EPT
When I was younger, I didn’t get New Year’s Resolutions. “It’s just a new year. Why’s this an opportunity to change? And why do I need to?” My, how even a little maturity (and I mean very little) effects ideas regarding ‘change’. As any inspirational page-a-day calendar or fortune cookie will tell you, change is hard. It’s because age increases your ambition (and/or unwillingness to do things differently) and your “real” responsibilities, which often interfere with what you want to do. But a new year provides a brilliant excuse to reevaluate your allocation of time and effort so that you might effect positive change. For some people, the desires that become New Year’s Resolutions are things like regularly exercising, seeing more of the world, meeting a significant other, or getting a new job. I have my own fair share of those “normal” goals. But, unsurprisingly, most of mine are very, very nerdy.
I’ve had a damn good 2012 overall. I’ve made a lot of positive changes and started the process for making more. And I’ve taken on a lot of new projects of which I’m extremely proud. Like the N3rd Dimension. Like writing for the TeamLiquid League of Legends subforum (and getting good enough at the game to do so). Like learning how to create my own video games. Like expanding on the Pokemon Tabletop RPG I’ve played since 2011. But, as with many accomplishments, these monumental deeds (THEY ARE FOR ME OKAY) highlight that which I haven’t achieved and pave the way to new and exciting challenges. So, in the spirit of a new year, a new checkpoint in the game of life, here are my resolutions for 2013, the year that no one expected.
Make My Passion My Profession
At the end of the summer of 2012, I had a moment of clarity. I realized that I didn’t find my professional life fulfilling at all. This thought was the genesis of the N3rd Dimension: the impulse to fill the gap between what I really love (nerdy stuff and the discussion thereof) and the contents of my day-to-day life (a lot of random work). But it couldn’t end there, mostly because no one pays me to write this blog.* Software engineering, in general, is great and all, but it occurred to me that I didn’t care about what I was coding. The content I create really matters to me, so why wasn’t I creating something video-game-related? Especially if I had to do so for at least eight hours a day and a salary. I should be doing something I care about. Like working somewhere in gaming. This was a revelation; it just hadn’t occurred to me how much I wanted to combine my passions with my professional life. Now it’s all I think about. I want to create games. I want to write about games. I want to organize gaming events and tournaments. I want to imagine game lore. And I want to get paid to do so. It doesn’t matter what facet of the gaming industry I’m part of, but 2012 showed me that I won’t be happy until I’m part of that industry. In 2013, I’m getting involved.
* I’m open to all offers.
Play and Watch DotA2
This is a big one for me. For a long time, I’ve been a member of the TeamLiquid message boards. And when I say “a long time,” I mean since the start of Starcraft 2. So two years. That’s long for me. But not for the forum (or die-hard Brood War fans). Whatever. The point is that I’ve been around the forums for a while, and it’s hands down my favorite place on the internet.* I’ve gone from constantly lurking in the SC2 forum, to occasional contributions in the League of Legends subforum, to becoming an author for said subforum. Then, a few months ago, TL announced their official support for “the other” MOBA: DotA2. Of course, I’d known about Dota2 for a while: if you’re a fan of eSport MOBAs, you’re going to hear about DotA2. However, I’d never visited TL’s DotA2 subforum, nor any other Dota2 news site. But when TL picked it up (event coverage and a team) I began to get interested in the game. And like any other eSports title by which I’m intrigued, I followed up on my curiosity by watching it and practicing solo (last hitting, basic controls, etc.). Spectating the game has been awesome. Casters like TobiWan and LD make every match interesting, and each one teaches me something new and different about the game’s style and strategy. It’s gorgeous, complex, and competitive: all things that I really enjoy in a multiplayer game. But the mechanics are intricate, as are the hero interactions and item builds, so it takes work to do any of it right. This year I wanna put in the work. I’m competent(ish) at LoL, so it’s time to conquer another MOBA.
* Not counting N3D, obviously
Finish Doctor Who and Young Justice
Prior 2012, I watched very little nerdy television. Actually, I watched very little TV at all. This was mostly due to my lack of a decent television, but I fixed that problem in 2012. So I finally saw some great shows, nearly all of which were somewhere on a scale between “for nerds” and “generated a rabid following”. There was the cult classic Twin Peaks, which I loved, albeit confusedly (taht yb naem I tahw teg lliw seires tuo dekcaw s’hcnyL nees sah ohw enoyna). Naturally, I couldn’t miss the second season of Game of Thrones, which I enjoyed almost as much as the first. I also watched all of the incredible Community, which is possibly the best comedy for nerds to ever air. I devoured every episode of The Legend of Korra, then watched its phenomenal predecessor (again). And yet despite all of this (and that’s a lot for me), there are two big nerd-TV shows that I started but failed to finish. One is Doctor Who, of which I have finished four seasons and adored every second. Eccleston, Tennant, Smith – I’ve loved them and all their Companions (well… except Martha). It’s a marvelous journey, and I cannot wait to get caught up (because SPOILERS). The other is the DC teenage epic, Young Justice. I’ve only watched most of the first season so far, but the animated tale of the young heroes and heroines is pretty incredible and, by all accounts, it just gets better and better. I really like the shows, so 2013 is going to be the year when I finally get caught up. Then I can watch them as they air (also I can watch MOAR NEW THINGS).
Beat More Games
This resolution comes up every year, but it bears repeating. I’m what one might call an “avid gamer.” There are always tons and tons of games I want to play. It’s tough to get through them all (read: I have a HUGE to-do list), but I must play more. Every year brings new and amazing games. Hell, there are already long lists of incredible-looking 2013 releases. So while I want to keep playing lots of LoL and learn to play DotA2 (not to mention watching tournaments for both and SC2), I must complete a lot of games. A LOT I SAY. Currently on the short list are the Uncharted series, Dishonored, the Batman: Arkham franchise, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, DmC, and Bioshock: Infinite. But those are just a few of many and I know that more will be coming. It seems impossible to be “caught up,” but I’ll keep trying and trying throughout 2013. If nothing else, I’ll feel more up-to-date. That’s something.
Write More Stories for my Pokemon Tabletop
One of my favorite nerd activities these days is my Pokemon Tabletop RPG. And while it’s super fun to act as my character and roam the world with my Pokemon companions, occasionally I want to be the one telling the tales. But that means that I have to create those stories. Unfortunately (but awesomely), it’s not a simple as writing a script, as anyone who has played an RPG is aware. It’s composing a framework for your characters to wander through, with branching paths to accommodate the wills of the players. It’s stat-ing out enemies and allies and creating battlefields on which they can throw down. It’s crafting puzzles and challenges that will test the minds of even the most clever of my friends. I’ve been writing down notes and ideas about these scenarios throughout 2012, so 2013 will be the time when I start to create them. And who knows? Perhaps these new campaigns will be supplemented with programs and interfaces and other bits of code that’ve been rattling about in my head. That’d be even better.
Make the N3rd Dimension Ever Better
Finally, we come to the resolution that is nearest and dearest to my heart. This. The N3rd Dimension. Since I started this site, I’ve posted a new article every single Monday (and one Thursday). Sometimes it’s hard to generate content. Occasionally it’s tough to think of a topic. Every once in a while I stay up late writing to meet my self-imposed deadlines (like right now, for example). Every Monday, I get everything posted and looking swell so that a dozen of my friends can peruse it (plus those who read my posts via TeamLiquid, I suppose). BUT I LOVE IT. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. This little blog is my baby and I’m crazy about putting my ideas out there every week for the internet to admire.* I love figuring out what to discuss next and how to make the whole production better. That’s my most important resolution in 2013: 52 weeks of posts that get better and better, that make the N3rd Dimension an awesomer, nerdier place to visit.
* and the ideas of my esteemed and wonderful contributors, for whom I’m very thankful and without whom this site would be much worse off
…
Well? Those are mine.
What are yours?
You can read this post and many more from 2012 at N3rd Dimension.
