Snickersnee

Playing Civ III again. Was inspired by new Asian art exhibits at the MFA, actually, and a members-only slideshow I saw with cthulhia that talked about the influence of European trade on Indian and Himalayan art. Hmm... trade, yes, yes, interesting. It's been many months. So, knocked myself back to Warlord (the second-easiest level), and am having a very interesting game. Very violent game, actually; probably the first time I'm playing as a militaristic civ (Japan, this time) and acting the part. Samurai everywhere, whee! Argh. I haven't played Civ since getting serious about Volity, and now I know why. Up until nearly three last night after starting a land war in Asia. (I know, I know, you don't have to say it...) And then some more for breakfast this morning.

QotD: "I'll give you right of passage... to hell!" (On asking an infuriated Chairman Mao if he'd like to sign a right of passage agreement.)

I maintain that is a rich and mentally stimulating game, not like equally addicting but brain-dead dungeon hacks or whatever, so I don't feel so guilty about playing it. But I remain distinctly aware that time I spend conquering pretend worlds is time not spent conquering the real one...

YARRRR!

Followed up on previous post with a visit to the Firaxis website, and found this unexpected press release. A 21st century remake of Sid Meier's Pirates! Holy Poopy. You can't imagine the hours I sunk (har har har) into playing the Sega Genesis version, years ago. I can't wait to see this one!

The cultural impact will be astounding. Pirate-pop is orders of magnitude stronger today than it was in the late 80s, when the first version of this game was released, as is the ubiquity of computer gaming. Man oh man.