Thread by @HotCyder

So for 2018s Big Ds I’ve decided to go with a format that does away with hours of audio discussion and unnecessary visual fluff and instead use a tool that I’ve slowly been getting to grips with this year: Twitter. (It's Thread Time)

It fits with this years theme of cheap and cheerful experiences. I did not get a chance to play a lot of games and those I did were very much outside of AAA. These were short games, indie games, mobile games and old games.

They were relatively inexpensive reprieves for me at a difficult time when I wasn’t earning money. Some of the things of this list aren’t even video games but instead things you should do instead of games (I stole this idea from @LambH00t 's very good GOTY lists)

(Here's the one he did this year BTW: )

So with those considerations out of the way; Here’s my Top 8 of 2018!

8. Minit
Link’s Awakening every 60 seconds. Minit finds the fun in speed running and stuffs its world with the kind of whimsy you’d see in its inspirations. Minit was an adventure I was happy to go through again, again and again.
Great job @jwaaaap and the rest of the team 🙏

7. Florence
Florence Yeoh is a 20 something stuck in routine in till she falls in love and it changes her life. An interactive comic book that ties beats to mini-games that enhances the story in an awesome way. Do not pass this one up.

6. @_GameOvertime
This year I was asked by @HeyItMeBen to work on a podcast about Video Games. GOT was the result. The story of two hapless designers asked to flesh out bizarre Video Game prompts in under an hour. I enjoyed this a lot and I hope it comes back in 2019.

5. Gorogoa
If I had waited making a GOTY video in 2017 then this would of sat alongside Mario and Zelda as one of my favourites. A terribly clever picture puzzle game that marries stunning visual identity with delightful interactions. Short, Sweet and Very Neat.

4. Into the Breach
I did a short video already so I’ll boil down why I love it. Into the Breach is how I wish challenge in all video games could be managed: Fair to the point that every bad situation feels at the fault of the player. Being XCOM meets Groundhog day helps too.

3. The Skyrimtoo Campaign
An ongoing Dungeon World campaign GMed by @TehSnakerer and played by myself, @HeyItMeBen and @Pleyway. A wild, ridiculous and sometimes touching romp that had lead to strange situations like this:

It has also been an inspiration for me to start drawing again!
(I actually want to start doing some commissions like this in the new year if anyone is interested!)

2. Katamari Damacy ReRoll
A game I had never played till 2018. Katamari Damacy has been a refuge to a world of optimism wrapped in the greatest two stick control scheme. A game that could of only come out of an artist like Takahashi Keita and an arcade stalwart like Namco.

I would also like to add that I never skipped this introduction once. It sets the tone for the entire experience.

1. James D
2018 hasn’t just been the 2nd year of the channel but also my 3rd year in professional work. I decided it should be a point to stop and consider where I wanted to be in the next three years.

As a result I left one job and then found myself terminated from another.

I’m fortunate to have found work in the new year but it made me realise that I should analyse myself and what i’m doing.

I see 2019 as an opportunity to be more proactive and interested in the work I do. I also see it as a chance to figure out my identity and how I come across.

I think the Ring of Elysium video was a step in that direction from a presentation stand point.

I am still going to limit myself to making short and meaningful content but I also want to experiment. I want to try new formats and ideas that aren’t just long winded arguments about nothing that has become the *popular* thing.

More so I just want to try new things. I want to try being a GM. I want to draw and animate more and make that a part of my videos. I might even want to try something completely different just to see what happens. Heck I want to go to Shrekfest in 2019.

Things are going to change in 2019. It could be for the better or perhaps for the worst but I can’t just sit in place again. My intent is to take what I learnt in 2018 and apply it. I’ve already made a start and I can’t wait to show you folks what I have cooking up.