It’s remarkable that the same concepts that allowed me to be effectively retired by my mid-twenties allows me to frequently become rich in video games. That’s the nature of compounding. It is a law, exactly like gravity.
This weekend, Ashly and Ian drove in from Columbus to visit – they are thinking about relocating to this area next March so that she can work with us on the businesses and he can work as a nuclear engineer at a nearby facility. Right now, she’s a risk mitigation analyst at a well-known bank, so her skills would be a useful addition to the staff.
Anyway, as we were out having Chipotle and Coldstone, we stopped by a nearby video game store and went in just to see if anything was new. I came across a game called Fable 2 and, having seen the preview of the original fable on the XBOX 360 Live service, it interested me. Long story short, I picked up about $100 worth of games and merchandise, figuring I’d get to play them when I had time. Given the fact we’ve quintupled the number of e-commerce sites under our control in the past six months, that seemed like a long, long time away, frankly.
Um. No. As Aaron et. al., made the Julia Child beef bourguignon recipe, Ashly suggested I start playing the game (I’d grown hesitant when I realized it was rated M, which I incorrectly assumed was used only for grotesque violence). None of us had any idea what we were getting into when we turned on the console.
The Premise of Fable 2
The premise of Fable 2 is simple. As in life, every choice you make influences the quality of your soul and the outcome of your journey. Your choices are pretty much like those that every man and woman has when they are born – be good by giving money to orphans, helping those in distress, donating clothes, charging below-market rent to those in poverty, and working to rid the world of evil, or you can be evil by murdering innocent people, having unprotected sex and catching STD’s, terrorizing cities, gambling, stealing, sacrificing people … you name it.
When I say there are practically no limits, I mean it, even in details that are absent in other games such as growing fat if you eat too much food or your character’s sex life (e.g., you can raise a family, go the church (in the game, “The Temple of Light”), and become known as a prude, or you can have homosexual orgies, get drunk, and vomit in the town square after a night of pub games during which you amassed large gambling debts). Before I continue: For those who think games like this are offense, that’s irrational and unjustified. We, as humans, have these same choices in life. It’s called free will. Why is it okay for us to have the God-given right to self-determination in the physical world, but demand punishment for software studios that do the same in virtual ones? It’s a mental malfunction to think like that.
Sometimes You Just Have to Accept Who You Are – And I’m a Capitalist
The first three days I played Fable 2, I did nothing but work in the game, earn money to buy real estate and businesses, and then for the rest of the time, didn’t need to exert any effort because I was able to live off the dividends generated from these assets. It mirrored the precise course of action I followed in my own life beginning with my decision to become an investor when I was ten years old.
Here was my plan for becoming a millionaire without cheating … (more…)
This afternoon, Ruby stopped by and asked me to go to the casino with her. I always enjoy spending time with family and was happy to do so, despite my general distaste for casinos (as an investor, I know the probability tables and payout ratios for most of the games; I love owning casino stocks but find myself unable to play the games without feeling like I’m doing something foolish).
