LFGryph

(“Fairytale of New York,” always my favorite holiday song. Though I think The Tim Malloys cover it best.)

Holy crap, it’s New Year’s Eve, how did that happen?! I’ve been fighting a nasty headache all day – go fig – so we’ll see how coherent I am.

It’s been a crazy, wonderful, and tiring year for me. I started this blog New Year’s Day 2015, and soon afterwards I successfully auditioned for Beyond the Veil. I never expected so many people to follow my blog, nor to meet so many new friends and fellow bloggers. I didn’t fully realize I’d be meeting devs from The Secret World and so many amazing people in the TSW community through BTV. For someone who can be rather asocial when it comes to gaming, my gaming social circle exploded this year. 🙂

I managed the best year yet for Extra Life, not only in donations but in pure fun while running with Otterdown and other friends in TSW. Thanks to a computer upgrade, I was able host my own livestream – something I’ve been wanting to get back to for a long time, and not just for Extra Life. The stream is up on Youtube, hopefully soon to be one of many.

As for writing, until lately I was also writing for Holosuite Media – something else I’ll be happy to return to. Plus, I attempted and succeeded at my first Blaugust challenge. Blaugust was huge for me, not only showing myself I could write consistently, but allowing me to meet so many wonderful bloggers along the way. I was even approved to write an article for the Extra Life community website in September, with an invitation to write more when I can.

I started working at the local humane society, took a chance on working retail management again, worked both jobs for a while, and am now only working the retail job. I still very much want to volunteer at the shelter when I can, but right now paying off old student loan debt needs to come first. I’m very lucky to have fallen in with a great team at work – many of them fellow gamers – at a company I can feel good working for.

Gaming in 2015

The answer for best game is The Secret World, section done!

Facetiousness aside, TSW still is my favorite game – either MMO or single player. I can get lost in it just battling padurii or watching event chat; when I get to the actual missions and story the game outshines everything else. The community is stellar, the areas are darkly gorgeous, and the NPC’s are people I want to spend more time with, and learn more about. When I was a kid, Final Fantasy IV and VI blew my mind in terms of how good story could be in a game, TSW blew my mind all over again from the first time I played.

I did still manage to dig into other games in 2015. Final Fantasy XIV is closest to being a true runner up for my game time. After going back and forth with my sub, I’m back at it again. It’s a bit simpler than TSW, but sometimes that’s alright. I can’t help feeling drawn to it for nostalgia reasons, and it really is a solid game.

I’ve been slacking on “Gryph is Playing” updates, but even with what I did get to there were a number of non-MMO’s that impressed me. Fran Bow, Fallout 4, The Park, and The Talos Principle spring to mind for games released in 2015.

Goals for 2016

Goal number one is simply to get back on a more regular schedule for putting out content – both here and on my livestream. I have all the tools I need, I just need to sort out how to balance what I want to do with my other obligations and desires. I’m still in recovery mode from both working two jobs and from the holidays, and am looking forward to everything settling down soon.

I’ll be participating in Extra Life again this year, and hope to do more pre-event streams. I was blown away by the donations on game day this year (I’m looking at you, TSW community <3) but I know perfectly well that it’s easier for everyone if the fundraising can be spread out a bit more.

I’d like to get more of my Steam backlog covered, both playing the games and blogging about them here. I also may have splurged *coughs* on that Gamestop current gen bundle, and will soon have the option to play and cover console games for the first time in ages. Knowing me, the first thing I play will be Earthbound; you have no idea how much I’ve wanted to revisit that old favorite. Depending on finances and time, I might look into getting a capture card and streaming from the consoles as well.

I suppose I could list more specific goals – I’m still only 10.1-10.3 on my TSW gear, and FFXIV gives me all kinds of things to level – but leveling alone really isn’t a goal of mine in game. It’s a thing that happens as I play, and a tool to help me unlock content, but “highest level evar” just isn’t something I focus on. (That’s not to knock other playstyles, either!) My gaming goals tend to be summed up in, “Have fun, get better, and try new things.”

When I look back on what I’ve accomplished this year, and the amazing people I’ve met, it seems crazy for it all to have happened in just one year. I’m the sort of person to focus on things I didn’t get to, or that didn’t go the way I wanted, but when I look back on 2015 as a whole I can’t help being proud of myself. I know I did a short thank you a few days ago, but I truly am so grateful for my friends, readers, viewers, and communities. When I’m having a bad day with offline life, it’s you guys who remind me I’m more talented and a better person than I think I am.