Most people reading this will probably know that I’ve been writing exclusively for the website DualShockers for a bit over a year. I mentioned as much in the Yakuza-flavoured epic that was the previous post here, but that’s at the bottom of 10k words so I don’t begrudge anyone for missing that detail. Originally I had considered adding posts here alongside it, but there wasn’t really anything I intended to write that wouldn’t also work over at DualShockers. So I let this place lapse.
But now I’m back here, so the astute among you should easily put the pieces together: I’m no longer writing for DualShockers. I handed my resignation in on Friday, effective immediately. The full explanation for why could take a while, so I’ll just keep it brief. DualShockers was purchased by a media company, and despite assurances of a relatively hands off trial period while we all get acclimatised, it only took four days before our entire process had been gutted.
Any article that wasn’t chasing trends and analytics while aimed at big views was to be scrapped. Long-form content like reviews and editorials — y’know, the thing I do pretty much exclusively — was dramatically reduced if not outright axed. The writing was on the wall, and I no longer had a place there, so I bowed out. Still, best of luck and all the best to the many writers there who are staying on. I bear none of them any ill will, you guys are great and I enjoyed writing alongside you.
Regardless, that leaves me without a website to write for, and the desire to keep on writing hasn’t subsided. I had a pretty good year with DualShockers, even during one of the worst years in modern human history that was 2020. All my articles should still be over on DualShockers if you haven’t read them, and I am still proud of my work there. I’ll keep an archive of the older content where I go next, though.
Speaking of which, where am I going next? Great question! I’m a free agent right now and haven’t been picked up by any other writing publications as yet. I’ve got connections and leads to one or two others, but no real movement on that. Instead, I figured I’d just take everything I’ve learnt and strike out as an independent again. I wasn’t getting paid for my work at DualShockers anyway, so it’s not like I have anything really to lose by trying to see how far I can take this. As I said during the resignation fiasco, I’d love to be paid for what I do, but I’m not going to abandon what I do just to get paid. Guy’s gotta eat, but I have always done this because I enjoy doing it, so I shall keep on doing so.
For the time being, I’ll tidy up Delfeir vs the Backlog and post a few things here and there if the mood strikes me. Might just be shorter pieces about whatever I’ve been playing, or else finish up some of the editorial drafts I had in various states of completion. The WordPress interface I’m staring at as I type has changed substantially since the last time I used it, so I have a few features and layouts to acquaint myself with.
That said, I fully expect this to be a stopgap measure. I’ll probably take the Backlog concept with me for whatever I do next, but I want to aim for something a little bigger and more extensive than a free blog somewhere. Over the coming days I’ll be looking into learning some basic video skills and seeing if I can take my articles and turn some into spoken scripts to drop on Youtube. I’m also looking at setting up a couple of podcasts with various people, so that should be fun. It’s worth noting that I don’t really have much experience or technical skills on that front, so don’t expect anything too flashy or grandiose at first. In fact, if you’re willing to collaborate and have the skills to offer or coach, hit me up and I’ll happily work something out.
Whatever happens though, I’m still primarily and predominantly a writer. Though even if I remain purely as a creator of written content, I’ll probably see about making a website and creating a little archive/hub for myself. Time to see if Squarespace is actually worth all the ads it dumps on every Youtuber imaginable. I’ll link anything that comes about here when the time comes.
But yes. For now, it’s back to being an independent writer that discusses and critiques games and their stories/design. Watch this space!
Delfeir vs. the Backlog 