One more post to sign the year off with, and another roadmap for the year ahead! To see last year’s roadmap, you can look here. 

I know that 2024 has been rocky, in that I didn’t manage to live up to all of my expectations.

I initially forecasted six video essays, but I was only able to produce two. Admittedly, they were each just over two hours long, but I still felt I should have produced a couple of smaller ones. I didn’t make a video review either. Exhaustion and other obligations prevented me from doing so. Staying afloat this year was surprisingly difficult. Most evenings I was just so tired I could hardly muster the energy to do anything – sometimes even turning on a game was a trial enough.

I was, however, able to produce more blog posts than I aimed for (I wanted 26 and I produced 39, so subtracting under the ‘2024’ tag), and I did play a bunch of games on my stream list. I made my way through Infliction, Silent Hill: Homecoming, I finished Changeling in Pathologic, I played a bunch of Termina, and I also did manage to finish my playthrough of Yakuza Kiwami against all odds. I also started Haunting Ground, Forbidden Siren 2, and I also finished Sniper Killer and The Convenience Store. I did end up playing quite a bit, looking back – I just wasn’t able to do it with much regularity or consistency. This did mean I think everyone was unable to come to many streams, which I do regret. But next year I’m planning to have at least one consistent stream time that I can make almost every week. And if I can do that, then hopefully people will feel like they’re able to actually participate in streams rather than just watching them sail by.

So, with all this in mind, I’m going to set my roadmap goals a little lower than last year. Even though I’ll theoretically have more time, I don’t want to stress myself out. I want what I produce to be high-quality and thought-through. It will also be a nice psychological trick to surpass my goals, rather than undershoot them! Here we go then:

Twenty-six blog posts (one every two weeks)
Four video essays
One video review
And at least thirty streams. Theoretically this won’t be a difficult target to hit, but I’d like to have at least thirty weeks with a stream that’s about two or three hours. I know that still means I’ll stream a lot less than everyone else who is also streaming and making stuff online – but I can hopefully also overshoot this target. This is just the bare minimum I want to do, and I want to keep it manageable for my mind so I don’t stress too much.

So, that’s that. That’s what I’d like to accomplish next year. What are the topics for this video essays? I have some immediate plans – first, a video on a location from Fear & Hunger 2: Termina. Second, a video on the power of the psychological ruin in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Thirdly, I wanted to make a video on re-reading and reinterpretation in regards to Doki Doki Literature Club! The fourth video will likely be on some of the buildings in Pathologic Classic HD. I wanted to discuss some of my favourite places in video games, and maybe use that as a way to talk about a few characters who will never be interesting or rich enough to sustain a longer character analysis in full. I hope some of these projects excite you – but don’t worry if they don’t.

2024 has been… quite a year. A rewarding but exhausting year. At several points in the year, I was absolutely at my wits end. I would like to acknowledge first of all my partner, whose love and support has kept me sane and grounded. I will always love you. You’re the best.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank a friend I made this year who I now consider my closest, whose faith in me has prevented me from giving up or quitting. I am very lucky to have you as my friend.

Thanks to everyone else whose friendship I have enjoyed this year. Without you my life would not be anywhere near as enjoyable, and I certainly could not have kept myself going without stimulating conversations and supportive discussions over coffee and video games.

My family as well has been invaluable. What would I do without your support? I am so lucky to have the support network I do, and sometimes I feel guilty about complaining, given my fortune. I do recognize my position of privilege – without you, without everyone, I would be a lesser person.

Finally, I would like to thank those of you who are reading, especially my patrons. Your ongoing support – both verbal and financial – has also kept me afloat, and able to buy nice presents for people, or let me eat properly during the day. At one point my microphone exploded and I had to buy a new one – without the money I earned from you guys, I would have been in serious trouble. So thank you. You’re all incredible, and I hope you have a safe end of 2024. I know that the world is in turmoil and we’re entering incredibly uncertain times. But I want to do my best to make even my humble little corner of the internet a fun, safe space to hang out in. So, I’ll see everyone in 2025 – thank you, one more time, to everyone reading. You rock.

Here’s to a good 2025.