How is it March already? Is time flying by? Am I having fun?

I’ve had time to sit down, concentrate and write this properly. Not bullet points this time. It’s a longer 15 Days ahead of you, where I cover my first gaming event of the year, testing updates, writing updates, and health updates, along with stuff acquired, and more. Also, there’s a bit of swearing this time so, you know, forewarned is fore-fucking-armed.

Starting off with stuff acquired, I am a World of WarCraft fan, and I’ve been adding the collector’s editions over time. Right now, the only ones I don’t have are the original and the 15^th anniversary editions. It is rare to find the original online at a price that is reasonable. I see them listed anywhere from between £400 to all the way up to £15000. These are not prices I am willing to pay. So when I saw a listing from another collector who was parting ways with his copy, I was all over it. Except that at the time when the listing was ending, I was…I don’t know, distracted by something, probably the dishes, or something just as mundane, and it sold for £136.00. That was on 16^th February and I am still annoyed about it. Now I randomly search listings in the unlikely hope of finding another, knowing deep down it probably won’t happen again. Sadly, this stuff was not acquired.

I bought my third game of the year, which was Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo on Steam. Think Columns meets Street Fighter II. It’s part of the Capcom Arcade 2^nd Stadium package. It was only £1.70 and I enjoy it. It’s also on the PlayStation Classic Console but that’s hooked up in another room and, at least on Steam, it’s easy to access for a quick 10 minutes session when I feel like it.

My Slayer Baron pin has arrived! I contacted customer service at Bungie EU and, to their credit, they were excellent in sorting it for me. The pin had been returned to them and so they sent out a replacement and it was with me in about four days. There was something about placing the pin in the final spot of my display that was both fulfilling and sad. As I’ve said before; it’s bittersweet. Now it’s time to put the display together with my commission from Joe, plus the Destiny 2 books I have, and give it a proper home in the room I use for gaming. A photo of it all will follow here at some point.

I also had two Kickstarter rewards arrive and I am really happy with them. I’ve had rewards from other projects before and they’ve been OK, you know? Properly made and everything that was promised but these are something else. Derek Laufman I hadn’t heard of before but took the chance to back and receive some of his previous work, and Ben Galley I’ve followed for a while (as well as on Patreon) and these editions are exceptional. I think Ben will have another fundraiser for the last Emaneska book this year so, if you’re interested, it’s worth following him and keeping an eye on it. There is likely to be the option to grab rewards from the previous campaigns as well; that’s what I did when I missed out before.

Onto testing and it has steadied a bit. It’s been very busy over the last few months so a little breathing space is welcome for a week or two. There was also a lot of focus on the demo for Sleepytime Village in preparation for its showcase at Debug on 21^st February and that was fun to work on. Developer Lightfoot Bros Games was even kind enough to give me a shout out in the latest Kickstarter update for the game. Thank you, good sir. It’s always appreciated.

Speaking of which (and I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo), Sleepytime Village, The Adventures of a Cat in Space and Heir of the Dog were all lined up in a row, for which I jokingly said thank you for arranging the games I’ve tested in such a way so I don’t have to walk far at the venue. I even got a sneak peek at one of the later levels of The Adventures of a Cat in Space (shh, don’t tell anyone) which was completely absorbing and I had to be asked to move so people could play Heir of the Dog! It’s all looking very positive.

And Debug itself was fantastic. For anyone who isn’t aware, it’s a great indie games event run by the team who also write and publish the magazine of the same name. The awards are now two years old, and it’s got potential to grow and become a bit of a hub for indies. The team works very hard to deliver a fun and interesting event. The day is for showcasing your game and for gamers to play them. It’s great for networking and, for someone like me, a fantastic opportunity to catch-up with developers I’ve worked with, to meet people for the first time who I’ve only chatted with on social media (looking at you Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou), and check out games that I’d like to potentially test or simply play for fun. I’ll be back again next year for sure. I also picked up the limited edition version of issue 8 of Debug magazine. I spent more time talking than chasing autographs this year so there are far less signatures than last year’s issue but I’m very happy with what I got.

Back to testing updates, now that Debug is over, I’m sort of between projects. There’s [REDACTED], [REDACTED] and some testing for Unsung Warriors, plus probably some extra for Yokai Tales by VP Games coming up in the next month or so and that’s left me in a good place to get back to writing. I do have my eyes on a couple of games I might reach out to developers to help with potential testing but that remains to be seen. For now, over the next two weeks, I’ll get back to the 1,000 words per day.

There’s a piece I want to write about that details my testing experiences so far, where it’s going, where it’s come from, and I think that’ll be a standalone outside of these 15 Days updates but my approach, in a sentence, is that I’ve never had a goal when it comes to testing games; it’s just something that I enjoy, will see where it takes me, and where I will do my best.

I am also considering, tentatively, streaming games every so often. I’m not sure. It’s not really something that I have been drawn to, and I don’t really have the time to set up regular streams but I’m thinking about it. Not live testing games, obviously, but maybe just simply the gameplay of titles in my collection that I want to play but don’t get around to as much anymore. Although, maybe there’s something about keeping the gaming side offline? It’s a time to relax that shouldn’t be disturbed?

I’m undecided but I do like to consider everything when I think about what might come next. Streaming games might be something on the horizon, but it might be something else. Most of all though, it’s the writing that drives me. The whole point of writing these blogs is the regular practice. I’ve already found myself lost from blog to blog, seemingly offering you a diary of my days more than anything else. What I’ve tried to do here is reread what I’ve written so far for 15 Days and loop back to some of the more salient points.

So, the latest health update is that it’s tailed off but the work already done is holding fast. I’ve had a few visits from friends and family lately, so keeping to a regular healthy diet and exercise is harder but not impossible. I’ve no big plans ahead of me so it’ll be back to some exercise, good sleep, and eating anything that isn’t jam tarts.

Shockingly, I am actually reading a book. It’s called Among Thieves by M J Kuhn (also on Patreon) and it’s really enjoyable. I’d describe it as a fast-paced, mouthy, high stakes, heist. That’s my perspective and so far, I’m enjoying it.

I’ve also renewed my subscription to this website for another three years. I like it here. I like keeping things I’ve done in one place, writing these, sharing news on games, etc., so I’ll stick around for a while.

In very exciting news, Blue Prince announced their release date of 10^th April 2025 and I cannot wait for everyone to play this game. I was so fortunate to test it and it’s a definite highlight for me. To see my name in the credits and add a testimonial from Tonda Ros, the developer, to this website was something extra special. I think there are fantastic things ahead for Blue Prince. Which leads me nicely onto the Thinky Games Awards held this week, where it won Most Anticipated Game along with Cryptmaster (come on, you didn’t think I wouldn’t mention my favourite necromancer again, did you?) who also won Most Innovative Game.

In other news, there’s an upcoming Kickstarter (I’m not sure when) for Tony Warriner and Stoo Cambridge’s UrbX Warriors that I’m looking forward to and it’s one to stay up-to-date with. You can find them on social media and they have a Discord set up for their new game studio called Brazen Gameplay. Click the image to access it. I think Discord only allows invite links for 7 days but you can find them elsewhere.

And to finish, I want to talk about my barber who retired on 1^st March.

I’ve been going there for my haircut for nearly ten years. That’s a significant amount of time, and we’ve gotten to know one another well in that period. I will miss talking to him about television shows, photography, life, travel, regular day-to-day stuff, and ‘Peppergate’. I’m not going into the details of ‘Peppergate’, just know that it was funny. There’s also that time some people who worked on Game of Thrones, specifically The Battle of the Bastards episode (which I personally think is one of the greatest pieces of television I have ever seen outside of an actual movie; that battle sequence was exquisite) were in the barbers as well, and my barber, who knows I am a big fan of the show, introduced them to me. I was being all chill, saying “Hey. Yeah, that’s cool, man.” And while walking home I just wanted to run back and be like “OH MY GOD THAT EPISODE WAS AMAZING! THE BIT WHERE JON RIDES OUT ON HIS OWN TO SAVE HIS BROTHER WHO’S RUNNING STRAIGHT TOWARDS HIM AS ARROWS RAIN DOWN AND I’M SCREAMING “FUCKING ZIG-ZAG, YOU FOOL!” AT THE TV BUT THEN IT’S TOO LATE AND THEN JON REALISES HE FUCKED IT SO HAS TO STAND THERE AND DRAW HIS SWORD WHILE THE ENTIRE BOLTON SIDE IS RIDING TOWARDS HIM. DUDE! THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME! AND THEN…”

Of course I didn’t do or say any of this but it was fun sharing that story with my barber some months later and having a good laugh about it. It’s just one lovely memory of many. It has been a fun ten years.

For my last visit, on his last day, I bought him the triple shot cappuccino (no chocolate) that he likes, and he downed it as though it were the nectar of the gods. We hugged, said goodbye, and I went on my way, while he went on his. Happy retirement, matey.

And that’s it for now. Until next time, stay safe, and thank you for reading.

Paul.