I’m not going to lie to you fine people, I’ve been sitting in front of a blank window for the last 20 minutes trying to figure out what to write about for this installment. I happen to be at one of those periods in my life where I simultaneously have nothing to talk about and everything to talk about all at once. On one hand I could tell you all about how much I love my new job or about how potty training a three year old is making me want to hurl myself in front of traffic. I could talk about actually going back to the gym and finally hitting the weight I was before I had these two demon angel children. I could talk about what happened in Boston or how the media coverage of that left me blinded by rage.
The problem is none of those topics are particularly compelling to me right now in the sense that I don’t have more than a handful of words to say about them. In fact I pretty much summed up all of my feelings on each topic in the neat little sentences that you’ve already read. I’ve definitely found myself in some sort of limbo at the moment. Things are changing and evolving but nothing feels particularly different. It’s a hard sensation to describe with words (especially for an Italian who just wants to wave her hands around while she tries to describe it). The best way to put it is that I’m kind of in the daily grind right now. It’s that feeling that you get when you play an MMO, there are a dozen quests you need to do and you tackle them day in and day out but you don’t really have much to say about that experience. To say it bluntly, shit is just getting done.
I often find myself in this position around this time of year. For some folks Spring feels like new beginnings but for me it’s more of a bridge season between the dark of Winter and the fun of Summer. I always end up feeling like I’m grinding through the Spring to hit the time of BBQs, vacations, beach time, extra family time, and lazy days with cold drinks and open windows.
It seems like the kids even feel this same Spring malaise though I suspect it’s more about them picking up on my overall mood and projecting it back at me than anything else. Nathan wants the consistency of Summer days where he can depend on playing outside in the dirt and going to the park. Kaitlyn has fully mastered walking so now she wants more space to run and squeal and let me tell you my house is so not big enough for that nonsense. My husband wants to be outside to work on his car and his lawn and seems pent up and frustrated that he can’t be guaranteed that time on the weekends because it’s still a little too chilly, a touch too rainy.
Usually when I get into these kind of funks I can rely on a new game release to provide some distraction but this year is proving problematic even in that regard. It seems consoles and video games are in the same funk I am right now. Most of the industry is churning out end of generation games while waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Microsoft is going to announce their new system in the end of May and then the excitement of specifics and prices and release dates will come in June at E3. Video games are clearly struggling with the grind as much as I am right now. New things are on the horizon but this in between season feels long. I think it’s feeling especially long right now because of just how drawn out this console generation has been when compared to the ones that came before.
I’m curious to see if new hardware announcements are enough to give things a good shake for video games. I’m itching for new ideas and new IPs. I get tired of the same old thing, the same grind, the same kinds of games. I know for a fact I’ll be feeling refreshed and happy come June when I can swim and run and have cold drinks on my porch. I’m left wondering if the game industry will feel the same reboot when that season comes.
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