This week I posted a funny status update which, normally, would get a few "likes" and fade into the constant chatter of the Internet. But because my friends are often as-geeky or far-more-geeky than myself, something else entirely happened: an old school text based adventure began in the comment thread.
http://d.pr/IXAz
Now, most anyone who knows me and has even a drop of nerdy tendency is transfixed, checking back multiple times each day to watch the narrative unfold. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the list of releases planned for 2011 and wondering if any one of them could come close to stealing the "game of the year" crown from this crazy social network experience.
But then I have a different criteria than most. GOTY awards usually go to highly polished experiences where the perceived value of the product was high. And that's fine. I like polished experiences. Yet I wonder if that's really the best methodology when selecting a year's highlights.
Cause I have news for you. When we look back in twenty years at the games which shaped the medium, no one is going to be talking about Red Dead Redemption.*
*Mass Effect 2, maybe. But it's a more polished iteration of what was so remarkable in ME 1.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Blanket Statement
Sharing a bed with someone can be one of life's great little pleasures. It's a constant comfort, and reminder of the intimacy and trust you have with another person.
It is also a logistical nightmare.
You've got different sleeping positions, light-level preferences, pillow arrangements—not to mention temperature needs. Thermal distribution in a two-person bed is a study unto itself, in fact. Some people want the room to be ice cold, while they are baked alive beneath a pile of covers. Other people require that a fan blows air across them all night, which they then counter by using an extra blanket. And I'm not calling out anyone, anywhere for being weird—by default I sleep with both feet outside the covers (because, for some reason, bed makes the bottoms of my feet go thermonuclear with heat) and a secondary pillow tucked under my right shoulder, taking a bit of my weight so I can breath easier.
Combining two of these weird sleep combination locks is an interesting process, requiring a lot of real time and dedication.*
*Pro-tip: Develop an automatic "anchor response," where you hold down your side of the covers whenever you feel the other person move.
It is also a logistical nightmare.
You've got different sleeping positions, light-level preferences, pillow arrangements—not to mention temperature needs. Thermal distribution in a two-person bed is a study unto itself, in fact. Some people want the room to be ice cold, while they are baked alive beneath a pile of covers. Other people require that a fan blows air across them all night, which they then counter by using an extra blanket. And I'm not calling out anyone, anywhere for being weird—by default I sleep with both feet outside the covers (because, for some reason, bed makes the bottoms of my feet go thermonuclear with heat) and a secondary pillow tucked under my right shoulder, taking a bit of my weight so I can breath easier.
Combining two of these weird sleep combination locks is an interesting process, requiring a lot of real time and dedication.*
*Pro-tip: Develop an automatic "anchor response," where you hold down your side of the covers whenever you feel the other person move.
Friday, January 14, 2011
A place in the sun where it's nice and warm
Songs like Gnarls Barkley's "Going On"* are, to me, in a class of their own.
It's a class I like to refer to as "music that I don't have to be ashamed that I'm listening to."
In addition to being catchy, Going On carries a really nice little message: Put more focus on others, less on yourself, and don't put up with people who won't do the same. That may not seem like such a big deal, but remember that a large amount of music:
1. Contains no redeeming values
2. Actively promotes really terrible lifestyles
3. Is so very funky, you just can't stop singing it
And that's the baffling part. Since most music is sold by including awesome beats and incredible hooks, and the lyrics are often nearly indecipherable, why bother to focus on negative ideas at all? Just make all your music about solid moral values, autotune it into an electronic paste, and make it sound like it's about partying. Most people won't know the difference, and I'll feel better about having your song in my subconscious.
*One note: the line in the second verse is: And to do what I want/and to do what I please/Is first *off* my to-do list. For some reason no one bothers to check the official lyrics, and puts it as either "first *of* my to-do" list (which makes no sense) or worse "first *on* my to-do list" (which is counter to the rest of the song.)
It's a class I like to refer to as "music that I don't have to be ashamed that I'm listening to."
In addition to being catchy, Going On carries a really nice little message: Put more focus on others, less on yourself, and don't put up with people who won't do the same. That may not seem like such a big deal, but remember that a large amount of music:
1. Contains no redeeming values
2. Actively promotes really terrible lifestyles
3. Is so very funky, you just can't stop singing it
And that's the baffling part. Since most music is sold by including awesome beats and incredible hooks, and the lyrics are often nearly indecipherable, why bother to focus on negative ideas at all? Just make all your music about solid moral values, autotune it into an electronic paste, and make it sound like it's about partying. Most people won't know the difference, and I'll feel better about having your song in my subconscious.
*One note: the line in the second verse is: And to do what I want/and to do what I please/Is first *off* my to-do list. For some reason no one bothers to check the official lyrics, and puts it as either "first *of* my to-do" list (which makes no sense) or worse "first *on* my to-do list" (which is counter to the rest of the song.)
Friday, January 7, 2011
no.w on the webs!
i carry your phone everywhere
google
with me everywhere
and everywhere it takes me
i heart gps
but alth ough i find it
a marvel
theres at least one po.int
i need to take up with you
the software k e y b o a r d
doesnt work with blogg er
and my hardware one
doesnt recognize capitals
or symbols
serious.ly
you have like tw e n ty ba
jillion dollars
get on that
thanks
with me everywhere
and everywhere it takes me
i heart gps
but alth ough i find it
a marvel
theres at least one po.int
i need to take up with you
the software k e y b o a r d
doesnt work with blogg er
and my hardware one
doesnt recognize capitals
or symbols
serious.ly
you have like tw e n ty ba
jillion dollars
get on that
thanks
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