Jesse Koepke

I quit Elden Ring and now I love gaming again

Like the rest of the world, my first attempt at the Lands Between was 2022.

That’s also where my attempt ended.

I played maybe seven hours and got complement lost. Who was I was supposed to fight? Where was I supposed to go? Why was I always dying? Why did everyone I beat come back to life? Why is everything so scary and weird??

It reminded me of another series of firsts. Elder Scrolls: Morrowind was my first RPG, one very first Xbox. I got lost and started over at least twice in that game. Elden Ring was shaping up to be the same thing so I quit.

Wouldn’t you know, two years later FromSoftware released the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Everyone started talking about Elden Ring again, so I decided to give it another try.

I’m a Dad Gamer

First a bit of context. I’m a dad of four kids under 7. I run a solo business as a documentary editor and screenwriter. My wife and I love spending time together, and while she likes gaming it’s not how she relaxes.

So is there a lot of time for gaming? No, no there isn’t.

If I had to make a generous guess, I’d say I play about an hour a week. Maaaybe 2 if I’m lucky or ignore draft 2 of my fantasy novel. But I also love gaming. It’s a stress reliever for me and a chance to enjoy a good story, good graphics, conquer a challenge and fun action.

In that scenario, taking on the mountain of Elden Ring felt nigh impossible. 100+ hours of gameplay? I’d be lucky if I finished it in the next two years, if ever.

After a long break from gaming, I’ve been loving the Assassin’s Creed series. The vibe of Syndicate hit the target, and the sorrowful violin and choir that plays when you summit a building is still a happy place for me. I then went on a binge the fall of ‘23 and in quick succession bought Black Flag, AC III, Odyssey, and Origins.

Then came the best game I’ve played in years, Titanfall 2. The action, intensity, and doable storyline was just perfect. I’ve been on a search for another game like that ever since.

So that’s my gaming in a nutshell. Put another way, it’s the opposite of Elden Ring. But hey, 12 million copies can’t be wrong, right? I must have missed something my first time around.

Oh that’s how you do it

I loaded up Elden Ring and this time it clicked. The crazy design, the re-populating enemies, the unmarked map—it was all intentional. I watched a dozen video essays on the brilliance of the map design. I looked up tutorials on how to fight better, block better, level up better.

I was still a novice, no doubt. I don’t have anywhere near enough expertise to talk about “my build”. (I don’t know, I have a sword and haven’t found a staff yet?)

As I played more, it slowly made more sense. The point was for it to be hard; you needed to level up. The point was to not tell you anything; you had to explore and discover it all.

I put 25+ hours in. I finally beat Margit and the dragon in the swamp. I accidentally found the hidden path to the Lakes of Liurnia. I rode my horse through the crazy fire land while my wife watched, cringing as I fled the abominations that therein lie. I got up to level 20-something, maybe even close to 30.

And eventually it was Morrowind all over again.

I got lost. What was I supposed to do in the Lakes of Liurnia? Find the castle and beat the boss, I suppose. But where? The Lakes had fewer obvious places to go than Limgrave.

I started to have a feeling that fighting all the enemies didn’t matter. Some of them you could defeat once for all and got a nice bonus. But the minions scattered across the plains, or marshes, or caves? Not so much.

I know the point is to get runes so you can level up. But it also makes the excitement of clearing a camp a lot less, since I know they’ll be back as soon as I take a nap.

Ultimate cosmic game, itty bitty playing time

The last straw came when, late one night after finally getting the kids asleep, I sat down to play. I had maybe 10-15 minutes before my wife and I relaxed, so I hopped on Torrent.

I was in a huge cave that had obvious next levels to it, so I ran past a bunch of glowy yak guys to find a path. There wasn’t one, but there were altars I could light. I did that and got a notice that something now had power. Oh, maybe it was that pedestal I found earlier!

I rode my horse up there… but no. That wasn’t it. With no idea how to get the lift working or what had gotten power, I went to a transport arch and chose to go somewhere.

I appeared on a plain next to a lake. I ran around and fought some guys but man these were stronger! I ran away and found a camp. I managed to defeat most of them but then the main knight smote my ruins upon a mountainside.

And that was it. I knew I would have to run all the way back up there to get my runes, but then what? I was lost and my game time was up.

So I quit. The next day I loaded Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey…

And felt the first stab of joy at gaming I has felt in the past two months.

I’m just not that kind of gamer (right now)

With my focus on Elden Ring, I hadn’t touched Odyssey in a while. But I had 15 minutes to play, so I jumped to the map.

There was a lookout nearby so I headed to that, synced, and got an easy win. Then noticed a cave nearby, so I road my horse over there and defeated the sirens. I fought off a couple guys at a camp, and then had to sign off.

The victories were nice, but the feel of the game was almost rapturous. The ocean shimmered golden, the footsteps fell crisply, even the sounds of climbing were enjoyable. I lead my horse through lush trees and waving flower gardens.

It seriously felt like a breath of fresh air. I had a goal and a beautiful landscape to ride through. And after that, another goal on a nearby island. I sailed my ship, listening to the waves crash and the crew sing, and then I was off, synchronizing a new location, burning Spartan supplies and defeating the local leader and his henchmen—for good.

Elden Ring is a jawdropping game. The scale, the depth, the way they don’t hold your hand, the sense of achievement when you finally defeat a boss—it’s all award-winning stuff.

I get the appeal now. I understand why everyone raves about FromSoftware and Elden Ring.

I also realize I’m not that kind of gamer. I don’t have 5 hours to explore and figure things out in a gaming session. I don’t have time to wander around a map until I stumble on the next thing to do.

With limited time, I need extra focus, not less. Some gamers look down on Ubisoft for hand-holding, but I’m a gamer who needs a helping hand.

Maybe in the future I’ll be a different gamer. Maybe one day I’ll have open hours and less pressure on my time. (Hahahahaha… sorry, sorry. Ok I’m better now… hahahaha.)

But right now I’m going to revel in a beautiful setting and take the quick wins. Because if you’re not enjoying the game you’re playing, what’s the point?

Is there a game that makes you smile? I’d love to hear about it.
Practicing Media Literacy: Trump and Biden trial verdicts
Everyone loves talking about how the news is biased.

Conservatives see the mainstream news as liars and in a large-scale collusion to hide the truth. Progressives see fundamentalism in conservative news sources.

There’s a middle group, the one I belong to, that wants centric news—call it as it is, don’t spin it or layer opinion on it. That’s hard to find so I tend to read multiple sources and build an aggregate perspective.

We are surrounded by news all day long, but how often do we critically analyze it? We need to recognize how words and images are being used so that we can be aware of biases or judgments.

That’s why, when the trials verdicts for Donald Trump and Hunter Biden were released, I immediately took screenshots of the top stories on major conservative and progressive sources.

I wanted to compare on each news source:
- The words used to announce the verdicts
- The images used to represent Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden
Mr. Trump was charged with falsifying business records in an attempt to sway the 2016 election. He was found guilty on May 30, 2024.

Mr. Biden was found guilty on June 11 of three felony counts involving a handgun he purchased in 2018.

Let’s see how their verdicts were presented.

Donald Trump Verdict

New York Times

5 words. All caps. As simple as you can get. Trump (the person) guilty (the verdict) on all counts (there were multiple, and he’s found guilty on all of them.)

They used a photo of Mr. Trump with a resigned, almost tired expression, with top lighting that casts his eyes in shadow.

CNN

CNN sticks with “Trump guilty”. But then it adds more detail: “34” counts. And they are “felony charges”. They highlight the number of counts and the type of charges.

They include a video with a thumbnail of Mr. Trump looking serious. The lighting is still top down, like the New York Times, but unlike the NYT this photo is wider, showing lawyers and police officers in the background, highlighting that Mr. Trump is in court.

Fox News

The headline from Fox News is considerably longer. Like CNN they include the number of counts. They don’t say “felony charges” though. The word guilty is still used.

Beyond that, they add a few details:
- The headline starts with Mr. Trump’s strong reaction: “Trump blasts”.
- Then they quote how he described the case: “rigged, disgraceful trial”
- Then they highlight “a jury finds him guilty”. New York City is historically progressive, so there has been doubt that a jury in NYC could be impartial
- Lastly they highlight “historic conviction”. A president has never been convicted of a federal crime before.
In all, “Trump is found guilty” is placed after Mr. Trump’s own reaction and sandwiched by other details (“jury”, historic”).

They also use a wider photo like CNN, but this one shows Mr. Trump’s face in better lighting. It also highlights people watching him, a crowd present as the former president walks away from a “historic conviction”.

National review

The National Review has a shorter headline than the New York Times. But it has nothing to do with the verdict. It only highlights their opinion about the trial itself.

They use a more active photo of Mr. Trump, one with better lighting that highlights his face and action of speaking. He’s placed next to Alvin Bragg, the judge for the trial, whose photo is also in action of speaking but with eyebrows upraised, which typically shows less aggression or certainty.

Newsmax

Newsmax starts with the verdict: “Trump’s guilty verdict”. But it’s mentioned in context to how the GOP donors (which is the average American) responded: “fires up GOP donors”.

They also include the line, “Strong polls help, too”. I understand this to mean that Mr. Trump’s strong polls have fired up donors as well.

Newsmax is using the guilty verdict to highlight the response of donors. Money is coming in. It also highlights Mr. Trump’s strong polls.

The photo they use adds to the strength: Trump is almost by himself, face defiant, fist raised, tie blowing in action.

One america news

In contrast to everyone else, One America News doesn’t lead with the guilty verdict. Their top and largest story is about a Chicago women and the police. The story quite sensational: the woman stole a cop car, dragged an officer, and hit 4 other cars. Even as I write this I want to find out more.

Below that eye-catching story is Mr. Trump’s verdict: “Jury finds Trump guilty on 34 counts”. Their headline is similar to the New York Times and CNN, with the exception that they start with “Jury finds”, highlighting the potentially biased jury of NYC citizens.

Unlike NYT or CNN, they continue on: “in so-called ‘hush money’ trial”. They describe what the trial was (in case readers didn’t know), and use the phrase “so-called”. This calls into doubt the nature of the trial and how it’s being framed.

The photo they use is of Mr. Trump with a serious expression, with lighting from the side instead of just the top. This casts most of his face into shadow.

If we summarize the headlines, we see:
- New York Times and CNN use a bare-bones, strong headline. Noun, verb, subject
- Fox News focuses on Mr. Trump’s reaction to the verdict and how this verdict has never happened before
- National Review and Newsmax focus on other aspects: it was rigged, donors are fired up, polls are strong
- OAN doesn’t highlight the story at all, and calls into doubt the nature of the trial
- Each also has a distinct image they use to portray Mr. Trump: defiant and strong, or downcast and shadowed
Having looked at the guilty verdict of Mr. Trump, a charged political figure that conservatives love and progressives hate, let’s turn the table.

Let’s now look at the guilty verdict of Hunter Biden, a charged (side) political figure that conservatives hate and progressives at least tangentially like (because he is the son of the current Democratic president).

Hunter Biden Verdict

New York TImes

The New York Times has almost the same headline as Trump, but with two added details.

First, they use “Hunter Biden” instead of only the last name, like they did for Mr. Trump. This is presumably because they need to differentiate between Bidens in the public sphere.

Second, they include the nature of the case: it was about guns.

The photo they use shows Mr. Biden in action, with a well-lit face, flanked by his wife and daughter hand in hand. This is in contrast to Mr. Trump’s photo, which was dark, face top-lit, and by himself. (Also, does he look like Steve Carrel in this photo or is that just me?)

CNN

CNN’s headline is almost word-for-word like the New York Times. They add “on all counts”. This highlights that there were multiple points in the trial and he was guilty in all of them.

There is also the additional text featured in bold below the image. Mr. Biden apparently “flashed his legal team a brief smile, perhaps stunned”. CNN highlights Mr. Biden’s good mood, and takes a guess at what he was feeling.

The photo they use is Mr. Biden alone, with a decently lit face (not well-lit, but not with deep shadows), his expression thoughtful. And most obviously, there are flowers behind him. Part of the image is blurred. It’s a very nice photo.

Fox news

Fox News mirrors CNN’s headlight almost word for word: “… Hunter Biden found guilty on all counts”. They merely leave off “in gun case”.

They do however start the headline with a difference focus: “Prosecution expected to speak…”. They highlight the prosecution, the lawyers who brought the case against Mr. Biden. We are going to hear from the prosecution, not Mr. Biden’s defense lawyers.

The photo they use is a stern looking photo of Mr. Biden, alongside a police photo of the gun in question.

National Review

The National Review again almost mirrors CNN word for word. They use “convicted” instead of “guilty”, and they highlight that it was a “federal gun trial”.

They also include text that highlights the potential sentence, while highlighting it’s likely he’ll get a liter sentence.

The photo they use is top-lit, with Mr. Biden’s eyes in shadow. His expression feels to me of apprehension, waiting to see what will happen. It’s also distinctly of him in the courtroom.

Newsmax

Newsmax mirrors the New York Times almost perfectly. They simply add “on all counts”.

The photo is similar to CNN’s: Mr. Biden is still in front of the flowers, only now his expression is more focused, his eyes slightly in more shadow, and he’s in action.

One America News

OAN did not feature the story. There was a small mention near the top, with text that highlights “more evidence”: there were “text messages to a drug dealer”.

The story finally gets a headline when I scrolled down, and again it highlights the evidence: “Evidence is ‘overwhelming’”.

The photo used here is decently lit, Mr. Biden looks focused, and he’s walking with his daughter hand in hand.

If we summarize these headlines, we see:
- All news sources highlight “guilty” and “convicted”
- All but one news source highlights “all counts”
- OAN highlights the “overwhelming” amount of evidence
- NYT and CNN use well-lit photos that highlight family and a beautiful backdrop
There is one thing no one mentions: this was also a jury trial.

While jury was frequently mentioned in Mr. Trump’s trial, I had to do an additional search to find out that it was in fact also a federal jury that found Mr. Biden guilty.

What can we learn from this?

News sources can report the same news, but frame it differently.
- They can use strong, definitive language like the New York Times (“Trump guilty on all counts”) or Newsmax (“Hunter Biden guilty on all counts”).
- They can surround the verdict with other language, like Fox News (“Trump blasts ‘rigged, disgraceful trial’ after jury finds him guilty” or “Prosecution expected to speak after Hunter Biden found guilty”)
- They can use darkly-lit photos with uncertain expressions that show the person alone (National Review), or they can use well-lit photos with pleased expressions that show the person surrounded by loving family (CNN).
- They can feature the story at the very top (Fox News) or down the page (OAN)
- They can use strong active words, like “Trump blasts”
- They can state the story in as few words as possible (NYT) or not even talk about the story (National Review)
For Mr. Trump’s verdict, NYT and CNN strongly stated he was guilty. In contrast, Fox News, National Review, Newsmax, and OAN either surrounded the verdict with other details or didn’t talk about it at all.

For Mr. Biden’s verdict, almost all news sources strongly stated he was guilty. Only OAN didn’t highlight the story (althought when they did talk about it, they highlighted the “overwhelming” amount of evidence).

No matter what news source you read, pay attention to:
- The words they used
- The images they used
- The way a sentence is phrased
All these factors reveal our inherent biases, and the direction a news source wants to point us.

In an age when there are thousands of headlines coming at us each day, media literacy has never been more important.
Books I Read in 2023
Where did the year go? I could have sworn it was January yesterday, and my wife and I were finding out we were pregnant with our fourth.

I suppose that might have something to do with it.

Despite a growing family and 3 other kids to chase, I managed to read more books than I expected.

I managed to find a couple good fiction books (rare for me lately) and of course more business and family books. But more on that later.

So without further ado, here are the books I read in 2023.
1. 1/7: Let Her Lead, by Brady Boyd
2. 2/25: Endless Stream of Referrals, by Donnie Boivin
3. 3/22: Writing great characters in the first 10 pages, by Frank Catalano
4. 3/15: Getting Things Done, by David Allen (not technically done, but close enough)
5. 4/16: A Book a Week, by Kate Hall
6. 4/26: Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim (stopped when it got to management strategy and big companies)
7. 5/10: How to get paid for what you know, by Graham Cochrane
8. 5/19: How to outline cozy mystery, by Sara Rosett
9. 6/10: The Automatic Customer, by John Warrilow (skipped a little find applicable sections)
10. 7/15: Business for the Glory of God, by Wayne Grudham
11. 8/4: The Five marks of a man, by Brian Tome
12. 8/7: You have what it takes, by John Eldredge
13. 8/23: The 7AM Workout Edge, by Anthony Arvanitakis
14. 9/14: The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book, by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
15. 10/19: Sheet Music, by Kevin Leman
16. 11/12: Win at Work and Succeed at Life, by Michael Hyatt
17. 12/14: The Lost Metal, by Brandon Sanderson
18. The Atlantis Prophecy, by Thomas Greanias
Favorite Books

Fiction

I’ve been reading fantasy for most of my life and I seem to be running out of books to read (which is why I’m writing my own series). So the past couple of years I’ve been trying new genres. I came across The Atlantis prophecy at a used bookstore and it was a fun ride. I’m looking forward to reading more in that series.

The best fiction by far that I read this year, though, was Sanderson’s The Lost Metal.

I’m going to be honest. I’m 25% of the way through Rhythm of War and I’ve lost interest. I was starting to wonder if Sanderson had lost his touch.

But boy oh boy, does he still got it. Metal has incredible character journeys and the best written action scenes in the entire Mistborn series, much less any fantasy I’ve read. I cannot believe how good this book was. If this is where Sanderson is at, I’m going to push through on Rhythm.

Business

As a husband, father, and business owner, Michael Hyatt’s book Win at work and succeed at life was a vital read for me. I appreciate for he pointed out that people either throttle back God-given ambition or sacrifice your most important relationships. Win gave a framework for how to win at both. I think I already need to re-read this one.

Wayne Grudem’s Business for the glory of God was the best breakdown of what the Bible says about money and business I’ve ever read. I realized hour many wrong beliefs I have, and how much God loves bless us and others through business.

Family/Personal

As a husband and father to three daughters, Let Her Lead, Billy Boyd’s look at women in the Bible and ministry, was a solid overview. He stops short of advocating for women to preach (by omission more than explicit statement), but it’s a short book that addresses the few verses used by some to argue against women. As a member of Boyd’s church, I appreciated that this is my pastor’s view.

Men often point to Wild At Heart as the best book on masculinity. Where John Eldredge’s book is a treaty on vision, Brian Tome’s Five Marks of a Man is the practical application. I haven’t read a book this good on being a man in years. I immediately bought a print copy (I listened to it, read perfectly and expressively by the author) and I want to give it to ask the men I know. I’ll also bring rereading for myself and my son as he grows up.

Reading in 2024

As always, I want to get better at retention and application. I’ve been developing my notes system in Notion, so perhaps that will help.

I’d also like to read more in my Kindle. It’s funny, I’ve had a Kindle for so long (15+ years?) that it’s a nostalgic thing for me to use.

The biggest change I’d like to do is read new books. For a few more I’ve been frustrated when I got to used bookstores; I rarely find books I want.

When I expressed that to my wife, she said, “You need to buy new books.” 😳 I’ve never done this, for many reasons read to money (see Grudem’s book above). But by golly I think she’s right.

So I’ve joined the Barnes & Noble membership and am planning to buy a new book maybe once a month. First up: Murtagh, by Christopher Paolini.

Best of reading in 2024!
Creating a fantasy world
When I decided to write a series about a scavenger searching for treasure, I knew the story would need an expansive world. Not just in size, but ethnicities, nationalities, biomes, geographical features, and on and on.

I hoped to emulate features from two of my favorite series:
- The continuous discovery of Harry Potter. Even in the last book he is learning new things about the wizard of world
- The buried history of Lord of the Rings. References in the books and moss-covered ruins in the movies draw you to wonder.
To accomplish the first, the maps are small and limited in The Key of Taculon, the first book in the series. As the characters explore, their understanding of world expands with them.

To accomplish the second, I needed to bury history for them to find. I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration for Egypt—not in architecture, culture, or location, but how pyramids and temples and all sorts of things were buried in sand for 4,000 years. I mean come on! How cool must it have been to dig out things buried for millennia? That’s the feeling I wanted to capture with this series.

Geography

Being from the Rocky Mountains in Montana, geographical features are important for me. The green-blue of pine trees at a distance; the fog that hangs over mountain peaks in the morning; the crisp air of fall and spring—I wanted to set my story predominantly in a place similar to northern United States.

Moving southwest, the land dries out into red rocks and desert similar to Zion National Park. The humid swamps of southern United States lead to the cold east coast waters, progressing further south into the jungles and unexplored reaches like the vast stretches of South America.

These are the places most familiar to me, from where I’ve lived to nations I’ve visited. I wanted to explore what that would look like in a fantasy setting, so that became my main continents to begin the story.

Ethnicities

In all my other fantasy writing, I’ve avoided the typical elves, dwarves, etc. This time I wanted to populate my stories with these, but in new ways.

So this series has three main races:
- Elves
- Dwarves
- Humans
These are iconic characters in fantasy, and with that comes a lot of stereotypes. I wanted my series to feel familiar, yet with a fresh take. So my races are different, both in their personalities and also the power structure in the world. I’ll delve more into that in a later post.

Creating a fantasy world is always a massive undertaking. There are thousands of years of history to discover, and the series will reveal this over time. I’m excited for you to discover it along with the characters!
Books I read in 2022
2022 brought with a mix of business and time management, and just one book of fiction. I’ve been in a bit of a rut for fiction, so that number has dwindled over recent years. I did find that I’m enjoying reading historical books.
1. 1/17: Predictable Success, by Les McKeown
2. 3/3: Anything You Can Image: Peter Jackson & the Making of Middle-Earth, by Ian Nathan
3. 3/5: The Marvel Studios Story, by Stephanie and Charlie Wetzel
4. 6/23: Time Management in 20 minutes a day, by Holly Reisem Hanna
5. 7/25: Refuse to be Done, by Matt Bell
6. 7/29: Writing Vivid Settings, by Wayne Hall
7. 7/30: Grace over Grind, by Shae Bynes
8. 8/2: The Fine Art of Small Talk, by Debra Fine
9. 8/8: Warm Email Prospecting, by Ed Gandia
10. 8/22: Summary of Blair Enns’ Winning Without Pitching Manifesto
11. 8/25: The Accidental President, by A. J. Baine
12. 8/27: Generating Business Referrals Without Asking, by Stacey Brown Randall
13. 9/10: The Money Nerve, by Robert Wheeler
14. 9/14: Find More Money, by Art Rainer (skipped over the middle portion)
15. 9/23: The Cold Email Manifesto, by Robert Indries and Alex Berman (stopped when they got to team outreach)
16. 10/10: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by JK Rowling (I actually stopped 50 pages from the end because we watched the movie and it’s a fair bit different than the book.)
17. 10/14: How to write fast, by Sean Platt and Neeve Silver
18. 11/07: Speed Reading, Ryan James
19. 12/18: How to turn down a billion dollars, the Snapchat story, by Billy Gallagher
So without further ado, here’s what I read in 2022.

Favorite Books

Anything you can imagine

This is the definitive account of how the Lord of the Rings movies were made. At some point I realized the book was going to go day by day through the production—and I decided I was ok with that. It was fascinating on multiple levels: as a huge fan of the books and films, as a fantasy writer, and as an editor/film person.

The Marvel Studios Story

I’m also a huge fan of Marvel and Disney, so this short book was a lovely read after my wife gave it to me for Christmas. It stopped short of the final awe-inspiring Phase 3 and conclusive avengers films, so now in my list is Joanna Robinson’s book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.

The Accidental President

As a screenwriter looking for great stories, I’m finding the corners of history to be fascinating. I heard a mention about Harry Truman’s first few months as president and found Baine’s book on the subject. There was so much more to the story than I imagined, and I loved every bit of it.

Generating Business Referrals Without Asking

As a small business owner, I often rely on referrals from happy customers. Randall’s approach was simple, non-intrusive, and best of all showed how to do it without asking for favors.