What Gaming Means to Me ...

First off I want to say that a certain Twitter follower whom I've blocked seems to be tinkering around with my passwords, and social media accounts. If you notice any suspicious activities/posts that seem to be coming from me be aware. They are more than likely not from me ...

Growing up I've seen some truly dark times, and have experienced a lot of grief in said times. As such gaming for me has been an escape from my troubled existence many times over. Had gaming never become a part of my life I don't think I would have done too well in the grand scheme of things. I truly don't. I know a lot of gamers out there who can relate with me in saying that same thing. When it comes to gaming in the current iteration of consoles though I'm finding it very hard to enjoy the entertainment genre I've grown up loving. The introduction of online features, and the follow-up of half-finished games that incorporate shady DLC practices have all but begun to bleed the gaming industry dry. Like a proper horror movie vampire greed, and the seeking of massive profit has started to drain the life force out of gaming, and the gamers who dare invest in it's current generation offerings. Sadly too many gamers have become complacent with said practices, and wrongdoings. They don't speak up for themselves, and just accept things as they are.

At this point gaming is a rocky situation for me. Both on the gamer side of things, and on the journalism side of things. As previously mentioned my love for online gaming, and the socialization options it offers have begun to become an annoyance rather than the intended fun experience that it should be. I think developers, publishers, and content creators fail to realize that the quality of the online experience is just as important as the offline since both come hand in hand. They are slack on online moderation, and fail to hear out the minority of gamers like myself who are constantly submitting complaints. Not all of us have friends who can play a game locally, and we have to enjoy the online with random human players who more often than not are out to troll, and cheat.

In regards to gaming journalism things have slowed down significantly here on this blog. If you haven't noticed it would surprise me. I haven't stopped reaching out to developers, and PR, but I'm still being met with silence, and non-response. Whenever I do get accepted to do a review it's only ever so often, and from PR who know me on a more personal level. I'm not going to bash on PR, or developers, but I will say that some PR are definitely easier to work with than others. In light of the current hacking that I'm experiencing I have a feeling that that may have also played a role in me not getting replies, or review material. If that's the case apologies many times over to the PR I've outed, and accused. With me not getting a response though it's hard for me to tell what the hell is going on. It's imperative that you at least acknowledge me somewhere even if it's through Twitter to help me better gain an understanding of the situation.

This brings me to the third topic of discussion, the future of this blog. I will always (as long as I'm living & well) try to post something interesting enough for you to read. Whether it be hobby, life, or game related I will do my best to post something worth reading each month. I feel I owe it to my long term supporters, and followers who have stuck with me through thick & thin. You truly do mean the world to me, and I cannot thank you enough. I just hope you return when I do post something, and that you keep supporting my efforts for the betterment of the hobbies that I'm passionate about. I am here for you, and will be on Twitter more often than not should you feel the urge to chat with me about gaming, or whatever. I hope to hear from you soon!

Your Last Samurai,
Brad Carver (OtakuDante)