@notimetoplay We're doing very well. We live in a lovely little village in Jutland these days, surrounded by wonderful neighbors, with two cats whom we spoil way too much. With all the recent insanity in the US, I almost feel more Danish than American sometimes. ;)

I walk about 10 kilometers a day, more on the weekends, and write my blogs. Haven't coded much of anything in almost ten years, but my old experience is good to have for writing game history.

@notimetoplay Oh, I have no dog in this fight personally. I'm interested in MMORPGs as a cultural phenomenon, but not much as a gamer.

How are you doing, by the way? A lot of water under the bridge since my wedding in Germany...

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: EverQuest https://www.filfre.net/2025/07/everquest/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Epilogue: Sailor of Eternal Fame" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/06/27/epilogue-sailor-of-eternal-fame/

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: Alpha Centauri https://www.filfre.net/2025/06/alpha-centauri/

@mpw Not at the moment (other than by becoming an Analog Antiquarian, which will you give to access to all of them for free, says my worse but wiser self). Once I get the Magellan book done, I do plan to look into expanding to a second storefront -- probably the Kobo store.

@MrDOS Yeah, if there's one thing I've learned in all these years of doing game history, it's the role played by context. Not that long ago, I was talking to someone who had always named The Bard's Tale as one of his favorite games. He told me he was shocked when he actually went back to play it at how limited and kind of shabby it was. It turned out that what he really loved were the memories of playing it during his last summer of total freedom as a kid: meeting up with his best friend at the pool every day, comparing notes on the progress they'd made, then going home to play more in the evening to try to impress his friend the next day.

My theory about Pharaoh is that it's best enjoyed by playing one scenario every six months, so that the repetition doesn't get too mind-numbing. At that pace, you should finish the campaign in about twenty years. Sadly, not a viable approach for my project. ;)

A quick update on what's coming on The Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/2025/06/its-1999-and-i-feel-fine/. Your regularly scheduled article will appear tomorrow. ;)

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 31: Life and Death" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/06/13/chapter-31-life-and-death/

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: "The Last Adventures of Legend" https://www.filfre.net/2025/05/the-last-adventures-of-legend/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 30: Lost and Found" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/05/30/chapter-30-lost-and-found/

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: "The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 4: Chainsaw Monday" https://www.filfre.net/2025/05/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-4-chainsaw-monday/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 29: In the Belly of the Beast" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/05/16/chapter-29-in-the-belly-of-the-beast/

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: "The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 3: The Dog Days of Oakhurst" https://www.filfre.net/2025/05/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-3-the-dog-days-of-oakhurst/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 28: Around the Capes" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/04/25/chapter-28-around-the-capes/

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: "The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 2: The Scandal" https://www.filfre.net/2025/04/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-2-the-scandal/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 27: Into Unknown Oceans" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/04/11/chapter-27-into-unknown-oceans/

@ike I periodically make new ebooks available here: https://www.filfre.net/the-digital-antiquarian-e-book-library/. As far as pictures, I include what I can find and what seems appropriate in the articles already. Sometimes that's a lot. Sometimes, as in this case, not so many. ;) I try to avoid including pictures just to have pictures.

This week on The Digital Antiquarian: "The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 1: The Acquisition" https://www.filfre.net/2025/04/the-end-of-sierra-as-we-knew-it-part-1-the-acquisition/

This week on The Analog Antiquarian: "The Voyage of Magellan, Chapter 26: Homeward Bound" https://analog-antiquarian.net/2025/03/28/chapter-26-homeward-bound/