Another year of words.
PATCH NOTES #4: TYPEDBYTOM TURNS TWO
Another year of TYPEDBYTOM - it’s flown by. Added lots more posts to the blog this year, as well as a few new types, but overall not much has changed. What has surprised me most is that I’ve maintained my interest in continuing things here, so much so that I’ve got a ton of posts lined up for the next few months, and more rattling around in the drafts section. I’d also like to offer my sincerest thanks to those of you who have stuck around, or have recently joined - you’re very much appreciated!
Last year I toyed with a silly magazine cover to summarise the first year of the blog, but towards the end of last year I began experimenting with the possibility of putting a physical version of what is written here together - just focusing on the gaming content. It’s been an education in laying out and the struggles of making text and images look half decent next to each other. Here are some examples of what I’ve got so far. I was thinking that perhaps doing yearly versions might work, but it’s all just a bit of an experiment at the moment - I’m not sure whether it will ever come to fruition, but it’s been fun to attempt… basically, I’m just pretending to be someone who makes videogame magazines because I missed out on that career and think I would have enjoyed it haha. Let me know if you’d be interested in this if a physical version were ever to become available!
Here is a link to every post that’s been published to the blog this year, and here is a link to the full archive too, if you wish to delve into the past. We've ended the year with over 30 posts - which isn’t too bad. And there is a lot more to come!
I’ve already mentioned this elsewhere, but I thought it worth mentioning again, as I’ve just added another one to the site - this being sections. In a bid to make the blog a bit easier to navigate, and to find posts that might suit the interests of new readers, I’ve split the blog into sections, these being:
VIDEOGAMES: Written playthroughs of classic and contemporary games as well as thoughts on the industry and gaming in general.
[VR]OGRAPHY: A journal of my work in blending photography and videogames, detailing past and present projects under the umbrella of [VR]Ography - A Journey into the Virtual World.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Diaries of past and current photoshoots, completed and ongoing project highlights, and thoughts on photography and photographic equipment in general.
ADVENTURES: Adventures, be it in travel or life. This section includes diaries detailing the travels of my wife and I, thoughts and opinions on the places we've been and the things we've experienced, as well as ventures of other kinds.
OBJECTS OF OBSESSION: A sort of show and tell covering a range of things, such as my other hobbies, my recommendations, interesting things I’ve found, various projects I’m working on, as well as other bits and pieces worth sharing. Basically anything I even mildly obsess over outside of videogame, photography, and adventures.
If you’re already subscribed, you’ll still receive all posts, but you can just receive the posts that interest you, if you like - and the same goes for new subscribers.
To further categorise and make posts easier to find, I’ve started putting together pages that collect together different groups of similar posts. I’ve only added a couple so far, and while they’re not integrated into the blog properly, you can view them by following these links. They focus on what I’ve written about Star Wars Galaxies, and Police Simulation games. I’ll likely add more of these as time goes on.
AN EMPIRE DIVIDED
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided was one of the games that influenced me the most, one that I played the most, and one that remains in my thoughts to this day. From the original release, to the …
POLICE SIMULATION GAMES
Police games come in many variations, some are more arcade-like, with emphasis on combat and swift justice, and others are more complex and considered, looking more at policing as a practise, focusin…
I’ve been thinking this over since starting here, and I’ve tried various other platforms such as Wordpress, Squarespace, and Ghost, but nothing seems quite as practical as Substack. I can’t afford to sink money into hosting fees and subscriptions services (I need to buy videogames for goodness sake!), and while I do have some gripes with the platform, chiefly the topics I cover not being categorised… I will be remaining here for the foreseeable. I might venture to make my own site at some point, but that’s something for far in the future me to consider, as every time I have toyed with the idea I’ve wasted precious time that could have been better spent sat on the sofa in a stupor, rather than worrying about site layouts. As I say, I’m remaining here for now, and I hope you’ll join me for another year of posts!
Again, a big thank you to everyone who has visited the blog, and especially those who have subscribed - it means a lot! Id you enjoy what you find here, please do share, and if not already, subscribe. Here’s to year three of TYPEDBYTOM - time to get working on updating that number candle!