JohnnyBGamer

From Across the Net – “Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Author”

I loved reading the Encyclopedia Brown books growing up. How about you?

Most authors would love to be a big name—a Stephen King, a James Patterson, a John Grisham. People buy their books not for the title or cover image or first page, but because it’s the new King, the new Patterson, the new Grisham.

Not Sobol. He preferred nobody know who produced all those books.

“What I really wanted, and couldn’t achieve—it was just a pipe dream—was to remain anonymous,” Sobol once told his college alumni magazine. “That never worked.”

You can read more here

From Across the Net – “Things I’ve learned from being adopted”

This is heavy… but good. Thankful Malinda chose to share this.

Adoption starts with trauma.
Perhaps this doesn’t seem like something to rejoice in. It’s actually not. But, it’s something that is important to grasp and accept when it comes to thinking about adoption. The majority of adoptions start with trauma. I hesitate to use the sweeping word “all” here, but I struggle to think of an adoption scenario that wouldn’t involve some element of trauma to at least the child involved. I think so often we can have a glorified view of adoption—and I don’t want to diminish its merit—but to bypass this root element of adoption is to lessen its messy beauty.

I have learned that when root-issues are overlooked—and this applies beyond adoption—there can’t be a solid foundation for anything to be built on top. Without a solid foundation, whatever was built will surely crumble.

You can read more here

Things I’ve Loved in April

I finished another book last night. A book that is a part of a series I’ve loved. This perfect mixture of humor, drama, and thoughtful science fiction. So why haven’t I talked about this book series here? I think, deep down, I’m afraid too.

I fear being judged by things that I love. So I keep them close to my chest. I don’t want to cause any fellow Christians to stumble or friends to be all like, “Whoa”. I’d much rather be silent, free of causing anyone harm, and free of being judged; free to just enjoy something.

“But this is your blog”, you might say, “Why not write about what you actually love?”

Why not indeed.

Things I’ve loved in April

Awhile back, I had a co-worker introduce me to author John Scalzi. Now Scalzi is known for his novel Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas. But I jumped into his Old Man’s War series at my co-worker’s suggestion. Tabitha bought me all six of the books for Christmas. I have a good wife. 🙂

Initial Premise: Imagine a world where you have a choice to live out the rest of your life among the stars. Once you turn 75 years old, you are eligible to join the Colonial Union as a recruit. Leaving Earth behind forever to fight against the horrors of space. A 10 year tour, if one survives, that ends with retirement on a human colony.

I have loved the way Scalzi has built his world, characters, and then interwoven them throughout the Old Man’s War series. Pure popcorn reading at it’s best. Sure, there are a few questionable things… BUT I’ve enjoyed the literary escape Scalzi has created.

I just finished up book three, The Lost Colony, and will continue on with Zoe’s Tale. I’ll let you know how it is!

Guildmaster Story (iOS) also consumed a bit of my time in April. I love the writing; not super hot on the puzzles. The protagonist reminds me a lot of Fozzy Bear’s character from Muppet Treasure Island.

What have you been enjoying this past month?

Been reading or playing anything good?

Let me know in the comments below.

On My Radar – BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!

Picked up BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! over the weekend. Tried the co-op out with Wyatt. Gameplay is tight AND requires a bit of communication (re: patience). 😛

Looking forward to trying out the single-player.

Homecoming: Why are video games so hard to come back to?

A long time ago (2014), in a living room far far away, I asked Wyatt to help me create my Dragon Age: Inquisition character.

We created a:

Scrawny Elf
With a facial tattoo that covers his entire face
Who carries a two-handed sword
And has a deep voice

I loved playing as him.

I sunk hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition until I hit the wall and got stuck in the game. At this point, I am sure, a new game entered my orbit, and I blasted away from my elf and the inquisition.

I loaded Dragon Age: Inquisition once more last night. Combat/gameplay rhythms were unfamiliar after being away from the game for so long. My elf had not changed… but I have.

Unlike reading multiple books at the same time, I think video games are harder not to play fully invested in. With big AAA games, I tend to forget about the:

Controls (muscle memory does help with skill-based games)
Story (I’m thankful for the games that feature a story recap)
How much I cared/was invested in characters

So I wanted to ask you:

How long is too long to come back to a game?
At what point do you give up/delete/move on because you simply do not care anymore?

Let me know in the comments below!