Ray Hecht's Blog, page 28

Premiere of my novel: South China Morning Blues… Order now!

Here I go. My first (real) novel is about to be published, thanks to the good people at Blacksmith Books.

 

South China Morning Blues

http://www.amazon.com/South-China-Morning-Blues-Hecht/dp/9881376459

 

 

Not talking about an eBook here, but a physical novel. Not to mention professionally edited.

Of course, if you like eBooks please feel free to download at your leisure.

If you however prefer physical books to hold in your hand: Expect to see the novel soon available at bookstores everywhere in Hong Kong, and beyond. Don’t be hasty, feel free to pre-order it today!

 

My ensemble tale of modern China, full of expats and locals criss-crossing their lives through the cityscape. Twelve voices. Gaze within.

And check out this beautiful cover…

 

 

 

From Canton to Hong Kong, the booming megalopolis of the Pearl River Delta has endless stories to tell. Who finds themselves in rapidly changing 21st-century China? There’s Marco, a businessman with a penchant for call girls; Danny, a culture-shocked young traveler; Sheila, a local club girl caught up in family politics; Terry, an alcoholic journalist; and Ting Ting, an artist with a chip on her shoulder. Their lives intertwine in unexpected ways.

Dad came to visit me!

Previously: Dad is coming to visit me

Well, after years of living abroad, I finally got my dear dad to visit China. He has came and went and I survived. A week and a few days, and I hope I was a good host.

He came to meet him Hong Kong, and we had the whole airport hug moment. Jetlagged, he was somewhat out of it and I led the way by double-decker bus to Causeway Bay. I know my way around there by now.

Actually, I still don’t totally know my way around. There was some initial bickering, I admit. For some reason he thought the hotel wouldn’t be a forty-five minute ride from the airport, and fair enough I did get lost after that…

Carrying all the luggage, trying to figure out the map app on my phone, I finally found the hotel. What a beautiful view from the 37th floor

 

I didn’t think the journey to the hotel was that bad, and it was merely the first of several arguments. And yet, the biggest challenge was simply that he’s getting older, and didn’t have as much energy as I’d hoped. If it wasn’t one thing it would have been another.

“I came here to see you,” he kept saying. Then getting mad at me for dragging him around too much. Hey it’s cool!

Also he wasn’t much interested in the food, which makes me wonder what the point is of going to China, but eh to each their own.

 

The next day my tour began with a ferry to Kowloon. Ate Indian food at Chungking Mansions, of course, and starting busying souvenirs.

Unfortunately, modern China is not quite like what he imagined in the Bruce Lee movies. Not so many rickshaws, but here’s one junk.

 

There would be lots of Bruce Lee-themed wandering. My dad’s number one interest when it comes to China. Here’s the Bruce Lee statue from the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui.

 

Personally I’m far more interested in the installations they set up at Times Square,  Gundams!

 

More importantly, back to regular tours, we took the tram up to Victoria Peak. Absolutely incredible at nightfall.

 

 

Again, while China/Hong Kong didn’t have as much martial arts-themed sights has he’d hoped, we did find an exhibition at the Heritage Museum for our last day in Hong Kong.

 

When we crossed the border into the mainland — my city of Shenzhen — I realized that on the second leg of the trip we were to take it much easier. More lazing about, less scurrying from one place to the next. I indeed wanted to do more scurrying, but what are ya’ gonna do?

(Just like when I was a kid we’d go on vacation and spend more time watching TV in the hotel room than out and about..)

We did go to Dongmen wild shopping market, full of fakes and crowds, and there fully stocked on souvenirs. Not to mention more street food. Which he didn’t like.

 

The subway station there is called Lao Jie, 老街 literally “old street”, and does contain the rare sight of an old ancient building in young Shenzhen.

 

And the Buddhist section of town on Bao’an Road has those great vegetarian restaurants. Finally: food my dad wasn’t afraid to eat.

 

Unfortunately it rained a lot, so not so many parks. No Splendid China. Only saw Window of the World from the outside.

Early to rise one day we did get to see old people doing Tai Qi, one of them traditional Chinese interests, over at Yuan Bo Yuan park.

Not only that, but a small dinosaur museum there!

 

Last day, we went out to hypermodern Coco Park mall and saw the film Monster Hunt. Not exactly a realistic martial arts romp, but fun. Capped it off with Indian food, and the trip was a success.

 

Nothing left to do the last morning but send him off to the Hong Kong airport and wish for the best. He did make it back home to Chicago alright, by the by.

It was an amazing trip. Though me and my dad have our complications, I’m so glad he was able to experience some of my life in China.

Even though we didn’t get to go to Guangzhou and see more of the traditional culture, I think he was more than happy. A Hong Kong-focused trip isn’t bad at all.

 

Next year will be better. We have plans to go to Beijing and everything will be smoother now that he knows what to expect (and he has a visa, and no complications with figuring out how Hong Kong works with the border and all the different currencies). It will be more properly Chinese with the Great Wall and Forbidden City. Perhaps, if very lucky, we won’t drive each other crazy.

I can’t wait!

 

  

Chinese Film Review: Monster Hunt 捉妖记

“Monster Hunt” An Enjoyable CGI Romp Impressive for China
But beware of the Disney-esque song and dance numbers

 

https://thenanfang.com/monster-hunt-enjoyable-cgi-romp-impressive-china/

 

If you happen to live in China, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you must have seen some of those endless advertisements showcasing adorable monsters. That would be the phenomena of Monster Hunt (捉妖记), the now highest-grossing domestic Chinese film of all time. Directed by HongKonger and animator Ramon Hui, who also co-directed Shrek the Third, the film has captured the hearts of millions and paved the way for new Hollywood-style budgets in Chinese film.

Better late than never, I decided to finally see it. With English subtitles. Monster Hunt is an enjoyable adventure that utilizes the Hong Kong-style of action comedies, and mixes it with a mainland’s aesthetic for ancient China settings. Mostly family friendly, the film does include a few racy jokes including a male pregnancy and “birth” scene.

While the plot is fairly predictable if you think about it too much, there are enough surprises to entertain. Baihe Bai plays well as an up-and-coming monster hunter, although of course it turns out that the monsters aren’t all evil and new sides must be chosen. Boran Jing is adequate enough as the comic relief partner.

Warning, there are a few Disney-esque song-and-dance numbers which strain credulity even for this film, and gives it more of a childish tone than audiences might expect.

He only comes in halfway through, but the cute monster Huba is the true star of the film. The plot revolves around the monster being rescued and his royal lineage bringing new peace to human-monster relations. And, obviously, he makes a great mascot to sell toys. The CGI special effects portraying this character work well, especially impressive considering it’s a mainland China film.

On a more interesting and deeper note, the film does seem to have a valid message in all that. Specifically, it critiques the unethical Chinese practice in which the wealthy eat endangered species. When the villains make dubious claims that eating monster meat will bring youthfulness and vigor to shallow snobs, one can definitely see the same thing as relating to the cruel poaching of tigers and rhinoceroses and so on. Questioning and mocking such pseudo-medicinal practices is a very positive message to teach the Chinese youth.

Overall, it’s a good thing for Chinese cinema that they are able to make these kinds of films. It will remain to be seen how they’ll do competing with the West in the future, but it is a good start if nothing else. And, the story was left open for a sequel…

Monster Hunt/ 捉妖 记 is now playing in Chinese theaters with English subtitles.

Mid-week Chinglish!

Sorry folks, been busy lately. No Weekend Chinglish, no articles or biographical blogs, but feast your eyes on this to get you through the week:

 

I took this lovely pic at great risk in a swimming pool

 

Historic Chinese Hamburg

Try deciphering this~

 

 

Lastly, just a random T-shirt. But the question remains, does this guy even know how METAL he is?!

 

 

 

 

 

Dad is coming to visit me

Me and Dad, in Florida 2014

 

This blog is a prelude of sorts. Not much in life to report as yet, but soon I hope to have some interesting autobiographical content to share.

Tomorrow I will go to the Hong Kong airport and pick up my dad. He will stay in South China for about ten days. His first time in the region. Finally, get to show off my expat life. He has no idea how epic it will be.

I saw him — as well as my mom and brother and sisters — last year in Florida at a family wedding. For me, about once a year is a good pace to meet family members.

We have a complicated relationship. Although I’m not very pleased with where I come from, at this age shouldn’t everything be fine? It’s not like I have some great trauma in my life to fret over. I’m simply not terribly proud of my mediocre background. Nevermind, moving on. Hopefully, in the near future, I can make something of my life to be proud of and get over that.

In truth, it’s rare to have visitors in China and I appreciate it. My sister came the second year I was here. My best friend visited the year after. That’s about it. If you know Americans and their typical lack of passports, it’s not easy to get them to fly across the world just to hang out. Wish more would.

 

My dad and I will be staying in Hong Kong the first few nights, planning to go to the Peak and the Star Walk and the Heritage Museum. Then we will cross over into Shenzhen, and I haven’t thought up all the details as yet. I often like to make it up as I go along with trips. Perhaps Dafeng art village and some crazy shopping markets. I do look forward to showing off the tremendous scale of mega-metropolitan modern China. We will also spend at least one day in nearby Guangzhou; I’m thinking of checking out the traditional buildings in Yuexiu park. Unfortunately no time for Beijing and the Great Wall & Forbidden Palace etc. Next trip I promise.

 

That would be the tentative plan. Gimme some time to blog more after the fact…

Biweekly Chinglish

Hello all you Chinglish lovers, sorry for the wait.

What would you say to a biweekly Chinglish, every-other-weekend…? Just thoughts

Note the T-shirts, sign I possibly posted before, beware of lost, and a guy who must absolutely love his job :/

 

 

 

Please let me add something that didn’t work, but oh how funny it would be if it did.

I was walking down the street the other day, and suddenly beheld a lady wearing a shirt that loudly proclaimed PERVERT. It was amazing.

I tried to take a picture. Perhaps I should have asked her if I could take a pic, but I get shy about that sometimes. Ultimately, I missed the mark. Would have been so funny.

Makes one wonder what could have been… And where the hell these shirts come from?

Jocelyn Eikenburg of Speaking of China

This week’s author interview is with Jocelyn Eikenburg, of SpeakingofChina.com fame, her successful blog focusing on relationship dynamics across the world. As an American woman married to a Chinese man and living in Hangzhou, she has experienced a lot and writes well about the expat perspectives.

She also submitted to the anthology book How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit? which I happened to review. Do give it a read.

Without further ado…

 

 

First question, of course: What brought you to China?

I was about to graduate from Marshall University and, like a lot of young people, had no clue about what I wanted to do with my future apart from one thing – travel. I couldn’t get enough of international travel after a semester studying abroad in Spain. I figured I would snag a job in a Spanish-speaking country somewhere in the world, and continue my international adventures like that.

Except, I couldn’t find a job that really appealed to me.

So one day I walked into the International Affairs office at my university for guidance. That’s when the director asked me, “How about teaching in China?” As it turned out, Marshall University had run a successful teach in China program for years (Appalachians Abroad).

I remember thinking at the time, China? He’s got to be kidding. Nothing about my life suggested all roads lead to China.

But later on, as I pondered his suggestion, I realized that, deep down, I was quietly fascinated by a number of things connected to China – from Taoism and green tea to tofu and traditional Chinese medicine.

Of course, spending an entire year in a country where you can’t speak the language and know little about the culture is a scary proposition. But I was even more frightened of having nothing to do after graduation and the opportunity to travel ultimately won out over all my fears. So I signed on to teach English in Zhengzhou, China.

Who’d have thought that one chance decision would end up setting the course for my future?

 

What was your biggest challenge?

Initially, not knowing Chinese at all created some stressful and even embarrassing situations for me when I first arrived in China. I hated going out to run even the simplest errands, like mailing a letter, because I’d have to spend an hour trying to memorize a few phrases and then still end up understanding almost nothing they would say to me. Or I’d have these moments in small stores where I would turn as red as the little Chinese dictionary in my hands, paging through it in an often futile effort to express myself. I’m confident I entertained quite a few shopkeepers during my first few months in China.

 

How did you get involved in the anthology How Does One Dress to Buy Dragonfruit?

Through Susan Blumberg-Kason, I learned of Shannon Young’s call for submissions for a new expat women’s anthology focused on Asia. I thought it might be fun to write about the time my husband and I used our honeymoon vacation in China to take his dad to visit Huangshan, so I sent Shannon an essay about that. Then, of course, I crossed my fingers and hoped I might actually make the cut!

I feel really fortunate to have been chosen for the anthology, as I share the pages with some incredibly talented writers.

 

Any China-centric authors you enjoy?

Pearl Buck definitely stands out as one of my favorites. I read The House of Earth (The Good Earth, Sons, A House Divided) many years ago when I was in Shanghai, and just fell completely in love with her style, not to mention how she wrote so compassionately about the Chinese and their culture. Not surprisingly, I ended up checking out every single Pearl Buck book in the local library after my husband and I moved back to the US for some time.

There’s this one quote from her book Kinfolk that has stayed with me over the years:

“It takes a certain kind of person to live in China now….Someone who can see true meanings, someone who does not only want the world better but believes it can be made better, and gets angry because it is not done, someone who is not willing to hide himself in one of the few good places left in the world–someone who is tough!”

China has changed much since the 1930s and 1940s, when Buck was writing most of her books, and yet there’s truth in this quote even today.

 

Is it difficult to find new subject matter for Speaking of China?

Ha, it’s funny you ask this question because it’s something I thought about back in 2010 when I chose to focus my blog on love, family and relationships in China. I remember having a conversation with a friend, asking her, “What am I going to do when I run out of topics to write about?”

The truth is, it can be difficult, especially when you’ve been blogging for as long as I have. Sometimes you think, Okay, I’ve blogged about everything under this topic. What else could I possibly say? I’ve learned over time that it’s OK to revisit topics I’ve blogged about before as long as I provide a fresh take on them. And then just when I think I couldn’t possibly find any new topics, somehow I do. (For now, at least!) It helps to keep a running list of potential topics. I have this Word document where I log ideas and I turn to it when I’m not sure what to write about.

But who knows? Maybe sometime in the future I’ll just have to expand the scope of my blog. ;-)

 

Besides the blog, what writing projects are you currently working on?

Since 2010, I’ve been working on the manuscript for a memoir that I’ve titled “Red All Over” (for now). It’s the story of how coming to China helped me overcome the self-esteem issues that had held me back as a child and adolescent, opening me up to true love, a career in writing, and the unexpected joys of calling a foreign country home.

I had submitted it last year to an agent, who provided me with some wonderful feedback on it and suggested I edit the manuscript. It’s always hard to hear your manuscript still needs work, yet on consideration I realized she spoke the truth – there was something missing from the manuscript. It needed more heart and soul, so to speak. So that’s what I’ve been working on this year, opening myself up to readers through my own personal struggles in the story. I’m hoping to resubmit it to an agent either this year or next. So stay tuned!

SZ-based expat artist wins Hong Kong award

http://szdaily.sznews.com/html/2015-08/13/content_3308964.htm

THE Asia Society in Hong Kong recently held an exhibition featuring the works of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara entitled “Life Is Only One.” Famed for his haunting portraits of large-eyed children juxtaposed against dangerous scenarios, the oil painter has inspired artists all around the world to challenge themselves and forge new connections.

For the end of the exhibition, the Asia Society decided to host a competition in which artists could submit work based on Nara’s aesthetics. The contest received hundreds of entries. Entries were divided into three sections: a child division for children aged 6-11, a youth division for teenage artists aged 12-17 and an open division for anyone 18 and over.

The competition’s champion was South African Shenzhen resident Bronwen Shelwell, an art lecturer at the OCT campus of Shenzhen Polytechnic’s International Foundation College, for her glass nest sculpture entitled “Home.”

“Inspiration for this artwork came from my own interpretation of Nara’s process, an artist I have admired for years,” said Shelwell. “I wanted to find a way to express a similar innocence, as he does with his childlike imagery, with a subconscious, violent twist. I took the familiar form of a nest — a symbol of home, safety and innocence — but constructed it out of the fragile, delicate, but also dangerous material of glass. In line with Nara’s process, the base of the glass nest was made out of found material — the broken glass of a car window scattered on the side of a road. I collected the shards and then made a mold, which I melted the glass into. On this base, I assembled glass rods, each one worked into a natural shape over a gas flame. I then built the nest piece by piece, as a child or bird would do.

“The nest is empty. I wanted there to be something read in its vacancy, something familiar, as with Nara’s imagery, but unnerving at the same time. I took an object always associated with warmth and safety but displayed it with a palpable loss.”

Shelwell has lived in Shenzhen for several years and frequently contributes to the Hong Kong art scene. “I go to Hong Kong often to see the latest exhibitions at contemporary art galleries. I feel this keeps me up to date with current trends, gives me inspiration. It also helps me be a better lecturer for my students and a better artist. I have worked with a few galleries, mostly behind the scenes in curating or writing about exhibitions and preparing for Art Basel, which was recently launched in Hong Kong.”

On Sunday the Asia Society hosted an awards ceremony — also presented by the Hong Kong Jockey Club — and finalists got to exhibit their pieces in a new show.

Shelwell was excited when she heard the news that she won the championship in the adult division. “I felt incredibly happy! It is my first time actually exhibiting one of my pieces in Hong Kong. I’ve exhibited in other countries and I have a few clients that I make artwork for in Hong Kong, but this is the first time I’ve had my art displayed in a gallery here. It was so overwhelming that the exhibition theme was based on an artist I love, and the space was the Asia Society, one of the most beautiful gallery spaces in Hong Kong.”

Shelwell also believes this is good news for Shenzhen. “I think it is a wonderful thing that artwork from Shenzhen was admitted and did well in a Hong Kong exhibition. I think this was a wonderful opportunity for the Shenzhen art community as a whole to be recognized in Hong Kong.”

The exhibition will be held at the Asia Society until Aug. 16. More information can be found at their website http://asiasociety.org/hong-kong.

 

Asia Society arts award ceremony – an insider’s take

Sunday was a very special day for me and the very beautiful and very talented South African artist Bronwen Shelwell.

(Hope this blog isn’t a conflict of interest, but I think the story is worth sharing! The subsequent proper article might be, but that’s okay)

You see, over at the Asia Society in Hong Kong there happened to be an exhibition of Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara’s works, “Life is Only One.” To complement the show, the society also hosted an art competition.

 

So Bronwen decided to produce one of her signature glass nests, one which incorporates Nara’s themes of childish characters hinting at darkness and danger. She submitted the pitch, and we were pleasantly surprised when they quickly emailed back that she was a finalist and needed to come to HK to drop off the piece (Well, I wasn’t surprised; I was sure she would do well).

When they emailed soon after to say she was selected as champion of the open division, it was very exciting!

Sunday came and I was honored to be Ms. Shelwell’s “plus one” for the awards ceremony. We made a day of entertaining Hong Kong and enjoying the space.

 

Then the ceremony began. It was rather quick, going through the child and youth divisions with various runners up. As champion, Bronwen was the last. There was even a ribbon cutting.

 

Afterwards, we were free to go up to the gallery to observe all the interesting works. It was amazing how people can take inspiration from Nara and have such original takes. Glad to see a lot of creativity is happening in Hong Kong today, especially among young people.

Bronwen was able to show off her nest in person, entitled “Home,” and also took interviews.

Artist’s Statement:

“Inspiration for this artwork came from my own interpretation of Nara’s process. I wanted to find a way to express a similar innocence, as he does with his childlike imagery, with a subconscious and violent edge. A mixture between anticipation and emptiness. I took a familiar form in the nest; a symbol for home, safety and innocence, but constructed it out of the fragile, delicate, but also dangerous material of glass.

In line with Nara’s process, the base of the glass nest was made out of found materials. A broken glass car window lying on the side of the road. I collected the shards and then made a mould, which I melted the glass into. On this base I assembled glass rods, each one worked into a natural shape over a gas flame. I then built the nest piece by piece, as a child or bird would do.

The final work I left empty. I wanted there to be something read in its vacancy. Something familiar, as with Nara’s imagery, but unnerving at the same time. Taking an object always associated with warmth and safety, but displaying it with a palpable loss.

An intimate, vulnerable trap.”

 

Lastly, I would like to conclude this post on a note of showcasing some other favored pieces at the exhibition:

Click to view slideshow.

 

 

One more final note, some further closeups of the piece for all you true art aficionados out there…

Click to view slideshow.

 

 

More information can be found at the Asia Society’s website, and the exhibition will continue until August 16th.

 

Button Masher T.O.

Hi there, gamers!

Although my nerdy tendencies are primarily focused on the medium of comics, I do have more sides to myself as shared in this old post: Casual Gamer

With this in mind, I hope it is appropriate to interview Mr. Corey van den Hoogenband of the website Button Masher T.O.

 

http://buttonmasherto.com

Let’s begin. Firstly, how would you describe the Button Masher T.O. blog?

 

Button Masher T.O. is a joint project among a handful of writers, podcasters, and video creators, covering and sharing the nerdy junk they love in Toronto and beyond. We’ve
been around for just over half a year and are proud to say we’ve had over 30,000 visitors, collaborated with several other talented bloggers and sites, and had articles upvoted to the top of various gaming subreddits on more than one occasion.

 

 

What is the backstory to the creation of Button Masher T.O. and what led you to write for it?

 

So Nic and myself, along with Damion, were the three original founders of the site, and the whole thing with Nic is that our entire ten-year friendship has essentially been one long conversation about video games. We met in the schoolyard talking about fake cheat codes we imagined for Soul Calibur II, and solidified our friendship through countless rounds of Smash Bros Melee. Seriously – COUNTLESS.Nic and I had been wanting to do something like Button Masher for years, and around December I felt really compelled to share a lot of gaming opinions. I write for another Toronto based arts blog that respects video games as an art form, but I knew that they weren’t really the place for games discussion – that’s just not what they cover. So rather than sulk at the fact my current site won’t publish my gaming stories, I opted to unite with Nic, along with Damion, to create a new site that would host all our gaming outbursts. Enter Button Masher T.O.

 

What is your personal process by which you get an idea for a post, and how do you go about writing it?

More likely than not, the process begins with me jumping out of bed late at night to grab my phone and make a memo about what it is I want to write about. I can say with confidence though that in my experience the key to writing a successful article is writing about what you care about and why you care about it. There’s going to be a million other sites covering the exact same news stories whether that’s gaming, politics, what have you – and readers can get that same news anywhere. What’s going to bring people towards your article is how you perceive that news. Your opinion is your greatest ally – and if it differs from everyone else, even better!

If you wanted an example, early in July a trailer dropped for the “A Matter of Family” Batgirl DLC for Batman: Arkham Knight. I noticed that in the trailer Harley Quinn, a character I think is great, is sporting her original outfit from the ’90s Batman cartoon. Instead of writing an article saying “Check out this new trailer!” like everyone else did, I wrote something along the lines of “Harley Quinn Goes Old School in New Batgirl DLC.” Even a month later, that article brings in at least 30 visitors a day.

 

Are there any writers who particularly inspire you?

I think I’m influenced most greatly by Greg Miller and the rest of the guys at Kinda Funny. I’ve been reading Miller’s stuff since he first showed up at IGN in the late 2000s, and his style of writing worked in such a way that it didn’t feel like text on screen, it felt like your nerdy friend telling you why you would or wouldn’t like game x. I hope my writing comes across the same way to readers – that there’s a guy on the other end who’s excited to tell them about whatever the article is about.

 

Now that the Button Masher podcast is up on iTunes, can you share some interesting things about making a podcast?

Without a doubt the hardest part of a podcast is starting each episode. Once the ball is rolling you feel fine going for 30, 40, 50 minutes, but I know whether it’s me on Podcast Engage or Nic hosting CineMasher, we always do four or five intro attempts before we get it right. “Heeeeello internet and welcome to the… no no no that was way too lame.” Picture that but in ten plus variations each episode.

 

I see you cover a lot of cool nerdy pop culture, focusing on video games but not exclusively so. From Muppets to Bojack Horseman, what are some of your favorite non-gaming franchises and stories?

Well the whole idea of not exclusively covering games is an extension of our longing to just share and celebrate the stuff that we would talk about anyways if Nic, Damion, the others, and myself were sitting around at a bar. When it comes to non-gaming I’d say some of my personal favourite franchises would have to be Batman: The Animated Series, Breaking Bad, the A Song of Ice and Fire books, and most recently this exceptional comic book series, Saga.

 

What were your favorite games growing up?

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was the first game I got addicted to. I was too young to beat the game’s first temple so I’d just run around exploring Termina as Link until my three day cycle ran out, then I’d start again and repeat. You wouldn’t believe how excited I was when I found an old Nintendo Power Magazine with a walkthrough of Majora’s Mask’s dungeons and realized there was more to Zelda than just cutting down bushes. My life was changed…I’ve yet to figure out if that was for better or worse.

 

What are your favorite games currently?

Right now I’m obsessed with Batman: Arkham Knight. I caved and bought the 40 dollar season pass, so hopefully it’ll supply me with the Batman fix I desperately crave all the way up until the new year. I’m a weak, weak man.

Other than that I’m all about Splatoon on the Wii U and just downloaded Rocket League, but I still haven’t had a chance to try it out.

 

What games these would you recommend for the novice, casual gamer (like myself)?

If you have a PS3 or PS4, the number one game I’d recommend a casual gamer to check out is Journey. It’s a short game, no longer than 3 hours, but it’s jaw-droppingly beautiful and in such a short time is able to take you through the emotional highs and lows that made me fall in love with games. Also, the story is super ambiguous so it forces you to let your imagination fill in the blanks, kind of like we used to do with early 8-bit games where those consoles simply weren’t strong enough to craft high levels of storytelling.

 

Lastly, with the advent of smartphones and ever-evolving computer technology, from the casual gamer to the most hardcore console warrior, what do you predict will be the future of gaming?

It’s a long way off, but the future of gaming should be a single platform where all games new and old are accessible. You’re already seeing the consoles fuse; the Xbox One and PS4 are more similar than any console generation before them. The only real difference is exclusives, and more and more developers are publishing games on multiple consoles. The only reason we don’t yet have a “single console” is because both Xbox and Playstation (and Nintendo!) want to be that system and refuse to let the others take the throne. PlayStation Now; Steam; and Nintendo’s E Shop are all championing digital access to games of yesteryear, so I don’t think a single platform that hosts both a multitude of brand new games developed by Nintendo; Sony; Xbox; or any other company, and also offers access to any game in the industry’s relatively short history is too far off the mark.