I created my first blog on Blogspot when I was in high school. I posted a 129 word post twenty years ago, and have not stopped. You can read it here. In 2005, I started my website, royfuss.com, and posted there, too. I stopped posting on Blogspot in 2007, but never stopped on royfuss.com. In 2010, I started yourpersonalgamer.com, and I posted a few times there. In 2011, I shuttered the site, and merged it with royfuss.com. Some years I posted a lot; in 2004 I posted 247 times. Some years I rarely posted. However, I have made at least one blog post a year. These days I strive to write at least one post a month.
Who would have thought writing about Christmas presents would spark a passion in me? I got a DVD drive for my computer. I do not even have a physical media drive hooked up to my computer right now. I have the dragon statues in my basement. Sometimes I bring them out for D&D. I spent my cash on CDs and computer speakers. I have many of the CDs to this day, although they have been ripped to my phone. I have those computer speakers hooked up to my computer right now. It never occurred to me they would be twenty years old. They still work great!
To mark this occasion I think I will talk about my Christmas this year. I got three books: Tress of the Emerald Sea, C.S. Lewis Signature Classics, and Through the Eyes of the Enemy. I am looking forward to reading them. I got a bunch of card games. I got Uno, Skip-Bo, and a seven deadly sins themed card deck set. I also got an expansion for Betrayal, Evil Reigns in the Wynter’s Pale the Yuletide Tale Expansion. I am excited to play them with friends and family.
My Christmas was great. My grandma, aunt, and uncle came and we celebrated at my mom and dad’s house. We ate a lot of food. We played a lot of the card game Thirteen. We played a lot with my nephew.
My four year old nephew is starting to get into video games. He has a tablet and can maneuver touchscreens fine, but the controller gives him a bit of trouble. My brother bought him a Paw Patrol game on the switch, and it is the perfect game for him. First, he loves Paw Patrol, and second, it is an easy game. He does not have to worry about dying; he just needs to collect golden paws and treats. He ignores the treats, while my brother and I obsess over them.
He watched me finish up Super Kiwi 64 on my Steam Deck and asked if he could play. I cannot say no to him. The game is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer like many N64 games of yore. It feels really good to run, jump, and glide in the game. It is perfect for my nephew, because you cannot die.
He picked up the running and jumping stuff quickly. He even taught me how to use the speed boost, which I did not know existed. However, the camera gives him a lot of grief. He is not good at timing the more tricky jumps. He liked it when I unlocked a cave for him. Also, he liked to run out-of-bounds.
He wanted to see another game on the Steam Deck. I showed him Costume Quest, but he is way too young for it. He loves the trick-or-treating, and when the characters transform into their actual costumes, but he is not good at the combat. He also gets bored when I have to collect stuff to unlock more houses to trick-or-treat at. He still wants to play more, so that is a good sign.
During post-food naps, I played Tetris. I am bad at it. I still cannot even get 40,000 points to unlock the Retroachievement. I still have fun with it, and it is a good game to kill a few minutes and put down. It is the perfect Steam Deck game.
It was a joyful time filled with family. The new year is approaching, and I am working on “Games of 2023.” I stopped playing games, and I gave myself two weeks to finish it. I ended up writing the first draft in three days. So, I played five more video games, and wrote them up. I am squeezing out one more game right now for an even 50 games for this year’s installment.
It is going to be tight to get it posted on January 1st. I need to give it another read to edit it. I need to get updated stats for the games. I have to pick out a few more screenshots. I need to get everything loaded into WordPress. If I am a little late, please don’t stone me; I played a lot of games this year.
Here’s to twenty more years of blogging. I hope you had a merry Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you next year!