Hi there,
Welcome to my personal Insanity Project. My name is Alan Zatkow. I'm a screenwriter, and screenwriting instructor in NYC. I am also an avid video game player, but put my Playstation 2 away for about half a year. I have recently pulled it out again, and acquired some video games for my computer as well. After blowing through a few games, I decided to do something different.
I am playing 48 different games simultaneously, advancing each of them a "step" forward before moving on to the next one. I have a dedicated system in place for this, which I will explain in this blog. And then you can watch as I advance through the current games, and eventually, add more as I solve games and then replace them with new ones.
Why am I creating this blog?
-- Because I told a few friends what I was doing, and why (More on that later), and they requested that I create this blog so they could live viscerally through me and keep tabs on my crazy video game antics. Since I am currently playing on a Playstation 2 and computer games from 2006-2010, it also gives everyone viewing a bit of nostalgia, since the rest of you have Wii's and X-Box 360's and Playstation 3's. I don't yet, but I intend to get one (probably the X-Box 360) in about six months. That's part of my reward system for my screenwriting business. That's a whole different blog!
Which leads to a better question....Why play 48 games simultaneously? Why not 10 games, which might provide enough versatility to keep any gamer happy. Why not 16 games in a small tournament type fashion? Why 48?
Here are the primary reasons...
1) I have a full shelf full of Playstation 2 games that I have not solved, some of which I have owned for over a year and did not take out of the box. I bought most of these games for 10 bucks each, and was given a bunch by friends who were done with that "ancient" console, so it was never a priority to play them. But now I want to get through as many as possible, as quickly as possible, in preparation for a console upgrade of my own.
2) It feels like a large situation, which makes it fun, like Mission Impossible. Once I figured out I was going to do this at all, I figured, I might as well have as much crazy fun with it as I could. Choosing to play 48 games simultaneously is really difficult, its a challenge. I like a challenge.
3) Variety: You never know what kind of game you'll be in the mood to play from day to day, moment to moment. Having 6 games in 8 different categories of games means that if I am in the mood for a shooter, or a strategy game, or pure adrenaline action, or a mind teaser, there is usually at least one of each left on the list. So I will not be boxed into playing a game type that I don't want to play, if I'm not in the mood.
Wow, you're thinking. Are you independently wealthy? Can you just sit around all day playing video games? Nope! I do not have a day job so to speak, but I do teach screenwriting and am actively and heavily involved in script editing a movie for a legitimate producer/director. I'm actually VERY busy. But I have a time management system that is working very well for me, and part of it is to reward myself with a luxury like playing a video game or watching some television, after I complete 5 pages of writing and a couple of chores that need to be taken care of.
I also have a lot of script editing work to do for my students. I can have up to 300 pages a week sometimes depending on what's going on. You can't just read and mark up 300 pages of screenplay in a sitting or two. I need to handle assignments from my students, then relax for a little while before charging back into the fray to either write my own script materials or edit my students' work.
Before I created this system, I wouldn't know when and where to stop playing a video game and get back to work. I used to just play a game for an hour at a time, but that wouldn't necessarily be satisfying if I was close to finishing a mission. Some days I would get super lazy and just play for three hours before reminding myself I had work to do. Having this 48 game system in place is a great checks and balance system for myself. I complete a checkmark, then check the time. If my time is up, its back to work. If I do a quick mission then I can grab onto a second game or watch a DVD from Netflix or something. My productivity and contentment level are sky high since I started this.
You all probably think I'm a rigid freak right now who needs medication. But actually, I used to be very unorganized and lazy, and my time management system has made me so productive in all of the areas of my life, that I love it, and am moving forward in lots of directions extremely well. Having this system for my video games is also making a game out of playing video games. Its a game unto itself. That's the main reason for this Insanity Project. It's fun for me. Hopefully it'll be fun for you view this blog and follow my gaming antics.
Thanks for reading!
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