First of all, definitely one of the best South Parks ever.  Second of all, I’d like to report we got our Xbox 360 on Friday!  I’d also like to hang my head in shame because of what I have been doing.  The first week I’ve had it I’ve made use of 2 things – playing Uno, and the large majority of the time?  Being addicted to streaming netflix.  We’ve watched the 2nd season of 30 Rock, a few movies, the first season of The Office, some Tripping the Rift, and now we’re glued to Weeds – we’re about 1/4 way through season 2 after finishing season 1.  So, it’s not that I haven’t had time to play games, it’s that I have CHOSEN not to play anything.

I find it sad, but I guess I can use the excuse that games are expensive.  Yeah, the economy is doing it, right.  This is from the people who spent 300$ on an iguana and an enclosure last week, and over 200$ the week before buying clothes.  I guess I have to accept, that at this point in time, my priorities are elsewhere.  I guess I’m just trying to figure out why.  I have, in theory, the time to dedicate casually to a game.  I have at least 2 hours on the weekdays where I’m not doing other things, even on workout days.  We have at least some time on the weekend where we’re just vegged on the couch, watching TV.  But I never feel motivated to convert this into gaming time.

There is a huge connundrum being a game developer.  You’re into your work because it’s fun, but after a while, it can feel like playing ANYTHING is work.  For a long time, we worked at SOE and played mostly SOE games (which were, I still believe, the best out there at the time and best of all, free).  When we started being involved with making the games, we’d get our friends and guildmates sending us bug reports.  We’d play through areas and make mental notes in our heads what to fix when we got to work (or would just log on right away and fix it).  Imagine your favorite get-away-from-it-all spot, could be a vacation destination, setting of a book, movie, wherever – it just has to feel like paradise.  Something I might name is a cruise, because we all know how much I love ’em.  Now imagine being there, all the time, with work to do and schedules to maintain, and being responsible for parts of it.  You have to capture and exhude the joy YOU feel for this place, and make other people feel it.  Suddenly paradise isn’t quite as footloose and fancy free as you remember.  I bet cruise ship employees probably don’t take their vacations there, and if they do, they hope to god a repeat cruiser doesn’t recognize them.

However, it’s very very important for those making games to play games.  Your ideas get stale if all you’re drawing from is real life and TV.  It’s hard to be passionate about a medium that you don’t spend much time enjoying.  I’ve seen the results of those who make and do not play, and I don’t want to continue down that road.  I also don’t want to live life like I used to, with my friends pixelated, my computer chair the most important piece of furniture, and my body a pile of blubber.  I have to come to a balance, and we all know how good I am at that, right?

I think the answer, in this case, is gaming night.  One weekday, I’m thinking Wednesday because usually it’s a day off working out (at least on the 4 day schedule), we are going to sit down and play at least an HOUR of a game after dinner.  It has to engage both of us, either we take turns, play together, or we play separate games.  I’d like to work back to regularly playing an MMO casually if we’re not really into something else, but there might still be a little too much scarring there for it to feel good and not workalicious.

It starts today, because yesterday was full of fail.  I’ll keep you updated on how we fare.