Next week I'll be leaving the Portland area, my home for over 20 years, and moving to Seattle (Mercer Island to be precise). With looking for jobs, going to interviews, graduation, finding a place to live, organizing the move, and helping (a little) with wedding planning, I haven't had time to play or even think much about videogames recently. Nevertheless, I thought I would take a moment to remind myself of how cool it is to be moving to one of the best videogame cities in the world.
According to the website gamedevmap, the Seattle area is home to 70 different videogame developers, including Microsoft, Bungie, Nintendo, Valve, Monolith, and Sierra, to name just a few. By comparison, Portland only has five companies listed, none of which I've ever heard of. For someone who plays and writes about videogames on the side, that's a pretty big upgrade, and I am excited about the opportunities that will be available to me simply by virtue of being in close proximity to so many great game developers.
Of course, I'll miss having easy access to Ground Kontrol, one of the best classic video arcades in the country. I'll also miss Powell's Books, Movie Madness, and the plethora of Theater Pubs found all throughout Portland. I'll miss the amazing public transportation system. And of course, I'll miss being away from the many family and friends that I have down here. On the bright side, I'll be only a three-hour drive away from Portland. On the drizzly side, at least my new home will have much the same climate that I'm used to.
The next several weeks will be extremely hectic for me, but I'll do my best to take a little time each week to keep this blog updated. As a final note, I am glad to be joining two other GameCritics.com staff who also live up in the Seattle area, Brad Gallaway and Jason Karney. I have yet to meet in person any of the other contributors to this site, and I am looking forward to having the opportunity to do so. That's it for now, until next week.
- My favorite games of 2009 - December 12, 2009
- On letting go of a rare and impractical piece of videogame memorabilia - April 30, 2009
- Killzone 2: Can amazing looks make up for an utter lack of personality? - March 11, 2009
