Matthew David Rodgers

07/17/2022

Entry 47

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote a log. Essentially a full month, it seems. Very busy time, I suppose, and it continues to be busy.

Don’t have much on the top of my head to update on, especially on the computing side.

Have been reading a fair amount - I read Green Mars, the second book in the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. Really enjoyed Red Mars, so I suppose it tracks that this second one didn’t feel as exciting for me. Still fantastic, but I found myself pushing through a few chapters just to get through them, and the conclusion of this book is much less flashy than the previous one (although that’s partly intended, it seems). Had a great time with it nonetheless, and am looking forward to the final novel. (I also am remembering that I have a collection of short stories by the author set in the world of this trilogy - called “The Martians” - so I suppose I have more to read even after I finish the novels)

Currently, I’m blazing through “Masters Of Doom” by David Kushner, about the two Johns (Carmack and Romero) as they build id Software and create Doom. It’s basically the fun version of “The Soul Of A New Machine”, and chock full of fun nerd tidbits about computing and the people behind it.

As for games, I found a new favorite: Hollow Knight. I’ve had this game in my library for a while now, but finally deciding to dive in. And… WOW. A marvel of a game. Hard to pick the best part. The music, art, gameplay, writing, all individually are best in class, and make for an incredibly polished game.

It was so good that immediately after I finished my first playthrough, I watched a video on the lore to see what I missed from a writing perspective (I like to play games that focus on exploration fairly blind). And the game is so big that I learned that I missed a TON; I immediately started a new save file and began the whole thing over again. A nearly perfect game, and I cannot wait for its sequel, Silksong, to come out next year.