Announcement: Upcoming Changes to Cyberjack

Due to various circumstances, changes are going to be made as to what posts will be written on Cyberjack. As I continue to prepare for a career in game development in addition to other things, my commitment to blogging has diminished over the years. Recently, I have started writing posts for IndieWatch.net, a website that seeks to connect independent (aka indie) game developers and gamers by gaming culture. As of this writing, I currently have two articles posted on the site: one that covers how possessing a college degree would not necessarily lead to a job in the video game industry and one that discusses ways in which to manage the stress of a college senior game project. Given that my writing tends to be one of my greatest strengths, I have been recently making plans to write more posts related to game development for the site as well as sponsored posts as a means of generating income. As part of those developing plans, I had thoughts about taking Cyberjack in a new direction without abandoning its roots, which is my passion for video games. But rather than merely sharing that passion by posting about random video game related topics as I had done in the past, I'm considering using Cyberjack as a way to connect with the gaming community at large and also to bridge gaps between that community and the society outside of it. To that end, the following key points illustrate the new direction I have in mind for Cyberjack:

Paying to Win, Progress, and Level Up: The Road to Industry Suicide?

From top left to bottom right: Candy Crush Saga, Farmville, Dungeon Keeper Mobile, Call of Duty: WWII, Assassin's Creed: Origins, and NBA 2K18. These games contain in-game currency that allows players to purchase extra lives, faster progression, and increased chances of getting desired items via randomized loot boxes.

In an age long since past, video games were an avenue of pure adventurous escapism in the eyes of those sitting on the floor or couch across from the TV in their living rooms or bedrooms with a controller in hand, being close to their computers with their fingers flying across the keyboard, or hanging around with friends at a local arcade. The moment we ran our PCs and consoles or insert our quarters into the arcade machines, gamers of my generation, myself included, were transported into various worlds uncovering treasures, slaying monsters, uncovering secrets, going through stories rivaling those of other media, feeling like badasses, and experiencing the thrill of getting a high score to show off our skills. These times were what we would call the Golden and Silver Ages of gaming. But since the latter half of the 7th generation video game era, we have entered what a lot of us would probably call the Dark Ages.