1. Games
My recent neglect of this blog has a happy reason.
I've been writing a flurry of posts for LadiesGamers—not just reviews but also a listicle, a brief Tokyo Game Show report, and starting a new column called Memory Museum. So I figured it'd be okay to blog here less, as long as I'm still writing regularly.
In the games department, the highlight of 2018 for me was Subset Games' Into the Breach. I've raved enough about this turn-based strategy game (three separate posts on LadiesGamers, no less), so I'll spare you here. If you happen to be an Into the Breach fan, let me leave you with a neat article to read from Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
2. Japanese
After passing the JLPT N2 (Dec 2017), my motivation to study drooped, partly because I got busy in the spring. Then my motivation took a serious hit after my summer trip home. For the first time ever since moving to Japan, I began to think about going home.
Not that I wanted to leave Japan, but I'd had a good time visiting family and friends, missing their presence, and thinking it'd be nice to settle back home and raise a family there. I began wondering, "Why am I really in Japan?" and feeling uncertain of the answer. That shook my already-waning determination to improve in Japanese.
But I got my motivation back as 2018 drew to a close. The factors:
- Started reading Japanese novels again
- Enjoyed a few long conversations with Japanese-only speakers in a relaxed setting
- 3-year visa was renewed
- Reconsidered translation as a possible future career
What looks good in 2019?
For games, I'm looking out for indie games from the publisher Chucklefish. At the same time, I plan to limit my daily/weekly gaming time to prioritize creative writing and Japanese.
For Japanese, I'm committed to finishing fantasy series Kemono no Souja's first volume in the next 2-3 months.
I'm feeling excited for 2019.