OH MY GOD!!!

So where do I start this post? Conventions shut down. Cities shut down. THE WORLD shut down??!! *sigh* Let’s just keep this light and game related, shall we. Going into February no doubt you had been aware of what was happening in the world. Pandemic. Global scale deaths due to a funky little mutated strain called corona virus (code name: COVID 19). Things really hit home when Ontario Premiere called for a state of emergency and shut down everything public related. No stadiums, no clubs, bars or restaurants, no conventions or gatherings of any sort. This meant the upcoming Barrie Game Exchange for Spring 2020 was closed. I was really looking forward to this one as I was legitimately prepared for another good day at the show. Then COVID busted that bubble. All the conventions for spring pretty much got tanked and so did my energy. Down goes everything.

Now that everyone had to shift gears, and I was unemployed, it was hard to find time or drive for game design. Not to say I wasn’t still thinkering and tinkering on ideas, but full blown self publishing came to a halt. All my time then shifted to unfinished home and car projects. I made use of the new free time I had and put it into getting the Forester summer ready. Full clean, removed and repaired tons of rust, swap out winter wheels for low-pro shoes, the whole nine. It felt good finally having time to put in full days. Rearranged the garage while I was at it, and did a little gardening. Inside the home I was tidying up little painting and repair projects. Suffice to say I was far from bored during lockdown.

 

Game design, right. Let’s stay on track. So my blog stopped, my devlog stopped (but not due to COVID) and I had plans on posting more seeing as I had more time. I started a whole diecast scale model world with my son and he was totally into it. We started collecting cars from all over the place, and I was ready to start doing videos for everything. I created intros for Instagram and YouTube, and was preparing my ADL Interactive channel on YT and never got back to it at all. There are videos there now but nothing to do with what I really want to share, game design process, prototyping, my library showcase and family game nights. Still need to edit a lot of game reviews and playtests I’ve already recorded. Every time I start fiddling in Adobe Premiere I never finish or get sidetracked. Month and months later. Enough rambling though.

So what’s next for ADLi during this rise from the ashes of a worldwide pandemic? I don’t know. I truly don’t know. I’ve started posting my never before shared game concepts over on my FB page for creative exposure. I have more game ideas than I know what to do with. And honestly, if I can inspire someone else to take an idea and run with it, great! I always have ideas brewing and now I’m not shy about these kind of things. Part of many game design groups and never once shared my ideas. Note, they are not all complete but it’s something I now feel more comfortable about. Why shy? I don’t know. I eat too much humble pie sometimes. That’s it for now. Here’s hoping that the years of content I’ve created up until now provide some levity and growth for other designers and players alike. Ciao for now.