Latest distractions include:
- The DC Universe Online beta - it's under NDA (even as weak as those are when they let anyone who pre-orders in) so I can't describe the game at all. However, I will say I really like the game... but feel a monthly subscription model isn't right for the kind of experience it offers, and hope they reconsider that before it harms the game.
- A ton of anime. My current favorite would have to be The World God Only Knows, not so much because of the premise as much as because it's extremely well done.
- Prototype - A well-built, triple-A blockbuster title centered on a major city going to Hell while you run amok with incredible superpowers: as solid a game concept as you can ask for. Finished the story mode in two days, that's probably all the time I'll spend on it, but it was fun.
As coincidence would have it, "Extra Credits" (an excellent series for aspiring game designers) recently spoke about the Skinner's box and how many games rely overmuch on it. He says there's a difference between that and a genuinely compelling game.
So, basically, I want to make a genuinely compelling online RPG. To an extent, I think we can already see an example in Space Station 13. Not that I'm seeking to copy that game, as I'm thinking in terms of a mutable environment that doesn't need to be regularly reset.
Sounds like a worthy goal... first, however, I just have to get back in the habit of making games again. Habit is the right word for it, I think: I'm just not making the time to do it. I rather like game development, it's a great occupier of the mind, but that doesn't matter when I never start.