SITREP

For the past several months I have picked a game and blogged about its single player scenarios to completion, something I had not done in the past. Previously I would play this game and then that game, and do AAR’s that ended up being somewhat disjointed as sometimes months would go by before I would play a game again. The tempo I was trying to keep up was insane as well, and it greatly affected the quality of the product I was generating.

So I made a decision to post once per week, on Monday. The immediate benefit was that the self-induced pressure to post something was removed. Furthermore I actually started enjoying playing a game itself more, than constantly thinking in terms of “how am I going to post about that”? The other decision that I made was to finish a game off. The first game I tackled was Silent Hunter III, a most excellent naval simulation from 2005 that has withstood the test of time.

While playing those scenarios and posting about the action, I realized about half way through it my game play was significantly improving. In the past I would be away from a game so long that I would have to relearn the control scheme, and often replay tutorial missions just to brush up on the basics. This created an odd situation in which I would have several posts about a game yet still sound like a complete noob at it.

What I am working on now is Flashpoint Germany, a grand tactical modern combat game from On Target Simulations. As of this post I have one scenario scheduled to post this Monday, and another scenario completed and waiting for the AAR to be finalized. After that I have four more scenarios to go before I finish the mission set.

Then my friend Doug from Cry Havoc! throws a spanner in the mix and gifts me the new game, Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm. I am so into that game now (beta testing, scenario design, and a first for me – PBEM) that the original FPG has slid to a backburner. In the recent past with my new blogging method I would have been playing a scenario with three or four completed blog posts in the pipeline to be publicized each Monday.

Now I am down to one scheduled and one AAR needing finalized, and I need a primer on the game when I go back to it! From a pure gaming perspective this is an excellent issue to have. My overall intent is to finish FPG in good order, then move into possibly some of those same scenarios in the Germany Reforged expansion pack for the newer game to help push the marketing end if I can.

So that is pretty much what I have been up to lately.