Letters to Melpert

My Dearest Melpert

I unfortunately have been remiss in my preparations for this eve of All Hallows.
I find myself in a predicament, yet an idea sparks in my mind.
Perhaps if I were to unearth some of the skeletal remains from the garden?
A mighty orc skull, would make a most fearsome adornment indeed.

Rest assured, dear Melpert, the chocolate shall flow as abundantly as the mana from my magical staff.
May your Nightmare Night be as enchanting as the Moon Princess herself.

~Anorim

My Dearest Melpert

I awoke today to the horrid sound of knocking at my door.
In my groggy state I made my way down to the source of the loathsome sound, nearly falling over a box of magic robes.
The old wooden flooring creaking and popping as I walked upon it creating a macabre reminder of what it once was.
Just as I thought it couldn't get any worse I almost lost my slipper when a loose thread got caught on a pice of fire wood.

I finally arrived at the door, my griping hand reaches for the knob opening the door only to reveal a truly wretched sight.
The local highfalutin King had the gall to send a gormless, appalling and rancid "tax collector" to my doorstep.
This repugnant thing disgracing my sacred Wizard Tower with it's pathetic presence?
I incinerated it on sight.
Later I used the ashes for a potion, at least that vile thing had some usefulness.

Dear Melpert why would any sane person want to pay taxes?
One gets nothing for doing so, and it only serves to make one's life worse.
After all how could I buy spell books if I give away all my gold?

~Anorim

My Dearest Melpert

I have come to a startling realization, I'M OLD!
But more importantly the landscape of gaming has changed over the years.
Gone are the days of offline feature complete software, now needing a server just to play by yourself.

Remember back when whimsical platformers were plentiful?
When one could enjoy such a game without the worry of the server going offline?
I have seen only a handful of such games in recent time.

Even game interfaces have lost their personality.
Once themed to match the game’s style, now the UI is far too often overly simple with no style.
One game I had the displeasure of experiencing had a plain white and grey interfaces, I felt as if I were using an office application moments away from opening some finance document.

Not only have games lost their vibe they have also lost their unique qualities.
I can not recall the last time I have seen a power-up represented by a spinning 3D model.

Additionally there haven’t been many good stories either.
It feels as if companies are pandering to whatever the marketing department tells them to.
Why do the customers not realize how insulting that is?

Dear Melpert, gaming indeed has changed over the years.
But has it changed for the better?
Or has it become a blasphemous mockery of what it once was?

Perhaps for now I shall settle for a nice game of Vampire Survivors.

~Anorim