Hey there, guys and gals. Look, we need to talk.

*pulls up chair, turns it around, and sits on it backward like a school guidance counselor or church youth group leader who really wants to “rap” some “real talk” with the kids*

So, you guys still liking Retro Game SuperHyper? Yeah? Good! Yeah, no, that’s great, I’m glad to hear it! So before you go freaking out or anything, don’t worry — Retro Game SuperHyper isn’t going anywhere, it’s not getting shut down, the blog is staying right where it is, the t-shirts are still for sale, and the fanzine is continuing.

The reason I wanna talk is because there’s just gonna be a few…changes around here, that’s all. But don’t sweat it, champ! It’s all gonna be good stuff, I promise!

Seriously though, as I approach the fourth-and-a-half-year mark of the blog, I felt the need to shake things up a bit, so I wanted to do my half-year SOTB address (which is usually posted mid-April) a bit early to share my plans!

First off, you may have noticed fewer posts here on the blog so far this year. After issue 4 of the fanzine came out (available now!), I started focusing more on playing games and less on writing about them. That is, after all, the crux of this hobby, is it not? But you also may have noticed that the Finished in 2021 post near the top of the blog has been continually updated — I’m adding to that post every time I beat a game. This is sort of what the blog is currently going to be featuring — playing games, tracking my year’s play list, logging my accomplishments. That’s not to say I don’t have ideas for features, or that there won’t be any new blog articles — there will be! But I’d like to refocus a little more on what gaming is really all about.

One of the reasons behind that is my second point, and that is that doing the fourth issue of the ‘zine really felt like it took a lot out of me. I loved doing it, but it was a lot of hard work, and when it was done, I was so exhausted that I didn’t even wanna think about it. But that really only lasted a minute, as within a couple of weeks after issue 4 came out, I was tinkering with setting up the files for issue 5, and already had a rough concept for the cover art.

WIP of the cover to issue 5!

But I decided immediately that I wanted a change in direction for the next issue. So, in the interest of not beating myself up over layouts, extensive research, and writing, I thought it’d be super fun to do a more “visual” issue next time. Therefore, RGSH fanzine issue 5 will focus more on art, photography, and other visuals celebrating classic video games. It will feature large imagery, different themes, and probably not a ton of text — something a little more “breezy” for me to put together. I might even change the physical format to perfect-bound, rather than saddle-stitched, to give it more of an art-journal look. I’ll keep the regular features, but most of it will be eye candy. I’m super excited about it and already working on it — and I am hopeful that plans progress the way I envision so that the following issue — yes, I’m already thinking about both #5 AND #6 — can achieve what I’m hoping for as well.

Speaking of art, and slotting right in with the theme of the next ‘zine, an interesting development happened just recently, and I’m excited about exploring it. Just the other day, I made a Twitter post showing a couple of small paintings/illustrations I did of a Dragon Quest Slime and a Metroid.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

To my shock, the tweet kinda blew up (as much as any of my tweets blow up, which usually isn’t much), and I immediately received a number of inquiries about purchasing them, especially the Metroid one.

Well, always one to smell an opportunity when I’m stepping in it, I quickly decided that I need to capitalize on this enthusiasm, and so I will be starting a new venture within Retro Game SuperHyper: original, affordable, small-scale video game artwork sales! I will be stealth-dropping small batches of new pieces periodically, which I will announce on social media (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook), so make sure you’re following me there! I will probably do these batches of similar pieces (all Metroids, for example), but each one will be a little different and unique, and there might be a surprise or two in each batch. I’m looking forward to sharing more of my art and making cool stuff for you!

The inaugural batch of pieces for my first art sale!

So! Those are the plans for Retro Game SuperHyper going forward into the immediate future, anyway. I hope you’ll continue to follow what I’m doing here as I explore gaming fandom in new ways.

***

As for what I usually talk about during my SOTB address, how are things going otherwise?

Daily visitors to the blog are way up — last year I was averaging 20-30 visits a day, and now it’s more like 50-60. World-class blogging numbers? Ha, no. But I’m grateful for every single one of you.

The blog’s most popular post by far is now the one on Captain Power, supplanting the previously-most-popular post about the Atari Flashback Portable — the memberberries are strong with this one.

Fanzine sales are okay — you should buy some! I work REALLY hard on these and it’s 100% a labor of love, because I don’t sell a lot of them. I really think if more people saw them and the work that’s put into them, word would get around! I’m really proud of them. Support independent print publishing!

That’s about it. I’m enjoying the continuing development of Retro Game SuperHyper and using it to communicate with the retro gamers of the world. Thanks as always for visiting and for your support!