I purchased a new video game for the first time in a while. I got it from an (the only?) independent store in my area. It’s the NBA 2k game. I got it so I can socialize with friends around the country and so I can use it’s terrible “pay to not grind” mechanics to my advantage. I play it on the elliptical machine for like an hour or when I want to catch up to some podcasts (just have to turn the game volume all the way down).
I could stress over the fact that 2k and take 2 is awful. There’s a lot of gambling mechanics baked into the multiplayer. There’s also a casino/slots aesthetic that permeates the whole thing (this is ostensibly a game for kids). There’s been the union busting thing as well which is despicable. I try to remind myself that I’ve been avoiding contributing to the most profitable and cruel of the existing big gaming conglomerates for a good amount of time. It can be very discouraging what exists in the big budget pop gaming sphere. Ugh.
But there’s good things about it too. The gameplay, the physics, the AI and controls are probably some of the best I’ve experienced in terms of dynamic sports games. My only alternative experience has been the EA NHL games so it’s not that I’ve had the bar set very high. There is also a story mode with a story that is somewhat compelling! Not as good as NBA 2k16s Spike Lee story (yes that’s real), but still it offers some good narrative motivation, decent challenges, and new ways to control the game (NHL could never).
The socializing has been good too! I used to play the Call of Dutys with my friends but those were not sitting well with me and my friends and we haven’t gotten the latest ones. So I get to be back on an old habit of weekday evenings playing games with the homies!
It’s Thanksgiving dinner day plus delivering juice for my grandfather’s wine supply. I was able to help out with my local food bank’s Thanksgiving dinner special service. It was very inspiring, I was dishwashing for the kitchen but got to see what a very professionally run dinner service looks like but without the waste of a for profit type of fancy dinner service.
I’m also trying a task manager program on my desktop called “Super productivity” which had me thinking about my outstanding “projects.” Turns out I have a lot of projects in various states of incomplete.
I’m not sure how effective setting up a personal ticketing/project management system is going to be I’ve tried pen and paper and physical agendas but it never stuck. I like it so far, I chose it because it’s free and open source without pushing any privately hosted subscription add on (no AI or cloud service unless you go out of your way to integrate them).
Anyways Thanks!