Writing Wells

I've hacked into a laptop. I'm looking out through its webcam - unattended, and giving me a clear view of the interior of a small apartment. There's pictures on the wall. A cheap couch. Out of frame, a woman's voice is humming a soft tune.

Directly across from the laptop, on the kitchen table, I can see a smartphone. A button prompt appears above it, and my thumb hovers over that button. If I wanted to, I could hack that phone with a simple press. I could obtain the owner's bank account details, then head to an ATM and help myself to her funds.

In another room, I can hear a baby crying.

Read More

I never finished Skyrim. Bethesda's open-world opus is arguably the biggest Elder Scrolls game to date, and I gave it a decent go. Really, I did. I created my character, explored the lands, completed quests, shouted at dragons, but then I just... stopped. Things got in the way. Games. Work. Life. Weeks slipped into months, and Skyrim went from the latest hotness to a distant memory. The thought of returning to complete such a massive game just felt overwhelmingly daunting.

So I didn't. I haven't. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim remains unfinished - it's just too much game. If I'm ever heading to a desert island with a reliable electricity supply it'll be one of the first titles I pack into my swag, but right now, with its scale, I just can't do it. Which might explain why I looked at the gameplay trailer for GTA V with an overwhelming sinking feeling.

Read More