My First Blog Post

Well, here it is...my first foray into the blogging world.  What will I add to the blogosphere that is unique, and will gain me millions of followers?  Well...nothing, I expect.  This blog is an experiment for me...a way to maybe help motivate myself to achieve some other things I want to accomplish.  I hope to use this as a sounding board for various ideas that I have and maybe let off a little steam sometimes. 

So...what will I be blogging about, specifically?  Well, I anticipate that 90%+ of my blog posts are going to be about board games.  A life long lover of games, this hobby has really become a passion in the last 5 years or so.  Beyond playing games, I have an itch to tap into my creativity and delve into the realm of game design.  I've been inspired by my friend Paul Owen (http://paulowengames.blogspot.com/), who had his first game, Trains, Planes & Automobiles published in 2011.  Paul is also currently working on his 2nd game, East India Company...head on over to his blog to check it out!  At the last few cons I've been to with Paul (WBC 2012 and Prezcon 2013), I've met several game designers and publishers...and that's an inspiration as well, to be around these creative guys and gals as they talk over their latest designs, and working out the flaws...it just seems like such a fun creative process that I'm ready to dive in. 

Paul has related that one of the first pieces of advice he got as he jumped into the world of game design was to establish a social media presence.  So...here I am!  Beyond that, I hope that this blog will help motivate me along in the creative process.  I have an idea for a game...an idea that I've had for over a year now.  Recently I've read/listened to two different articles - one by Wil Wheaton, the other I can't quite remember - where the gist of the article was "at some point you have to stop thinking about doing something, and just do it".  Don't worry about perfection...just start doing it!  I have two sheets of paper with notes scribbled on them...time to stop taking notes and start making this game...who knows if it's actually any good?  No way to find out other than to start working on it. 

Now, I may have a non-game post every now and then.  We'll see how the mood strikes me.  Back in 1997 I fulfilled a lifelong dream by earning my pilot's license.  I flew for a few years, but I gradually fell out of it...and I miss being in the cockpit!  I've got a family now, and a mortgage, and all that stuff that goes along with being an "adult", but I aim to get back into flying, and hopefully sooner rather than later.

What else?  Well, I'm a Virginia Tech alum, and I love getting back to Blacksburg whenever I can...there may be a post or two about VT (mostly during football season).  You may see me around the web under the moniker "HokieStone".  Maybe some movie or book reviews...who knows.  And maybe a post or two about croquet...yeah, I said croquet (that's a game, right?  Or is it a sport?  Is there a difference between games and sports? Alright, too philosophical for post #1). 

So, bear with me as I learn about this blogging thing.  I expect the layout of the page may change around, and maybe even the title ("Ad Astra"...latin for "to the stars", nice...but probably taken by someone else). 

Yours in gaming -
Keith