> I don’t do the signings and public appearances. A lot of people do and make a lot of money out of them–and good luck to them. I’m not ruling it out forever, though. One day I may be really poor. –[Ian McDiarmid](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001519/bio)
Fan (at FanExpo): “So are you really poor?”
Ian McDiarmid (at FanExpo): “Yes. Next question.”
So I played [Gone Home](http://www.gonehomegame.com/) on Friday night and have been thinking about it ever since. It’s breathtaking.
It’s also hard to describe. It’s more an interactive story than a game. It calls itself a “story exploration game.” The story is presented to you in the form of a creepy old house, which you have to explore to discover what happened to your family.
You play Kaitlin Greenbriar, just home from a year-long gap year tour of Europe. Your family moved to a new house in the woods while you were away. Your taxi gets you home after midnight on June 7, 1995. You’re greeted by a sign on the door from your sister Amy apologizing for leaving you alone but warning you not to go looking around find out what happened.
So, of course, that’s exactly what you do.
Gone Home is really the story of Sam. As you uncover notes and letters, she’ll give you a voice-over giving you a bit more of her backstory.
I fell in love with Sam just a little bit.
And I really don’t want to say much more than that about the content of the game. Because it’s really best to go into it without pre-conceived notions about what it’s meant to be. I will say there are no guns or really any puzzles. You’re just exploring the house learning what happened to Amy and the rest of your family. And it’s utterly engrossing.
There’s a mystery to be solved, and as you start to put together the lives of the characters who comprise your family, you very much start to feel for them. You dread what you might discover, but you need to find it out anyway. Some of it is uncomfortable and some of it is utterly endearing. There are so many feels. I cried at the end.
I loved it. You should play it.
Gone home is $20 either through Steam or direct and DRM-free via [their website](http://gonehomegame.com). It runs on Windows, Mac and, of course, Ubuntu. It’s currently 10% off, but that sale is ending very soon.
Two cups, 8oz., half-decaf. Feel like utter crap now. As usual. You’d think I’d learn.
Except I actually got some stuff done today, dealing with “customer” issues and hairier-than-usual test scenarios. So there’s that. But my skin’s crawling and my head’s fuzzy and I have a [[Kwartzlab]] board meeting tonight.
Me and caffeine have been on the outs for a few years now. Used to be it wouldn’t phase me at all. Now I can’t even have a nice black tea without having to curl up in a ball an hour or so later. I mean, it’s probably for the best, but sometimes it’s useful to self-medicate. Like today.
Things to do before the end of the week:
* Spend more time with Ellen (very important)
* Help co-ordinate [[Kwartzlab]]’s move to our new location.
* Write up a press release about Kwartzlab’s Trillium grant acquisition
* Take Ellen to visit her grandmother.
* Plan the Kwartzlab grand opening.
* Invite MPPs to said grand opening for Trillium announcement slash press event.
* Eat left-over Chinese food from Monday’s party.
* Relax a bit.
An open letter to [[wiki:Nicholas Briggs]], executive producer for [Big Finish](http://bigfinish.com) and voice of the [[wiki:Daleks]] on Doctor Who:
> Dear Mr Briggs,
>
> I recently had the opportunity to re-listen to the [Dalek Empire](http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/released/dalek-empire) series and was once again taken aback not just by the masterful story-telling and compelling human drama, but also by the portrayal of the Daleks. It occurred to me that you, sir, have a better understanding of the Daleks than any living writer who has dared undertake them. Dare I say, I believe you have shown a better understanding of what the Daleks are and why they are a true menace than even Terry Nation himself, the man who created them.
>
> It further occurred that the Daleks on television seem to have lost their way. After [[wiki:Robert Shearman|Mr Shearman]]’s brilliantly realized *[Dalek](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Dalek_%28TV_story%29)*, they’ve gotten a bit silly again.
>
> I don’t demean in the slightest the formidable skills of the Doctor Who television writing team. In my opinion, the Daleks have never quite lived up to their full potential on television. What is needed, I think, is a true expert to provide the standard to which future writers can aspire. That expert, Mr Briggs, is you. I believe the time has come for you to give voice to the Daleks in the one way that matters most: as their writer for television.
>
> Think of it! A pair of episodes modelled after your [Dalek Empire stories in the main range](http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/released_reverse/monthly-series?filter[1]=&filter[2]=Daleks&filter[3]=&filter[12]=&free_search=&release_number=&release_start_month=&release_start_year=1999&release_end_month=&release_end_year=2001), where the Doctor, as necessary, wins the day but where there is a true victory of the Daleks. And then, having restored themselves to their former glory, the way is paved for a series of Dalek Empire spin-off serials which showcase the true menace of the Daleks when the Doctor isn’t there to save us. Proper sci-fi space adventures of the sort so sadly lacking on television these days.
>
> And what could be more fitting for Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary year than a celebration of the creation which made the show a hit? After all, Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary is the Daleks’ as well.
>
> Please be sure to pass my proposal along to [[wiki:Steven Moffat|Mr Moffat]] when next you see him. You may assure him that you were reluctantly driven to make this suggestion on behalf of your mutual fans, and that it is in no way mere crass self-promotion on your part. Thus assured, I have every confidence that he will see the wisdom of this idea and give us a 50th anniversary of the Daleks which lives up to the high standards we Big Finish listeners have for the Doctor’s greatest foe.