As I approach the one-year anniversary of this little experiment, I want to see how I can find the opportunity to write more and maybe push myself. I think I’ve done a good job of not getting stuck to one type of game and trying to show I care about this form of media. I also hope I’ve threaded that needle of talking about video games, with a hopefully different voice from what I’ve seen from folks out there.

But where do I want to go from here? Well, I know for sure I want to keep the site going and grow it, that much is for sure. But I want to be clear, I’m not going this to make money or make this my full-time gig. Writing is a hobby at this point and I would hate to sink all my efforts into something to be honest doesn’t seem viable anymore as a way to make a living. I think it’s a much better idea to keep this as my own little oasis of game opinion and if people read it, great, if not, well maybe that’s for the best. But it does still feel pretty good to get my ideas out there and not have them stuck in my head.

It feels good to say how I feel and not have those ideas diminished, dismissed or twisted to fit someone else’s ideas. That last bit might seem a bit hyperbolic, but I do feel that talking about video games is more of a minefield than ever. I know my tastes aren’t for everyone, I know a lot of the things I like about games just do not fit maybe my age group or where the industry wants to go. I like games with a story, progression and I want to play a game and exist in that world while I’m playing. I notice I’ve stopped being able to multitask when playing games now. I used to have a show on while I played or would play while a friend watched and I feel like now I want to focus fully on whatever media I’m consuming. If it’s a movie, I want to watch just that movie, phones down, if I’m watching show with someone, I want to be in it with them. When I’m playing a game, I want to focus on that game, I know it’s easy to feel a little guilty about playing video games the more we get older. It can feel like you’re not making good use of your time or that you should have grown out of it by now. But I still see it as a hobby that i enjoy and so that time spent isn’t wasted, so I want to give it the respect it deserves for what it offers me.

What does that mean for this experiment? Well it means I want to write more and I definitely want to finish more games. I want to keep playing those big games, but I also want to build myself up in a way that I can add in a smaller game while I do those big games so that I can actually finish things. I’d love to be able to write more about what is going on in the industry in the moment, but I will be honest that I think a lot of more official sites do better jobs at that and I’m not sure my opinions would add value to the conversation. But most of all, I want to celebrate games and make sure I talk about everything that I’m enjoying. It shouldn’t matter how old it is, or if it’s a AAA game or an Indie. If it’s a good game in my book, I want to talk about it. I also want to try and go back to one the original ideas for this site and do some journaling about what I’m playing, a sort of road diary.

So hey, hopefully someone out there sees more of me on the internet and likes it. Hopefully I have more than 20 points next year and hopefully games keep expanding and growing their reach. Thanks for reading this one, be safe.