Hi Friend!
In true Steal Like An Artist fashion. For this issue of The Gatson Letter I wanted to try taking on Tim Ferris’s 5-Bullet Fridays format.
So here’s a short list of seven ideas I’m pondering and exploring. Please feel free to forward this along to friends.
Book I’m Reading
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I tend to not read a lot of fiction books. But Snow Crash peeked my interest when I heard it was the book that coined the term Metaverse. The story opens in a Los Angeles that’s no longer part of the United States. The federal government has lost most of its power to private organizations. A relatable and realistic situation. The book is a wild ride with surprising moments of introspection and philosophy.
What I’m playing
Slay The Spire. If you don’t have a lot of free time I would avoid downloading this game. It’s addictive. Mega Crit Games combines the best of roguelike and deckbuilding games here. Slay The Spire is a deep and fun experience. Great indie game all around. You can find the official launch trailer here.
What I’m learning
How to use Aseprite. Aseprite is an image editor designed for pixel art and animations. In my previous games I used Photoshop to create all the graphics. But for my next project I wanted to take a different approach. Even though Photoshop can create pixel images, I hope to gain more efficiency be using this tool.
Article I’m rereading
Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think. This is a long article that I reference from time to time. My main takeaway is typically “Almost nothing you’re socially scared of is actually scary.” This article also dovetails nicely into a book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
What I’m chewing on
WoTC Open Game License (OGL) vs “Piazo” Open RPG Creative License (ORC). The owners of Dungeon’s and Dragon’s had a document leak that would screw over all other additions to the game. It’s an obvious money grab that’s great for company profits but horrible for the community. This caused a backlash, and a lot of negative press. Great reminder that you shouldn’t put money over the needs of your player-base. One decision can destroy years of good will. You can read the article with the original leek here. It’s pretty long, But then again, so is the new Open Gaming License.
What I’m listening to
DryHardPod. A podcast about living life after going alcohol free. I haven’t drank alcohol in over 2 years now. This podcast has been a great resource and reminder for a positive lifestyle choice. I would recommend the show to anyone.
Quotes I’m pondering
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
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That’s it for today. Please give me feedback on Twitter. Which scoop above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @saeedgatson and I’ll find it.
Sincerely,
Saeed from Gatson Games
P.S: Have a wonderful weekend. — gg.