Dawn of a New Year

Welcome to the New Year! It seems we have all survived the Earth patch 2.0.13 and are all moving on to 2.0.14. I hope everybody's patch downloads properly, since issues DO come up from time to time. So, a new year has dawned, and with that comes a flurry of New Year’s Resolutions. I don't particularly make a list or anything (hell, I didn't even celebrate New Year's Eve/Day this year), but I do want to improve myself in one major way: DOING WHAT I LOVE. Since I run a blog about video games, you can probably figure out that video games are a main focus of my life. Everything about them fascinates me. I play them, read about them, am an avid watcher of Twitch, am trying to collaborate on a book about them and am learning a programming language (Java). That's...that's a lot. BUT...I can proudly say I love it. You see, people (myself included) always tend to procrastinate and push things off till tomorrow. However, a vast majority of the time, tomorrow never comes. Doing it today and doing what you love is what life is all about. Finding the moments that make your jaw drop and cause chill to race down your spine. So, where am I going with this inspirational speech? Basically, I'm saying go for broke. You can't take "what if's" and "should have's" to the grave. However, these "what if's" and "should have's" are what fuel imaginations and you can play them (or read them or watch them). Video games are a gateway to a land of "what if's". Stories in general serve as this gateway, but video games let you interact with the content of the story/narrative in a stunning array of possibilities. What sets apart video games from the rest of the pack? YOU. You are the one behind all of it. You can go watch a movie and interpret it in your own way. Ultimately, however, how much control did you have over the characters? The story? The answer is none. Books act in a slightly different manner, because the reader can create the pictures of the characters and events in their minds. But, you still can't control any other aspects of the book. Video games allow YOU full control over the character. Even if it's a simple point-and-click game, YOU have to move that cursor to carry out the pointing and clicking. Even in simulation games, you are still manipulating conditions for the simulations. The power lies within yourself. As this new year is beginning, please remember that YOU control your life. Do what you love, and you'll never fail. Oh yeah, and keep playing video games!