I must say that I'm really impressed with Mecha and Riche's revitalization effort. Thanks to my extreme lack of time in 2007, the site has really died down in activity. The lack of shows has really been a drag for me, but I just don't have the time to do it. I barely have time to get all the things I have to get done. That's not to say that the show is done forever, but it is definitely on hiatus for now. August is looking like we may be able to do a show or more. We'll see how it works out.
The show server got pooped on by someone looking for a good time, and since I've had no time (and I thought no demand) to put it back up. Mecha's been telling me to put it back up, and this weekend I had a few minutes so I did just that. It was really heartwarming to see that many people listened throughout the first day, and the chat room was alive the whole day, sometimes discussing the episodes. I even had fun listening to these random shows on occasion throughout the day as well. Its really amazing to listen to us and hear how much things have changed. It really makes me miss the hay days of BreakmanX; the show, E3, and all of our projects we had going. Someday everything may be back in full force, but until then (as long as interest stays up) I'll keep things going the way they are. As I near graduation, I have to gravitate towards a career that will enable me to pay a mortgage or rent. There are non-BreakmanX things you can follow me on at http://www.matthewnyquist.com.
The game night thing that they've thought up is also an amazing thing that I wish we'd have done sooner. The original Unreal Tournament, despite its gray hairs and decades of erosion, is still my favorite LAN game. In high school, we used to have LAN parties in my basement where we'd all bring the P.C. we'd built and play Unreal tournament all night. Sometimes we'd sleep… if we had to, and then wake up. Its one of my fondest multiplayer memories, and I can't wait to enjoy new memories. One of my favorite of these memories is having a buddy of mine brag about his delightful kill count, only to turn around and see my 5 rockets closing in on him. "Oh shit." The great thing was that everyone was pretty much on the outside looking at him in the middle, so it was quite the comedic moment to watch him turn around and just look hopelessly. Nothing more satisfying than killing a sniper in his prime. In other words, I couldn't have thought up a better game for us to all jump into together. I can't promise how often I'll be able to partake, but I can say that I'm really excited to play when I can.
When I first started the modern incarnation of BreakmanX.com (the site had been around since 1996, but the present focus came around in August/September 2002 or so,) I told Richie and Shadow that my goal was to create a close-knit (not necessarily large) community of friends that could talk about things we were all interested in and play games together. Basically, its hard to find friends that are really similar to you as a geek (at least it was for me,) but when you cast a specific type net you tend to catch people with similar interests. Looking at what Richie and Mecha has done this week and the reaction to it, I feel like I accomplished my goal. It's too bad the business end didn't work out, but that's really quite secondary to the original goal which I feel is totally realized as I had envisioned it.
Now, the trick is moving forward. BreakmanX.com is not over, and probably never will be as long as there's a community around to keep my heart warm. There will be new shows periodically, but the real heart of the site is everyone else. Without you guys we never would have gone to E3 or done a show for as long as we did. I feel as though many of you are some of my closest friends, and I can't wait to continue moving forward in our wonderful community. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that I'm still in love with this website.
