Friday, February 06, 2009

blitz of albatross

Chatting to my brother about the recession, while sitting side-by-side on our respective computers.

Tom: "The games industry has been hit by the recession, especially some of the smaller studios."

Me: "You probably aren't affected much since you're working on Sims 3, not some obscure game like if you were making, um.... [spotting a banner on my screen labeled 'Ad Blitz'] ... Blitz of ... Albatross."

Tom: [pounding fist into right palm] "Blitz of Albatross is an excellent game, I'll have you know!"

Me: [laughing]

Tom: [turning to his screen and typing] "No google results for Blitz of Albatross. Well, if you ever wanted to make that game, you're in the clear."

Me: "So how would Blitz of Alcatraz -- "

Tom: "Albatross! Get the name right!"




The next evening, at dinner with Dan and Peggy.

Me: "... my brother and I came up with a game title: Blitz of Albatross."

Dan: "So how does this game work?"

Me: "Oh, uh... you are on a lovely island. It has a coconut tree. But every night you are biltzed by albatross."

Dan: "A flock of them?"

Me: "What? Isn't it a fish?"

Dan: "No, it's a bird."



Me: "Oh, I always thought it was a fish because of those puzzle stories where a man on a deserted island only has albatross to eat. Anyway, getting blitzed by a bunch of birds is too scary, Alfred Hitchcock style."

Peggy: "It could be just one bird."

Me: [laughing] "So the game is that you periodically get blitzed by a single albatross?"

...

I am now coining this phrase. Please use it amply when speaking with me.

Grilled unexpectedly during a business meeting? That's a blitz of albatross.

Sudden pang of nostalgia and wistfulness at 2am? Blitz of albatross.

"Game of the Year" in 2010? Definitely Blitz of Albatross.

5 comments:

Wanda said...

An "albatross around one's neck" is an annoying burden or a worry. So I would think a "blitz of albatross" would be a whole bunch of tasks or obligations dumped on one at once.

Brian Silberbauer said...

This will explain everything you need to know about the albatross:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_u7VGiMO0U

(Monty Python - somebody had to do it :)

Anonymous said...

Obscure games sometimes turn out to be the best. Yeah, it wasn't the point of that post but that's what caught my attention. Good luck to your bro with Sims 3! (if I were you I would coerce him to drop your own hidden bonuses in it)

Anonymous said...

"Blitz of Albatross" sounds all too possible. Consider that there are games called "Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow", "Armored Core: For Answer", ... It's kinda sad, my hobby has eroded my language skills.

Anonymous said...

Sims = Lively = Second Life

Why gloat?