Cafe Pick Me Up

Several months ago, someone suggested I do reports of the cafes I go to and rate them based on their "laptop friendliness".  I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I can't think of a better place to start than this place.

As I wrote in my last entry, I tend to wander around more now that I just have to carry my notebook and pen.  And since I wander around quite a bit, I discover lots of new places around my neighborhood.  Usually I walk west towards Greenwich Village, but lately my feet have been pushing me east toward Alphabet City.

Most people are familiar with the number grid system of NYC.  If you hear the phrase "8th street between 5th Avenue and Broadway", something about it sounds very New York.  But there's a section of the city where the Avenues are given letters instead of numbers.  It's a small stretch of city in the far East Village, north of Houston and south of 14th street. It starts at Avenue A and goes to Avenue D.  Hence, Alphabet City.  I love wandering through there, as it's grungy and dirty and still has an old New York vibe despite the gentrification.

Anyway, last week I found myself checking out a cafe in Alphabet City.  It was a little indie place, which is unusual.  It had huge wall-length windows that were wide open, and several ceiling fans, so it was nice and ventilated despite the scorching heat.  I got a coffee and sat down and whipped out my notebook, where I whiled away an hour or two.

Normally I wouldn't mention this place at all, but I decided to go back the next day and I stupidly didn't have any cash on me.  They didn't take credit cards, so I asked where the nearest ATM was.  The woman at the register said "Eh, don't worry about it.  You were here yesterday.  I trust you."

So, yeah.  That's never happened before, and certainly not on my second visit.  Since they gave me a free cup of coffee, the least I can do is give the place a mention on this blog.  I've gone back several times since then and the place is definitely worth visiting.  It's called "Cafe Pick Me Up" and it's on the corner of Avenue A and 9th street.  It's laid-back and unpretentious, the staff is super friendly, and it's got a great view of the street.  As a bonus, the iced coffee is really tasty and comes in an actual glass, plus they've got an Italian menu that's even better (and wicked cheap!).  The gnocci is especially good. 

Anyway, to bring this blog post back on topic, they are very "laptop developer friendly", as they've got plenty of electrical outlets and will happily let you stay there for several hours as long as you order something. Their internet isn't free, but if you're looking to sit and work and not get distracted by web surfing, it's a great place to be.

So... who thinks this cafe review thing is a good idea?

-Dave

Single player games as a social activity?

A few years ago, my friend Brandon and I were chatting about games.  More specifically, games that took place in New York.  I remembered hearing about a game called "True Crime: Streets of New York" for the original XBOX.  It was a GTA-like urban sandbox game, where you played a cop who went on various missions around the city.  It had been out for awhile, and it was reviewed very poorly, but from what I read it was very faithful in re-creating the streets of Manhattan in virtual form.  Sure enough, a week later, Brandon found a copy of the game in a bargain bin for 5 bucks and brought it over to my apartment.

After getting through the tutorial, our avatar was walking through a last-gen version of Times Square.  Without wasting a minute, we nabbed a car and drove our character downtown through Union Square and into the East Village.  Soon enough, we were walking through my neighborhood, looking at my apartment building as depicted in the game.  There was something very zen about the experience, but that didn't stop Brandon from selecting grenades from the character's inventory and start fire-bombing my apartment building. 

A few hours later the novelty of wandering through (and blowing up various pieces of) virtual New York had worn off.  The game was as buggy and rough as the reviews said it was, but it still remains one of the more memorable experiences in gaming for me.  Why?  Because for the first time in my life I was playing a game with another person.  Brandon and I both remember that moment and laugh. 

I've been playing video games since the Atari 2600 lumbered its' way out of the primordial ooze and heaved itself onto store shelves.  It's a hobby I've enjoyed all of my life, but there's one thing about it that you can't deny.  It's a very solitary one.  Sure, there are two player games, but most mainstream console games are made with a single player in mind.  Even social MMOs like World of Warcraft require that the player be sitting by him/herself at the keyboard.

Lately, I've discovered the joy of playing games with other people.  I recently went to a gaming meetup, where every month a group of people play through "Shadow of the Colossus".  I went to it wondering how it was going to be handled.  Do we take turns?  Do we each take down one Colossus (there are 16 in the game)?  In actuality, it was a very laid-back and loose affair, where people who wanted to play would play and the rest of us would just watch and make funny comments.  It was a total social thing, and I had a great time.  Something I never thought I would experience while playing a single-player game.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the point I'm trying to make here.  I just think it's great that video gaming - once considered the past-time of pale shut-ins, has become much more widely accepted.  Does anyone else have memorable moments like these?  Do share 'em!

The cafe lifestyle

I mentioned in my first post how I generally write my games from various cafés in New York.  This practice started with in 2006 and continues now.

At the time, I did it because I was between jobs and I wanted to feel like I was really working, so I'd pack up the laptop and bring it to a café in Tribeca (an area of NYC which is short for "triangle below Canal").  I'd plop down, order a latte, boot up the laptop, and then type type away on The Shivah.  For a solid month, I'd be there by 9am and leave sometime in the later afternoon.  The place had food, so I was able to nab lunch when I wanted it.  When I finished the game I figured it was a neat way to work, so I kept doing it.

In the four years since then, I've worked on games in all sorts of different coffee joints.  Most are your average Starbucks, others are New York based chains, and some are unique privately owned indie cafés (which there are less and less of, lately).  I tend to choose different cafés depending what my needs and mood are that day.  They all have something different to offer. Some have food, others have free wifi, and others have more convenient electrical outlets. I've actually become an expert on the location of every electrical outlet in every café with a five block radius of my apartment.  

Lately, more and more people have adapted to this café lifestyle.  I used to be the only nerd in a Starbucks with a laptop, but now it's hard to find a café-goer without one.  I see people writing papers, working on resumes, updating spreadsheets, or just surfing the internet.  I've seen a group of men in suits gathered around a café table, hunched over their laptops, discussing what appeared to be a high-powered business stuff.  I once saw a dentist examining 3D models of his patients' teeth!  The sheer amount of productivity that goes on in these places is mindboggling.

Earlier this year, the crowds temporarily drove me out of the cafés and I actually rented a cubicle in an office.  I gave it up in a few months.  Despite the crowds, the café lifestyle suits me.

-Dave