First, thanks for all the feedback on yesterday’s post. Some of the responses amounted to, “Well, it’s OK if you do it,” which is flattering but, as I mentioned in the comments, not ideal. Integrity shouldn’t operate on a double-standard.
On the whole, though, most people seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me: That is, the nebulousness of being a Kickstarter backer for Mighty No. 9 means I should recuse myself from reviewing the game — or rather, being a Kickstarter backer at a high level does. I’ve also backed some other games at the basic “you get a copy of the game” level, which amounts to pre-paying for the game — something reviewers do all the time. Honestly, with all my moving expenses looming, I doubt I’ll even be able to maintain my current high backing level… but we’ll see. As a few people mentioned, there’s potential in some interesting stories to emerge from my involvement at that level. So while I shouldn’t be the site’s sole voice covering the game, being a Kickstarter supporter for Mighty No. 9 could actually help me cover the game better rather than in a more compromised fashion.
Speaking of my upcoming move, things fell into place with surprising speed last week. We kicked around some ideas and concerns and eventually settled on a location, at which point we had a lock on an apartment within 24 hours. Cat and I will be relocating in a little more than a month to Raleigh, NC. This may seem a weird choice, but it makes sense for us on a lot of levels. We definitely regard this as a temporary home and have every intention of migrating to NYC within a few years, but for the moment Raleigh is a good place for us. Our families both live in the Eastern time zone (and Cat has a bunch of family in Raleigh itself), it’s a short flight to every major city on the east coast, and the modest cost of living will make a nice change of pace from the tech-millionaire-oriented disaster that San Francisco has metamorphosed into since we moved here. I’ll miss fresh sushi and sleeping under a heavy down blanket with the window open in the dead of summer, but I won’t miss being so isolated from family.
It should be an interesting chapter in our lives. In the meantime, I’ll still be doing the same job with USgamer, minus the constant rush of SF-based appointments. As for Retronauts, we haven’t figured out the logistics yet, but I’ll still be doing that, too.
As I said on twitter, welcome to the neighborhood! Feel free to hit me up with questions about the area, as I’m just about 30 minutes down the road in the Chapel Hill area, though I know you know a few other people in town as well.
Wow, that’s crazy. I’ve been trying to escape NC for years! I hope you both enjoy it; at least you won’t be moving until after this awful heat is gone.
This is very cool! I currently live in Columbia, SC but used to live in Durham, NC right next to Raleigh. I love the Triangle area, and part of me still regrets moving away some seven years ago.
In fact, I daresay you might love it so much you won’t want to leave. ;-)
Let me be the first North Carolinian reader to welcome you to NC. Sounds like you already have some experience with the area, so I trust you don’t need an official welcoming party. If you miss the coast at all, the Outer Banks is just a short drive away, where you can be the star of your very own Nicholas Sparks novel!
Hope you enjoy your time in the Tar Heel state. There’s worse places to live, that’s for sure. And as long as you don’t call it North Cackalack, you should be welcomed in just fine.
That’s a fine choice. It’s great to be with family, and the byproduct of a warmer ocean and a bunch of really great cities (Winston-Salem, Greensboro) within driving distance probably helps. I have a lot of friends down there and I love going to visit. Good luck with the move
Raleigh is a great place to live, which is why I am here. Also, it’s conveniently located near Chapel Hill and Durham. Lot’s of places to eat and a great music scene (although probably neither is great as SF).
Raleigh’s pretty great, yeah. I’ve got a lot of family in NC and always love visiting there.
I have been trying to get relocated to Raleigh/Durham through work for a few months now. I am hoping something comes of it after the new year.
Anyway, good luck on the move. We’re rooting for you.
Save the date: December 14, Auction Game Sales at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds in Winston-Salem. We can get your new place fitted out with some Bride of Pin-Bot and an old Rock-Ola.
We also need to posse up and go egg Cliffy B’s house in Cary.
But seriously, I reckon you’ll do okay here. It’s hot and it’s humid, but we’ve got good food and friendly people and lots of stuff to see and do. Best of luck.
Now you can exchange fresh sushi for… fresh (pork) BBQ. That’s not an entirely bad trade, really. In all seriousness, though, NC is a great state – if you’re going to live in the south, that’s the place to be.
Pork isn’t really as good for the health as sushi, I’m afraid.
The South is a pretty okay place to live in places, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than California or New York. Chattanooga is a surprisingly diverse place with some fun places to visit, and Alton Brown comes by sometimes.
The South also has Bojangles, which has the best breakfast sandwiches on Earth.
As a foodie who did the SF—>Triangle move just 2 years ago, I’m more than happy to give you recommendations on where to eat once you get out there. And don’t fret, you CAN have good sushi there, if you know where to look! (It’s not too far from an ocean, you know.)
Sigh, I already miss it.
But it’s the wrong ocean! All the sushi fish live in the Pacific.
It makes me sad that you and other writers I admire are unfortunately leaving SF. I’ve been in the area for just over a month and understand all to well how horrible the cost of living is. Luckily, my wife and I came out here temporarily while she is under contract.
I want to wish you and your wife good luck in your cross country journey.
And without sounding weird hopefully, offer you a drink and pizza if you have time before you go. I likely will not have another opportunity to do so.
Best of kuck with the move! I’m sure you’ll adjust well to NC. It’s fairly inviting part of the country. As far as Retronauts is concerned, I listen to quite a few podcasts done via Skype and it can be done very well. I believe they each record their own feed and then edit them together afterwards.
Good on you. I’ve grown increasingly itchy about being just a few hours’ drive away from most of our family, now that we have two kids and several nieces and nephews. I can hardly imagine being across the country.
I think you’ll like Raleigh. It’s no NYC to be sure, but it’s a nice place to live. Also, don’t fret about the culinary options: ENC food isn’t particularly healthy, but it’s delicious; and Raleigh’s (and the Triangle’s) culinary offerings have diversified considerably over the last 10 years.
Hey Jeremy. This is unrelated to Raleigh (nice city, though), but I’m not sure if you’re aware that your comments literally overlap with user comments when viewing this site in Mozilla Firefox. Just wanted to make you aware if you weren’t.
How many game companies will you be near, aside from Epic?
I’m not Jeremy, but as far as game companies in the neighborhood there’s also Red Storm, Insomniac’s east coast branch, and a bunch of little outfits in and around the Park that are sort of in Epic’s orbit. Also, The Escapist is HQ’d in downtown Durham. There used to be a big chunk of Funcom here, but I think a lot of that got laid off a while back.
Good luck on the move! I’m over in Knoxville, TN and have visited Raleigh – it seems like a pretty cool place.
Depending on how long you’ll be there, you may want to make plans to apply as a guest for Dragon Con in Atlanta next year. You just missed this year’s, but it’s basically the general area’s pop culture/geek event of the year. There’s a sizable contingent of Tyrants that show up every year as well.