Perhaps the corniest of posts in this series. But one of the inspiration - and perhaps the latest - is this blog. Since I began writing here in 2009, I put up more than 600 posts (628 including the draft posts I have) on topics ranging from real life to inspirations, from predictions of doom to miniature reviews, from LFR to PFS to NeoExodus Legacies, from funnies to rules reflections, from Convention reports to setting up FOE, from Kickstarters to miniature commissions, from writing tips to yearly retrospectives. This blog has really been some kind of gaming diary for me, documenting everything I have been working on, thinking about, disliked or thought the world should know. From LFR to Akos to NeoExodus to Kronea into the future - still secret - projects, I have been able to put all of my thoughts on this blog.
I remember in the summer of 2009 when I started. I was really fired up about some things I was seeing in 4e and I wanted to tell them to the world. I expected this would be some kind of venting medium.
But like many other regular bloggers will tell you, this is like an addiction. Once you get into the habit of writing and elaborating posts and articles, you begin to miss it.
Hi. I'm JP and I'm a blogger.
So how did this blog influence me and my gaming, you ask?
Because writing something and saying stuff is different. When you write things, you usually spend time looking at it. It creates a filter. Even the more ravenous and off-the-top online rant gets a pass of editing - at least mine do (to make them funnier and to make sure the hit the point I am trying to make).
That self-filter has forced me to reflect on the game a lot more. And by game I mean all of gaming. It has given me a new perspective on miniature gaming AND tabletop RPGs - those games I like (nope, I don't do CCGs or board games).
With this blog, I try not to blame or simply blast someone or something (keyword: try), even if I have been harsh with people on occasion, I try to put a positive spin on this. It's easy to critique and destroy, it is hard to find and propose an alternative solution. You may not be surprised, but in my day job, that's what I do: review and offer alternatives. So call it professional deformation that I bring the same mindset to my gaming.
By having to step back and think my position, I have been able to re-evaluate my views on many things. While I still do not like D&D 4e, I see that some of its systems had value (I still love the idea of the skill challenges) and some things were too simple for me.
This concludes this first "31 days" series for this blog. I will post about the series in the next few days.
JP
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