Focus shifts. My time spent gaming has been waning for a couple of months. I finally plugged my way to the end of STALKER: Clear Sky. I liked the game and love spending time in that universe, but I didn't find a lot to write about, either about the game or about my experience playing it. What I liked about Clear Sky was a continuation of what entranced me with Shadow of Chernyobl and what makes me anticipate Call of Pripyat. There isn't a lot new to say there. If anyone wants to know why I love the STALKER game mechanic and the narrative universe that surrounds the zone, let me know in the comments.
Otherwise, I don't have either time or much desire to play games. I have a huge backlog of titles to play. Dragon Age: Origins for whatever reason, hasn't captivated me yet. It is beautiful and big, but it isn't the right game for me to play right now. Mass Effect 2 is coming and there are still some big titles from last year that I've missed, but my mind isn't on games and I don't think that will change in the next month or so. Plus, one of my two cards (4850s) I use in a crossfire setup just died and I won't be replacing it soon.
Still, I do have some ideas that I want to work out and my mind is active. What this means is that for the time being, this blog is going to be more about information than about games. Expect more thoughts about the future of information and the role of libraries in that future.
This weekend at ALA Midwinter in Boston has been rich with thought, conversation, and ideas. The richest conversations came outside of the conference and committee structure, as usual. The value that I get out of national library conferences is usually weighted towards personal networking over programmed content. (Note: regional and local conferences are quite the opposite, even if I have more connections with colleagues at those.) Usually, I've credited ALA with creating the context for these conversations about librarianship and the future of information. After this weekend, I'm less inclined to think so. Following the tweet streams of great library folks like @kgs @alncornish @tadawes @0rb and too many others to list fully has convinced me that there are vital conversations about the future taking place here. They just haven't taken place in my hearing.
So I'm going to try and work out some thoughts about the future of libraries and the future of information. I imagine I'll write about games again, but not until something catches my imagination again and I have time to focus on what makes it fascinating.