Our 2017 gaming resolutions

Image from GeneralBriel's PhotoBucket.

The new year is a good excuse to consider how we can be better gamers. These are our promises to ourselves and those we share PC gaming with. Share your resolution with us in the comments, and see our resolutions from last year right here. 

Tom Marks, associate editor

I will play more great games that I might usually pass by. Last year, my resolution was to get good at a game on a competitive level. While I don't think I could go off and start winning tournaments, I'm pleased to say I think I got pretty good at Duelyst. But the side effect of that is I ended up missing a few of the big games people were talking about. I didn't get to Hitman, I never finished Doom, and I still haven't touched Dishonored 2, our own game of the year. 

In 2017, I want to make sure I play, and hopefully beat, the great games people are telling me I should. There's a lot of cool stuff on the horizon, but I can somehow already see myself breezing by Prey or only getting 10% into Mass Effect: Andromeda—assuming either of those actually end up being any good. But the point stands, I need to get out of the games and genres I've grown comfortable playing and start taking some of these glowing recommendations seriously. I'm not expecting to love everything everyone else does, and that's alright, but I'll never know what all the fuss is about unless I try. 

Wes Fenlon, features editor

I will play at least three Metroidvanias in 2017. Quite possibly my favorite style of game design, the Metroidvania has had quite a resurgence in recent years as indie developers who grew up with Super Nintendos and PlayStations are making games inspired by Castlevania and Super Metroid. And a lot of them are great! There are several I've dabbled in (Guacamelee) or missed completely (Axiom Verge) that I'd like to play catch-up with. And there are so many to come that look really promising, like Heart Forth, Alicia and and Sundered. Inject that 2D art and that intricate level design straight into my veins, please.

Last year I pledged to really learn my way around Dwarf Fortress and NetHack, and I accomplished about 50% of that goal. I never got around to NetHack but at least learned competency in NetHack. So if that track record is anything to go by, I'll complete 1.5 Metroidvanias next year.
 

Tyler Wilde, executive editor

I will make $4M as a popular YouTuber. Maybe I'll create an ASMR channel in which I do impressions of Max Payne slurping whiskey in your ears. Or I could start a channel with no subscribers and post daily videos threatening to delete it. The options are unlimited and all of them lead to great wealth. Imagine how many views I'll get with such videos as "Ark!!! Is EVOLUTION real??" and "Sorry for everything."
Actually, I used to like editing videos and I should do more of it. Here's a bad tribute to my NBA 2K17 face scan character you might enjoy. I’ll do more of that in 2017. Last year, I wanted to get better at Rocket League, which I did, and learn more about music, which I also did. Clearly I'm good at resolutions, so by this time next year I will surely be a millionaire. Look out for my first hit video, “ABZU #1 SCREAMING at a fish!!”

Chris Livingston, staff writer

I will create my own mod. Last year my resolution was to donate to modders more. I accomplished that, though not proudly. I donated to one modder, which is technically more than zero modders, but still nothing to pop the champagne over. I'll try harder this year.

Speaking of mods, I think it's probably high-time I actually created a mod of my own. I assume it will be nothing major. No full conversions, no major overhauls, no fully-voiced quests or exciting new gameplay systems. But surely something, in some game this coming year, will stand out as needing some sort of minor fix or tweak, and when I find whatever it is, in whatever game it’s in, I’ll try to do something about it personally instead of waiting for a modder to simply do it for me.

James Davenport, associate editor

I will stream myself playing videogames more often. Sorry! I know it’s the last thing the world really needs more of, but streaming changes my playing habits for the better. Because I usually have an audience of three or four regulars who ask questions while I play, I need to pay close attention to what’s happening onscreen. In my leisure time, I might pop a game on and play for a few hours, but I rarely have distinct memories of those sessions. While I stream, I have screen names and conversations to attach big moments to, and because it’s more like hanging with a very passive friend group, even if the game isn’t grabbing me, the people usually are. Also, I need to establish my brand and beat Tyler to the big Online Personality bucks. All the best streamers have big empty mansions they stream from. Some stranger’s dog is always sleeping in the background, near the candy wall. I need a candy wall and a stranger’s dog before even thinking about an empty mansion, of course, but all good streams start with the community. And my community is four people big. I’ll be looking for that fat check in the mail, Twitch.