Hello, and welcome to GamerGuy's Update. I'm William Lowery here to discuss the state of the website, among other things. I am glad to be writing again on a regular basis. It's great to be back in the swing of things and boy has it paid off.
As of this writing, the website has 34,000 views. Never did I think I would reach this number, but I'm glad for the growth because it means more people are checking out my work. There are two reasons why I think this is happening. The first is because of consistency. COVID derailed me, mentally and physically. Why bother doing something when I could sit on my butt all day and pretend to do something?
When I got back on track, I promised myself to make a schedule and stick with it. Creating a schedule keeps me focused and lets me know when I need to write, when I need to edit, and when I need to publish. So far, I've kept to that schedule, although I did miss some deadlines. For example, I had intended to review 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand and Rogue Warrior last month, but I didn't for different reasons. Regarding 50 Cent, I didn't expect the game to be so hard to find.
Rogue Warrior didn't happen because I didn't know what to say about it. It's dull, meandering, and painfully short, and if it weren't for Mickey Rourke's rampant swearing, the game would be quickly forgotten. My original idea was to make it an ironic review where the game's flaws are its strengths. By the time I came up with this idea, the deadline had passed, and I didn't want to fart out a review. Moving forward, I don't want to miss anymore deadlines.
The other reason for the website's growth is the interviews. When the Destroy All Humans remake released, I thought it would be a great idea to interview people who worked on the games. First, I interviewed Bryan Lee, who worked on Path of the Furon, followed by Ken Allen, who was a producer on Big Willy Unleashed. Towards the end of the year, my dad suggested I interview people who work in the industry, not just those associated with Destroy All Humans, and I am glad I took his advice.
Doing interviews is fun not just because of getting to hear the stories behind our favorite games, but because you get to learn more about the industry, and how the choice and career has impacted their lives.
2021 has been a year of progress, not just for my website, but also me. I'm less lazy and more active. At the end of 2020, I got a job and used it as a way to improve myself. I cut back on junk food, how much time I spend with electronics, and purged myself of the bad habits I picked up in 2020. Having a proper work/life balance has helped me tremendously, and while I am not quite out of the clearing, the finish line is in sight.
What lies ahead for GamerGuy's Reviews? For now, more of the same. I'm sticking to writing reviews and doing interviews. However, I am doing my first month of requests, where readers pick what I review. I have received six requests, and you can expect those reviews within a couple of months.
Those expecting Drive-In of Terror this October will be disappointed because I cancelled it. I'm no longer doing movie reviews, so calling it Drive-In of Terror was unnecessary, plus I was unsatisfied with how last year's horror marathon turned out. I'm rebooting the the horror marathon under a new name, the Arcade of Terror, but that's all I will say for now.
Next month, my state will be holding the Mississippi Comic Con, which I will attend. I am crafting business cards to pass out and I will take many pictures of the event to post on social media and the website. After no cons in 2020, I'm excited to attend this year's event.
Finally, I want to close out this update by discussing the future of GamerGuy's Reviews. I have used Blogger for six years, and I want to upgrade to a full-fledged website. Having a legitimate website makes my content look professional, as professional as a video game website can get. Plus, I am exploring the idea of creating a Patreon as a way for readers to give back. Any funds I earn from Patreon will be put towards new equipment. MacBooks are fine for writing reviews, but are terrible for editing videos.
What about YouTube? You might recall the failed abortion that was Will and Matt's Excellent Podcast, which was my attempt to branch out into YouTube. Big mistake. Where the channel failed was a lack of identity. I had no idea what to do with the show, and to be honest, I was just riffing off what other podcasts that I liked were doing. When I relaunch the YouTube channel, it will act as an extension of the website, which is what it should have been from the beginning.
That wraps it up. To the longtime readers, I say thanks for sticking it out, and to the new readers, thanks for checking out my content.
I don't plan on stopping, so let's keep the train rolling!
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