It's Grumpy Gamer's birthday today.  Not me.  The site.   Four years ago today I posted an entry about Why Adventure Games Suck, a re-print of an article I wrote many years ago that became the foundation of Monkey Island's design.

People often ask me why I started blogging?  Was it because I had insight and wisdom to share with an industry that had lost it's way?  Was it because I was bitter and angry and needed a creative way to vent frustration?  Was it further the dialog between game player and game designer in the pursuit of better games?  No, the honest truth is I started blogging because I thought it would be fun to write blogging software.

I registered grumpygamer.com back in 1998ish and the idea was to do a Game Review Review site.  I wouldn't review games, I would review the review of games.  I would pick apart their scoring of graphics and sound (silly categories in my mind) and critique the flaws in how they approached the game's review.  It was a genius idea that lasted about as long as it took the siren's song of apathy to reach my ears.

I let the URL expire and when I started writing my blogging software I needed a good site name.  Luckily no one was as grumpy of a gamer as I was and the URL sat unnoticed in the internet's lost and found room.

And here we sit today.

Of course, no stumbling down memory lane would be complete without a big thanks to my long time friend, fellow game designer and DeathSpank co-creator Clayton Kauzlaric.  Clayton has drawn all the art you see on this site, from the masthead to the comics to a Evil Clown with a Pirate Hook for a Hand.  Thanks man.

And of course, the biggest thrill of all, and the birthday present that means the most to me is that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas decided to make me a new Indiana Jones movie.  Just for me and I'm going to go see it tonight.  Thanks guys.  It means a lot.