ChAsE/s bLoG

  Coins; a midnight rambling before bed.  I hate doing the nice things, don’t you? Those little gestures that inconvenience yourself for the sake of someone else’s happiness. Your money spent on a coffee. Your time used to pick something out that they might like just because of how you think they’d enjoy it. How they would enjoy it.  But it’s not really for them, is it? At least, not fully for them. No, you get more out of it than they do. Even at your own expense, you have more to gain from it.  A token of appreciation, you call it. But what are tokens if not a means of exchange. You put a token in the machine, and the machine gives you what you want. So, is this token not for your own benefit? You want to see them smile. You want to make their day, as if it’s yours to make. You want them to do the same for you.  And they will get it in their head that they should do the same- that they should repay you for what you’ve done. Even when you say it’s a gift or it’...

ARC Raiders - Embark Studios This evening I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the stress-test demo of Embark Studio's newest IP: ARC Raiders. The game, which promised to revolutionize and make extraction shooter's accessible, leaves me with more questions than a desire to keep playing. What changed in the formula other than an articulate ambiance and a fresh coat of paint with Unreal Engine 5's capabilities?  What exactly is an extraction shooter (ES)?  In simple terms, an extraction shooter is a type of videogame where the players drop or spawn into an area, loot the area, and get out. If you die in the zone, you typically lose all or some of the loot you gathered or came into the map with. Often, we see PvP or PvE or PvPvE mixes for this type of game.  The PvP elements mixed with the loop are what make an extraction shooter an ‘extraction shooter.’  You can do ES without PvP, but the loop is the defining factor. The getting in and getting out with stuff is th...

Excerpt, written at 2:00 am this morning.  By Chase Winter  I wish it would’ve rained today. Nothing big like a summer storm, perhaps just a quick pelting on the rooftop of the cab, a drizzle on the pavement. Something to cool the air a bit, dampen the world burning around me. The drama of it all would be perfect for today.  I told the cabman to take his time and let the ticker go once we arrived at the address I gave him. He knew the building when I told him. Go figure. Probably lots of guys like me talk to guys like him on the way to places like this. We’re a chatty bunch, really. And we love to tell you our story.  I hadn’t been to this spot in years, though I probably should have gone before now. Maybe if I had, then I wouldn’t have to today.  It was hard to be back here. On the street, beneath the steps, just outside of the gate. But it was harder to get off of the leather seat of the cab and onto the concrete. If I told him to keep going, he would, but may...

I had a bite of a macaron and I remembered you. Subtle, sweet, avoidant. The sugar isn't present enough in those pastries and every bite leaves me dissatisfied. Too much air between the layers. I was mincing a clove of garlic and remembered your hand guiding me back and forth on the cutting board. Your pale spindly hands wrapped around mine. I could hear your shrill voice coaxing me to be careful. Coaching me how to cut. In the centre of the city, I walked past a man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He puffed, and suddenly I could smell our summer together. That year on the lake by the park. Wrapped in a towel underneath the bushes. We chain smoked every night. I coughed up all my money. At a coffee shop near my house, I heard someone order that drink I used to make for you. Every day after work I'd run it to you like an olympic baton and I'd hope that you'd appreciate me for it. Hoped that you'd see how much I cared. And then last week I was in Ikea and I ...