Just a quick update for 2022
I do plan to write more (both code and blog posts) in the New Year instead of spending all my downtime playing video games.
I have a few plans on what I would like to blog about for early next year. I would like to write about the Splatterhouse 2010 reboot and Crash Twinsanity as a sort of follow-on to my initial post about Sonic Heroes - a game with brilliant ideas but is ultimately flawed; a game that deserves a second chance - be it patches or a remaster. My first long post is already in early drafts, one I wish to hopefully make into a YouTube video: talking about my love of Persona 5 Royal. A piece of work that has had such a profound impact on my life, I would love to talk about how it has influenced, emboldened, changed my outlook on life, and just helped me get through the early stages of this pandemic and other personal issues in my life. Following on from that, a piece on John Carpenter's seminal horror masterpiece - 1982's The Thing - in celebration of it's 40th anniversary.
I might also start sharing some of my early designs and prototypes for games I have jotted down. I don't know if they'll ever come to fruition but they may just inspire someone else out there.
I should also blog a lot more about my struggles with mental health, possibly... I'm still on the fence about that one. It may encourage someone else out there to seek help and not end up like me. While the conversation is shifting, I still don't think it is talked about a lot in society. I'm partly to blame I suppose - I am rather stoic and find it difficult to talk about such things face-to-face, though therapy is easing that defensive barrier. Equally though, I do try to separate my professional and personal self since we all carry around multiple personas after all.
Finally, a rebrand. Juniper Studios was originally named in conjunction with ex-partner of 9 years. But after an extremely messy break-up, I think it is best that I do not have any relation to her going forward. Others would probably just see it as me holding her back or riding her coattails of success. I love her dearly but this is probably one of the many steps I will have to take to move on - which in itself is a painful, long road. I have yet to decide what exactly the new site and studio will be called but it'll be sorted in the new year.
I wish everyone who took the time to read this a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year for 2022.