Unwinnable

Have you ever tried talking to another human being? Really talking to them, not just sort of nodding to them at a bus stop or thanking them for handing over your change? Take it from me, it’s hard. Other human beings are weird and terrible and difficult things and they’re just as complex as you are (if not more). Lots of people get nervous before a date. I get nervous whenever I make a new friend.

What do you say to them? What if you say it wrong? What if I let my guard down and they run roughshod over it, uncaring? What if I’m too friendly, or not friendly enough? It’s dizzying. I’m the worst extrovert imaginable.

Of course, this is why we have cafés and pubs and restaurants and bars and cinemas and go-karting tracks and arcades and parks and all these shared spaces that build up the no-man’s-land between our houses. Because the concept of asking another human being to just talk to you for four hours is ridiculous and terrifying and weird, but doing it in a pub is fine. You need a pacing mechanic for the evening, carried out in pints and torn-open packets of salt and vinegar chips and cigarette breaks.

(more…)

The five Halo titles developed by Bungie spoke of a much larger world beyond the confines of the console games. It was a place described in incidental dialogue among the marines of the United Nations Space Command, in computer terminals found on a gigantic alien installation called the Ark and in the live-action commercials for Halos 3, ODST, Reach, and the Neill Blomkamp directed “Landfall” live-action shorts. It was a universe described in glimpses and whispers. (more…)

The funny thing about all the war games we play is that they’re not really about guns. Sure, they’re full of guns of all shapes and sizes – the more realistic ones probably scratch the same itch for gun nuts that games like Forza do for car enthusiasts. They let you test drive all those makes and models you only read about in magazines or lust over in catalogs. But they’re safe, harmless fantasy fulfillment – the politics are one-dimensional and the gray areas they explore are territory that has been trod grassless by TV and movies. (more…)

I’m the kind of person that goes out of his way to avoid advertising. Ever since Mad Men, there’s been a trend towards looking at advertising as something akin to art – a way for the creative to cash in and still ply their trade. That’s mostly bullshit. Advertising cheapens everything. It is why there’s nothing good on television. Ratings, essentially the number of eyeballs advertisers will reach when they sponsor a particular show, ensure that only the most inoffensive pablum sees airtime. Advertising is why movies stink so bad. Studios spent the cost of their film over again just to trick audiences to show up to theaters. They’ve learned not to make movies that are difficult to sell. (more…)

Only 10 percent of people are born left-handed. I’m one of them. And I think that minor but meaningful difference (among myriad other nudges and foundations) helped make me the weird, Satan-obsessed person I am today. (more…)

Halo: Combat Evolved is ten years old. To celebrate the anniversary, Titan Books has released the very solid companion book The Great Journey – Halo: The Art of Building Worlds, chronicling the years players have spent with the UNSC.

When I was young man known as Master Charles Francis Moran VI, there was a book at our house called National Geographic Picture Atlas of Our Universe. Growing up, I really liked the book – it had just enough detail to make it interesting for adults and the correct amount of pictures to keep my young mind interested. The book was full of facts and theories about planets and the solar system. There was also a large amount of awesome concept art showing other planets and how animals might live on them. With an incredible John Berkey cover, Our Universe is nothing if not iconic, symbolizing a time when kids were really interested in outer space. (more…)

I was born with in an M-16 in my hands; I’ll probably die with one.

Some of the best gaming experiences I have had involve the Battlefield franchise. I am well versed in what’s expected from a Battlefield game. The latest installment of the Battlefield franchise is Battlefield 3, and it delivers on all fronts. Whether your experience with first-person shooters is limited, or you are a veteran to combat, there is something here for everyone. Battlefield 3 is a bona fide product of value. (more…)