I originally planned on putting together a list of my top five games for 2022, but a few of my favorites were left unfinished. I’m still currently working on God of War: Ragnarok and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. There’s also a long list of 2022 games I have yet to begin — including Horizon: Forbidden West, which I will begin upon completion of God of War: Ragnarok.

Instead of creating a half-finished top games list from last year, I wanted to instead work on a short list of some of my 2023 goals for the site.

A Brief History of myVGBC.com

Here’s a quick origin story of how I became an “amateur” games journalist. It all began during the lockdown of 2020. I found myself playing more and more games. In fact, most people were playing more games than usual, even people new to games. When Animal Crossing: New Horizons released (March 20, 2020), Nintendo Switch consoles were hard to find — a console that had been released three years earlier.

Many of the world’s activities were put on hold. The only people I got to see were my girlfriend and my family. With this extra time on my hands, it was time to start a new creative project. My girlfriend had started her cat blog, monitoring our fat cat, Archer’s, relationship with food.

Writing about video games has always been in the back of my mind. I even had a placeholder wordpress site before I finally built this thing out. Much of my time at work is spent with video game podcasts playing in the background (and now lots of wrestling). I enjoy being up to date on the latest gaming news, upcoming releases, and everything else going on in the gaming world.

My initial goal was to write a few short posts each week. Some focused on specific games, others on gaming-related topics, and include some gameplay footage at the end of the week (highlights/bloopers). The concept for myVGBC (Video Game Book Club) came from a simple way to include friends in my site. I’m now on my third year of the site and have yet to execute that initial idea. Still, the site has grown and evolved since it’s initial creation.

Here’s a list of some of the projects I hope to kickstart in 2023 for myVGBC.com:

1 | Start the true myVGBC.com Podcast Series

The way I got into interviewing game developers for my video podcast was sort of accidental. I had reached out to Neil Jones (aka Aerial_Knight) about his upcoming game Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield. I just wanted to send over some questions, and he agreed to let me interview him. As a small, brand new site I didn’t think any game developers would care to talk to me.

That first year, I interviewed almost fifteen game developers. It’s nice to hear about the work, but I really enjoy learning how many game developers share the same stories we all had about gaming as a kid. It’s very cool to learn that we all have similar origin stories.

I plan to continue interviewing game developers and other gaming-related guests, but the true Video Game Book Club idea would be its own separate podcast series. I will start reaching out to friends and colleagues about finding a game from both of our backlogs and playing together (co-op or simultaneously), to then record a podcast where we talk about that game — classic book club idea, but about video games.

For 2023, I wish to continue my original game developer and gaming world interviews, but also start including friends and connecting by playing the same games. Video content takes time to create and edit, but I am hoping to include more on the site.

2 | Beat More Games, including Old ones

As I mentioned in the beginning of this piece, I’m currently working on beating a few games. I also have a long, long list of game review codes from last year that I have either not written about or not even played yet — I’m sorry publishers. I will go back down that list of games and start pushing out some content featuring these games.

In 2023, I will continue writing about both new and older games. Last year, I beat just over ten games. I would love to beat even more games this year, and even achieve a platinum trophy or two.

3 | Post Less, Write More

In 2020, my goal was to post three (sometimes more) times per week. Towards the end of 2022, I got a little burnt out. My goal had changed to posting twice a week. This year, I’m focusing on one good post per week, possibly two when necessary.

By trying to post so many times per week, I ended up posting articles I wasn’t very proud of. I’d rather deliver one great post, instead of three mediocre ones. I’m working on becoming a better planner of content this year. There are some longer articles I have been working on for over a year. If I just begin with a little planning, and start writing I can get these done soon.

4 | In-Person Gaming Event

During 2020, I was able to attend E3, PAX and GDC — all online. The past two years, I got to attend Florida Supercon as part of the media, and I hope I get to do so again in 2023. My goal for 2023 is to attend at least one “gaming-focused” event in person. Supercon does feature games, but is heavier on movies, TV and other pop culture media.

If I could make it out to LA for E3 2023, that would be pretty amazing. If not, perhaps I’ll actually make it out to a PAX or some other event. Maybe the Game Awards? Let’s see what happens.

5 | More Gaming-Adjacent Series and Posts

Last year, I created a few series of posts that were more gaming-adjacent. I read a couple of books that had to do with video games — Ask Iwata by Satoru Iwata, Disrupting the Game by Reggie Fils-Aime, The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima. I also wrote a post about the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.

We’re now seeing studios and streaming services creating shows and movies based on big video game IP — The Cuphead Show, Arcane, The Witcher, The Last of Us (starting this weekend on HBO), and so much more. Video games continue to find their way into every type of media, and I’m going to start finding new ways to incorporate that into the site.

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These are not all of my goals and plans for 2023, but just a few of the main ones. I’m sort of creating my 2023 myVGBC “vision board, which is subject to change. These first two weeks of 2023 featured a recap of last year’s games beat, and now a plan for what’s next. It’s time to begin myVGBC.com’s 2023 content.

Next week, I’ll be back with a brand new post.