Happy New Year everyone! Wonderful 2020!

Let's play more games this year!

Surviving 2019

2019 was one tumultuous year.
It was rough. It was joyful. It was frustrating. It was traumatic. It had moments that made me celebrate what I was great at. And it had days when I almost chose to give up given how unfair so many things were.  I thought 2018 was rough. I didn't realize 2019 was to be far worse.


So do pardon me if I seem to be celebrating that 2019 is finally coming to a close.

I completed my 12 New Games personal challenge again this year.  Admittedly, I went over this year, with 13 new game systems under my belt instead of just 12.
1) Bubblegumshoe
2) Headspace
3) Cold Shadows
4) Praxis: King of Storms
5) Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game
6) The Sword, The Crown, and the Unspeakable Power
7) Alien the RPG
8) Exalted 3rd edition
9) Wraith: the Oblivion, 20th edition
10) Kult: Divinity Lost
11) Pendragon
12) Tiny Frontiers Revised
13) Lords of Gossamer and Shadow

There were podcast guestings, talks, and youtube actual plays, from the attendance in Design Week PH, the ESGS, the Philippine International Literary Festival, and more. There were event invitations to showcase my works.  There were news article mentions and foreign translations or re-implementations of my games, which reminded me that I  was making a difference in my own way. My work connected with people. My actions reached others. It was nice to know people resonated with my work in one way or another. That people enjoyed the games I created. Or wanted to learn more from what I had to share.  

 

There are my TAG Team Supporters, my Patrons who continue to support me and trust in my creative journey. I remain immensely grateful for your kindness and as I have committed years before, I continue to commit myself to sharing my knowledge, being creative, and create games.

And there were the people. Wonderful, creative, and kind people both new to the industry and veterans in the field. People who welcomed me, laughed alongside me, offered help, received feedback, shared thoughts, empathized, and simply shared mutual gratitude. There were those who tried my games and discovered the fun tabletop rpgs can offer for the very first time. And there were distant friends who shared support. You know who you are all. I thank you and I love you all.

On the creative side, I was able to release a few games this year. Some alone. Others as part of other people's projects. And a number of cancelled projects. 

Personal releases included:

 

I wasn't able to create as much as I used to, but I guess I should at least be grateful that I was able to still create despite the temptations at times to give it all up and completely stop creating. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay focused and continue being productive in how I channel my emotions. I owe it to myself, to my partner, my family, and my patrons and friends to stay the course and never give up.

So as the year comes to an end, I just want to be grateful that I survived. I feel like parts of me died this 2019, and I  know I was very close to giving everything up. Had it not been for my loved ones, my friends, and even complete strangers, I may not had been here to write this post. The darkness never seems to end, but we must continue to believe.  Even if it seems like we are just fooling ourselves.

The late Sir Terry Prachett said it best:

So, here's to a brighter year, 2020.
I choose to believe it will be.

Cat's Dream on MFG Cast!

Had the wonderful opportunity to be a guest in MFG Cast  Podcast where we got to talk about how I got started in gaming, and had a quick session of my solitaire rpg, Cat's Dream.

Thank you so much for having me on the show!


The MFGCast: Breaking the board since 2012!http://www.mfgcast.com/
https://twitter.com/MFGCast

Listen to the episode here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-cats-dream/id523045887?i=1000459694479

Now available in English!

Yes! The French translation of the game for Smartphone play is also available in English!
Check it out here:
https://tagsessions.blogspot.com/2019/12/avent2019-6-cet-instant-precis.html

Speak to Me... featured on GMA News Online

Very grateful to have my small game, Speak to Me. The Voices are far too loud. featured in GMA NEWS ONLINE.  That choice of headline really really makes me feel very appreciative as the game was written as a small spark that hopes to inspire empathy. 

Grab the game at Drivethrurpg:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/288434/Speak-to-me-The-voices-are-far-too-loud

Read the full article here:
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/technology/719194/pinoy-made-speak-to-me-the-voices-are-far-too-loud-could-be-the-anti-hate-rpg-we-need/story/

AVENT2019 #6 – Cet Instant Précis

I was surprised one morning to read an email from Mattheiu who created something for more people to enjoy:

I made a game this year inspired by your superb A Single Moment.
Game last 30 to 45 minutes and is playable on smartphone.
Now it's only available in french, but you may translate it easily if you use Chrome
https://www.forthedrama.com/games/cetinstant
A presentation of my game
https://www.cestpasdujdr.fr/avent2019-6-cet-instant-precis/

While the site is in French, thankfully Google Chrome translated it enough for me to grasp that A Single Moment now has another incarnation, and that of being a card/smartphone game that is "Descended from the Queen" based on the SRD published by Evil hat Publications and Alex Roberts.

It warms my heart to know that work I have created continue to inspire others to make stuff as well. And all in all, I am just thankful that people still appreciate the small contributions I have made. Thank you for letting me know, Mattheiu and I do home more people try out your version of the game as well!

Make more moments!

Games of Horror and Mystery: Mantle Magazine

Thank you to Titus Villanueva and MANTLE for having me in their article entitled, Games of Horror and Mystery.  Titus interviewed me when he was working on the article to talk about horror and role-playing games.

Even more awesome was the feedback we heard that there were people who never played table top role-playing games before who now are excited to try gaming after reading the article - now that they know there were other kinds of games out there such as horror games.

Here's a quick excerpt from his article:

In the great scheme of things, we are but specks of dust floating through the cosmos. In a horror game, we play those specks of dust and understand what that means. In the face of that truth, we realize that struggling against that meaninglessness, giving ourselves up for more important things, is truly what makes existence less futile. And that’s what makes horror RPGs so appealing.

Again, thank you so much, Titus and MANTLE!

Read the full article here:
https://www.mantlemagazine.com/index.php/2019/11/01/games-of-horror-and-mystery/

At the Techlife Summit 2019

Was given the opportunity to share more of my knowledge at the TechLife Summit last November 15, 2019. Talked about "Get In the Game!" which opened people's eyes on how gamification has been part of their everyday experience more than they realize.

Thank you for having me!

Thank you, GoshDarnGeeky for featuring Speak to Me....

Thank you Goshdarngeek.com for featuring my game, "Speak to me. The voices are far too loud." The game is quite a personal important one for me and it means a lot that you're helping it reach a wider audience.

From the article:

Embracing hopeSpeak to me. The voices are far too loud.’s message is particularly relevant in today’s world.

“Both in the net and the real world, there has been a rising tide of dominating behavior being imposed on others simply for being different, or disliked,” said Abad. “And given my passion towards gaming, I felt creating a game which helped bring some thoughts into communication was in its own way an important stand to take.”

The complex issues Speak to me. The voices are far too loud. touches on take the form of the “secrets” and the “truth” explored in each play session. Abad incorporated such issues in the game design due to the “capacity of role-playing games to be avenues of exploration and introspection.”

Read the entire article here:
http://goshdarngeeky.com/pst_blogs/speak-to-me-the-voices-are-far-too-loud-is-a-tabletop-rpg-about-finding-hope-amidst-despair/

Thank you for the fantastic days, ESGS 2019

Still recovering from four days of Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (one for Business, and three for the public). Thank you so much for making these last few days so special. Tremendously grateful for the opportunity to reach out to the public once more and offer them my new released game, Cat's Dream. Ran so many demo games for my little solitaire game, including sessions for people who never even played an RPG in the past.

First of all, I want to thank Rocky, my partner and my heart, who was such an amazing trooper and made sure I stayed hydrated and had time to eat and use the bathroom. I love you so much.

Then, I want to thank Gwen, Flip, and Francis, who are the people who make Indie Fiesta happen every single year. Your dedication to helping others have a chance to showcase their work and feel welcome is simply priceless and empowering beyond belief. Thank you so much.

Then, I want to thank Urim for checking on me and keeping me company for some of the days as well. And I envy all the awesome swag you got at the event.

My love then goes out to my fellow creators. I was not able to meet you all, but I remain extremely impressed and humbled to see all your incredible works.

Nathan Briones and Project Tadhana's wacky Larp/Strategic Game, TYLZ.

Alexis Dela Cuesta's beekeeping inspired and educational game, Sting-A-Win.

Juan Rafael Escolar's tactical card game, No Savior's Day.

Thomas Regala of the The Epic Gaming Regiment working with Mirai Pyon of Hello, Mirai and their introspective and revealing game, Love's 5 Languages.

Maisie Tan and Crystal Tan of Play Platter's Space Dogs.

Fred Tay's cyberpunk card game, Manila 2076.

Tony Pena's suspenseful game, Espionage.

Yves Suiza's wacky cat inspired game, 9 Lives.

As well as other digital games such as:

Lawmage Academy by Gian Miko Arabejo.

The many emotive games by Artsybarrels by Jem Sarmiento.

Acadmia: School Simulator by Squeaky Wheel Studio Inc.

Yellow Boat Reimagined by Patri1e Adela and her team.

Unconditional by Mira Arguelles.

Good Knight by Alex and Zaid.

Deadline by Kismet Trails Studio and Team Theta.

Couch Fightato by Dan Liamco and Vaughn Pinpin.

Let' Eat Pare by Chikon Club.

...and many many more.

Thank you so much!
Hope to see you all again next year.

(Sadly, we had to leave before the picture taking happened. But yeah, so many new creators this year!)