Measuring success

I know it's been a few days since I've posted anything here. Sorry about that, but things have been more than a little hectic lately, personally and professionally. Life as a whole has been keeping me on my toes lately, and I was just short on time. Anyway, I'm back and I'm pushing forward with things again with a whole new vigor. Besides, I've got a fan base to build (Heh).

I've already mentioned that I've been writing for a few years now, but it's only been the last year or so that I've been pushing full steam ahead with it as my main career. I remember back when I first started working in the comic industry (about ten years ago), I started at the low end of the totem pole. Eventually got tired of the view down there and busted my ass to get more involved in the industry as a whole. Over the years, I developed working relationships with a lot of people in the industry, as well as some damned good friendships I've kept to this day.

After switching gears to cover the video game industry, I felt like I'd probably be starting all over from scratch. Oddly enough, that wasn't really the case. I had learned a lot from my comic days, and had learned a lot more about the best ways to network. Also, a lot of my contacts from the comic industry had also apparently jumped ship from comics to games ... or at least did some moonlighting there from time to time. The truth of the matter is, once you get involved in some aspect of the entertainment industry, you're in. Comics, video games, movies, music ... they're all related in some way. Someone in one category has a connection to someone else in another. Think of it like a warped version of the Kevin Bacon game.

So I was surprised at how quickly I started to establish myself in gaming. But how would I know that I'd really started to "make it"? I've actually started to see some signs already. I've been asked to be a professional reference for some people in the industry. I've had other company reps comment on specific articles I've written. I've been asked for my opinion on the development of specific games. Hell, I've even got a fan club filled with groupies ... okay, so I'm working on that last one, but you get the idea. However, despite all of that, I think the moment I felt proudest of my job came up yesterday. And it didn't involve editors, publishers, developers, or even groupies ... it involved my 11 year-old nephew, Blaise.

I was talking to my sister yesterday when she told me a story. It seems my nephew has decided what he wants to be when he grows up. A lot of kids want to be astronauts, superheroes, firemen, etc. ... but not Blaise. Blaise want to grow up to be like me. Apparently he's been following my work more than I thought, and he loves what I do for a living. He'll call me up at odd times to ask me about different video games. He'll look online to see what's new in the video game industry and he'll call me up to ask what I know about it. And he constantly wants to hear stories about my trips, my work, and everything else. He loves the fact that I get to play all sorts of games, good and bad, and let people know what I think of them. And now, he's decided that he wants to work on his writing and do what he can to be like me.

So, I can honestly say that no matter what comes my way, whether my name becomes synonymous with gaming or not ... my biggest success came the moment I learned that someone was looking up to me.