A few things I’m looking forward to in 2009

Every year around this time I like to make a list of the things—movies, TV shows, books, events, et cetera—that I’m most looking forward to in the year ahead. It’s then fun to look back a year later and see if those things were worthy of my anticipation.

In no particular order, this year’s list includes:

New TV shows: Or more specifically one new TV  show from Joss “Buffy/Angel/Firefly” Whedon! Premiering February 13, Whedon’s Dollhouse stars Eliza Dushku (from Buffy), Amy Acker (from Angel), and that guy from BSG who plays Helo. Production squabbles with Fox aside, the concept is a cool one and I have the utmost faith in Joss. So this is something I’m cautiously optimistic about.

New movies: My three most anticipated movies of 2009 are Terminator: Salvation, Harry Potter 6, and the new JJ Abrams’ re-imagining of Star Trek. Normally I couldn’t care less about Trek (I’m more of Galaxy Quest kind of guy), but JJ is just a notch behind Joss Whedon on my must-see list, and that trailer looks incredible.

New Fiction: Three of my favorite genre authors have new work coming out in 2009: David Anthony Durham’s The Other Lands (a follow-up to his beautiful fantasy debut, Acacia); George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons (book five in the Song of Ice and Fire series); and Tad Williams’s Shadowrise (the final volume in the Shadowmarch trilogy). I’m also somewhat guiltily anticipating the arrival of Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead, the first new Indy novel in a decade.

New Arrivals: Have I mentioned we’re having another baby? We’re currently calling him/her “Sprout” and he/she is due in August. Our little family is growing!

Family Milestones: Ethan’s 2nd birthday rolls around in March, and my 10-year wedding anniversary comes this September. Monumental events, all.

Year of the Rattlesnake: I make no promises, but things are looking good toward getting a playable demo—and maybe even the entire first chapter—for my always-in-progress adventure game Rise of the Hidden Sun: A ‘Rattlesnake’ Jake Dawson Adventure out the door before the end of the year.

And last but not least…

The Second Annual Outdoor Movie Night: Last summer’s first annual Outdoor Movie Night featured Raiders of the Lost Ark on a 20-foot screen in our back yard, and it was awesome. This year I’m aiming to make it bigger and better! More people, more food, and more cheesy ’80s movie goodness. I’m thinking either The Princess Bride, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters on the big screen on a warm July night.

Whatever happened to Rise of the Hidden Sun?

A scene from Rise of the Hidden Sun

The latest (and I do mean that literally) installment of my formerly monthly adventure game design column, Adventure Architect, is now up at Adventure Gamers. It’s likely to be the last thing I’ll be posting about Rise of the Hidden Sun for quite a while, so head on over and read the update if you’re interested.

I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you!

What, you’ve heard that one before? Okay, it’s true. I’m not Luke Skywalker. I’m not here to rescue you. And while we’re at it, I’m probably a little short for a stormtrooper, too. Sorry.

I am here to blog, though. So what if I’m five years late to the party? So what if I’ve kicked it off with an out-of-left-field Star Wars reference that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The important thing is that I’ve finally gotten around to doing a blog, and I’ll be using this space to write about the creative frustrations rewards of…

• Writing a great (or even pretty good—or, heck, I’d probably settle for thoroughly mediocre at this point) scifi/fantasy novel. There’s a 99.9 percent chance I’ll post bits and pieces of my writing here, too. Please be gentle.
• Designing a point ‘n’ click computer game, Rise of the Hidden Sun, which has been “in production” for years and years and years. (And years.) I’m still working on it, really!
• Raising a child. Trust me, it’s a creative process all its own. And since I’ve just recently become a dad (Hi Ethan!), I’m sure that part of my life will find its way into this blog more often than not. But no stories about baby poo, I promise.

What else…? I’ll probably end up talking about sports, and TV, and movies, and music, and books, and politics, and all sorts of other pop culture things as well. And I bet I’ll find a lot of things to complain about, too. Can’t help it. It’s who I am.

Lastly… The story behind Chapter 11 Studios. Here’s the quick version: I would go absolutely broke chasing after all my creative pursuits, and the term “Chapter 11″ refers to the bankruptcy code here in the U.S. It also sounds kinda literary, right? So: No Money + Lots of Creativity = Chapter 11 Studios. Mystery solved.

And that, friends, is my blog in a nutshell. Hope you’ll join me.