July Glorify 2024
Writing
Indiegames
I had to settle for a soft thoughts post about 1000xRESIST, mainly because the Ludonarracon key was revoked. This is something I had always wondered about when it came to content creation because at any time the publishers could just take back or invalidate a key. Odd that it finally happened just when I was actively working on content!
My roundup of the 10 most anticipated games during the Summer Game Fest is available here on Ko-fi for free, in case you missed it last month. This was a hard one to put together because of just how many games I ended up wishlisting from Wholesome Direct alone.
Upcoming posts on Ko-fi will be about The Test and Signs of the Sojourner (by the way, if you have the World Land Trust Bundle or the indie bundle for Palestinian aid, you own it already), both of which I binge played in June and gave me big feelings.
Video
Streaming
We’re still working on Dave the Diver streams and as soon as as we finish, we will continue the gameplay for In Stars and Time from where we started during the mutual aid fundraiser. Playing Journey on my birthday was also such a wonderful choice and honestly that game will stick with me the rest of my life. I absolutely did get a magical experience because of another player sticking by me as my companion, and I grabbed a Twitch highlight of my favorite moment here.
To those who spent time with me during the stream and also to those who had some financial wiggle room to spoil me for my birthday, thank you so so much! We were able to fund my Japanese lessons and get partway to my next voice acting lesson. All of my day job salary goes to bills so it means a lot when you all come together to help me make some dreams come true.
Long Form
I’m still working on the summary and review of Thirsty Suitors; I unfortunately got a little sidetracked with the Seeing Stars DLC for A Little to the Left, which you can check out here, and the Star Stuff beta build here.
Personal
Currently Playing
While I haven’t actually played it yet I did buy Tracks of Thought on day 1! The developers were going through tough times in their personal lives and I loved the demo of the game from my time at PAX West, so it only seemed right to send them some kindness on release day. Hopefully by the time the next newsletter comes around I’ll have more thoughts to share :)
IRL
June was a whirlwind of experiences! Seeing Odesza in an amphitheater was night and day from the last time I saw them as an opening act. It’s an incredible experience to follow the journey of an artist you enjoy.
Netflix hosting Gozilla Minus One meant that I could watch it again and there is much more environmental storytelling just with the use of color. Seeing it in black and white made you focus on the drama and character dynamics but I felt that color infused it with more emotion without any words. The nostalgia continues later this month with another tornado movie, Twisters. I loved the first Twister so hopefully this one stands on its own.
I did a lot of soul searching again with my birthday focusing on things that align with my values. I spend a lot of time trying things and not really culling the interests, leading to feeling spread thin. Looking at what is worth that investment of time and energy, and realizing that oftentimes it's when we feel the most frustrated or sad or just emotional in general that signals a need for change. I’m trying to find out what that means for me as I travel around the sun once more, and showing myself kindness in not having the answers right away.
Picture of the Month
While spending some time in Palo Alto we walked by some foliage on the sidewalk during sunset and I just loved how the light and shadows played upon these. The colors seemed so vibrant and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share. I’m not entirely sure if these are weeds or regular plants but they’re still super pretty.
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, sending you all my crystal clear thoughts in the sky for the month and I look forward to writing to you in August!