Sage Advice

I love to learn, which explains why the front page of my browser is the news. I bounce around on wikipedia and end up visiting it anytime something remotely interesting is mentioned in a book, movie, video games, or tv show. I stop whatever I am doing and look for information on it. I never want to stop learning.

That all said. Sometimes just listening to people talk can teach others a lot. Not talking about sitting down in a classroom, that goes without saying. I mean, just hearing someone talk about their work.

I have been reading Game of Thrones and while it is taking me forever to get through the books because of both their length and my anxiety towards what is ahead, I have gotten a lot of inspiration from it. The show is wonderful and does justice to the writer, George R. R. Martin. He had some insightful things to say about his book and the show. Found it fascinating how his already popular series exploded into the mainstream because of the show.

Here's a long-ass interview brought to you by google. Check it out if you wish!

DotA 2 Invites

Although I have mostly written off MOBA game as I find them to be more frustrating than rewarding, I did recently receive two DotA 2 invites. I would not mind giving them away to anyone who has steam and really wants to play DotA 2. It is a great game, I just think I am moving past MOBAs; they have proven to bring out the worst in people and have one of the most visceral communities out there.

If you want an invite, contact me!

His name was Marauder Shields.

Warning: DO NOT watch the video below if you don't want certain things spoiled for Mass Effect 3

His name was Marauder Shields. Take a moment to remember his attempt to prevent you from reaching the terrible and disappointing ending.

So what color was your ending?

Pay Off

So I just finished Mass Effect 3 and to any gamer, this series is a must play, solid. I did a few playthroughs of the first two games and got a lot of enjoyment out nearly ever aspect: the game play, the story, the characters, the music, the visuals, the lore...it goes on.

I have loved nearly every game BioWare has put on the shelf and even the games that weren't so awesome, were still good. They know how to do RPGs.

With all that said, though, my endorsement aside... I will join the majority of people I have talked to so far by saying this about the ending of Mass Effect 3: Are you kidding me?

Now, to avoid spoiling it the game for any potential readers, I am sure all two of you have played it, I will dodge revealing content.

There was a whole lot of build up for this series, a whole lot. You end up overcoming insane odds with a rag tag crew of aliens, humans, and synthetics in countless nearly unwinnable scenarios. Each Mass Effect leaves you thirsty for more...except this one. I could rant about this all day or the pretentious philosophical bullshit tacked on, which as a writer I could feel being telegraphed about halfway through. I could rant about the post credit DLC advertisement. I could rant about the post credit cut scene that feels like a band aid on a bullet wound. It was almost as bad as the Knights of the Old Republic II ending, which was actually not done by BioWare, but Obsidian who were not really at fault; Lucas Arts made them rush it... I digress. I'm not going to rant about one game's ending.

However, I would like to point out a trend of Epic Fails in storytelling. Not every ending has to be a Hollywood ending, look at anything directed by the Coen brothers; great work, not always happy. Closure, a pay off...

I'll keep this short by listing potentially great stories that ultimately fall short because of their last act:

The Dark Tower - I have distanced myself from Stephen King books because of his saturation of dramirony (Dramatic Irony) in stories, but this was last straw
Heroes Season 1 - Started off decent, jumped the shark near the end and yet I was hopeful enough to comeback for season 2...which was awful
Mass Effect - Explained above
Knights of the Old Republic - That second game was rushed because Lucas Arts wanted it out by the holidays
Dead Island - Fast forward to final encounter where you first encounter and defeat the villain
Borderlands - This one I will be forgiving on, but also at the same time be annoyed because they fixed the abrupt ending with DLC, that you had to pay for, but was worth every dollar
Most Anime - I think the majority of writers in Japan either hate their viewers or are killed off near the end of their series and replaced
Most Movies - This is an entry for another time...

I could go on, but I feel it is time for some audience participation. Add your own story that falls shorts, but please don't give away the story if the story itself is worth it despite the finale...

Characters at the Wheel

This is my new site. I have created it to be active about writing, which includes music, movies, video games, comic books, books, television. I will use it to preview some of my stories and link samples of my writing.

The name is called Characters at the Wheel. The name comes from how I like to be a character driven writer. My favorite stories are usually character driven, stories I feel that are solid because of how the cast carries it. I feel like sometimes characters are driving my life, hence at the wheel.

Anyway, I currently work as an editor for a online game company, but my career mind is looking to be published. Ever since college I wanted to be a writer and in order to become legit, I need to get my book on a shelf. I currently have one finished book, Prevailence, which is about a teenage boy trying to survive after losing his family in a zombie apocalypse and look for others like him.

If you're interested in any of my writing, contact me :).