Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on here.  I suppose that, as only a casual gamer, this site isn't really much for me; in addition, I really lack the consistency to keep up any kind of blog.  Neverthelessssss, in Florida with nothing much better to do, I'll summarize some of what I've seen over the past few months.

Games:

Supreme Commander - just bought recently, haven't had much time to spend with it yet.  Nonetheless, it is by far the most complex real-time strategy game that I have ever played.  Indeed, the game plays almost exactly like a war simulator, in contrast to the abstractions found in most other RTS games.  Not recommended unless you have a lot of experience with RTS and really love realism.  The artwork is unremarkable, the story is mediocre, but the game interactions make it extremely interactive if you can figure them out.

Company of Heroes - another RTS, but one I have had for a while.  A good multiplayer game of CoH is the most satisfying experience I have ever found on the computer.  Unfortunately, because of Relic's abominable online service, only about 5% of games end up being good.  It's a testament to how fun this game is that I was willing to spend hours and hours searching for a game online that would work; it's a testament to how bad the matchmaker is that in those hours I might only play 1 or 2 laggy and ultimately poor games.  Still, for fans of the RTS genre, I cannot recommend this game too highly.  The artwork is simply amazing, and the particle effects are gorgeous.   These are backed up by solid, dynamic gameplay that also has a lot of emergent moments.  And maybe your computer will work better than mine on Relic Online.

Titan Quest - best game of this type since Diablo.  If you were a fan of the latter, buy this game now.  It is really a good, solid game that is long and satisfying without ever becoming horribly dull.  The skill system also allows for a lot of customization, which adds replayability.  The artwork is nice, if not awe-inspiring.  I do have 2 main complaints.  First, it's WAY too easy to get money.  Enemies drop loot like there's no tomorrow, and almost never did I find myself short of cash.  Second, while I hesitate to call them "exploits", there are tricks that can be utilized that don't seem quite fair.  The medusa boss was far beyond my power, but by running around in circles and avoiding her attacks for about 25 min while my health regenerated time and time again, I was able to defeat her.  It didn't feel very satisfying.  Both of these, though, are kind of nitpicky complaints against an otherwise excellent game.

Rise of Legends - another RTS (sigh).  A sequel, sort of, to Rise of Nations, but very very different.  The territory system is retained but doesn't have nearly as much importance.  And honestly, the wars never seem to have quite the intensity that the fights for cities could in RoN.  It does have several improvements.  All of the sides are very different, there are a lot of unique units, and the artwork is almost worth $50 all by itself.  It's kind of a trade-off.  Some people who like RoN will not like RoL and vice-versa.  I didn't like RoL very much when I first played it, but the second time around I appreciated it much more.  It can't repeat the success of RoN, but it does create something new that many will find just as satisfying.  Recommended if you like RTS games a lot.

Books

Grendel, by John Gardner - I doubt very many people alive today have read this book, which is kind of a tragedy.  Based (very loosely) on the epic poem Beowulf, this account of the monster Grendel's view of the conflict is no childish "monster" book.  The plot in the book is very secondary to the philosophical themes developed during the novel.  The story is thick with nihilist and existentialist tones, and a few passages even deal directly with philosophical definitions and terms.  Nevertheless, they're woven well enough into the story that it's not horribly confusing or didactic.  The book also develops mood very nicely.  While reading this, I really felt drawn into a nihilistic, nightmarish vision of reality.  This certainly isn't a very happy book.  The ending, despite multiple re-readings, was still a bit confusing.  While it does match the ancient account of the story, the philosophical themes are never wrapped up very satisfactorily.  This might have been done intentionally to heighten the nihilistic mood, but if it was, I wish it would have been a bit more direct.  If you enjoy philosophy, or have ever felt somewhat nihilistic, READ THIS BOOK.  I don't know if I'd call it life changing but the ideas are extremely interesting.

100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Wow.  I was kind of skeptical of this book at first, because it had been selected by Oprah's Book Club.  But the fact that it got this kind of attention should not lessen its own merits.  The New York Times book review says this should be "required reading for the entire human race".  I would have to agree.  At the very least, it's required reading for anyone who aspires to write any work of fiction.  This novel is an absolute masterpiece.  The prose is deceptively simple, because it tells fairly directly and is almost entirely plot based.  But once you get used to the style, this only serves to highlight the lyricism and storytelling genius of the author.  The miracle of this book is that its ideas are universal even though the prose never speaks of abstracts, almost always restricting itself to telling what happened.  It also captures excellently the mood of its setting; if you've never read anything by a Latin author before, this is an excellent introduction to their literary tradition.  A truly timeless selection.  At times I felt cheapened because I knew so many other people were reading this book at the same time; don't let your pride dissuade you from reading what may be the best fiction work of the 20th century.

Have to go now, will try to review films at a later date.  

  Many of my friends refuse to play World of Warcraft because they're afraid of getting "addicted".  Players commonly refer to it as warcrack.  Probably a majority of the players regularly spend 3-4 hour long blocks on the game.  And so I've been wondering:  1) Why are MMORPGs so much more "addictive" than even the best of normal games?, and 2) Is there anything about World of Warcraft that makes it fundamentally different from earlier MMORPGs?
    In response to question 1, I have several thoughts.  Now, of course, many gamers right now are thinking, "Hey, WoW is certainly not the only game that people play for long amounts of time.  A lot of serious gamers don't even play mmorpgs!".  And of course they are right.  Most serious gamers have played a shooter, sim, platformer, etc., that was played for such length and intensity as to match the fervor of many wow players.  So certainly, this is not an original or unique phenomenon.  However, I think it would be harder to argue that any other game has illicited such common and widespread "addiction".  So why are mmorpgs, more so than other games, likely to get a player hooked?  I have thought of several reasons.
    1. Clear Goals and Rewards.  This is the most important factor early in the game.  The quests in World of Warcraft are generally fairly simple, progress is easily measured, and the rewards are listed and attained as soon as the goal is reached.  This cycle of instant gratification (quest-reward, quest-reward, and so on) essentially defines the majority of the game.  This creates an effect that could be called hypnotic, so that few people will actually realize how repetitive this is while playing it.  Even still, if all the quests were the same, this would get tiring quickly; but for the most part, the quests in WoW are varied enough.  Situations are different enough that there is a need to analyze, but not so different that the analysis is difficult or unintuitive.  Altogether, this creates a game pace that is constant but varied action; not so repetitive that one starts to notice the deficit of innovation, but repetitive enough, so that very little time is wasted trying to figure out how to do something.
    2.  Advancement.  This is kind of similar to the first.  The continual improvement of stats, armor, abilities, etc. can also create a hypnotic effect.  Obviously, this is not a concept peculiar to mmorpgs.  However, the social part of the game heightens these feelings.  Seeing more advance players creates a longing to attain that level of power;  playing with equals makes one feel satisfied and glad they have taken the time to attain this level, and looking on lower players creates a feeling of superiority and distinction.  This creates a powerful desire in the player to move up, and creates a constant striving for higher levels of power in alternation with satisfaction at how much the player has already attained.
    3.  Social Interaction.  Ultimately, this is of course the major distinction.  Any game can incorporate the first 2 aspects; this 3rd is largely peculiar to mmos.  In the beginning of the game, social interaction provides the variation and innovation that the game often lacks.  Now I'm guessing you yourself can imagine all the ways social interaction can vary gameplay, so I'm not going to go through that.  I do wish to talk about social interaction's role in end-game.
     When one looks at it, WoW is essentially two games, each of which is radically different.  The first is the leveling game, in which the first aspect i described is the major motivator.  End game, however, is completely reliant on social relations, and not simply for the reason that "it takes more than one person".  Social interaction is necessary for two reasons:
a.  More analysis is required.  Raid bosses do have a variation in abilities and strategies needed that is too great for simple intuition.  This would be intensely difficult and probably frustrating for an individual, but in a functioning group, it creates an immense sense of satisfaction.  Not only is the player working to achieve something that has more worth because it's difficult, they are also experiencing a greater degree of innovation and variation (because of the group) than was possible in the first game.
b.  The cycle of "quest-reward" has largely been broken.  Neither the completion of the quest nor the existence of a reward can be guarenteed.  The group dynamic is thus necessary to replace this.  It does this in three ways:
  1.  The group becomes a force in its own right, dedicated to advancement.  Thus the group can exert a pressure on individuals, either through persuasion or coercion, to continue playing.
   2.  Normal social interaction.  Guilds often become, essentially, chat rooms, and this interaction with others helps to alleviate some of the boredome during raids and friendships are a motivating force to continue playing.
   3.  The promise of rewards.  Rewards are not guaranteed or instant, but as long as the group maintains steady progress, this only makes the desire for these rewards more intense.  The effect is not hypnotic, but it is probably more addictive because there is more of an emphasis on the goal than on the gameplay.

I will attempt to answer the second question later...

Lately I have been reading a number of books and essays that are considered "existentialist". However, most people don't really know what "existentialism" is. Existentialists are often characterized as either paralyzed by a contemplation and a fear of action, or selfish and wantonly immoral. While it is difficult to define exactly what existentialism is because the term was not actually used until the 1950s, and its philosophers largely classified as such in a retrograde fashion, a generalized definition can be given.

http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/dbanach/sartreol.htm

Read the page at the above link.  If you find it interesting, please read the whole essay, Jean-Paul Sartre's "Existentialism is a Humanism".  It can be found at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm
It is a very simplified explanation of the basic beliefs of the philosophy but does a pretty good job of it.

For several years I have been noticing certain trends in my life, but lately one in particular has been very pronounced.  It is this:

    Whenever I'm very interested in reading or games, a state which can last for many months, I am almost completely unconcerned with my social life.  I hardly care at all about what happens at school, and don't feel much of a need to consort with people other than my closer friends.
    However, if I lose interest in these things, a state which can also last for many months, my social life assumes a great deal of significance in my mind.  School and extracurriculars become the more important parts of the day, and I tend to worry obsessively about other people's perceptions.
     I feel that the first "mood" is definitely preferable; it's more productive, sincere, relaxed, etc.  My problem is not the detioration of my social life.  Instead, it is twofold: 1) when I'm in the first state I described, my family, and especially my mom, tend to think I am depressed and sometimes suicidal.  This creates a great deal of tension in my home relationships.  2) I often don't realize my slide into the second state until it's too late and I have already done something that makes me seem/feel very foolish.
   Anyone else notice anything similar in their own life?

For the D&D group:
I'd like to get some feedback on how you feel about our meetings so far.  Have they been enjoyable?  Post here any suggestions, problems, ideas, criticisms, etc. 
I'd like to schedule our next meeting for Saturday after the speech tournament, unless it goes very late.  If anybody has a conflict with this, plz tell me. 

This post is mainly for Media_geek and Dian Ying. 

About a month ago, Serge and I (with Dian's advice as well) tried to start a small group that would reflect what we wanted and expected from a language club. Namely, our goals were to further our understanding of French culture, increase our vocabulary, and increase speaking fluency..

Sadly, however, this group died a quiet death after a single meeting.  But as the speech season is winding down, I thought I might give it a try again, probably a few weeks after Big D's.  Would both of you have enough interest in this group to meet maybe every other week?  I'm trying to gauge the interest amongst my friends in such a group.  Furthermore, any input you have would be much appreciated.

Yeah, I know, they're a little late.  Been busy lately.

1) Pay more attention to my true friends.  I believe some of them feel that I've been more focused on gaining popularity lately then on what really matters.  While I never intentionally did so, I did make some serious mistakes, and I'd like to reconcile myself to my old friends.

2) Get my new Dungeons and Dragons group up and running.  I've played for a while, and a group my friend and I started last year ran out of steam, but this time I'm putting more effort into it.  Chikinware, Media_Geek20, Dian Ying, and Worldcontroller are all members.  They are a promising group and I thank them all for giving it a chance despite the game's "geeky" reputation.

3) Read more frequently.  I have a fairly large reading list, but lately my will has been weakening and I have not been reading with any regularity.  While it has always been difficult for me to read much during the school year, I'd like to finish at least some of these books.

4) Get a date for Winter Ball...maybe.  It would be nice, and I have a few people in mind that I'm thinking about asking.  However, I don't want to be taken advantage of again and get caught up in the foolish drama of our high school (long story).

 I've been pulled on to gamespot by chikenware and media gamer, 2 of my rl friends.  While I'm certainly not as geeky as either of them, I've been gaming for a long time and i know computers pretty well.  I've never been a large poster on boards or forums before (or written a "blog" for that matter, god it makes me shudder to use that word) but it does seem kind of fun, especially since i have been having a fair amount of free time lately. That's probably about to end though, in the next few months i will be taking drivers' ed, latin (outside of school), weight training, and exams in addition to my current activities of mock trial, debate team, and piano lessons.  Nevertheless, i'm interested in getting to know like-minded and mature people on this site, so hello&welcome to anyone looking at my profile.