CCV: My Summer Lull Was Gaming Block, Starcraft 2
It's hard to imagine that it's already August, and I haven't completed or even played many games at all this summer. My Summer Lull consisted of not gaming. I call it a "gaming block." As my writer's block lifted, I started to be immersed in this world I created in my brain meats, and for some reason a gaming block took its place. I'd sit down to play The Adventures of Shuggy, or Penny Arcade 2, or anything else - and BAM! I'd stare at the screen, much like a writer does when trying to write while blocked.
I've had this intense backlog for going on multiple years now, and for some reason I couldn't bring myself to play anything new this summer. That being said, an old flame and I reconciled our differences with some patching, and I've been unable to walk away. You see, I created a pretty amazing office setup in my house. I have an L-desk (named because it's shaped like the letter L) with a desktop PC on one side, and my PS1 with screen, Macbook and iPad on the other side.
This is important, because my “old flame” game is a PC game. Since I've only played about 3 PC games in my entire life, it should be pretty easy to guess: Starcraft 2. With this ideal setup, I can play Starcraft 2 without having to walk away to write. I suppose my Macbook is portable, and could possibly be used while gaming on consoles – but shush. That hasn't worked out the way I've wanted it to. My far-vision and near-vision don't like to share my attention, so the T.V being far, and the Mac being close doesn't work. Yes, I just made that up.
The other day I booted up my PC, dusted out the cobwebs (updated the system), and put in the game disc. To my delight, there were 17 updates available for Starcraft 2. After having issues with the game crashing, some balance tweaks and other bugs, I was incredibly excited to see the patches downloading and installing while I worked on editing my chapter 1 on my Macbook. It was a satisfying experience, feeling like I was multitasking even when I really wasn't.
By the time I was done first-draft editing Chapter 1, approximately 3 hours later, all of the Starcraft 2 updates were installed. The game booted up without a hitch, and I immediately settled on a me-versus-A.I. Game. The next thing I knew, 8 hours had passed, I had played who-knows how many games, and it was 5A.M. Oops! Rinse and repeat that mindless addiction mixed with a few hours of editing my book, and you can pretty distinctly envision my last few weeks. Writing on one machine, Starcraft 2-ing on another.
When you have a stack of about 15 other games to play, one might feel guilty doing this. Then I remember spending every free hour in middle school playing the first Starcraft. Then, I realized I just have a problem, which is probably that I'm addicted to Jim Raynor's beard.
So, my Summer Lull has been a mix of nothing new, and too much Starcraft 2. It's weird for me to stick to one game for more than a few hours. I guess that makes me a fangirl or something.