So this week, I’ve got the last scenes of //020 for you. Quite a few of them, sort of a week-and-a-half sized update.
The reason for the weird timing lately? As mentioned before I attended PAX East. My peeps, my culture. Which is admittedly a bit odd since I’m not actually very good at video games and I don’t PLAY a wide variety of them. (I OWN a wide variety of them, but that’s because I have Steam installed. Anybody else who has Steam installed is acutely aware of this issue and it needs no further explanation.)
Even if I’m terrible at actual games where I get easily overwhelmed with too much information too quickly… I love the IDEA of games. I grew up with them and they’ll always be there. I love gaming culture, with its the humor and dry wit. I love the gaming industry, and read news blogs routinely. I love the spark of creativity that’s coming out of the indie scene.
I saw some amazing stuff at PAX, which has been consumed whole by the indie scene thanks to the Indie Megabooth and a wide variety of panels on all sorts of subjects. For instance, I highly encourage you to check out Let’s Quip, an indie game about arguing on the internet for points. (Plz install Unity3D Web Player before proceeding. Although a Facebook-free iOS version is forthcoming, too.)
Often, I’ve pondered somehow worming my way into that mess and making games my path in life. (Although “writer” is the least desired role for a game developer, it seems, with far more need for artists and programmers and even sound guys in comparison.) But I’ve done the one-man-band developer schtick before, back in the Neverwinter Nights days, and after five years of that I burned out hard; it’s tough going. On top of that I lost about 75% of the audience that I’d built up from successes with Sailor Nothing and Unreal Estate by ignoring my writing for so long. Ouch.
So, for now, I’m content to focus on my novels and simply enjoy gaming as a side hobby rather than an active participant.
Although…
Although I’ve pondered doing a visual novel or a Minecraft map or some sort of tie-in that supports my writing. It’d be a hell of a time commitment, and I’d need resources like art that I do not in fact have, but it could be an interesting experiment. So, I turn this over to you. Would you be interested? Before you blurt out “YES” because it’s an easy affirmation to make, consider it might slow down the writing process, or require you to install software, or any number of tradeoffs. Is it worth the price? Would you go with me on that journey? Or are you content and happy with what you have? Let me know.
Regardless, for those of you reading these words now — as I’ve said in the past — you’ve gone down the rabbit hole deep enough to get to this level of fandom. And for that, I thank you, and am hopeful for your continuing support. Remember, take a gander at //020 too, and let me know what you think there.