Those of us in the United States just completed the annual feast of gluttony as opposed to our normal everyday gluttony this week, and here at Never Say Dice we are no different. Wait. Thankfulness. I meant "here in the United States we just completed our annual feast that celebrates thankfulness (and gluttony), and here at Never Say Dice, we are no different." While we're still not coming together in a normal fashion, due to the raging pandemic, we’ve still celebrated and brought our thankfulness to the table. So, this week, Never Say Dice would like to share with you, dear readers, what we are thankful for in the realms of games, storytelling and general nerdery. Feel free to let us know what gaming things you are thankful for on our Facebook page and Twitter!
Andy:
One thing this wretched pandemic has given me, as it has for many of us, is significantly more time at home. This has allowed much more time to spend playing video games. While I have no intent to get a PS5, or any other new system, any time soon, I’m very thankful that I've invested in both a Nintendo Switch and a PS4. I’ve spent a ton of time playing various games on the Switch with my nine year old son, and have immensely enjoyed introducing him to the Zelda universe with Breath of the Wild. It's brought me back to the days when I first played the original game, with the added bonus of seeing it through his eyes. I’ve also enjoyed digging into the latest Spider-Man game (no, not the Miles Morales one yet), and playing a few multiplayer games with my co-author and best friend Bugsy.
As far as tabletop games go, it's obviously been a rough year for that. While I'm sad that many of my friends (and all of my current players) are still out of work, I’m thankful that they’ve chosen to spend some of their time with online me every Wednesday to play in my game. It's been the most successful D&D campaign I’ve run to date, and I couldn’t be any happier with it. I'm hopeful the pandemic will be conquered soon, and that all these friends will be once more gainfully employed, but I will miss getting to spend this time with them. Hopefully, we’ll still be able to work it out and continue our sessions.
Lastly, although it's only tangentially related, I’ve been very thankful for this blog. It may not always be strictly about games or gaming, but has become something I enjoy very much. It's grown each and every week and evolved into something of which I’m rather proud. I couldn’t have done it without Bugsy and his amazing writing, editing and production skills. There's also no way that I could have done it without the help of my amazing wife. I never would have gotten through those fantastic Renfest interviews without her. I hope we can continue to grow and build this blog into something people from all over the gaming community can appreciate. Until next week, stay healthy everyone.
Bugsy:
Since Andy had to be all gracious at the end there, I should off by thanking him for joining me on this damn fool idealistic crusade. Working on projects with him has always been an absolute blast, and I'm beyond happy to have a new one going even as the dreaded "four-oh" rounds the corner for both of us. I can't think of another person, dead or alive, real or imagined, that I'd rather be doing this with.
While I'm certainly not grateful for the pandemic, I'm very appreciative of the time I've been able to reclaim from commuting. Before the Dark Times (which is what I call the end of Daylight Savings), I was able to enjoy nearly every sunset on my porch with a book on my lap, which remains one of my favorite experiences. I'm grateful, too, for the media and projects I've been hoarding curating over the years that I can finally get to, and even turn into posts to share here. The purchase of an OSSC early this year, and tinkering with it for both the PS2 and Sega Genesis has introduced me to the retrogaming scene. Which leads me to what I am, perhaps, the most thankful for: nerds. All you folks!
It's easy to forget, but not that long ago, it could be hard to find other people interested in the same things you were. I don't just mean consuming "geeky" media (there's almost certainly a post detailing my feelings about marketing and "geek chic" down the line), but people invested in the esoteric. People you could ask questions and have deep, meaningful conversations. People to whom things things that are generally unknown or ignored are important. But today, we're able to find folks on our wavelengths after just a little searching. We've found our places to talk about anything we want, as long as we want, with people who care. Places like this very blog, and people like Andy, my loving (and incredibly patient) wife Lisa, and people like you, dear readers.
It's been a hell of a year, and, if I'm thankful for anything, it's that I'm privileged enough to spend it with each and every one of you, no matter how far apart all of us may be.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Be thankful that you're you.