So, lately, I’ve been playing the hell out of a video game called “Halo Wars.” For those of you unfamiliar (ie, everyone with a life), Halo Wars is a strategy game, kind of like Risk, but in real time, because if time waits for no man, it sure as hell isn’t going to wait for your average dude like me. As a strategy game, there are often lulls as you wait for your economy to grow or your team-mates to get their act together and stop sucking all over the place like the latest and greatest from Hoover. In thosde lulls, I’ve begun to find myself inspired, and so with my tiny but powerful netbook (an ASUS 1000HE) by my side, I pump out a few paragraphs during each game.

And they’re good paragraphs, too.

Which make me ask myself, what exactly is so inspiring about a run-of-the-mill video game? Is it the people I’m playing with? They’re some interesting characters, for sure: a foul-mouthed rock star wannabe who almost missed his Comp Lit finals because he was playing video games until 5:30 in the morning, and “some guy” who works at sea world and may or may not be the father of that kid that keeps grabbing his headset mic while he’s playing with us.

Maybe I just need the social interaction. Or the background noise of a hundred heavy tanks rolling towards my last position, with marines and heavy artillery stockpiled in a defensive array around it.

I’ll be posting a new snippet as soon as something “standalone” lands.