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2004 in review: Games

To borrow and misapply a term from John Scalzi, 2004 was a meh year for my videogaming habit. Sure, there were plenty of good games around, but I didn’t do much actual playing of them.

Burnout 3: TakedownOf the “completable” games I bought, I ended up finishing only two of them: Halo and Jak 3. Others, like Galleon, Riddick, Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Ratchet & Clank 3, and Rainbow Six 3 have slipped into and out of their various loading slots with varying levels of enjoyment, but only moderate amounts of long-term interest. Of the infinitely replayable kind of game, only Burnout 3 has lasted beyond its initial thrill.

In my own mind I picture myself as a fairly dedicated videogamer, so this lack of follow-through and persistence bothers me. But if I look back on the last twelve months and ask myself if I’ve regretted not spending more of my free time on games, the answer is no. My leisure time is limited, and I enjoy spending it on activities I’m interested in. Games just happened to be near the bottom of the pile of things I fancied doing in 2004. (The acquisition of a new XBox and a subscription to XBox Live notwithstanding.)

This lack of real interest seems to have two other consequences:

  • The rare occasions when I get together with friends in real life or on-line to play some games, I enjoy all the more because I don’t play much the rest of the time…
  • …but I also tend to suck because I haven’t put in much practice time. Head shots in Halo 2? I should be so lucky.

I suppose the advantage of this is that I now have a stockpile of games to choose from as soon as the videogaming urge is upon me again.

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Mac Mini

Mac Mini Okay, so beyond the ability to check web designs on Safari, what reasonable excuse do I have for buying a new Mac Mini? I mean, apart from RAW UNCHECKED LUST.

At £339, I’m already trying to figure out where it would fit on my desk, and how much a decent keyboard/mouse switch would cost. Sheez.

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Caffeineless

Inspired by Tantek Çelik, I’ve given up caffeine. Now, because I don’t drink coffee, this primarily involves the absence of sugar-free cola-flavoured beverages. On a typical day I’ll go through about two or more litres of the stuff (yes, really), but I haven’t had any since Thursday. Friday was filled with the expected caffeine-deprivation headache, but today was okay. It’s too early to comment on specific physical effects, but I’m going to keep this up until at least the end of the week and see what happens. If any of the effects Tantek described manifest themselves, it might be worth staying off it.

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Weddings and babies

Big shouts out to my homies Frank and Matt. Frank got married in December and is going to be get babied up in March; and Matt gave birth on Hogmanay. Well, I suppose technically it was his wife, but I’m sure Matt was really supportive and shared her pain.

Welcome to the parenting club, guys. I’d suggest we get T-shirts, but the little ones would only be sick over them and obscure the cool logos.

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2004 in review: Books

As good as 2004 was for me and films, so was it a bad year for me and books. Excluding textbooks and reference works, I clocked a mere 21 over the course of the year, and almost none of them have been of any significance. To be fair, I have gone through a larger than average number of computing/design/usability textbooks this year, but I haven’t chalked most of these up for a quick review because I don’t tend to read them linearly cover-to-cover, or even completely.

However, three of these textbooks stand out as particularly good examples:

Paper Prototyping - Carolyn SnyderBuilding Accessible Websites - Joe ClarkVisual Explanations - Edward R. Tufte

  • Paper Prototyping by Carolyn Snyder is an excellent book on the subject for beginners and experienced designers alike. Solid advice, intersperesed with amusing anecdotes makes this an interesting as well as a highly informative read.
  • Building Accessible Websites by Joe Clark is simply the best reference available on making the web accessible to people with disabilities. If you’re serious about HTML, you need to read this book. Don’t let the cover put you off. (And if you’re wondering why the cover might be off-putting, cherish your ignorance.)
  • Finally, Visual Explanations by Edward R. Tufte is just fabulous. Even if the content were less interesting, the visual presentation of the book, and the attention and craft lavished on its production would make it worth having.

Of the other books I’ve read, only two stick in my mind as being genuinely noteworthy:

The Small Boat Of Great Sorrows - Dan FespermanDown Under - Bill Bryson

  • The Small Boat Of Great Sorrows by Dan Fesperman combines a detective story, a spy thriller, and an emotional novel about the ravages of war into a single book. Powerful, sensitive, and thrilling, it’s the only novel I read in 2004 that I can recommend without any hesitation.
  • Down Under by Bill Bryson is a wonderfully funny piece of travel writing that will make you want to take your next summer holiday in Oz. Intelligent, witty, and refreshing, it’s a book that is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face.

(Okay, so the The Small Boat Of Great Sorrows is the only one of these that was actually published in 2004, but if I was going to restrict my reading choices to books that came out last year, the list would have been damn small. For a variety of practical reasons, I haven’t had much time this last year to devote to serious reading. Note to self for 2005: must do better.)