January Commentary 2023
Writing
Indiegames
I still owe spoiler-free soft thoughts on Citizen Sleeper ! Sorry that fell through, I've been fighting some writer's block or writer's anxiety, maybe both? But you will most certainly see it soon, along with a quick spoiler-free review of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist , spoiler-free soft thoughts on my first playthrough of Transistor, and a spoiler-free quick review of my experience with Strange Horticulture. Hopefully I get these done before we head into the spring news releases of 2023, in which case I would then owe a top picks post!
Boardgames
I finally got around to playing through Enola Holmes: Finder of Lost Souls, and enjoyed my time with it. It's a fun deduction game even at 2 players and I'll be sharing the full review hopefully within the month over at Board Game Quest.
Nothing else is on the pipeline yet, we'll have to see if some of these games that debuted at SPIEL make their way on ships to the U.S. soon so I can put in requests. We are likely to see a lot more IP-driven games as designers start to hit some creative blocks, which are often hit and miss for me.
Fiction
I'm still working on my conclusion of "Sea of Vows", and let me tell you it's been an emotional ride. I'm trying to unpack why I'm so afraid to end this thing, even though I know how exactly I want it to end I'm guessing I have some kind of underlying fear that all of it is crap. Actively trying to push through this mental and emotional block has been tough but I do still want to bring this thing to life. The plan is still finishing the novel, getting some feedback on the first draft, perhaps leading to a revision and then outreach to agents and publishers.
Video
Streaming
We successfully fundraised $1,110.00 for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and a big chunk of that is thanks to the Claus My Cause event where Ashlinaa stopped by to share some holiday cheer! We also finished The Last Campfire on stream during my vacation week and it was a room full of cut onions with the exception of this adorable pig. As for January's streams, my focus will be on Legends of Runeterra, finally finishing Disco Elysium before we move on to Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Rakuen, with some special analog streams of board games (Jan 7) and amigurumi (Jan 8). I successfully premiered the 2021-2022 video on my affiliate-versary, but you can now find it at your leisure on Youtube.
Short Form
Still navigating my way through Youtube Shorts as the algorithm feels entirely different from TikTok. Our heart-warming and silly clips from Twitch streams continue to do well on TikTok as they give that dopamine/serotonin hit right away but strangely even trying to get those to perform similarly on Instagram Reels is unpredictable. Still, I'm making my best attempt to provide content there as a backup plan for Twitch so if you aren't following already please do! Many of these sites are trying to get into the livestream game and any way for me to not have all my eggs in one basket means stability for future content.
Personal
Currently Playing
We were able to clear 32 Heat on Hades during the stream! Been strongly considering starting a new save without God Mode this time but feeling shy about it (soft chuckle). I've been making my way through Melatonin and Strange Horticulture off stream, both of which I highly recommend if you like rhythm games or detective games, respectively. I'm not sure what I want to sink my teeth into next but it'll likely be anything I need extreme focus for. I tend to have "streamer brain" and this urge to split my attention so any games I play off-stream are for the sole purpose of getting lost without the pressure of anyone watching. I'm thinking Gorogoa or some other detective indie.
IRL
Christmas was a success, including the Secret Santa exchanges with friends. I get really worried that I don't know anyone at all and that my taste in gifts is crap but all of that worry was for nothing as everyone enjoyed what they received. My partner and I exchanged gifts on the eve of Christmas Eve because I just could not withhold my excitement about the gift I got him. In addition to his day job, he's an artist and I did some intense research to find some new watercolor paper and paints for him. Thankfully the sources I used were legit and these are actually very high quality materials (deep sigh of relief). Unfortunately the weather was not a fit for wearing the Selkie dress to New Year's Eve, so I'll have to give it a literal rain check for the next nice date night and wear an older but still pretty backup dress.
Picture of the Month
Like I've mentioned on stream in the past, we have hummingbirds that frequent the area and we often find them hiding out in trees nearby to keep an eye on our feeder. This one is tricky to find but it's on a small branch towards the middle-right of the photo. Cute right?
Feel free to reply directly to this email to let me know your thoughts, or perhaps any content that you'd like to see or questions you might have. Otherwise, have a great first month of 2023 and I look forward to writing to you in February!