Monthly Archives: November 2025

Computer Games Are No Longer Designed For Gamers

Computer Games

The other day, I was playing a game I tend to come back to often. It’s called Guild Wars 2, which is interesting because I never played Guild Wars 1. And while that’s interesting to me, I’m sure a reader who doesn’t play Guild Wars 2 really cares. But why I find it interesting is because it represents everything that is wrong with computer games today. Let me explain.

Guild Wars 2 has about 10,000 expansions, and I’ve never played a single one.

You see, I love the gameplay of Guild Wars 2. I’m pretty good at it. I’m not good at chess or even most things in life, but I’m damn good at Guild Wars 2.

I just suck at every expansion that has been released by Arena Net, the company that puts out Guild Wars 2.

I’ll be honest. I haven’t lasted ten seconds of any of the gameplay that has been released as an expansion to Guild Wars 2.

The first expansion: Something Sounding Cool. Well, I loaded it up, all excited about new gameplay in Guild Wars 2, and then they offered their new ability (a glider sort of thing that was kind of fun in that almost flying kind of way. And then they wanted you to integrate that gliding thing into actual gameplay. I sucked at it. Eventually, I stopped trying and then just went back to the original game without first expansion.

Another expansion later, my main character fought a bunch of bad guys and then (about ten seconds in) I found myself face to face with some demon who might have been the Devil. And then he kicked my ass all over the place. So I tried facing him again, and then I lying face down on the ground, dead.

So I went back to the original game.

This is the problem I have with most expansions that aren’t The Sims. You see, The Sims have made 4,000 expansions (each costing $19.99) Each game adds something simple, like if you had no hair and toupee companies charged you $20 for another slice of hair. All these other expansions with other games all want to add something fun, but in order to do that, they make the other parts of the expansions so much harder to play. It’s like saying, “we’re giving you a pet bunny that you get to pet when it squirms in your hands,” and while you’re petting the bunny, the God of Hell is going to chase after you and make you realize how much of a wimp you really are. Got that, wimpy boy?

I Is A Teacher Now

Books, teaching, Writing, , , ,

I started teaching at Lee College in Baytown, Texas (close to Houston). It’s been an interesting, yet very positive, ride so far. I like the students, and now if I can just get past the health part of the process, I should be fine.

This semester I am teaching five sections of public speaking, one section of interpersonal communication and one section of business and professional communication. Most of those are great, although the business and professional communication is a night class, starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 7:15 pm. It’s a bit of a struggle, but as I kept saying all last year, I want to teach, not sit in a lab and just help other instructors teach better.

The one (or two) drawback(s) is that it doesn’t give me a lot of time for writing, filming videos, or (okay, three drawbacks) playing games. The one game I’m currently involved in is Guild Wars 2, which is one of those games that occupies any gaming time you have so that you rarely play any other games. It’s a fun game, and they keep churning out new add ons, constantly keeping you occupied. The only problem I’ve had with the add ons is that they make them awfully difficult if you’re not already an expert in the game. I’m pretty good, but definitely not an expert. I remember playing one of the add ons, and I couldn’t get beyond the opening of it because the bosses send me into a corner in a fetal position because they make those add ons way to freaking hard. I play this game to have fun, not to be stomp;ed by boss guys that seem to laugh at me, stomp me into the ground and then steal my lunch money, demanding I bring more to them next time he arrives to stomp me into the ground again.

Well, that’s all for right now. I’m still in dire need of a new kidney, which I’m starting to suspect I will never get. So, read my books, and read them soon because soon that’s all that’s going to be around to communicate on my behalf.