PixlBit

This is definitely tough to read for all of us old farts because we've all been there to some degree.  Like how I look at kids about to head into middle school and remember how awful that was and how I'd like to do or say something to keep them from all of that hell.  But I can't.  Same thing's going on here, and I think you recognize that.  We all go through these rough patches and most of the time come out for the better.  It sounds like you're ready to blast through this down period and make a move that will make you a lot happier on the other side.

It always sounds like you do a lot to work towards your dream, hitting Halo Forge really heavy and tinkering around in Mincecraft.  I'm no game developer, but if you can prove yourself using these sorts of tools, I keep hearing that it's a great way to get into the industry.  Granted, I normally hear this about mods on the PC, but what you're working on in Halo is basically the same thing.

If you want to show what you've been working on to someone else who "gets" games, I'd love to check your stuff out.  I have no career advice or anything to provide, but I can poke around in your creations so that they come to life for someone who didn't help make them.  Send me a friend request on Live if you ever want to - if you don't, that's fine too!

Stay strong, Mikey! 

Yes, the potential for Dishonored sequel stories is exciting. I hope they flesh it out even more and don't just move to a different universe using the same mechanics.

On your Halo 4 woes:

I guess they thought that Spartan Ops was a good replacement for Firefight, and it's sort of similar. I like it well enough, but I was not a big Firefight aficionado.

I never had the issues you had with the level layouts personally, but I know I got stuck in some stupid spots in earlier games and I am guessing I just got lucky this time around.

I agree with you about the way the story is told and how that needs to be fixed.  That has been an issue since the first game for me, and it's a shame.  For whatever reason, I too have been reading the Halo novels and they make me extra sad that the games don't reveal the Halo universe as elegantly as the books do. There is a ton of crossover between Halo 4, Spartan Ops, and the current books being released by Karen Traviss.  If I hadn't read those books I know I would be even more confused than I already am by the in-game story.

On Dishonored:

It seems like many people have similar sentiments to you about the game's world and kind of losing interest towards the end.  I definitely didn't have this problem.  I had to force myself to turn the game off and get at least four hours of sleep before work every night that I played.  Everything about that world really grabbed me, from the aesthetics, to the Outsider mythos, to the little still-life vignettes tucked in every out of the way room I could find.  Ah well, I guess it just hit some sweet spot for me and didn't for others.  I'm hoping that time will be kind to the game and people will look back at it and start appreciating it even more.

Evidence? The internet knows not of what you speak.

No way am I tackling this on my PC with a 360 controller.  Perhaps I should finally buy that USB adapter for NES controllers.

Even though we didn't really get II & III until just recently in revamped forms, I think the first game was strong enough to provide a foundation to last until the SNES games came along.  Although I've only played select entries in the series, I have completed the first game possibly more than any other game out there.  There are fans that continue to devise interesting new challenges (e.g. single white mage playthrough) and people like me that just feel a need to play through it again every few years.  A truly great accomplishment.

Every year I consider watching this thing, but I always come to the same conclusion as your wife:  I have better things to do. Often times it is to play the games the show does a poor job of celebrating.  I'm glad it's getting better, and I think the awards actually mean something now... it's just not presented in a way that has any appeal to me.

That's good to know. If only they would patch it to allow for the paddle to respond to analog sticks properly or just speed the paddle up in general, it might be possible to play. I have heard/read similar beefs to mine after people played on Steam, but I'm not sure if they were using a controller or keyboard/mouse.

A fascinating use of contrasting colors that explodes from the canvas.  Lettering is juvenile, yet somehow alien and thus pushes the universal themes contained within the piece. Truly extraordinary.

I agree completely with Julian and how the story is told in a way that assumes you know exactly who everyone is and what's going on, even if you've been following everything closely.  This has been a consistent problem with the series, probably hitting its peak with that Gravemind monologue that made sense to three or four people.  I will give 343 massive credit for not only making the CG look great in the cutscenes, but for getting voice acting talent involved that is actually talented.  They've started to humanize the characters a bit and begun to bring in some of the more fascinating elements of the Halo universe.  They've made some big improvements in the storytelling department, but still have more to do to really nail it.

I will disagree with Julian a little and say that I was still a little freaked out every damn time I had to fight another Promethean Knight.  If you didn't have an adequate weapon available, they could be pretty rough.