHTS: Awesome.

Hm, NiGHTS seems to be using my vernacular here... I guess because, like he said, he's malleable and he's talking to me right now... Anyway, basically a greater comfort with androgyny, not trying to categorize myself, and a not caring who's confused or what pronoun I'm called. People seeing me are going to assume I'm a girl now, because I remembered that being pretty is fun! Also, flying dreams used to be a rare thing, not anymore tho, but this can backfire a bit by making me cling in my bed and go 'Nooooo! I can't get up! I want to fly some more!'

NiGHTS helped me meet a ton of wonderful people.

I've gotten to know some one from class a little better.

I've never had a Scary Nightmare (I've still had sad ones though) since I became a fan. The Fandom also taught me about Lucid dreaming too!

NiGHTS has inspired me in two ways.

The first one is she's inspired me to practice drawing my fancharacter. The other is that she's inspired me to write fanfiction with my fancharacter. Without NiGHTS I'd still be banging my head against the wall thinking of an idea for my fancharacter.

Well. When I first played NiGHTS into dreams, I have developed such feelings for her. But not in the romantic way. She have making me feel special. Whenever I see the likes of NiGHTS, she kind of making blush. NiGHTS happened to be my number one heroine above the rest. I like her so much that I like to see or hear more from her. Then after I heard about NiGHTS' return in Journey of Dreams in 2007, I decided to get Nintendo Wii for Christmas. In fact, she's the reason why I get Nintendo Wii. As I play NiGHTS Journey of Dreams, I was more deciated to help on her journey. I couldn't get NiGHTS plush dolls due to the expensive price. In my eyes, her beauty and elegance far surpasses the beauty of the Princess Peach and Daisy no offense. Not to mention NiGHTS' eyes shines like Sapphires. As far as her smartness. As the matter of fact, NiGHTS inspired me in move forward. I love her as a great friend.

Nothing life-changing, although other video games have had profound effects on my life. NiGHTs goes into my dreams and feels like a guardian angel. I feel happy and child-like when thinking about him during the day, but he also helps me have more mental self-discipline so I don't let the less nice parts of my psyche take over. If I want to be as happy and carefree as a child, I have to concentrate hard on being innocent, because adults aren't.

NiGHTs helped me out a lot when I was just leaving home to go to Uni, and my sleep pattern changed to nocturnal because of my student lifestyle, and when I got some work and had to change back again.