Electric Dilintia

It's the start of a new year, and you know what that means: it's time to make some vague, empty promises about self-improvement. So what do I want to do with the coming year?

• Play More Video Games -- I feel like I've been working too hard and not making enough time for recreation. When I have free time, I generally spend it sat in front of my computer, crawling through the same old websites. This year, I want to spend some more time enjoying the interactive entertainment I've spent the past two decades accumulating.


• Play More Old Games -- It's really a shame. I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars on games and systems over the years, but I mostly just end up playing the more recent stuff. This year, I want to remember the classics -- to stop waiting for them to come out on Virtual Console and actually hook up my old systems and play with them. Spend a little more quality time with my Dreamcast. Or my Flashback 2. Yeah, that'd be sweet.


• Play More Board Games -- I've got Hero Quest and Heroscape, Fireball Island, Monsters Menace America and Monsters Ravage America. I've got Key to the Kingdom, The Omega Virus, Survive!, the Animorphs board game, the 50th Anniversary edition of Clue, a complete Rush Hour set (plus Railroad Rush Hour and Safari Rush Hour) and many, many more Binary Arts puzzles besides... I should be able to keep myself entertained without ever picking up a joystick ever again.


• Do More Reading -- I took a look at the other end of my room the other day and I noticed that I still had a very large bookshelf that's literally overflowing with books, most of which I haven't read in years. I've got the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the entire Where's Waldo series, countless Choose Your Own Adventure books that I've snatched up from the Goodwill over the years, gamebooks, adventure books, and all of that comes on top of series I've gotten into in the past year, like Animorphs and A Series of Unfortunate Events... Clearly I need to find some time to peel open some more dead trees.


• Get Back Into Chore Wars -- I actually still have a place in my heart for Chore Wars, but it's difficult for me to keep up with it due to the "do it yourself" nature of the game design. Doing the chores and logging them is no problem; the problem is coming up with monsters and magic items and thinking about a proper game balance, never mind implementing a system of translating game treasure into real-world rewards. So I do the chores, but I don't keep up with the game, and that bugs me. This year, I want to get into the game more. And possibly tie my game performance to Wii Points. Ooooo, delicious Wii Points...


• Make More Time For Blogging -- Electric Dilintia has lapsed lately, but it's not for a lack of things to talk about. I simply haven't been sitting down to write anything out lately. More articles than I care to think about have slipped away simply because I've forgotten to come home and bang them out. I may have to set myself a goal for one article a week. Hey, that might make a good Chore Wars quest...


• Never Pay More than $40 For a Video Game -- I know I'm going to break this one sooner or later, but I'm going to set the goal anyway. I'd really like to save my money in the coming year. I'm still kicking myself for getting Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games one week before it went on sale at Target, but at least I got the discount for Super Mario Galaxy. In the coming year, I want to wait for more sales and use the waiting time to go back and play some of my older games.

So. I guess we'll see how that goes.

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