Current theory: the smoke monster/Esau is an alien stranded on earth either literally (he hails from beyond the stars), temporally (he comes from the future) or dimensionally (he is a secret man was not meant to know). When he says, “I want to go home,” he’s not talking about Hoboken.
Oh, and Sayid for Juliet is not a fair trade.
Dorkness set on overdrive today. Got up and watched some shows then played some games. Didn’t feel up to socializing or getting anything productive done. Felt incapable of writing anything good. Sometimes one must retreat to their cave.
I finished the first two volumes of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard. Gorgeous art and fantastic storytelling. It was one of those stories where I was immediately drawn in and I instantly cared about the main characters. Petersen’s rich worldbuilding reminds me of when I first read Dinotopia. It seems so effortless, like he’s just chronicling the events of an actual place. Highly recommended.
If Luke Crane shows up to run the Mouse Guard RPG at PAX East, I got dibs on Saxon.
While the iPad is not an immediate must buy for me, I still find it compelling and can envision owning one. I’ve been thinking about having some kind of electronic book reader for a while. I like the Amazon app on the iPhone, but it would be nice if it were, well, bigger. So just from an e-book reader point of view, the iPad makes more sense than the Kindle DX (the most analogous competitor in terms of size). It is the same way that it made more sense to buy a PS3 than a dedicated Bluray player. The PS3 plays your Bluray discs. Oh, and it also plays hundreds of video games. So for $10 more you can get a color, multi-touch e-book reader that also does thousands of other things. And since the Kindle app works on the iPad, the iPad for all intents and purposes *is* a Kindle.
The total cost of ownership for a book is definitely higher on the iPad, though. The same $10 book on the Kindle is going to cost you $25 on the iPad when you factor in the minimum $15/month data plan. Of course, you could amortize the charge over, say, 10 books and then you’re down to $11.50 TCO per book, which isn’t bad.
The size of the thing really does matter. There’s lots of applications on the iPhone that I wish were bigger and easier to interact with, but not so large that I would need a full sized computer to use. Playing virtual board games seems like a real possibility now. How cool would an iPad port of Carcassonne be? And how cool would the inevitable comic book reader be? I’m intrigued by the iPad’s potential to be the platform for Harry Potter-esque newspapers with interactive content. Web sites do that now, yes, but there’s something cool about holding it in your hand.
I was sad to see there was no camera, so Dave and I’s musings of super easy telepresence will not become reality.
Tonight I brought House of Whack to Boards ‘n Brews. It was good to see it on the table again. I hadn’t taught the game to new players in ages, but this was the smoothest explanation so far. There were four players, a really good size group for newcomers. We played the straight up “Inside the Box” version with nothing fancy. The Throne of Swift and Whimsical Judgment came into play and there was a pretty amusing trial as a result. Dan had a legitimate beef with Jeff, namely being forced to stand while playing and walk around in a circle. The jury was split and it came down to a roll off, which Jeff won. That’s how it goes down sometimes.
Jeff pulled ahead of everyone on the score track and took home a copy of the game. Good times!
I had assumed I was heading toward the usual Friday night routine of XBox and Netflix, my faithful companions. Then I got a text from Reed, inviting me out to hear his roommate play a gig at Momo’s. It is always a good idea to say yes to Reed because a good time is assured. Continue reading →
It’s almost impossible not to donate to the relief efforts in Haiti. I don’t even mean from a social responsibility standpoint. Ways to donate are just everywhere, so I end up sending money without even trying. At the grocery store, at the meetup group and the most irresistible avenue: games. $20 at drivethrurpg.com was magically changed into $40 for Doctors Without Borders and $1400 worth of PDF role-playing games and supplements. I barely even know what I bought. The offer was too compelling to ignore.
I’m re-reading the Neverending Story, which is a bit of a misnomer because I apparently came to its end at some point in the past. I don’t know if all editions of the book are as meta as the one I own. The text alternates between maroon and green ink, just like the book in the story, indicating which parts are from the book Bastian is reading and which are Bastian’s outside world. And it also has these great full-page illustrations for the first letter of each chapter, which happen to go through the entire alphabet, A to Z, just like the “real” book. I haven’t tried yelling out “Moon Child” to see if I am swept off to a fantasy realm of luck dragons and rock biters.
I first read it some time after seeing the movie as a child. I was as engrossed in the tale as Bastian. Indeed, I even got hungry when Bastian did and felt what he felt. I was enraptured with the thought of magical books that were somehow aware of their readers and could change over time. I imagined how I could create such a book. I remember becoming interested in finding just the right sort of blank book with properly enchanted paper stock.
The movie is a fairly faithful adaptation of the first half of the book. What the movie doesn’t tell you is that after he saves Fantastica (or Fantasia, as it is called in the film) from the Nothing, Bastian becomes a mostly pompous dick. At least at the part I’m at now. He has the power to remake the world as he sees fit and he sets himself up as a total badass with ultimate authority over all he sees. I’m assuming this is all leading to a lesson in staying true to yourself.
In other news, I attended a writer’s meetup. Again, I’m getting out, meeting new people with whom I might have something in common. We met at a coffee house and read brief excerpts from three of the attendees. This was followed by a round of constructive criticism. I managed to stave off an entirely judgmental attitude and contributed suggestions that were well received. Perhaps I am growing as a person. 😉
Today was a lazy Sunday during which I played Borderlands. I downloaded the Zombie Island expansion. Borderlands itself is a loose parody of Mad Max and the Zombie Island is a direct parody of Left 4 Dead. So if you ever need to waste post-apocalyptic hockey mask-wearing mutants who are also zombies, there’s a game for you.
I have seven video game platforms. It’s a bit ridiculous, I know. Each one has games waiting for me to finish in some way.
Although I’ve enjoyed playing some of the latest hotness like Bayonetta and Borderlands, I find that they are like meals at fancy restaurants. Really enjoyable while it is happening, but I can’t see myself going back to the restaurant every night until I’ve tried everything on the menu.
I also find that I have a lower tolerance for games I did not buy. If I rented something, I have virtually no investment in the game and it is up to the creators and the power of their art to keep my attention. I never think, “Well, I spent $60 so I really ought to finish this.”
It’s actually been “old” games or retro-style games that have held my attention, especially point and click adventure games. I devoured Machinarium. I recently completed the amusing Ben There, Dan That and the sequel Time Gentlemen, Please! And thanks to Steam’s recent insane holiday sale ($5 for the entire Space Quest series?!), I will be awash in nostalgia for quite some time.