So long ...
... and thanks for all the fish
It is with some regret that I am announcing that
this blog is going into retirement. It probably will come as no shock to
long-time readers who have noticed the big drop in frequency of posting here in
the last six months; it's gone from having a couple entries a week to having a
couple entries a month, if we're
lucky.
I feel that this blog has served
it's purpose for me, and has now come full circle. When I first got into this
world of writing about games, I did it with lengthier game reviews; some were
published in Sumo and Counter, but most I just put out on the internet, because
I'm that kind of a guy. I switched from reviewing to blogging at least in part
because I felt like reviewing games was overrated. Most games these days are
short, disposable things we're going to play a few times and then move on;
what's the point in spending almost as much time writing a review as I will
actually spend playing the game? Games were games, they were fun, they were
entertaining, but they're just
games.
It's only taken me about three
years to figure out that the fundamental assumption I went in with was wrong. By
current standards, that's not too bad. I find my appreciation of games to be
changing, and I find that rapid-fire blogging is a less suitable way to write
about them then what it was when I first
started.
And, of course, blogging has
been somewhat time-consuming. As Reiner Knizia once said, doing one thing means
not doing another (or something along those lines). Being committed to
maintaining this blog means not doing other things, like doing "real" writing,
helping friends with their game designs, and perhaps working on game designs of
my own.
So, for a time at least, I've
decided I want to find out what I haven't been doing because I've been doing
this blog.
I'd like to thank the many,
many people without whom this blog would not have been nearly as good as it was
(however good you think that is):
First
and last to my wife Kim, both for the many games we have enjoyed over the years
and for tolerating, and even occasionally approving of, my slight obsession. And
for her help editing this blog.
For all
the games we have played over the years, and for the many interesting
conversations about games without which none of this would have been possible,
but especially for playing all those lousy games we might not have had to play
if I hadn't been doing this: you know who you are, because we game regularly.
Thanks.
And to the many fine and
intelligent gamers who have left comments on this blog that have made it
incontrovertibly more interesting than if it had just been my ramblings, I'd
particularly like to thank Doug Adams, Brian Bankler, Rick Byrens, Alex Carr,
Iain Cheyne, Gerald Cameron, Matt Crawford, Caleb Diffell, Rich Fulcher, Joe
Gola, Ananda Gupta, Steve Hope, Jens Hoppe, Larry Levy, Josh Lubliner, Nate
Merchant, Matthew Monin, Elijah Lau, Richard Lea, Oliver Reix, Alex Rockwell,
John Rodriguez, Nate Sandall, Milton Soong, John Waddington, Mark Watson, and
Richard Young. There were many others, of course, and it is inevitable that I've
left a few off and I apologize for that, so to everyone who took the time to
comment or write: thanks for your help, for your support when I was on the right
track, and for challenging me when I was
not.
I've probably said it once too
many times already, but thanks to Mike Siggins for properly showing me how to do
this stuff.
Thanks to Klaus Teuber for
showing me how much fun games could
be.
And thanks to Reiner Knizia for
reminding me that they could also be so much more than that.
Posted: Monday - January 29, 2007 at 08:18 PM