the mediocrity codex

We are approaching a horizon. This media we engage in is growing more quickly than we imagined. Growing out of our control.

Ever since I started played games (that would be starting in the 90s, on an NES, to a SNES, and finally to my sedentary state on the PC) I viewed them as a very isolated experience. Video games were not social . I am only speaking for myself here, but I don’t think I’m entirely alone. Even now video games are still a very isolating experience; whether in singleplayer or multiplayer games, the perspective and the experience of the person controlling a given avatar is highly insular. It’s less so in online multiplayer games, but I think that even then, I’ve found myself simply playing alone. And enjoying it. Traditional Gaming is what this is all about. It’s very self-interested . Much of the time, games are focused around providing tight, content-based experiences: moments where the player interacts with dynamic inanimate objects and set pieces that are designed to elicit specific emotions.  But this type of design philosophy (and expectation) is a reflection of the culture , and s...

It hasn’t been too long since video games turned into the cool thing to do. Those of us who remember when any mention of interest in video games was an automatic mark against one’s coolness (and the resultant effort to suppress those disclosures) know that it wasn’t always cool to love anything that smacked of “video games.” Chessmaster 3000. King’s Quest. Doom. These are the badges of honor we wear proudly now, willingly stomping about our circles in the dust, dropping these names to lay claim to our place in gaming history. But the truth is that few of us ever had the courage or peer group to do so when these games actually came out . But that’s changed.

Welcome to the first installment of “Read a Good Book”, a feature in which we’ll be traveling through a hopefully respectable volume (or at least, a well-reviewed one), gleaning what we may from its faceless, soundless text, and trying to make sense of it all in the “real world”. I like text a lot, because it takes a special kind of finesse to make it effective. Text is often only read and never heard, seen but never “watched”. The benefit is that it requires a degree of engagement to experience, but therein lies its biggest obstacle too: nowadays people just don’t care enough (or are simply too busy) for such an engaging endeavor. But you, my fair readers, are stupendously different. You are thoughtful, engaged, critical, and patient, people who enjoy wrestling with meanings and questioning ideas. Right? Right? Right! The first book to grace this written page then is Jim Rossignol’s This Gaming Life .

Hey everybody. Before I start, I just want to say that the Evanston, Illinois is great. It's a beautiful place. If anyone actually lives in Evanston (or nearby) I would just like to say, I am extremely jealous of you. Came for my brother's graduation. Despite his busy Au.D. curriculum, he still finds time to play Starcraft 2. That's dedication! Okay. Onto business. The truth is that games aren't the only hobby I like to engage in (gasp!). In my spare time I also read books! A great piece of advice I've received (and subsequently offered profusely) is that "if you feel like you're in a funk, read a good book." Whatever it is that's going on in your life, whether good or bad, having a good book by your side often makes that time less lonely, more thoughtful, and generally more fulfilling than simply trying to grin and bear it. So I usually like to keep a good book on hand wherever I go.