The Well is Dry

I hate it when the well runs dry.  Its easy to do, hit a point of art where you’ve just created so much recently, you cannot create anymore.  I loathe to admit it, but its happened quite a bit recently.  I think it comes from transcribing so much of Lisa’s book at once.

I typed around 50 pages in a week, on top of writing blog posts, tweeting, doing facebook, talking on social networks to other bloggers, and watching TV with my wife.  By the end of the week, I looked at my blank WordPerfect screen and threw up my hands....

The Challenge of a Video Game

Is there anything more frustrating as trying to beat a simple game 100%?  Many of the least challenging video games I’ve played in my life have some specific ‘extra’ stuff you can do to get something ‘extra.’  And frankly I enjoy a challenge, but sometimes...wow those things are hard.

I know they had them way before this, but the Xbox started a Gamer Score way back when.  It was the first time we, as gamers, could point at something and say, “Yeah, I beat that.”  It turned those little challenges into something truly fun to try to accomplish.

The SimCity Effect

Last week, I had the joy and pleasure of being part of video gaming history.  It is rare for any video game event to be so in the media as what happened on March 5th, and the days that followed.  I could site page after page of news story, showing how widespread this was, but instead, I’ll just stick to my own observations.

SimCity is a gaming franchise that goes WAY back in time.  It has always been a favorite of mine, and I’ve enjoyed every incarnation of it.  It had been a decade since the last true SimCity game, and the video game market was dying for the return of the franchise.