The Absence of Sleep = This

It’s Sunday night and I’m sitting here at my computer just thinking about life.  I can’t seem to get the image of shooting multiple tangos and their pet dogs out of my head.  Perhaps it has something to do with playing Modern Warfare 3 like literally five minutes ago.  I’m restless though and I don’t know what to do with myself.  I drank two cups of coffee because I was working on my homework, but since the school’s web page was acting a fool, I decided to get on and play games instead.  Oh, and by decided, I mean dragged there against my will because I think Call of Duty sucks the way your finger slipping through the toilet paper as you wipe sucks.  Well let’s be honest, even if the school’s website wasn’t down, I would have wound up on my Xbox anyway, although I probably would have been playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim instead.  As a video game developer in training (I made that up myself), I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to develop massive role playing games like Skyrim.  The writing in the game is extremely vast and very reminiscent to the way Mass Effect is (everything and everyone having a story).  However, I think the first Elder Scrolls game came out before Bioware was even a company (the creators of Mass Effect).  Every person in the game seems to have their own story, and unlike Mass Effect, you can kill them if you want to.

“What can you tell me about Skyrim?”

“Oh, it’s big and it has people that live there.”

*Pulls out sword and kills to death for giving a stupid answer*

That’s not a real scene from the game, but if I had a say in the script, it would have been.  It’s just too bad that Skyrim is made up of a civilization built on petty morals that disallow murder.  So if I ever go on a killing spree, you can reference this article ha-ha, I’m just kidding.  Or am I?  Back to Modern Warfare.  Actually, no, I don’t want to talk about that game.  It doesn’t matter that I did actually have fun playing it tonight.  I’m dead set on disagreeing that these games are actually entertaining considering they re-release the same thing every year with a new mediocre (at best) plot and a few new modes to try out.  It’s like getting kicked in the balls once a year, except every year it’s something different.  Last year it was a flying horse that caught me on the way to the bathroom and this year it was a midget who jumped out of my trash can. 

I can’t even use that “every year” excuse to not like it anymore.  My favorite game of all time, Halo, has transformed into the same type of cash cow.  It doesn’t matter if you package your own shit and stamp the Halo logo on it (totally stole that from Tommy Boy), people will throw away their money on it (guilty as charged).  Hell I’m one of those people who gets all excited like a bitch in heat if the words “new Halo” are uttered by any reliable source.  It’s a great marketing strategy if you take into consideration that the game industry is too fearful of creating something new and innovative because the public may not like it at all.  Hell, selling games at sixty dollars a pop is a huge risk to place on the table if you’re not certain people will like it or not.  I respect Remedy for creating something new with Alan Wake because it isn't the normal FPS, RPG, RTS, blah blah blah that I’m use to now.  It’s just a shame that the game didn’t sell as well as it should have, in my opinion anyway.  It seems now that ensuring a profit is as easy as recreating the same game in a different manner, stamping the iconic logo on the box, and then doing nothing but rinse and repeat until infinity.  If you don’t think that’s happening, take a look at some of your favorite titles (even the Elder Scrolls).  Also, check out this article to see an in depth description written by a famous dude. 

It’s something that I do think about though because I’m on my out of the military and heading in the direction of being a part of the gaming industry.  I have the opportunity to create something new and exciting, but will people notice?  Too many times I’ve seen great games get over shadowed by familiar titles.  Dead Island, for example, was drowned by the overwhelming success of Gears of War, Saints Row, Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, and Assassin’s Creed.  Of course, releasing the game less than a month before a major title hit the market wasn’t the best strategy in the world.  Even more so, if I do create a successful title that millions of people love, how do I face the dilemma of creating a sequel to ensure future sales or pressing forward onto something new because I don’t want to be remembered for creating just one thing?  I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, but I do know that one day I will reach it because I’m meant to be a developer the way Bruce Willis was not meant to be a singer.  I’m meant to be a developer the way Ryan Leaf wasn’t meant to be in the NFL.  I’m meant to be a dev…never mind, that could go on all night.   

Well I have nothing left to say.  I suppose I can lay out my plans for the future of this blog.  This Gaming Life (after I’m done with part IV) will become the place where I talk about and review games.  If you can help me think of a nifty title to place the game reviews under, then I’ll keep TGL to game chatter only.  Titles like “Titan’s Kick Ass Review,” or something totally boss would suffice.  Just leave your suggestions in the comments section (20 bucks I get no more than one reply).  Also, I plan on working on my novel more and I intend to keep the four of you updated on its progress.  Okay, the coffee has worn off and I’m going to bed. 

P.S. Writing later at night when everyone is sleeping is the way to go.  Oh, and the first three words of this article reminds me of the gayest song ever.  Which I suppose makes me a tad gay for knowing it right?  Watch it.  Love it.