Quote of the Day

Ta-Nehisi Coates:

That thread on old-school nerdom got me thinking. Was half the stuff I loved as a kid even that good? I recently bought a collection of every old Transformers episode ever made and--surprise--most of the sucked. The movie was still incredible though and holds up remarkably well. Anyway from time to time I go on Youtube and play the following video. I don't even know how good the show was--but it reminds me of a time I thought I'd never yearn for. God damn, I hated being a kid. But the one thing that age robs--and probably technology--is that sense of wonder. I got to tap into that when I wrote my book. But now, rarely a day goes by when I don't yearn for that sense of boundlessness.

I didn't hate being I kid, but the loss of a sense of wonder and boundlessness is something I completely identify with. I remember it so well. It's what I got from early computer games like Ultima II, IV, and V, and the Might & Magic games and Star Control II and many others. Sometimes I still get it from an awesome D&D session or when thinking about making up a D&D character. I get a sense of it at Gen Con sometimes, because of the crush of so many people and the myriad of attractions. I used to get it from some MMORPGs, but the shine wore off. It is much harder to come by these days.

I make computer games now, and while I still enjoy them (though I have much less time to do so), I always have my critical faculties engaged, and I don't get the sense of limitlessness that I used to.