Throughout these, the first two weeks of 2016, I’ve continued to contemplate what I want to accomplish and where I want to be, both figuratively and literally, by year’s end. I don’t always indulge in the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, but this year I’ve decided not only to write a few goals down, but also to share and discuss them here on my blog. So, without further ado, here is resolution number one:
1. Finish and release Golden Drake Studios‘ first game: Adventures Unending.
Game development projects rarely go smoothly enough to meet their initial deadlines, so this is a lofty goal. Nonetheless, through careful monitoring of weekly and monthly progress, I’m confident in my studio’s ability to see it done!
2. Publish new content, either here or on my company’s blog, at least once a month.
I write a lot, but I’m such a perfectionistic self-editor that I rarely publish anything. This needs to change. From now on, you can look forward to reading my thoughts on technology, game design, and various other topics on a more frequent basis.
3. Relocate to a major city with a thriving tech community, such as Seattle or San Francisco.
It’s been great spending time among family, old friends, and gorgeous desert surroundings back here in my hometown of St. George, Utah, but I always knew this was temporary and I’m ready to move on. Having lived in or visited many parts of North America as well as East/Southeast Asia, it’s been difficult to pinpoint exactly where I might want to put down roots. Each part of our planet has its own unique flavor, its own pros and cons. Naturally, this has led me to also consider the perpetually unrooted life of a digital nomad. In the final analysis, however, I still like the idea of having my own long-term home, so I’ll be looking closely at the Pacific Northwest, the Bay Area, and other scenic tech hubs as I consider where to establish it.
4. Exercise, read, write code, do something artistic, and meditate every day.
This is fairly self-explanatory, if a bit vague. Hiking is my primary form of exercise these days, which is wonderful, but I ought to do a better job of regularly working out as well. I also ought to do more reading, i.e., the actual picking up of books and turning of pages rather than the casual skimming of online articles that has dominated my reading life in recent years. Writing code is already more or less a daily habit for me, so that part shouldn’t be difficult. As for “something artistic,” by this I mean anything from game, level, and quest design to drawing or playing around on the guitar: anything that engages my creative/expressive side. Finally, by “meditation” I simply mean setting aside a little time each day for the healthy practice of breathing deeply and fully relaxing both body and mind.
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