i am davidbrothers dotcom

i love puzzles. i couldn’t tell you when it started. i remember my grandfather and i teaching each other how to play chess from a really tattered book we got from somewhere. i know we used to play scrabble when i was a really young kid, and that probably helped a lot, but i think it really took off the first time i got into the gifted program in elementary school. they’d give us logic problems to solve. we’d have the ones with one to six clues and anywhere from one to five or seven grids where we could put x’s and o’s to show correct or incorrect responses.

i’m not sure why, but i really took to them. i was elated, like “man this is a really pleasant surprise” elated, when a teacher in college busted them out like “have you guys seen these before?” they’re fun to do, and something about them really pulls me in. maybe it’s that there is definitely a right answer, maybe it’s the clues part, maybe it’s just accomplishing something, but i love these things.

i’ve found that i apply what i learned from completing these to real life pretty often. i was playing persona 4 at a friend’s house over christmas break 2008. i played a lot of it, and then i got to a boss that had me completely stuck. i must’ve fought him for an hour, looking for a way to survive long enough to beat him. at one point, misato, my friend, looks over at me and she’s like, “i can’t believe you’re not pissed off yet. i’d be so mad if i were you, but you just keep going at it over and over.

i think i just paused and said, “huh” in that weird thoughtful way when someone says something you hadn’t realized before, but you don’t really have time to mull it over because you’re focused on something else. i did put some thought to it later, though, and i think we discussed it a little more, and it’s gotta be a problem-solving thing. everything’s got a solution, no matter how obscure or difficult or stupid. everything. it’s just a matter of looking at it from the right angle, hitting it until it breaks, or thinking it through.

learning how to edit videos came completely by accident. my boss came up to me one day and was like, “hey, we need to capture and edit some b-roll footage. it’s due tomorrow.” and, whoa, hold on, we’re doing what and it’s due when? but, instead of saying “nah, that ain’t happening,” which probably would’ve been pretty reasonable considering my familiarity with the video editing program and video editing in general, i just kinda thought angry black clouds for a minute or two while i mulled it over. after that, i figured out what i needed to know (capturing formats, exporting codecs, editing techniques, faux pas, watermarks, lower third/chyron, rookie mistakes, transitions, file space, beta tapes, etc), googled up some tutorials, message boards, and video tutorials, and sat down and did it. i didn’t leave work til probably after ten that night, but i ended up being pretty decent at a brand new skill.

i think i just love puzzles. i love tetris, magical drop 3, puzzle fighter, hexic, whatever. if it’s got puzzles, i’ll give it a go. i’ll play you in the most cuthroat game of scrabble on the planet. no one wants to play chess with me on facebook any more. i even approach fighting games in the same way. if a certain combo can’t get through your guard, a different one will. it’s just a matter of finding the right one. puzzles are a good time waster and tend to keep me interested in a way that RPGs or other games don’t.