I was laying in bed last night having just finished up a menu in the game I’m creating, and a thought popped into my head. ‘Hey, why not document your thought process publicly so people can look and laugh? Also, maybe you’ll learn something in the process.’ So, here I am.

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Recently, I played Sam & Max Hit the Road, having Grim Fandango again last year. Both of these games have ranked high up in my list of favourite games for a long while now, even as the original Sam & Max comic lies well without my grasp. The sheer technical mastery on display in those games, the art styles, the worlds crafted, the witty and loveable characters, in both cases come together in a wonderful harmony to create genuine masterpieces. Granted, neither game is without flaw. Grim Fandango chokes every drop it can out of the artstyle, but at times simply can’t overcome the primitive 3D of the era; while Hit the Road’s story is meandering to the point of feeling inconsequential. But playing them again caused me to think. In that previously mentioned list of favourites, a good chunk are adventure games, despite me telling myself of recent that I can’t stand playing them. However, my opinion has been drastically altered now, and memories of playing the Monkey Island games in the remaster collection on PS4 as a teen come flooding back to me. So I thought further..

     It’s not that the games are bad or unfun, it’s that my perception on games has shifted so drastically in what I want as of late. The childhood wonder of thinking every game is magically great has disappeared under the malaise of modern working man’s depression. The endless time and energy simply are not there anymore, and a look around at the world we are left with ensures that they are gone for good. The chilled pout romps through the worlds of Mario and Bioshock have given way to competitive shooters like Xdefiant and Call of Duty (let’s go OpTiC, btw) desperately trying to bury the remembrance that I still have to show up to an office the next day. The short, disposable experience numbing the mind against the magic of what the medium can truly offer.

     But at least for myself, there is still a glimmer of that childhood magic left. Occasionally a game, book, or movie comes along that I pick up and simply cannot put down. Bug Fables, Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy, Vaatu by Evan Dahm, No Country for Old Men. Good things are out there, and it’s our duty to the authors, the artists, the creators to put aside the disposable noise to sit in a room alone in the quiet, and truly appreciate the art that these people have put their hearts into. 

     All this drivel is to say, turn off the distractionbox and truly experience more games. Hell, maybe play mine if/when it comes out ;).

Anywho, I need to get back to drawing these goofy little characters at the top of this page (their names are Arthur and Cateye, respectively.), and also there’s a half finished Wreath page staring at me from my tablet, so 

              until next time, stay frosty my broskis.

                    Hoovy

                    2024/08/10