State of the Blog: 2020 Edition

A new decade has begun! It's time to discuss the plans, objectives, and loose ideas I have in mind for this blog in the coming months.

On A Personal Note

First of all, I have to address something on a personal level. I try to keep personal things out of this blog because I know all two or three of you read it for the game-centric content--or at the very least to disagree with me in a later conversation. However, since I don't stream on Twitch, and things are very iffy in the YouTube realm with their new policies they won't give legal counsel on, this blog is it for me. Since it does mean so much to me, it will be impacted by personal things as a matter of course.

My health has been on the decline over the last few years. I was, in one breath from a physician, told I had hypertension (high blood pressure), hypothyroidism (my thyroid is lazy), and diabetes (insert Wilford Brimley joke here). That was in 2016. Since then, it's been a struggle to have a consistent physician, so it's taken entirely too long for various issues related to these diagnoses to be treated. My blood pressure is doing great thanks to one medication. Even when I'm stressed out or irritated they tell me I'm at 120/79 or thereabouts. My thyroid has been at good levels since I was put on medication for it.

My diabetes has been something else entirely. I was finally put on a medication that didn't make me feel sick in 2017, but it only brings my A1C down to a 6.5 (the ideal is 6.0 or below). Because of this ongoing struggle, I've been dealing with neuropathy in my feet--basically nerve damage that makes my feet hypersensitive to temperatures and painful to walk on every day. I was recently referred to a neurologist for treatment, but I won't have anything to go on until mid-January when I have an EMG (electromyography) and NCS (nerve conduction study).

The tests are supposed to help the physicians determine if the neuropathy is diabetic in origin or not. It will dictate how they proceed with treatment. This is important for me to mention because the pain already makes it difficult for me to sit at my computer some days. Additionally, if it is diabetic and progresses it can start to happen in my hands. I use my hands for a lot more than just gaming, so I am praying for a turnaround in my healthcare this year.

Previous Milestone Incentives

Yeah, I'm still chipping away at the ones I owe everyone for 2018, as well as the new set for 2019. The following is the list I have yet to deliver on and how ready I am to make good on them.

• 2018 Milestone: $300 Says "I know Shaq-Fu" -- I have the game installed, I just need to sit down and play so I can blog about it. It looks ridiculous!
• 2018 Milestone: Getting Over It for $600 -- This refers to "Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy," the rage-inducing game that made Markiplier throw a chair. I have it installed, it's a matter of sitting down to play it. I have thought about recording it and posting the video.
• 2018 Milestone: Praise the $800 Sun -- I have started to play both Dark Souls and Dark Souls III, but couldn't decide which one would be better for me to suffer through. In either case, it's begun.
• 2019 Milestone: It's What's Inside That Counts for $100 -- This refers to wearing equipment appearances only in LOTRO, no cosmetics. This one is really hard for me. The goal is to last 2 weeks.
• 2019 Milestone: These $300 Boots Are Made For Walking -- This refers to no stable rides in LOTRO for 2 weeks. Also very hard for me, especially with how large the game has become. But I suppose if I focus on a lower level character for a couple weeks that it won't be so bad.
• 2019 Milestone: Ain't No Zorah Magdaros High Enough for $400 -- My original goal was to make it to hunter rank 6 in Monster Hunter World, but I don't think I'll make it that far. I will do my best!
• 2019 Milestone: $500 Digital Art -- Didn't get it done for Christmas, so you'll have to settle for it being tardy again. 
• 2019 Milestone: $600 Country & Rap for Melody's Escape -- Can't seem to settle on 3 titles from each genre to play in Melody's Escape, but once I do I just have to ace them and share the screenshot of the final score. 
• 2019 Milestone: $700 Dead Space 3 -- Originally the idea was to play a zombie game, but my husband said this would be better and I trust him. It's not my usual genre, and that's what matters!
• 2019 Milestone: $800 Alien -- I let my husband choose a horror movie for me to watch. I have to be careful about what I watch because my imagination can give me absolutely horrific and realistic nightmares. This one seemed safe, so I approved of his choice.
• 2019 Milestone: $900 Fanfic -- I haven't nailed down a genre yet, mostly because I hate the idea of fanfic and don't want to sully anything original. Expect this to be one of the last ones I deliver on in this list.
• 2019 Mielstone: $1,000 Eat Sushi -- One day, when we have our ducks in a row and not squirrels at a rave, I'll sit down at the nearby sushi place and get a sampler to go with a regular meal and blog all about it.
• 2019 Milestone: $1,200 Kin Reward for Away Shall Fade in LOTRO -- This mostly involves waiting to hear back from the Community Manager after requesting goodies. 

Consistency

If you follow GR, you've seen that I've been keeping a consistent schedule of thematic entries on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This was a fantastic suggestion (thank you, Kii!) that has given me wiggle room to work on harder content without stressing that nothing is getting posted. I hope you are enjoying the thematic entries because I have a schedule set through mid-April.

In addition to those thematic entries, I hope to add some regular review-style entries about adventure or puzzle games I have tried. I have ideas I want to explore for the format of those entries, so I hope you'll give me lots of feedback when I get to them.

Reader Rewards

I've mentioned rewards for my readers before. I am in the process of reconfiguring my failed Patreon attempt and hashing out details for solid rewards. This may or may not involve Teespring. If you have ideas for what you'd like to see as rewards, please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly through email.

Extra Life

I have already registered for Extra Life 2020, but I plan to let it be backseat to my blogging efforts this year. I want to show that I have something unique to say about gaming and let that be the reason people choose to support my Extra Life efforts. There is no team this year for a similar reason. The team members I recruited in the past have, as a whole, not reached their goals. I think only one person ever did, but has since stopped being an active gamer. So this year I plan to join a big team later in the year -- maybe Standing Stone Games (Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online), or Trion (RIFT). I get incentives from them for raising money for the team, as well as healthy competition with other people who are actively trying to raise money for the kids. And this way I don't have to worry about being a motivator or giving back to a group of people. I can just enjoy gaming and putting effort into my blog as I'm able to.

A Focal Point

If you've read everything up until this point, I'm amazed. Are you my husband? I don't know who else would read all of that. Thank you. My big struggle, after deciding all of that and considering my strengths and limitations, is figuring out what to refocus on for Gamer Reverie. It's always been my blog for Extra Life and now I'm not sure what personality it has the capacity for. I've always taken a certain amount of pride in being a casual gamer, and that may be the key. People watch gamers on Twitch mostly to be entertained. People watch gamers' videos on YouTube to be entertained or to see how to accomplish something in the same game. What can I do differently? Well, I can share why I thought a game was fun and why I feel it's worth spending time and money on it. That's valuable information for casual gamers -- which most gamers are these days.

I hope this wasn't too boring -- well, okay, I know it was likely INCREDIBLY boring, but now you can't say I didn't mention any of this before. Happy 2020, everyone! Let's all play some games!