It’s very warm here in Los Angeles. The heat threatens to fry my brain and with it, any and all productivity. But we persevere!
It’s a Monday morning, and whereas I’d typically be plugging away at lines on the game, I’ve reached a good point to take a break. And whereas I’d typically never take a break this early on, I’m headed for a bit of a vacation. So, rather than start what I think will be the most complicated level of the first act of the game, I’m letting it sit for a week or so.
Progress has been steady. It’s good work, but it’s taking longer than I would have expected. I turn one corner only to reveal another long hallway in which I must fill with detail. At this point, I assume the players will spend about fifty minutes getting to the point of my break, which is where the plot will really, really kick in. There’s been good days but mostly those middling days where I say “well, at least the work is done.” I’m excited, I think, to continue work.
Compared to my last game, I don’t have the same set routine. Some days I pine for the simplicity of the pandemic, as it was marginally beneficially to my artistic routine, but most of the time I have the sense knocked into me. I’m feeling alright about it all - it’s difficult work, and at least I’m doing it.
They days have been flying by. I’m enjoying Novelist as a Vocation by Murakami quite a bit. I think novel writing is very similar to game design, especially when the work is done solo. I really feel a kinship with him - I don’t subscribe to systems very well, and often feel I’m not a normal game designer at all. But I do what feels right to me, and his words are beautiful, and it’s got me thinking about my own creativity.
Diablo isn’t fun anymore (maybe more on this later), I’m catching up on a month’s worth of comics (really enjoying w0rldtr33!), and I’m planning on finally cracking open my Black Science compendium on this break. I must also say I finally read King and Gerads’ Riddler book and was blown away.
My neck is killing me. Why? Ask Christopher Nolan.
Over the weekend, I had the chance to see Oppenheimer again with a good friend in IMAX 70mm. Unfortunately for me, the only available seats were in the front row. While my neck is still sore, I can confidently say it was the proper way to enjoy the experience. When my entire field of vision was overclouded by the trinity test…it was something I will never forget.
Upon rewatch, I think I followed the Strauss plot a lot easier. It’s difficult to grasp all of the names and the back-and-forth on first viewing, and it really shined. I think the thing I love about this film, more than anything, is how it treats every single aspect like it’s the most important thing that ever happened in American history. Compared to most biopics, which seem to only ever serve to get someone an Oscar, it convinces you that every single moment is crucial. And it is! From the casting of some of the world’s finest thespians for just small scenes, to that incredible score that swells over and over again, to those beautiful imax shots of just people in rooms. It’s a magic act. He really convinces us it’s all so big, and it was.
I’m thinking a lot about the shot of young Oppenheimer toward the beginning of the film, lost in thought, staring at rain drops in a puddle. Haunting.