Getting Through the Hoard

Devoting Time

You might be wondering why I’m not posting anything as much as I used to either on here or Gutternaut. I’d like to say it’s job searching, but honestly that’s depressing.

I’ve spent a lot more time trying to get through collections or adding to the ones I’ve got. I’d like to believe there’s more to life than sifting through lists. But apparently I like to make lists even though I can lose track of them.

Reading Comics Shouldn’t Be Work

I promised myself that I wouldn’t turn what I do for this newsletter into just work. I championed lists for comics that go under the radar! I even did a Gutternaut post and got paid for it to talk how things under the radar can be found on Marvel Unlimited. And yet what did I find; that maybe championing underrepresented titles is looking at red flags with rose petal glasses.

I make it a goal to be totally unbiased, but I can’t help that some of the stuff just doesn’t appeal to me. And getting exhausted to force myself through stuff kind of defeats the point I laid out for myself. Let me ask you; if you want to make people enthusiastic about stuff, shouldn’t you have enthusiasm to talk about it?

I’m just starting to think, maybe I’ve been wasting time and money on a niche that I’m trying to force myself to enjoy because friends of mine didn’t get into it. Didn’t help that I saw a job offer for video game writer on LinkedIn, and I tend to enjoy games that come my way.

Don’t get me wrong, going through my collection of print only comics has some results. And in conjunction with other stuff like GlobalComix giving me access to stuff I can enjoy, hopefully some more matches can come my way. More Revolution 9 and Daniel Warren Johnson stuff like Transformers and less of the dull pace makers I’ve been exposed to. Because as much as I try to be there for the little guys, Sturgeon’s Law applies to me too much. Honestly I find more enjoyment in manga, webtoons, and a few webcomics. Although this can fluctuate.

I think maybe I shouldn’t be limiting myself.

Gaming

So what did I spend so many nights on? When I needed a break from comics and not fuel myself with energy drinks? Rise of the Ronin! …When the sun wasn’t glaring the screen. This obscure PS5 exclusive game had stuff I could really get into. A robust combat system that requires fine motor control and tasks to make the efforts to build it worthwhile. Even if the story that came with it and branching paths felt like they didn’t matter as much as they should’ve. Not to mention social interactions that were interesting but limited in scope.

But I could spend hours going through the ways to explore the overworld in ways that felt so far off before. Like I built real skills in parrying and reading an opponent and not just blazing through. For someone as reflexively handicapped as me, it was a great experience to go through the dojo training and see how far I could go. Especially with parrying.

Plus the little quirks like Easter Egg gameplay styles that don’t give you real advantages and encourage players to “get good” to live the power fantasy of fighting like you’re Ryu Hayabusa.

Which since Team Ninja’s staff for the older Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive have been replaced with the more methodical action gaming developers with Nioh and the like, I think I see why Team Ninja is working their newest entry in Ninja Gaiden with Platinum Studios. But I’ll save any opinions until the final product, I’ve too much experience of what comes with following the just hype.

Now I need to focus on finishing what games I would trade in to game stores. Digital versions on Steam take out so many redundancies. Or at the very least finishing popular and well received titles like Stellar Blade. Got enough experience with parries now anyway.

…

Oh brother, the parry button took a while to get used to. Still a solid and lively experience though.

Plus I got to really experience hearing Korean when I’m actually listening. Yeah, apparently the English voices are weak in comparison. Mainly because everyone in the cast are cyborgs. Oh man, that’s got a lot of implications people shouldn’t latch onto. I just wonder how good I can fake it given my natural monotone.

Honestly, going through the game has given me a lot of ideas to write about. Maybe I should be expanding my horizons a bit.

Steam Wishlisting

But it looks like I’ve been spreading myself too thin in that department. I’ve been spending a lot of time wishlisting stuff to my Steam, Nintendo, and Epic accounts. Usually with help from the Open Critic lists of recommended and highly praised games, not to mention the ones with not a lot of praise that still score high. Basically trying to find those hidden gems that don’t go viral or enough reviews that people will miss.

But I’ve spent hours going through them, losing track of the time. It’s that wanting vs. having feeling again!

One great thing to come out of this is ditching the curators who recommend games who have dropped off the radar so I can add the ones that stick around. Especially since the more I’ve added echo chambers of positivity, the more I failed to see that time was going to be wasted. It’s why I’ll prefer curators who came to play games a few years after their release dates over the ones who try to stay the most current. Because delayed gratification trumps burnout.

Frankly I’m feeling for the ones that left. More time recommending (or not) games than playing them can be a lot.

Follow Lists To Feed Lists

Probably what’s been taking up so much of my time is cleaning up my X and Bluesky follows list. Mostly the former. I’ve learned that to get more followers, you’ve gotta follow less than the number of people following you. Only catch is, the effort to get follows, likes, and such might not be worth it.

Whole reason I have an X account is because there are still accounts on there where I can get news of games better than I can get anywhere else. Shot One Fighters has a lot of hype and could only find a formerly known as Twitter account to stay up to date.

Same with some Japanese stuff because Japan’s slower on Bsky adoption. Anyone remember Medabots? Been a fan ever since I saw the show as a kid on Fox. It’s native name Medarots is still ongoing in Japan with new games! Just because I don’t have anything to play them on doesn’t mean I wanna be out of the loop. Not to mention Varvarian! These people made Japan’s pronunciation of Barbarian it’s whole marketing thing. To say nothing of Gregory Horror Show!

It’s just that I’ve had to put everything I’ve mentioned into a personally tailored games list rather than follow on my default feeds.

In addition I’ve been growing lists beyond the Independent Comics list I’ve had on there. If I’m going to follow anyone on X, it’s going to be people who I can communicate with, not people I want stuff from! Specifically, people who want to talk about things other than trends!

It’s just that following over 1000 profiles is a lot to clean up… Some people don’t even use these accounts anymore. It’s gotta be done though. Mostly so that I can practice what I’ve preached ages ago.

Job Searching

Yeah, this is another list I’ve been going through. This feels like the most work that’s supposed to be worth it. But there’s not even delayed gratification most of the time.

Here’s How It All Feels

Like every list is a building with ads running around to add to it. The problem with actually having all of this is if you actually still want it. And I’ve been going through stuff that I’ve had and prepared boxes to sell the stuff I just didn’t want to engage with more of.

As I wrote this, Rise of the Ronin came out for pre-order on Steam after being PS5 exclusive. Just like the Sony Spider-Man games! I just can’t engage with something one way when there’s an easier way to do it!

Meanwhile I’m going through the rest of those comics on my shelves! And I’m getting rid of the stuff I wasted my time and money on! Expect a whatnot account or something in enough time.