When I first created this site, I wanted it to be one of the best places for everything that is Indie and Retro game related. There are other sites out there, all with their own different styles but not many that deal with both Indie and Retro gaming at the same time as well as every new release. However with my health not being so good it's really taking its toll to write day after day, hour after hour with it being a real struggle to just think of what to write when it comes to the next game release. We've had a couple of emails now and even a comment on Facebook with people saying to us such as " Why didn't you feature X game ", " Are you going to feature that game I sent you? " or even "some games haven't been mentioned on the site and I've missed out".
But what people don't realize is I am the ONLY writer on Indie Retro News and while at first I could write up article after article for the last 10+years, it's now just getting way too much. I cannot mentally write up every single game preview on every system it's just not possible. There are times when you think you've done all the latest news, and just as you are about to rest, you get another game sent to you. And if you can't do it, someone complains! At one point there was 8 C64 game previews, 2 C64 game releases, 4 Amiga games, 1 Amstrad game and two Atari XL's all in one afternoon...
Then there's the extra added fun of dealing with death threats, abuse and even being blocked out by some of the readers and game developers because you either featured a game they didn't like, didn't mention it was a SEUCK game, it was an Amiga game that was developed with the Scorpion engine, or because of some readers weren't keen on a certain aspect of the game that caused the developer to just outright block us completely.
Another thing I've also noticed over the last couple of years are many game developers are now going away from being proud to be featured wherever, to looking towards magazine exclusives, twitch views and youtube playthroughs. I can pretty much count the amount of times we've featured a game from day 0, only for the developer to suddenly switch to paywall exclusives or blank us out on Twitter. The Amiga and C64 scene is really bad for this.... Just look how many times we featured Cecconoid, or Roguecraft before anyone else all the way up to near release!
So what's the future of IndieRetroNews? Well although I've been thinking of quitting altogether, I've decided rather than feature every single game and preview, I will only feature ones I think you'll like or that are actually finished. So yes there will be less articles on the site, but atleast the site is still worth visiting right? :)
Cheers!
Good choice to be more selective with the games you cover :) keep up the great work and nevermind the assholes
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have fewer good quality reviews than more reviews. Especially anything atari related. Dunno why anyone would send death threats or abuse. This has been a fun site to visit since I found it just over a year ago, so please keep it up. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAlways worth a visit, yes. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's so much out there, but a lot of it gets abandoned (real life is tough). I've lost track of the number of projects I follow that never make it to the finish line. It's exhausting!
Greetings Neil. I feel that! Why I only have four videos on my YT channel and many more just sitting on a hard drive. LOL Editing, writing, etc is downright bloody exhausting day in and day out. We all have an offline life that is more important, especially when it involves loved ones and our health. Your site is one of the most important portals regarding indie/retro games, but you can only do so much as an individual. There are some sites where the founder/owner leaves their articles to volunteers, but unfortunately the content usually suffers for it. I have one of the largest offline Itch.io backup archives on the planet (self declared of course) for historical preservation purposes. I hand pick titles I think are quality (sifting through endless amounts of crap) every single day and for the last eight plus years. Many of these indie demos, games, proof-of-concepts and prototypes have been deleted along with their accounts. I hope other individuals are archiving as well tbh. I know if I were to show this archive to the public many would chime in saying that sucks or you didn't get that awesome title etc. So I just consider what I do as a slice of history and so should you and not worry about the rest. If someone wants to start their own site/channel, I say the more the merrier and history benefits from it. Keep up the awesome work and know you are very much appreciated!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks matey and please note I am extremely grateful for all the heads up you've sent me in my emails. I would've missed out on some incredible games if it wasn't for you
DeleteWise decision ... just leave all pre-anouncements and WIP and similar crap out. The majority of them will anyhow never be completed. Just focus on new, completed, quality games (no matter what system). Should reduce your workload significantly. If it comes to me, you could also ignore for profit games, but that's my personal view. It's your side, so you decide, what to do, nobody else.
DeleteOne last thing: I'd really hate seeing this side go. You do bring joy to people like me. So please ddon't stop.
Ignore the haters. Quality over quantity. Indie Retro News needn’t be exhaustive. Keep it fun for you as the author and for us fans who appreciate the microdose of fun you inject into our newsfeeds. It always brings me a smile when an Indie Retro News piece hits my feed and I enjoy reading the pieces whether it’s a game I’ve already played or heard about or never heard of before.
ReplyDeleteI believe the changes will be for the better, and most importantly, please prioritize your health! I’d love to see you sharing retro gaming news for another 100 years 😄 I absolutely love IndieRetroNews and all the work you’ve done—take things at a pace that feels right for you.
ReplyDeleteDeath threats? Seriously? Over video games? I honestly wouldn’t have believed it if you hadn’t mentioned it... That’s beyond absurd.
Yeah, we are in crazy times indeed but is not even that uncommon in mainstream :(
DeleteThat's a new one for the list of why people send death threats online. WTF. I really like your site, there's a few games I found through IndieRetroNews,
ReplyDeleteThree things:
ReplyDelete1. The site is fabulous, and that’s a testament to your hard work and dedication.
2. Ignore the negativity—you can’t please everyone all the time. So don't try.
3. Make this work for you. My advice: cut down and focus on the things you enjoy. Not sure if you have a Patreon set up, but I’d personally be happy to support you and the site.
Thanks Jonny! I sure do, but I didn't do the write up for that. Here it is anyway https://www.patreon.com/c/IndieRetroNews
DeleteI visit your place almost daily and thank you for your constant effort...But I there's have to be a choice I prefer to have less, good quality entries, rather than many of them of a lower profile. If your health is at risk I think that's the way to go...Thanks as always for your dedication!
DeleteI enjoy your site and agree with your new approach.
ReplyDeleteCertainly don't quit please! What you are describing are the adverse effects of success and what it requires as an answer is a holiday! and the best time to do that is after you've gotten a wave of stuff in, write an article for each, and then either schedule them to auto publish one every two days or have someone in the family post them while you're away.
ReplyDeleteAlso worth noting, some people are just straight up creeps who think they're the center of universe, yes, maybe they are an awesome developer of this rare system blah, blah - but it's no excuse for them to have a strop because their game didn't get coverage or it didn't coincide with their release schedule, or some narcissistic goal they might have. There are other publications FFS.
Thing is journalists are people the same as everyone else, and not here just to do the bidding of game devs at a whim. Anyone who is sending threats is a manipulative piece of trash who is probably more trouble than their worth, or a jealous rival, or a parasitical troll.
What it sounds like is you need set boundaries for people and your time, and master the ability to say no. Damn, if people are so reliant on your publication - then you set the pace, and they can dance to your schedule and tune, and not the other way round.
But please don't give up - love reading your website and the coverage that you do.
First, I want to say that you're doing a great job. I love this site and I check on it daily. I encourage you to do whatever you need to do to stay healthy. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSecond, at the risk of being a little gauche, do you happen to have a slush-pile email address for reaching you with suggestions? I'm not on Twitter/Facebook for mental health reasons so I've been struggling a bit with exposing my cool free games :)
I appreciate anything you choose to share. Your site has been instrumental in helping me find joy again in retro-PC tinkering. Post what you choose, when you are able - you have my thanks!
ReplyDeleteI will say it again, here, Indie Retro News is a work of passion and love, I'm so sad to hear people give you bad for whatever reason. It is impossible to cover every single game out on the market, it is unfair to demand that. I'm against the ever growing fast-paced rythm to which the delivering of information ( in every sector ) is bound to. It is not human anymore. Let us slow down, let us stop for a moment if necessary, let us regain more feasible timing. Indie Retro News you are doing an amazing job every day, conveying all that you can about the videogame industry, and I'd like to know that you have all the rights to enjoy life and you passions with the right timing, no hurries. You cannot cope with that as much as WE cannot, it is too fast and stressful, for that I'm asking you to ALWAYS take care of yourself as your prime objective, your community is here and will wait for the right moment to read an article, a news, a review. Always take your time buddie, shield yourself from the haters, let them leave the hall if you must, you need to regain your peace and the good people of your/our community. Haters gonna hate, and a lot of people are too lazy to think and understand the amount of love and dedication you put in your work, but we love what you do and we need you rested, satisfied and respected. Take your time, DO NOT WORRY about the bad people, just ignore them. Always the best my digital friend.
ReplyDeleteFirst, hope you get well good health, i can relate. Your site helped my game a lot, if it wasnt for you posting it here, i would have quit gamedev. So reach out if you need help, maybe you could triage games and the ones you like send to other collaborators to write about.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Prague (OMG where is that?) - keep concentrating on quality only - do the preselaction I can not also read everything you write. A readers digest would be nice. Overall excellent work Sir! Especially appreciated you focus on Commodore ;)
ReplyDeleteI personally love this site, it's my #1 source for retro related information and I always wondered how many people actually wrote on it. I now discover you're alone. That's simply unbelievable. Please keep up the great work the way you prefer.
ReplyDeleteWe run a printed magazine and we perfectly know how you can feel.
Did you want other writers? I don't recall seeing it suggested? I mean, if you send (or get sent by publishers) stuff for review I'm sure people would write... I think I would
ReplyDeleteNot sure if comment was lost but did you ever invite other people to review/contribute cos I don't recall seeing if you did. I'm sure if the game/hardware is sent to them people would review. I would 👍
ReplyDeleteHey Neil.
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, love the site and really appreciate the effort you go to to cover all the stuff you do. It certainly seems like a herculian effort on your part. Any time my work has been featured here I've really appreciated the coverage. I know I've had a stack of less than savoury comments against some of them but that's not something that really bothers me, in fact it ends up been easter egg fuel :)
What I am confused about is how you think I've somehow blanked you out when Cecconoid was released? All the previous coverage you've done of my work seemed to be organically, i.e. I post it online and it appears on the site. We've had zero direct communication about any projects, so I'm not sure how I'm blocking you out of anything when it's all just in public channels.
I'm a pretty easy going guy and always happy to answer questions, provide previews etc. when asked. There's a multitude of ways to get hold of me so maybe drop me a message.
Anyway, hope your health improves and all the best for the future.
Hey H0ffman! I think it's because I was trying to talk to you on stream, then on Twitter and just no response. I kinda felt it was because of the negative viewpoint of some of our readers about the colour aspect of the game. It didn't matter how much I said Cecconoid looked bloody awesome even with the monochrome style ( I used to have a mac ). I just couldn't get it across... What with the slack I was getting from another dev with a number of abusive posts and threats relating to his redpill based game. I just gave up. I hold no malice with you my friend :)
DeleteNo point in trying to talk to h0ff on stream. He's usually sloshed :) - TF
Deletehah! :)
DeleteSir, thank you for what you're doing. Please ignore the negativity and focus on what you like. Quality over qwantity.
ReplyDeleteSorry you've had that sort of crap to contend with, the internet loves to moan and criticise, even at free sites! I'd suggest only do as much as you're prepared to do while still enjoying it. You can use any of my Spectrum articles gladly if that helps (you published my Rodland Reimagined review a while back) 😀
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide, you certainly don't deserve anything but thanks from those of us who can think rationally. Unfortunately the Internet is full of keyboard warriors. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI've only just started reading your blog, but I commend your commitment to quality over quantity. I've recently purchased a C64 Maxi to scratch my C64 itch, so I've been on the looking to see what new releases are available. Looking forward to what you have in store for the future!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this site and you are doing a GREAT job. Please don't let anyone tell you different. The Internet is awash with people who have nothing better to do than try to destroy other people or their creations. F**K those people and know that there are plenty PLENTY more of us who visit this site regularly and enjoy the hell out of it, even if we're the (perhaps too) silent majority.
ReplyDeleteFor your health, do whatever you wish - I don't expect you to cover every Retro game release, just nice to come here every few days and discover something new :-)
Genuinely wishing you all the best and an improvement in your overall health and wellbeing :-)
Hello, I would like to thank you for your site that I follow every day and that I consider the best for retro news.
ReplyDeleteJust a little word to thank and encourage you to continue.
Friendships from France.
Thank you very much for your work! I suppose this web as the best in it's field.
ReplyDeleteHello, I would like to thank you for your site that I follow every day and that I consider the best for retro news.
ReplyDeleteJust a little word to thank and encourage you to continue.
Friendships from France.
"Why don't you ask for help from someone? A passionate person dedicated to this could add news to the site, thus covering more topics."
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your work.
ReplyDeleteFor me, your website is my reference. I read you practically every day.
I hope your health improves, which is the most important thing.
And I also wish, if possible, to continue reading your comments next New Year... :-)
Thank you for all these years!
by Harkonnen75
Thank you for everything you do. It always made me feel proud when you presented one of my Reshoot-games to the community. Being in touch with the people out there and getting positive feedback are the main reasons I (and many other homebrew developers) create games.
ReplyDeleteTo me, your website is a primary source of information and a critical filter. There is too much stuff around that will never see the day of light. If, from now on, you are focusing on games you think are further exploring, that sounds like the best thing you can do. This will help you keep your sanity. I adore your expertise and dedication.
First of all, thank you for the hard work you've been doing for so long. Second, I think featuring only finished games is the right way to go. Keep up the good work and, again, thank you very much
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work you legend, and **** everybody who has a single complaint.
ReplyDeleteHello, I'm the musician Narcisound.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best with all that has happened and my sincere solidarity with you.
For those of us who are now closer to sixty than forty, it's going to be very hard to keep our passion for retro alive.
If we add to the health problems we all have the stupidity of the haters and the fact that we are no longer old enough to tolerate foul language and attitudes, we will have no choice but to leave all this behind us for good.
I love this site and I trust your choice! Long live Indie Retro News!!
ReplyDeleteQuality over quantity is always going to be better.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all you have done and are doing for the retro/indie community
ReplyDeleteTake good care of yourself. Quality is always better than quantity. And thanks a lot for all the amazing work you did here.
ReplyDeleteReading this makes me grateful, sad, angry and sympathetic all at once. As a Retro Game reviewer on Youtube, this is the only site I come to for my Retro news on games that, good or bad (In my own humble opinion) get featured on the channel. To hear that people think it's ok to send death threats makes me so angry, this is not OK, we are all here providing a service to the public for £0.00 and we are allowed to make up our minds on wether a game is good or bad IN OUR OPINION, it's up to the viewer to play and decide for themselves. This site has been a Godsend in many ways for myself and countless others - threatening people, in any way, shape or form is not right (Illegal here in the UK at least). Keep your chin up good Sir, you have been fighting the good fight and we, your humble Knights, will champion you at your side....or something to that effect :) Developers that take the high and mighty paywall road, will learn that offering a way to play without the NEED to pay will more than likely get them donations of gratitude from the fan base, rather than demand a high price point. Well done on a great information page, and I am pleased you are not going anywhere - I would like to echo others sentiments that getting someone in or a small team to help run the page would take a lot of pressure off your back, I understand that it's not easy to introduce people into something you have worked hard on your own to do, but it might be worth looking into none the less.
ReplyDeleteStay safe, keep pushing the negative people out, and as Mr. Spock would say - Live long and prosper!
Retro gaming for life :)
I would like to add that I visit Indie Retro News on a daily basis or should I say on an hourly basis. I really like that site so much and it's nice to find stuff for other systems beyond C64 as well, though it was the machine I used in my youth. Keep up the great work as long as you have fun with it. I have lots of fun here. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteHello, from the south of Europe (Portugal).
ReplyDeleteJust a few words to thank you for the amazing work that you do bring the readers attention to new games.
All the best. And thank you.
Indieretronews is the only retro site I read on a regular basis, thank you. There will always be the nutters out there who love to make others feel bad and I'm sure they are hard to ignore. And I imagine putting the time and effort in is hard for little reward. If you can, try to take some positives from the situation and move on in whatever direction you feel fit. Steve
ReplyDeleteQuality over quantity ... works for me!
ReplyDeleteAs for the keyboard warriors and their threats, just laugh as you throw their crap in the bit-bin.
Thank you so much for your commitment ! I've been checking your site several times a day for so many years I cannot even count them... Thank you <3
ReplyDeleteI think Amiga is the most important platform to cover, and there are not that many new releases for that one. But Amstrad, Spectrum, and similar platforms are not interesting, the games are just so bad. And don't review any of the crap stuff, like SEUCK games for C64. Scorpion engine is good enough on Amiga on the other hand. C64 games are also OK to review, but leave out the bad ones, like SEUCK stuff. PC indie stuff can be covered too, but only the best releases. Atari ST I don't know about, there is not much new stuff produced, but this is also an uninteresting retro computer, with a lot of bad games.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Please take care of yourself first.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, retro scene has become really active, so it's very difficult for one single individual to cover every title. So, i guess it would be better to just choose a fistful of titles of your choice to talk about.
ReplyDeleteIf you need extra writers, then I will gladly write some more hardware reviews for you. Regards Asger / RetroGamingDenmark.
ReplyDeleteI wont be able to reply to ever person, but just to say thank you to all of you! I will try my best to keep the site flowing with great news, while easing it back a bit from every single game that's out there for my own health. As one person puts it, the retro scene has gone crazy!
ReplyDeleteGreat site. One of my favourites. I don't comment usually but enjoy reading about what's happening in the retro homebrew scene. I have to admit I'm not so much interested in the 16bit side of things and would skip over these. The 8bits on the other hand are where my heart lies and I am being continually amazed at what is being achieved on these old machines. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDon't quit, my friend. I love this site and you are doing wonders. The Haters will hate. The Lovers will love. Take it easy!
ReplyDeleteFully appreciate the time and effort you put into this site. It’s appalling to hear you’ve had complaints and even death threats—this is a site about the joy of playing retro and retro-style games after all. I hope you find the new balance with updating the site and enjoying your life rewarding.
ReplyDeletelove your work mate! its a great site.. thanks for all you do..
ReplyDeleteDude Neil you are awesome don't let that get to you. Aragant people can bugger off. Pintz and Amiga love you, Taylor loved talking to you. He was a big fan! Don't leave us let the trolls go away. Don't let it get to you.
ReplyDeleteYou are a lovely person bringing happiness to people. And you definitely don't need to cover everything (there is no media outlet that covers everything), and if you become too tired, you have no obligation to continue. No one wants you to burn out or suffer. Thank you for the entertainment, and always take care of yourself first. You are dear to many people around the globe, and even if you quit writing, people will remember the happiness you brought, just like people still flip their old game magazines or watch old episodes of AVGN etc.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your work man! And thank you for not quitting entirely. Love this site! Hey - much luck with your health issues too! Much love from Mexico!
ReplyDeleteThis was called out by Ms. Mad Lemon a couple of years ago in a (now) unlisted but still available video.
ReplyDeleteIt saddens me this crap is still prevalent which is edging out good people such as yourself, but good on you (and for her) to persevere and just establish your boundaries (even if it means you're curating content a little)
I'll always be an avid reader and view any change you implement as good judgement.
Dude, I totally get where you are coming from and, as someone who has literally visited this site every day for at least 10 years, I trust your taste, I trust your judgment and I want you to take care of yourself before anything else because this site was/is/will be the best source for this news.
ReplyDeleteThanks and keep up the good work!
Hi Neil,
ReplyDeleteFollowing you since the beginning, but never thanked you. My Bad. After reading your post it urged me finally to write something. So a big 'THANK YOU!'
No further debate: Health comes always first. Sadly I am also in a position to know what that is all about.
I can keep it short: Simply ignore unfounded complains. Complaining is ok, as long as it's fair. And you are in the lucky position that you can decide for yourself if it is fair or not.
You are doing a great job (certainly among the best, no doubts here!) in the retro computing world. You are in charge of your site and not anybody else. As long as the majority likes what you are doing, you are doing great. Period! Did you ever consider the ratio of positive / negative reactions? Realise that the happy majority is the most silent (like me).
Even if you don't like my reaction, simply ignore it and go on with the things you like to do!
Regards from The Netherlands and don't even think about quitting!
Hey Neil. As just another Scorpion Engine dev I am really appreciative of your articles relating to my works. The website is fantastic and I believe an important part of the Indie Retro scene, with nearly half of all hits to my itch page coming directly from here. Hope you have the energy to continue with your quality coverage here.
ReplyDeleteCan’t really add much more, just to say this is one of just two websites I rely on for quality retro gaming news and I have long appreciated the excellent work you do. Totally understand the need to limit the quantity of articles, but just know that anything you post is gratefully received, and as others have said — your health comes first. Thank you for the many, many years of hard work you have put in.
ReplyDeleteI've always come to this site first to see what new upcoming games are coming for the Commodore systems, and I have not been disappointed in the coverage. It saddens me to know that in the retro computing scene there are people who hold (pointlessly) strong negative feelings over an engine or other aspect of a retro computer game's development. I'm glad to see that you aren't throwing in the towel, and are focusing on less to bring better. I've always felt I didn't need every single little update to a game I've found through this site (like Grind) but I don't know if completely writing only for finished games is the total way to go. I've discovered quite a few gems because of this site.
ReplyDeleteObviously you do what you feel is best, and I will continue to follow this site, though maybe a suggestion that could be a bit of work, but it's something you could easily work on slowly, maybe have a list of notable in development games that interest you? No long previews, since most in dev games have a site, social media page, or in Amiga game cases, a thread on EAB. This list could have the name, a link to a main source of the developer, or game blog charting the development, maybe a screenshot or two if available, and of course the system it's on. That way new upcoming games (and you can have a short thing to the side announcing any new additions to the list) still get some light on the site, but only get actual coverage when they are done. Just a suggestion from a fan, as said I will continue to follow and enjoy this site however you take it in the future. Just keep doing what you enjoy. I'm sure whatever comes of it will be just as fun as the times passed.
I think there should be people willing to help you by writing blog posts, you should ask for help. Thank you for all your work these years, I visit this page almost every day.
ReplyDeleteYour site is my go-to site for retro game news and I visit it very often. Ignore the idiots, this is your site, you don't owe them anything. Health and happiness first, publish what you think is best - I'm pretty sure will be the quality stuff we're all interested in. Thank you so much for making this site possible, not sure how many of us stop and think of the effort that goes into doing all this - we just see the brilliant results! All the best to you.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a few other people are willing to help, so what about having someone else just compile a list once a month of WIP games, and just list them? One single post with just a list of 'in progress' games with the title, platform, and genre. We can then look up the details ourselves if we are interested. That way you can ignore them, and one other person just needs to gather them and list them. Set up an email address for WIP games and put that on the site for people to send them to. Make it clear to just include a single line: name, platform, genre, link to more info.
ReplyDeleteIf you are worried about someone else having access to the site, I'm sure there would be a way to only allow them to post and not edit or delete anything else. Maybe even limit them to one post a month, or they could just email you the finished post and you put it up at the end of each month.
IRN is a great news source and, after all this time, something of a historical document too. Not a week goes by without something interesting popping up.
ReplyDeleteSome games are going to be paid or otherwise exclusive and not everyone will be happy about that. That’s how it is. But I think you’re in a position to just ask for games if you wanted to report on them. Maybe I have it backwards though and you expect devs to just send them to you without asking?
Whatever you decide is fine, you don’t owe anyone anything and certainly don’t deserve any abuse. I appreciate all the news and the coverage you’ve given my work over the past few years too. Look after yourself first.
You have the best indie retro news site - we are proud of yur work!
ReplyDeleteNeil, your webpage has been an invaluable resource to me and the boys over on at Amigos Retrogaming since day one. You've earned the right to do what you have to do, and you should never feel like you're forced to put your mental health on the line for a hobby. Take a break, change formats...whatever it takes...and get yourself to feeling better. We appreciate you and your work, my friend, and look forward to enjoying Indie Retro News as long as you see fit to keep it going. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love your web site, you do a great job, don't change a thing
ReplyDeletelook at all the fans :p
ReplyDeleteWhy not just do your thing ? In a world of 9 billion bipeds you're bound to offend someone no matter what you do or dont say anyway.
If you leave out the crud that should save at least 50%, the teasers of prods that are 4 years away and half of the previews that dont look yet as if they're gonna make it you might even be left with spare time haha
just do it for you
not for them
then its gonna be better b/c its gonna be the best you
First of all, health. This is one of my favorite pages to keep up to date with the games that are coming out for our old systems and I understand that doing it alone must be exhausting, it's okay to let off the accelerator a little and go at a different pace.
ReplyDeleteThough I am not reading your "full" articles that often myself, I feel like I am always surrounded by them as they are also picked up by other media talking about them and referring to you. I think you are quite an important pillar of the retro community and I am quite thankful for that!
ReplyDeleteNeil! The important thing now is: Stay healthy; stay sane! Even take a break for a while.
ReplyDeletePersonally, but that's for selfish reasons, I would be very glad if this page keeps on giving.
I was looking for a good retro gaming news source for years - and as far as I am aware your page is by far the best one. By far. Don't understand retro game developers blocking you - it's like an AAA company blocking IGN - you may very well hate IGN, but you wont block them as an AAA developer who wants his game be known a bit. And other than IGN you are actually really good, I'd consider it as an honor to be mentioned by you, if I'd be a game dev. .
The idea to keep this running but only feature games you have an interest in seems good to me. Just monitor yourself well, if keeping this up (even in the mentioned reduced way) is fine for you considering the time this all takes (and the idiot's sending death threads – curse them all).
Have a nice and peaceful Xmas, perhaps with some quality time for gaming just for you.
Best regards from Berlin, Herr Irrtum!
I find this page very useful to see the development of games on old machines. I'm surprised that people don't know what a great job you do and disrespect you.
ReplyDeleteI'm also surprised by the feeling that because you make a game with an engine that facilitates the project, it's undervalued.
Keep going at your own pace, include what you consider most relevant and omit all that negative review, there are people who only feel good doing bad to others.
This page is very well designed and I hope you continue to enjoy publishing games on it, because there are many who with your publications enjoy seeing that retro is more alive than ever and evokes great moments of our childhood. Greetings.
For me, the site news and the articles are highly anticipated!
ReplyDeleteYour writing is a calm place that makes me feel comfortable and relaxed!
Greetings from Greece.
I can relate with the exhaustion, myself I had to do some choices in my side projects: I simply don't have the energy anymore to help people, make my Oriclopedia videos, and update the OSDK, and test stuff, and make my own stuff on top.
ReplyDeleteHealth is important, we have only one body, so yes, take care of it.
By the way, what's the proper way to contact you for things like informing of new games, etc... I tried to send you a PM message on Twitter, but I'm not sure that actually worked, and I did not find any other way to contact you!
You always did it right and you also do it right, now. Thank you so much for all the effort, you put in indieretronews. I can fully understand your complaints and your step towards the future. Please don´t quit the scene, we all need you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everything Neil, take it easy and best wishes as always <3
ReplyDeleteIndie Retro News have pretty much been a stable for me to check everyday to see if anything interesting is going on in the retro scene and I just would like to express how much I appreciate all the work you've been putting into bringing us all these news.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, your health comes firsts (obviously) and if this will put less of a burden on your mental health then I'm all for that and I wish you the best.
Just remember, you don't owe us anything.
The work you do for the community here is massive, even if the impact can seem invisible at times.
Who cares what people think. Do what makes you happy 👍Perhaps cover games that nobody else does. Games like Bloodied Fear 👍
ReplyDeleteI have played Bloodied Fear. The game is completely nuts!
DeleteJust remember that most people in here really appreciates all the work and dedication you put into this site. There will always be a few, but very loud asshats out there. Try to ignore them, it’s part of the internet culture.
ReplyDeleteAgain, words can't express how grateful I am for all of your comments, feedback and yes advice :)
ReplyDeleteJust a quick comment about the abusive commenters - these people have mental problems. Ignore them. And huge thanks for keeping us informed about new releases, I visit your site at least once a week!
ReplyDeleteGood choice. I'm completely okay with coming here and reading what you say is worthy reporting about. And I lament that it's such a niche existence. Even with it growing so much. If I was any good at reporting and writing up news stories, I'd offer my bow, my axe, and my silly little commentaries. I'm not sure if there is a way to submit stuff to you, but even then you'd have to be editing, fact checking, all that jazz.
ReplyDeleteI love this place very much and I'm so glad you're doing what you're doing.
Less is more and less is better than nothing. Love the site and found plenty a game on here I previously would not have found. Keep up the good work - remember the silent majority!
ReplyDeleteGood spoken and brave choice! Respect!
ReplyDeleteDo what works for you. You need to enjoy it or there is no point.
ReplyDeleteWow, I've been getting my retro game news from this for about 10 years now! Keep up the good work. Focussing one's efforts is always a laudable choice. All the best wishes for your health and future, be it on or off this site.
ReplyDeleteYou do you and eff the bad apples, it's an unfortunate reality of the current internet that they are loud and plenty. I love this site and the way you do things. I suppose you could do the occasional link dump article where you just point out the releases and only write the articles about the ones that you think deserve it. Of course that will probably still annoy the abusive ones. Sorry to hear even this site gets those visitors and the best of luck to you.
ReplyDeleteFor me, indieretronews is better than a magazine. Don't stop posting! Please!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your site! So keep up the good work and take care of yourself! People get spoiled these days and think all those articles appear magically. Sad to hear readers exists that get upset for content they are offered for free and seem not very grateful.
ReplyDeleteAnd same applies for indie devs that first want the free publicity and later decide to ignore you.
As a side note: maybe consider a co author to relief yourself? Not sure if they are out there but i would not be surprised if they are.
As someone who also writes for a living, I hear your pain. I've never gotten death threats, but some of the threats I received are almost as bad. I also learned during these dark moments that for every person who complained or threatened you, there are nine out there who are appreciative of your work. The fact that so many people have come out to support you since you made this post proves this!
ReplyDeleteAfter receiving a particularly nasty threat, I came to the conclusion some time ago that I was so overly focused on putting out articles that not only was my work quality declining, but I also no longer enjoyed writing. After some thought, I decided to cut down my output by almost half. It was tough at first, learning how to be more selective with my writing and when NOT to write. However, after a few months of trial and error, I've reached a happy medium where I write enough articles to satisfy my readers but leave enough breathing room to not get burnt out.
It looks like you've arrived at the same conclusion. All I can say is that you'll eventually find a new equilibrium, and things will get better from here.
Unfortunately, there are haters everywhere, especially in the retro gaming scene. We have also had to learn from this and develop a thick skin in recent years, which is also necessary in order to be taken seriously in the scene in the long term and at the same time to inform people and offer them a little joy and variety with our streams in this now media-saturated world. And I have to say quite honestly, our shows would not be what they are today without websites like Indieretronews. An estimated 80% of all content shown comes from recommendations from this site. Therefore, we are very grateful for everything that has been presented here. Unfortunately, not every developer understands that in addition to time aspects such as everyday work, there are also other hobbies or private things such as family or simply health, which have absolute priority. We have also had experiences with such people and can only feel sorry for them. Anyone who has no understanding of private things should simply stay away from the scene and find another hobby. The same goes for all anonymous trolls and readers who would rather hurl insults and abuse or even death threats than put themselves in your or our position, because ultimately what we do is and will remain just a voluntary hobby for a dying community of retro gamers and fans. In this sense: keep going as long as you enjoy it, but never let people in the scene put pressure on you, because then you'll very quickly lose the fun of your hobby.
ReplyDeleteThank you to all of you for your feedback and comments. I will take everything you said on board, but know that I am extremely grateful to everyone of you. Here's to a better, less stress filled 2025!
ReplyDeleteI'm retiring now but thank you so much for all the promo you have given my games down the years. Superb site and source of indie scene news. Haters and their little fiefdoms they operate in, are always gonna hate I guess. Whatever and who cares just keep going! :) Thanks once again.
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