Off Topic -Viva Piñata

In my daily life I'm not just an artist, I'm a computer nerd.

That's right, I said it.

As I scan the release date lists of upcoming computer games, I notice that on the Xbox Live site, Viva Piñata is cheerfully vague - Holiday 2006?? Does that mean before, or after Thanksgiving?

For me it isn't a question of will-there-be-a-copy panic. It's already been preordered. What I'm currently feeling is more akin to the impatience of a 5 year old waiting for their birthday or the holidays. Viva Piñata promises to waste more of my time and brainpower than even Sid Meier's Pirates did - and you know I disappeared for nearly three straight weeks to terrorize the Carribean when that came out.

It has been a while since a building sim game has captured my imagination like this, the release of Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile being the most memorable. If you like sims, or like anything to do with Ancient Egypt, you will want to play that game. The graphics are gorgeous, the gameplay is rich and interesting. The designers paid careful attention to the history of the culture, and that always wins big points with me. VP may not have all the complexity of CotN, but it has enough robust features that I think one could play it for a good while without being bored by it. I'm hoping, anyway. VP was one game I really wish I'd been on the beta test list for. Sigh.

Anyway, I'll let you folks get back to your regularly scheduled reality while I knit nervously, awaiting the latest delivery of junk food for my brain. After all, we must have monsters.