Reader Question Day #31 – Google Play and galactic conquest

JR asks:

I am hoping that you are considering also offering your books in the Google Play store.

I’d given it some thought, but hadn’t decided on anything just yet. The tricky part about Google Play for ebooks is that Google (or whatever algorithm powers the Google Play store) will randomly cut the price of a book. That means all the other sites – Amazon, B&N, and so forth – will then cut the price themselves. And since Amazon charges a low delivery cost based on the size of a book – I believe it is about $0.10 a megabyte – you could find yourself making zero money on a particular book.

That said, I might put my free books in the Google Play store, since they’re already free, and I would prefer that they remain free.

Martel asks:

You post about computer games sometimes. Are you playing anything now?

Not really. At the moment, I am focused on getting the rough draft of SOUL OF SORCERY done, so there hasn’t been much time for gameplay. But when I have a spare moment, I’ll sneak in a few rounds of Master of Orion II on my netbook. Master of Orion II is an excellent strategy game of galactic conquest, and it came out, if I remember correctly, in 1995. So my netbook has more than enough power to handle it. (You can get Master of Orion 1+2 for $9.99, with the soundtrack, here at GOG.com.)

Were there any games that stick in your head? That were influential to you?

Oh, man! Were there ever! Recently someone asked me to list five movies that I would bring with me to a deserted island, and I came up with only two – THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (though I suppose that would technically be four).

But ask me to choose a computer game to take with me to a desert island, and the list would go on and on – Quest for Glory IV, King’s Quest II, III, V, and VI, Master of Orion 1+2, Master of Magic, Lords of Magic, Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate II, Throne of Bhaal, Morrowind, Oblivion, Wing Commander, Dragon Age, Planescape: Torment…

Clearly, computer games have had more of an impact on me than movies. I think this is going to have to be it own post.

-JM