Mozart (anything by him)
Vanessa Mae
Iain M. Banks (with or without the ''M'' )
My girlfriend
Philosophy (some of the time)
Herman Hesse''s work, especially The Glass Bead Game (or Magister Ludi)
Comic books
Roger Zelazny
Dream and Death of The Endless (Sandman series by Neil Gaiman)

Sunandshadow,

It''s no biggie if you have a different viewpoint. I just happen to be extremely motivated by thought of people overcoming their selfish side, not so much a belief in God per se, but just the realization that we are here to better ourselves and perhaps more importantly....better those around us as well. To be honest, and at the risk of getting on a soapbox, I think the ultimate goal of all religions is to point humans away from a viewpoint that they are the pinnacle of the universe. That in the end, there is something beyond themselves.

One of the great Yagyu swordmasters of the 16th century named his sword "ego-killer". I think what fascinates ane motivates me is that it is SO easy to be selfish. I don''t believe humans are inherently evil or sinful, but I definitely believe we are inherently selfish and egotistic. And the idea of overcoming that is very fascinating to me. In this day age, it''s so easy to think about just our selves, and our own needs.

I''ll pass off another famous quote, the first part should be very recognizable, but the second half may not be:

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country....."

And then Mr. JFK goes on to say...

"My fellow citizens of the world. . .ask not what America will do for you,but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man."

Believe it or not, I''m not a democrat either But I find the words VERY profound, as they proclaim the virtue of not being selfish. I think what is missing in games today is guidance. Look at all the critics bashing games for it''s violence. Admittedly, I think those games have their place, and it''s the parents'' fault for not guiding their kids, I think that games can represent a much better image than this.

It''s sort of like comic books. Comics aren''t about being heroes, it''s about beating up the bad guy, or trying to be cool by being anti-hero. I see the same thing in games. Other than the remarkable Black and White, nothing in games really inspires me.