Once upon a time...

Friday night was a good night in Los Angeles. The air was bathtub-warm and the city lights didn't seem to strain to sparkle, like they usually do. With my picnic basket full of tasty treats and a nice bottle of Mondavi I headed over to the Hollywood Bowl to see a live performance of A Prairie Home Companion.

If you're not familiar with PHC, it's a radio show on National Public Radio. One of the most successful radio shows of our time. You might be thinking, radio show? You mean like Howard Stern? Ha.. ha ha. No. Mr. Stern's show is not a radio show if you ask me. Neither are most of the morning or political talk shows we started calling radio shows. No, PHC is different, it's a true show in the old tradition of radio shows. It has skits, music, jokes and an old guy telling a story.

In 2006, this type of entertainment is not for everyone. Why, there isn't a pretty face or special effect (other than amazing sound effects) in sight. In fact, there is no sight. Unless, that is, you go to a live performance, where they record the show. Though seeing the show isn't required to enjoy it. I love this show and I love it because of one thing: storytelling.

PHC can tell a story like no one else. With a mix of unbelievable writing and witty execution, the show continually amazes me and shows me that entertainment doesn't really need anything else. The show on Friday was great. They had A-list Hollywood guest stars and Shelby Lynne playing some of her amazing music. You can listen to it here.

Don't worry, this blog is still about games. I post this because on occasion, we need to be reminded that content is always and forever king. You can jump head first into the allure of particle effects, frames per second and polygons per hair strand but that is ultimately just candy. No matter how advanced our technologies get, we will always crave the most simple element of entertainment, the story.