Hot damn, another month bites the dust. Straight into it.
There's 1/4 of the Marathon 2 script left to record voice for, and I've already begun composing the video. We're close to done.
I've been brainstorming ideas for the shorter length videos and already have a sizeable list to work through. The different projects I mentioned some time ago have been transferred to this list. I'll likely still preview early access indie games because there are many great projects out there, but I haven't decided what the next one will be. I also haven't decided what the next mainline video will be on; it'll be a surprise for all, me included.
What's Blondie playin'?
I've been smashing Abiotic Factor pretty hard this month since I'm now longplaying it on my Blondefire channel. Can't get enough, such a well-designed and fun game to work through. The Half-Life theme is the icing on the cake.
Ambitions
Completion of the Marathon 2 video is going to act as kind of a reset; I'll do all the stuff in this list to clear it away and start fresh. Tidy the desk, so to speak.
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Create a playlist for the videos my Youtube buddies create so that I can catch up on their work. This month I've been too wired to watch Youtube, social media, anything online, really.
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Fix Patreon alerts so that I get notified when other people I follow post something.
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Add recommendations to my Patreon. I'll eventually set aside a chunk of time to do all of this in one hit.
Personal ambitions
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Running - this has been a solid month for running progress. Another round of sickness hit my family but I miraculously avoided it and stayed healthy and strong. All training is now done with the intention to build and improve, I even have a second pair of running shoes to switch between. The goal is still the same: 5min/km's at zone 3. The new lactate threshold and VO2 sessions will get me there quicker. Not my favourite sessions by a long shot, but necessary to improve.
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Food portions - diet has see-sawed this month, too much splurging after a good run, justifying to myself that the effort warranted a reward. Really, though, the issue is habit. Once you form a habit, it's much easier to do it instinctually, and eating properly is no different. It's another piece of the running puzzle if I want to improve run times, so I'll need to get serious about it sooner or later. Probably sooner :P
There have been plenty of personal challenges this month, but I feel better prepared to handle them. Perhaps that's because I'm not sick this month, perhaps it's because of the renewed vision for the channel, or perhaps I just have a better handle on my shit. Still struggling to get enough sleep and figure out the correct work/sleep/family ratio, it's a work in progress. I'm looking forward to clearing Marathon 2 off as soon as possible so that I can start work on the exciting new chapter for the channel.
'til next month, pardners.
Compared to the rollercoaster of last month, September was productive and far more chill. I went on a holiday and damn did I need it. I didn't realise how far down the hole I was until being away from home forced me to step back, slow down, and relax. I still did some research and writing for the next video, but when I got home I decided that - while the topic was good - I wasn't feeling it right now. I shelved that project and started a new one.
This next video - unlike previous videos - zooms out for an industry-level look. The target: AAA games, and how the AAA moniker means something different to me now. Unlike other videos which body-slam AAA using player data and sales as weapons, this video will be a personal review of what AAA means to ME. It's a deliberately deeper look into my mindset when I consider AAA games, development studios, and publishers, through the lens of a gamer and paying customer who has become disillusioned with the AAA industry and who explains, in detail, why.
The script for this ...
Hey Folks, the video is finally done. Apologies for the late release, a few things came up near the end of the month which delayed release. I hope you enjoy it!
G'day, chaps and chapettes. July down, progress made.
The Doom/Quake horror video is now at 1hr 36mins. I had hoped to be closer to the 2hr mark by now but stumbled across more supporting material, and viewing/cutting it has taken longer than expected. I'm also making an effort to use footage which supports talking points, and because the script is loaded with talking points (and because the Doom 3 playthrough spans 18 long video files), finding footage to support even a single paragraph of the script has sometimes taken 30mins or longer. There was also another body of work I needed to complete for the Blondefire channel which was delayed by last month's IRL work, so July was very much a catch-up month all around.
The good news is that July was free of IRL distractions so I've made big progress on the video. I normally add the backing track after the footage and voice over is laid, but this time I've added it as I go. This means that the next (and final) pass only requires QA checks and audio ...
