Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
So, today is the 31st of December. Or at least it will be by the time this is posted. And true to tradition, it’s time for some New Years’ Resolutions and showing how BREAKING them can be a good thing. But first, it’s time to look at how we did in 2021.
The resolutions from 2020 can be found HERE. (That list was created before the world locked down)
1: Play More Games!
Well, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think I might have managed that. But it’s extremely limited. And unlike what I would have liked to do, I didn’t actually get to play in any of the Indie games that I would have liked. There was no 10 Candles and no Blades in the Dark. But I still want to try them.
More so though, there are two games that I want to try out this year. I want to FINALLY crack open my SLA Industries 2nd Edition books. And I want to play Twilight 2000 in the new Free League version. It looks great, and I have fond, if complicated, memories of that game. (Loved the original setting, but the mechanics were terrible. 😛 )
2: Write more Games!
I did manage this, though not quite in the way I’d expected. I ended up writing for a BOARD GAME of all things. I still want to write for Call of Cthulhu or Genesys. But there’s a matter of time. Unfortunately, I had to abandon the idea of releasing a 5e book every 2 weeks. It was exhausting, but quite frankly the take up to keep going wasn’t there.
3: Gain a New skill!
In 202 I set up to do maps. And I did. At least one map was created every week, and I’d like to think that I became quite proficient in it by the end. I’ve had to let it flag a bit now, because it took a lot of time to make each map, but also because they weren’t really paying back the time investment. Now though, it means that I can make some pretty cool hand-drawn maps for my own adventures.
4: Be a Nice Person!
Well, I’d like to think I am, but I’ve tried to go out of my way to help new people this year, and ease there way into gaming, both on the gaming side and on the publication side. I’ve been a lot more active than I would have before, in trying to help out. Does that make me nice? I don’t know, but I hope so.
Now, what was that about breaking them?
This is where things get interesting. Because I generally believe that new year’s resolutions won’t be kept to over a year. We’ve all tried the “I’ll lose weight this year,” and then something derailed you. But that, to me, is the point. You set a goal, but sometimes that goal changes – you just have to acknowledge it.
So what happened to me with these?
1 – I didn’t play more games. Of any kind really, though I do play more 5e now than before, since we got an online group up and running. But it improved the quality of the games instead, or at least the enjoyment from them. I managed to get inspiration from new places and shows (I even fell into Critical Role, which really hadn’t caught me before), all things to learn from.
2 – I did write more games. Though not what I’d expected. I ended up writing a board game expansion thingie (which hasn’t been released yet as far as I know), and I ended up releasing my own Starfinder adventure – a first for me. (And only the 2nd adventure I’ve ever released on my own, though not the first ones I’ve written). And then I ended up doing one more thing, which ties into the next point.
3 – I gained two new skills in fact. I learned how to do layout for my books (I’m eternally grateful to my tutors), and I learned how to program a website for my stuff (which you can find here), so even if the maps went on hiatus, I still learned new stuff. And I’m hoping that 2022 will be the year that I finally add art to my portfolio.
4 – Does this really need expanding on? No. Just be good, and allow people their own way of life and way of games. That’s not to say that you should tolerate all kinds of behavior because you shouldn’t, but make room at your table for people, and let them prove themselves AS themselves.
And with that, there’s only one more thing to say: Happy New Year, and be safe everyone!
Kim Frandsen
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