As we approach the American holiday of
Thanksgiving people often pause to reflect on the many things in
their lives for which they remain grateful; a practice one might
consider as a brief, daily exercise to help put a more positive spin
on our everyday lives.
Of course I’m thankful for the many
blessings I often take for granted in my life: a supportive wife and
energetic preschooler; our collective decent health; a nice house
with room for my office, numerous bookshelves, crafting areas for my
wife, and my basement miniatures painting area and wargaming table;
my wife’s good job in her chosen career field (despite shut-downs,
furloughs, and the vilification of Federal workers); fully
operational transportation; and a small group of real-life friends,
some of whom share my interests in gaming.
Many things for which I’m thankful
relate to gaming since it has been and continues to be a major
portion of my life and career (such as it is). In sharing some of the
many mostly game-related aspects of my life for which I’m thankful
I hope kind readers might similarly reflect on the gifts that grace
their own lives.
I’m extremely thankful for:
Involvement in the Hobby: Some
days I have trouble contemplating how relevant I seemed to the
adventure gaming hobby when I worked for West End Games, when I had a
regular, paying outlet for my work, and when I had the means to offer
others the opportunity, guidance, and inspiration to become
successfully involved themselves. These days I’m just grateful I
have the time and means to stay active in game publishing through
several venues. My often demanding schedule as a full-time father
provides me with snippets of time to pursue writing and game design,
even if much of that never quite makes it to publication.
E-storefronts like OneBookShelf’s DriveThruRPG and RPGNow enable me
to publish PDF game content for a meager profit. Hobby Game Recce
provides a platform to share my insights on and experiences with the
adventure gaming hobby. Occasionally I find an opportunity for actual
paying work for the hobby, particularly with the fine folks at Wicked North Games. These all keep me involved as a designer, editor, and
publisher in the adventure gaming hobby, providing positive feedback
and some degree of accomplishment for which I’m extremely thankful.
Online Engagement: The internet
has provided many opportunities for gathering and sharing information
while engaging with gamers in far-flung places. Various venues online
enable me to research games before making an educated purchase, to
find new games in PDF and print, and to just look up interesting
information and free game aids to enhance and expand my play
experience. I’m fortunate that I’ve found a very positive and
encouraging community through the Google+ social network. I’ve
learned about new games, Kickstarter projects, conventions, play
techniques, and other adventure gaming goodness I’d wouldn’t
otherwise discover on my own in my insulated little existence. In
some cases I’ve heard of gamers in need whom I’ve helped out with
meager donations to their crowd-funding campaigns. I’ve found a
forum where I can buy, sell, and trade games among fellow
enthusiasts. I steer comments and discussion of my Hobby Games Recce
posts to Google+ for more civilized, respectful interactions. I’ve
even managed to do some Google+ Hangout gaming now and then, an
opportunity to game with people near and far and try out a new gaming
experience.
Gaming Family: The past
year or so we’ve tried to maintain a family game night at our
house. Every Thursday after dinner we pull out a kid-friendly game to
play together...King of Tokyo, Otters, the X-wing miniatures
game, Dino Hunt Dice, Castle Panic, Robot Turtles.
Occasionally we indulge in gaming on the weekend or in some other
free time, and even invite other game enthusiasts into our home to
play...and test their patience with a talkative four year-old. I’m looking forward as the Little Guy grows to introducing
him to new games, experiences, even conventions.
In past years I’ve
revised a Thanksgiving piece I wrote years ago for another job and
posted it here. Those sentiments still stand...that we should
remember to always remain grateful for our blessings and continually
seek to help those less fortunate than ourselves. I’ll close with
one of two quotes I usually use at this time of year, from a fellow
who stood up to political tyranny and inhumanity to save others at
the cost of his own life.
“In
ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more
than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes
rich.”
– Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
Comments....
Want to share your gratitude for
gaming’s effect on your life? Start a civilized discussion? Share a
link to this blog entry on Google+ and tag me (+Peter Schweighofer)
to comment.
