Holy Crap, It’s Been One Year of Crossplay

Thoughts on the past, present, and future. Plus, a humble request from yours truly, if you've been thinking about subscribing. Now is the time.

Jun 04, 2024

Your subscriber dollars allowed my child to experience sharks in VR at the zoo. How can you ask anything more? Will wonders never cease?

Who’s ready for a sappy thank you letter? Who wants a digital pinch on the cheek?

Crossplay launched on June 2, 2023 with a huge spread of stories mean to encompass everything I wanted to cover, if people showed interested in Crossplay as a project. I’d intended to mark the occasion last week, but became swamped prepping to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Remap, which launched around the same time (!!). But it’s fitting that I’ve waited a few days, because we’re on the precipice of a huge event, aka the annual renewal of your subscription here. It’s big because it helps me understand what the future of Crossplay is. Did you enjoy this past year? And do you want more?

I think I know the answer, but it will become clearer in a few day’s time.

Importantly, now is the time to look up your subscription. If this is where we part ways, thank you for the support. But if you’ve been on the fence before, I would sincerely appreciate you taking the opportunity to sign up this week. There’s dozens of subscriber-only articles waiting for you. I’m proud of this first year. I have even grander ambitions for the next year, and every dollar lets me build toward that.

One year ago, I took two shots in the dark. I often joke about having made the mistake of getting into video games journalism at an exceptionally young age and thus having no other skills or job prospects. But it’s a prison of my own making, and I’d be happy to spend the rest of my days in it. And yet, last year it felt like the world had other plans. Getting laid off nearly broke me. I’d been laid off before, but it was the first time I’d had a job ripped away since becoming a father. I remember taking the news in stride when it happened, because I’d been preparing to be laid off for, honestly, years.

Over time, holding on took on a mythical status. There were reasons to quit my job, but it was funny I’d lasted that long. Come and pry it from my cold, dead hands, etc.

The weight of the moment didn’t land until I was hopping in the car to pick up my kids from daycare. In years past, my response to a layoff would’ve been to head to the local bar with the other people who’d lost their job, laugh at my sorrows, and find a way to scrape by, figuring the next poorly paying job was just around the corner anyway. This time felt different. I live in the burbs now. Many of my colleagues were being laid off around me simultaneously, and there were no jobs, even poorly paying ones, around the corner. And now, I had two children and a mortgage on my back.

That’s not something a beer(s) and a few laughs is gonna solve, burbs or not.

I’m also spending your money buying stuff like this in Roblox and having it shipped to me in real life. WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?

I remember trying to pump myself up ahead of walking into their daycare, because approaching the building was the moment where some tears had started to break through. At home, my wife was combing our finances and trying to figure out if there was a way to make the math work on her salary alone. (There was, but it would have required compromises and sacrifice. But we’re lucky that there was a path forward.)

I’m honest with my kids about many things. When they ask about my dad, I tell them he died of a heart attack, and we talk about what that means, when it happened, and how I’m sad they’ll never get to meet him. But goddamn, I didn’t want to be honest about this moment. I did not want them to feel this weight, because it was mine to bear. If push came to shove, we’d talk about how it was going to impact the family.

But that day was not today. And honestly, I actually relished the opportunity to push it down. Losing a job is not an identity. Being a dad is. In that moment, I chose to be a dad, and enjoy my kids by taking them to the park, while I tried to mull the future.

In a very real sense, the future in front of me was those two kids.

I’ve always wanted to be a dad. Now, I was never in a rush, because I wanted to be in the right place psychologically (finally okay with not going out on most Friday nights!) and economically (able to support a planned family of four!), but the moment my wife said “okay, it’s time,” I was amped, and I didn’t need any convincing. Let’s go.

As a result, the concept of “being” a dad, or a parent more generally, is always on my mind. I would write about my children occasionally at my old gig, Waypoint, but what I really wanted to build a community with like-minded folks. I wanted a space where parents, caregivers, or whoever, could be surrounded by people giving this topic the same level of care. Crossplay was born out of a desire to try and achieve this goal.

On that path, I think I’ve published some great work over the past year…

I also launched a podcast called Spawnpoint with The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald, and I’m excited to announce we’ll be doing more frequent episodes. The family-focused podcast will be one per month, but every few weeks, Keza and I are going to get together and talk about what we’ve been playing and how it fits into our busy lives.

That podcast will be only for subscribers.

Some of these podcasts, especially the interviews, have been fantastic:

I even co-hosted a PAX panel with Ash “The Gamer Educator” Brandin, which became an even more fruitful partnership, as Ash’s words have been appearing on Crossplay on a regular basis. Ash joined us for a podcast recently, and yep, we’ll be co-hosting another PAX West panel! Ash will continue to write for Crossplay, and I’m actively seeking other voices to publish here, too. (Yes, you can pitch me, if you’d like!)

I fell short in some areas. At the start of Crossplay, I was writing and publishing three pieces a week, but that became too much to juggle. I have, however, been able to maintain publishing two pieces, with a smattering of podcasts dashed in. I hope that’s been okay. I’ve also wanted to produce all-encompassing guides to screen time controls for every platform, but finding the time to make them has proven difficult. My options are to either pay someone to do work, or take a month off regular writing for Crossplay and build all of those out myself. I’m open to both ideas! I also was supposed to hold “calls” with subscribers, but the logistics always got me. I’m sorry.

As always, I’m open to your ideas, and I’m humbled by the many people, free and paid, who’ve made Crossplay a roaring success. To another year, and hopefully many more!

Holy Crap, It’s Been One Year of Crossplay

Thoughts on the past, present, and future. Plus, a humble request from yours truly, if you've been thinking about subscribing. Now is the time.

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