Creative Input Overdrive

Over the course of the last few months, I have effectively doubled the number of ongoing entertainment projects I have. Normally I keep the numbers in check--two books, two hour-long TV shows, a handful of half-hour TV shows, two or three video games, and the occasional movie or trade paperback. I've got some free time again, so it's possible to juggle everything and not forget where I left off.

I've mentioned before some of the shows and games my wife and I have been working through--Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Fullmetal Alchemist, and LEGO Batman, along with The Simpsons, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Sam & Max Save the World, to name a few.

At the same time, I've been playing through Sparkster, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on my own. I've also been keeping up with four different books (which I haven't done such a practice was required for school!), including my first James Bond novel, The Facts of Death.
Between Netflix, Christmas, the honeymoon, and the Great Comic Book Adventure we never talked about, there's plenty of new material in the house to keep me busy for a while. On top of all that, there's been a Space Quest renaissance thanks to the release of three long-awaited fangames over the course of a few weeks, two of which caught me totally by surprise.

Imagine that one of your favorite game series has been officially dead for about as long as Duke Nukem Forever was in development, and that the fan community has been more or less dormant for about a decade (aside from rumors that a few fans might eventually finish a remake of the first sequel)...and then suddenly there's not one but three new games to play. Of course we can wait a little longer to unpack the boxes in the guest bedroom.

It's refreshing and energizing to have such variety, and to have the freedom to marathon one thing or bounce back and forth between a number of other things whenever the mood suits us. I'm excited to return to my side projects that have been on hold--all this creative input is giving me some great ideas, and I'm relaxed enough to dedicate however much time is needed without getting too anxious about anything else that's on my plate.