musings of a social architect

Sir Peter Molyneux

The BBC reports that British computer games maker Peter Molyneux has been knighted by the Queent of England. It's great to see a talented gamemaker acknowledged for his life's work. It's a sign that games have become a form of mainstream art, like music, movies, and painting.

The head of Surrey's Lionhead Studios was granted the honour for services to the computer games industry. Mr Molyneux has been behind many of the ground-breaking games of the last 15 years such as Populous, Theme Park, Dungeon Keeper and Black and White. He is widely credited with helping to create and popularise the so-called god-game genre.

Happy New Year

We just got back from a fabulous 2-week winter vacation. First we visited family for the holidays, which was lovely. We enjoyed playing games and hanging out with relatives, and Gabe got some happy-fun-time with his cousins :-)

After Xmas, we "snuck off" to San Diego for a few days to visit friends and enjoy a jaunt to SeaWorld. It's a great park for families like us who enjoy a relaxed day -- there's rides, shows, animals to see, and 3 lovely aquariums to visit. Only downside was the food - overpriced and awful, almost inedible. HOT TIP: if you go to SeaWorld San Diego, bring your own picnic to the park!We also got a chance to visit my pal Raph Koster & family, which was great fun. Raph's book has just been published -- check it out, it's a great read.

The final highlight of our trip was a silly and wonderful New Year's Eve party at Karaoke LA, with my brother and his extended family. Great fun was had by all -- I was in heaven watching my son, nephew and relatives entertain us. Can't wait to go back!