Excitement mounting

As you can probably tell from the title, I'm getting really excited.  And the reason is this:  StarCraft 2 is released at midnight tonight.  For anyone who doesn't know, StarCraft is a game that revolutionized the RTS (Real Time Strategy) genre.  Some would argue that it's the singular most revolutionary game in RTS.  It's been out for approximately 12 years now, and is still played extensively worldwide.  We (the fans) have been waiting for a sequel to StarCraft ever since the release, and now it's finally here!  Of course, there have been mixed opinions about SC2, even in the original SC fanbase.  The fans of the original were divided into two camps:  Those who believed that SC2 would improve on the original; and those who held that SC was perfect and could never be improved upon.

Well, I'm solidly in the first camp, and, having participated in the SC2 Beta, I can say that it is everything I'd hoped for.  The units are mixed up and refreshingly new, but it still has the feel of the original StarCraft, which is everything in my opinion.  Having the same gameplay means that skill acquired from playing the original isn't lost.  Unlike most games, where the designers try to change as much as possible in a sequel, SC2 was built to be as similar to SC1 as possible, while still improving everything they could.  The gameplay is simpler, thanks to a few improvements that make dull and time consuming tasks automated, unless you want to do them manually.  Another highlight, for me, is that it's cross platform, running on Mac as well as PC, and the game requirements are compatible with relatively older machines, so I won't have to shell out for top-of-the-line equipment.  And the whole thing is coming out TONIGHT!

(breathes deeply) Okay, now I've got that out of my system, I'll talk about something else.  Hmm... Book.  I read a good book this week entitled "From Hell With Love" by Simon R. Green.  It was an interesting read, kinda like James Bond meets Lord of the Rings meets Men In Black meets... Everything.

I also found out that the next few books from Ranger's Apprentice have been released, and I'm itching to read them.  Hopefully my library gets them soon.

Well, That's all I have for now, I've gotta go practice for StarCraft tonight, so to all you SC fans out there:  En Taro Adun!

Hybrid

I've been thinking about a new story that's been bouncing around my head for a while, and I've finally gotten an intro down on paper.  If you care to read it:

     Underwater.  He was floating underwater.  Strange lights played across his vision in hues of blue and green.  He raised his right hand to touch them, and it glinted silver.  His arm was metal, with blue crystal lining the seams.  The lights pulsed again, and feeling flooded into his hand.  Fire and lightning crackled around the metal hand and suddenly coalesced into a burning blade extending from his wrist.  Another hand floated into view, twisted with sinew and tendons tense underneath the taut skin.  He flexed it experimentally, and feeling shot through his left arm.  With a slight burning sensation, a long claw sprouted above his wrist and extended itself until it matched the fiery blade on his right.  Suddenly the water started dropped away, and he was standing.  He looked down at his body, a blend of smooth machinery and muscular flesh.  Clothes appeared on him, hiding the hybrid body from view.  The lights he had seen earlier also disappeared, and he saw that they were arc lamps, similar to ones used in surgery.  A short doctor was slumped in a chair behind them.  He walked over, and the old man looked up.

“Now you are complete, my brother.  They cannot hurt us any more.”

Then he fell back, and the room disappeared in a screaming wind.

The only problem is, that's about as far as I've gotten.  If you people could give me some advice here, or just a base idea, I'd be grateful.  I'll get back to you in about a week, as I'll be a few thousand miles from my computer for a while.  When I'm back, I'll look at the feedback (if any) and pick something out of there.

Revamp

Hello, to anyone who's reading this.  If you're returning from Oddballs United, I know it's been a while.  I thought I'd expand the contents of my blog a little, since my writing is kinda slow, and it was hard for me to maintain.  Trying to do better this time.  But on to the blog itself.

I'm gonna start off with the LARP I participate in.  Monthly, except for the summer, I gather up my costume and weapons, and drive to Camp Kidwell near Kalamazoo, MI.  Once there, I dash to a phonebooth and transform into... SUPER GEEK!!!  Well, that's not quite how it goes.  I usually start off by claiming a bunk and then getting "in character" for the rest of the weekend.  Then I start setting up the main building while I wait for everyone else to show up.  Once the game get's underway, we're going at full tilt for 36 hours with only six hours of sleep.  It's no joke, either.  Everyone is in costume all the time, and acting as their characters in full tilt.  And when I say full tilt, I mean a group of very normal guys are suddenly a high pitched goblin getting into a "drinking" contest with a dwarf, and a werewolf is yelling his rage as he leaps into an undead army...  Well, it sounds stupid to some, but I enjoy being a roving warrior mage carrying a sword in one hand and a death spell in the other.

And then there's the books I'm reading right now.  Currently, I'm reading a series of books entitled "The Age of Fire".  It's a fantasy book, with many of the familiar races: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Dragons, etc.  But it's not the usual Tolkien spin off.  It's written from the Dragon's perspective, something I've not seen before, and the rest is written in such a way that is very refreshing after all the usual "kill the orcs" stuff.  I heartily recommend this series to any fantasy readers out there.  (By the way, the first three are simultaneous, so you might be able to get away with reading them out of order.)

Well, that's all I have to say for now, so I'll just end it here:
Welcome back,
Nathan of the Arnett clan.