Very important site announcement

*Stinger* · 11-23-2004, 06:30 PM

I have been struggling to find ways to preface this in the various conversations I've had over the past month, so I guess I won't. Effective December 1st, I am resigning from Adventure Gamers.

The first question, I'm sure, will be why. I am leaving because life has led me in a direction recently that shows me I am just no longer able to run Adventure Gamers in an effective way. Those of you who have been around a while probably know that I take all of this extremely personally, which is why I come home from a 50-hour job and still spend 15-20 hours a week working on the site for no money--I'm just that freaking stubborn and committed and don't know any other way to do things but full throttle.

For most of the five and a half years that I've been a part of AG, and the two years that I've been essentially running it, I've been able to strike a balance, but life isn't as balanced as it used to be. Career, marriage, and faith must have their place and it must be above hobby--and I don't think I can make that happen anymore continuing as I've been. Besides that, I have a couple other personal projects that I've never really been able to get going on because I spend so much time with AG, and now I hope to finally get reacquainted with those. That's pretty much the gist of my reasons for leaving. Above all, I want everyone to realize that there is no bad blood between myself and Marek or anyone else and I leave on the best terms possible. And, since I'm sure the questions will come, I will mention that this decision was made quite some time ago, long before any of the recent nonsense that's taken place in the Site Feedback forum; none of that had any effect at all.

The next question will be what next--for the site, I can't say, as I have not had a great deal of involvement in the transition planning (by both my choice and Marek's). Marek will be reassuming day-to-day control of the site and will soon begin reassigning some of my responsibilities around our extremely capable staff, and I'm sure he will discuss the changes soon. I personally believe that, with all the talent we have on AG's staff right now, I have done a poor job of leveraging that and look forward to seeing what Jack, Laura, Emily, Kirk, Kim, et al. can do when really given the chance to take a key role in the site's development. I can almost assure you that there will be no loss of quality in the site; enough of a foundation has been laid that Adventure Gamers will easily continue to be the best adventure gaming website without question.

What next for me--well, after wrapping up my final jobs early next week I'm taking a very long hiatus from the adventure gaming community as a whole just to cleanse myself a little bit, bury the past, rediscover a love for actually playing adventure games (imagine that), spend time with my wife, work on my writing and music, and of course prepare for a grueling tax season at work.

But I believe at this point there is a 90% chance that I will return to AG in May as a contributor--probably writing the odd Golden Age review, and likely participating in the E3 coverage. And, you'll all be either happy or mortified to know that at this point I'm expecting to write another Top 20 for 2005.

I joined AG, when it was AdventureGamer.com, on March 3rd, 1999. Since then I've edited over 300 articles, written over 90 (including two Top 20's), overseen more than 50 staff members at various times, watched the site go through two of the ugliest outages ever and somehow refuse to die, and had about 3,000 heated arguments with Marek. Each of those contributed not only to making AG a better site, but to a friendship that I've always valued. It is Marek who I owe the most thanks to for the spirited discussions, the commitment to excellence, the amazing design that really makes AG what it is, and the trust to step away and let me take the reins when he did. The fact that two people living nine time zones apart from each other could communicate as effectively and run a site as well as we did for all those years, I think, is nothing short of a miracle.

I also want to thank all of the other staff who've put up with me through various power trips, ego fits, deadline reminders, unfunny jokes in the staff newsletters, and anal-retentive demand to do things myself. One person can only do so much, and a whole lot of people have given me a whole lot of help over the years. I'm very grateful for that.

But most of all, I'm thankful for the readers. Despite my tendency to be an opinionated jackass and to be overzealous in my self-declared war on stupidity, I had a lot of positive feedback from readers over the years that gave me the strength to keep going. This site would have been completely worthless without a lot of people reading and reacting, and to those that have done both for a very long time, you made it all worthwhile.

If you have any questions of any sort, you can certainly reply to this thread, or e-mail me if you'd like to keep it private (or PM if you really want to). My e-mail address will be retained indefinitely, as will my forum account; however, as mentioned above I will be basically gone for a very long time after this weekend, so don't delay.

I'll miss everything dearly and hope that you'll all miss me as well. But please believe that this is only the beginning of greatness for AdventureGamers.com. I can only hope that I leave having done a bit of good for the site, the community, and the genre as a whole. If that's true, even just a little bit, then the last five years has been worth it.

Happy adventuring forever,

Udvarnoky · 11-23-2004, 06:49 PM

Oh, and not to sound like a heartless bastard, but I'm guessing the Freelance Police museum is canned, eh?

TheDerman · 11-23-2004, 07:01 PM

I don't post much around these parts, but I read the site every day - 'tis a grand site so it is.

Good luck Evan, and have fun doing whatever, especially with the taxes.

11-23-2004, 07:40 PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

i hate to see you go evan, you do nothing but great work and i look up to you. thank you for all the great work that you have done over the years. i'm going to miss you very much and i'm looking foward to hearing from you in the future

*PolloDiablo* · 11-23-2004, 09:28 PM

Good luck! Hope you manage to find enough time for yourself.

Take care!

nordic_guy · 11-23-2004, 10:16 PM

Good luck!
You will definitely be missed around here. It feels like the adventure gamer himself is signing off.
But, like you said, life is more important than this, and I respect anyone's decision to take time for that as well has having a job.

(I wish you had replied to the nonsense in the site feedback, though)

VoodooFX · 11-24-2004, 01:35 AM

You will be missed Stinger. I hate to see you go, but i can understand your decision.

We could never thank you enough for your contribution to this community. Like nordic_guy said... it feels like big part of what this site represented is signing off with you. And regardless of your beliefs... it will NEVER be same without you.

I wish you all the best in your future projects and i hope someday you'll return, or at least stop by in forums to say 'Hello'.

Take care mate!

Simo Sakari Aaltonen · 11-24-2004, 01:48 AM

Evan, you and Marek have always been to Adventure Gamers what Jane Jensen is to Gabriel Knight, Al Lowe to Leisure Suit Larry, Jordan Mechner to The Last Express.

So whenever you want to drop by, please do. Your enormous contribution to the adventure gaming community has not gone unnoticed.

It will be strange to visit the site with the knowledge that you are not around, but I totally understand your reasons for leaving. I hope you will be able to take an evening off sometime soon to just sit back and enjoy, and maybe reflect on all your work for AG over the years. I think you have more than enough reason to feel good about it all.

All the best.

Wormsie · 11-24-2004, 04:05 AM

As long as you're going to write the top-20, fine with me

I know that the site won't die.

Erwin_Br · 11-24-2004, 04:34 AM

You probably know I've thrown some negative feedback your way regarding your latest review, but I want to let you know that I did really enjoy the other 89 articles that you wrote.

I, for one, will miss your contribution in the form of those articles and the great things you've done to maintain this site's high quality standard and direction.

Good luck with your future endeavors, man!

--Erwin

CSY · 11-24-2004, 05:09 AM

good luck with your life!

Mattsius · 11-24-2004, 05:31 AM

Sorry to see you leave!

You will certainly be dearly missed, don't ever doubt that. As many have said, you and Marek are the heart and soul of this site and, inevitably, a part will die with your departure. You have done a miraculous job over the years, especially this last year, when some really great people have joined AG to form this firm base which will carry AG to new heights.

I wish you good luck with your future endevours, and do take care of yourself, Evan!

P.S. I'm still looking forward to your next top 20 list with excitement.

Tobbe · 11-24-2004, 05:57 AM

Sorry to hear that you´re leaving...You´ve done a great work..Good luck to you!Hope we´ll hear from you later on..

DomStLeger · 11-24-2004, 06:02 AM

I'm completely shocked by your announcement, very unexpected but understandable.

The site is loosing a very talented and hard working editor, whose articles are always very enjoyable and well written. I'm certain that Adventuregamers greatness is due in no small part to the hard work and many hours you've doubtless put into the site. I think it is this unsung effort and work that we probably never fully appreciated and for which we owe you the most gratitude. Thank you for helping make the site what it is today, and helping shape and run something that is enjoyed by so many. Good luck for the future in all aspects of your life. I'm already looking forward to your return in may.

*stepurhan* · 11-24-2004, 06:05 AM

Sorry to see you go but happy to hear that we still have such a capable staff on hand to keep this place running. It would be a tragedy if, like so many sites gone before, AG died because someone who'd played such a central role was steppng down.

Good luck on the various projects out in the real world, expecially the enjoying adventure games one (I hear they can be quite fun

) and I'm sure we'll all look forward to seeing you again when you feel you're able to rejoin us.

SoccerDude28 · 11-24-2004, 08:05 AM

Stinger
Thank you for all the work and dedication you put into this site from your own free time. The adventuring community owes you big time. I wish you all the best in your life, and you will be truly missed around here. Drop by sometimes and share in our fiery debates

Jen · 11-24-2004, 08:06 AM

A hard choice, I'm sure, and a big loss to the community. I wish you every happiness in whatever you do next.

eriq · 11-24-2004, 08:34 AM

Well as long as you are going to create your Top 20, I'm fine with your departure.

I can totally relate to having other priorities. Your dedication has been admirable. Especially during E3. Maybe we will bump into eachother this coming year. I want an autograph on my bum.

ADVENTURE-RAIDER · 11-24-2004, 09:55 AM

Good luck, man.

Tanukitsune · 11-24-2004, 11:49 AM

Sorry to hear your leaving, I hove you have good luck with your life...

Happy adventuring forever, man...

11-23-2004, 06:30 PM	#1
Stinger Retirement is stupid Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Central Oregon, USA Posts: 960	Very important site announcement I have been struggling to find ways to preface this in the various conversations I've had over the past month, so I guess I won't. Effective December 1st, I am resigning from Adventure Gamers. The first question, I'm sure, will be why. I am leaving because life has led me in a direction recently that shows me I am just no longer able to run Adventure Gamers in an effective way. Those of you who have been around a while probably know that I take all of this extremely personally, which is why I come home from a 50-hour job and still spend 15-20 hours a week working on the site for no money--I'm just that freaking stubborn and committed and don't know any other way to do things but full throttle. For most of the five and a half years that I've been a part of AG, and the two years that I've been essentially running it, I've been able to strike a balance, but life isn't as balanced as it used to be. Career, marriage, and faith must have their place and it must be above hobby--and I don't think I can make that happen anymore continuing as I've been. Besides that, I have a couple other personal projects that I've never really been able to get going on because I spend so much time with AG, and now I hope to finally get reacquainted with those. That's pretty much the gist of my reasons for leaving. Above all, I want everyone to realize that there is no bad blood between myself and Marek or anyone else and I leave on the best terms possible. And, since I'm sure the questions will come, I will mention that this decision was made quite some time ago, long before any of the recent nonsense that's taken place in the Site Feedback forum; none of that had any effect at all. The next question will be what next--for the site, I can't say, as I have not had a great deal of involvement in the transition planning (by both my choice and Marek's). Marek will be reassuming day-to-day control of the site and will soon begin reassigning some of my responsibilities around our extremely capable staff, and I'm sure he will discuss the changes soon. I personally believe that, with all the talent we have on AG's staff right now, I have done a poor job of leveraging that and look forward to seeing what Jack, Laura, Emily, Kirk, Kim, et al. can do when really given the chance to take a key role in the site's development. I can almost assure you that there will be no loss of quality in the site; enough of a foundation has been laid that Adventure Gamers will easily continue to be the best adventure gaming website without question. What next for me--well, after wrapping up my final jobs early next week I'm taking a very long hiatus from the adventure gaming community as a whole just to cleanse myself a little bit, bury the past, rediscover a love for actually playing adventure games (imagine that), spend time with my wife, work on my writing and music, and of course prepare for a grueling tax season at work. But I believe at this point there is a 90% chance that I will return to AG in May as a contributor--probably writing the odd Golden Age review, and likely participating in the E3 coverage. And, you'll all be either happy or mortified to know that at this point I'm expecting to write another Top 20 for 2005. I joined AG, when it was AdventureGamer.com, on March 3rd, 1999. Since then I've edited over 300 articles, written over 90 (including two Top 20's), overseen more than 50 staff members at various times, watched the site go through two of the ugliest outages ever and somehow refuse to die, and had about 3,000 heated arguments with Marek. Each of those contributed not only to making AG a better site, but to a friendship that I've always valued. It is Marek who I owe the most thanks to for the spirited discussions, the commitment to excellence, the amazing design that really makes AG what it is, and the trust to step away and let me take the reins when he did. The fact that two people living nine time zones apart from each other could communicate as effectively and run a site as well as we did for all those years, I think, is nothing short of a miracle. I also want to thank all of the other staff who've put up with me through various power trips, ego fits, deadline reminders, unfunny jokes in the staff newsletters, and anal-retentive demand to do things myself. One person can only do so much, and a whole lot of people have given me a whole lot of help over the years. I'm very grateful for that. But most of all, I'm thankful for the readers. Despite my tendency to be an opinionated jackass and to be overzealous in my self-declared war on stupidity, I had a lot of positive feedback from readers over the years that gave me the strength to keep going. This site would have been completely worthless without a lot of people reading and reacting, and to those that have done both for a very long time, you made it all worthwhile. If you have any questions of any sort, you can certainly reply to this thread, or e-mail me if you'd like to keep it private (or PM if you really want to). My e-mail address will be retained indefinitely, as will my forum account; however, as mentioned above I will be basically gone for a very long time after this weekend, so don't delay. I'll miss everything dearly and hope that you'll all miss me as well. But please believe that this is only the beginning of greatness for AdventureGamers.com. I can only hope that I leave having done a bit of good for the site, the community, and the genre as a whole. If that's true, even just a little bit, then the last five years has been worth it. Happy adventuring forever, Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ / Evan Dickens / Retired Editor-in-Chief "An episodic sociopathic lagomorph? The mind boggles."

11-23-2004, 06:49 PM	#2
Udvarnoky Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 632	Oh, and not to sound like a heartless bastard, but I'm guessing the Freelance Police museum is canned, eh? Share Share this post on Twitter Last edited by Udvarnoky; 11-23-2004 at 06:56 PM.

11-23-2004, 07:01 PM	#3
TheDerman Copyright holder. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: UK Posts: 63	I don't post much around these parts, but I read the site every day - 'tis a grand site so it is. Good luck Evan, and have fun doing whatever, especially with the taxes. Share Share this post on Twitter

11-23-2004, 07:40 PM	#4
guybrush_guy Guest Posts: n/a	NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! i hate to see you go evan, you do nothing but great work and i look up to you. thank you for all the great work that you have done over the years. i'm going to miss you very much and i'm looking foward to hearing from you in the future Share Share this post on Twitter Last edited by guybrush_guy; 11-23-2004 at 07:57 PM.

11-23-2004, 09:28 PM	#5
PolloDiablo Chicken with a bite Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 355	Good luck! Hope you manage to find enough time for yourself. Take care! Share Share this post on Twitter

11-23-2004, 10:16 PM	#6
nordic_guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Norway Posts: 1,081	Good luck! You will definitely be missed around here. It feels like the adventure gamer himself is signing off. But, like you said, life is more important than this, and I respect anyone's decision to take time for that as well has having a job. (I wish you had replied to the nonsense in the site feedback, though) Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ If I wasn't just spamming this thread, I'd probably have something interesting to say.

11-24-2004, 01:35 AM	#7
VoodooFX Grumpy & bitter man Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Slovenia Posts: 1,171	You will be missed Stinger. I hate to see you go, but i can understand your decision. We could never thank you enough for your contribution to this community. Like nordic_guy said... it feels like big part of what this site represented is signing off with you. And regardless of your beliefs... it will NEVER be same without you. I wish you all the best in your future projects and i hope someday you'll return, or at least stop by in forums to say 'Hello'. Take care mate! Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ We may have days, we may have hours, but sooner or later we all push up flowers.

11-24-2004, 01:48 AM	#8
Simo Sakari Aaltonen Banned User Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Finland Posts: 447	Evan, you and Marek have always been to Adventure Gamers what Jane Jensen is to Gabriel Knight, Al Lowe to Leisure Suit Larry, Jordan Mechner to The Last Express. So whenever you want to drop by, please do. Your enormous contribution to the adventure gaming community has not gone unnoticed. It will be strange to visit the site with the knowledge that you are not around, but I totally understand your reasons for leaving. I hope you will be able to take an evening off sometime soon to just sit back and enjoy, and maybe reflect on all your work for AG over the years. I think you have more than enough reason to feel good about it all. All the best. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Simo Sakari Aaltonen ([email protected]) www.adventurecompanion.com

11-24-2004, 04:05 AM	#9
Wormsie Doctor Watson Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 4,736	As long as you're going to write the top-20, fine with me I know that the site won't die. Share Share this post on Twitter

11-24-2004, 04:34 AM	#10
Erwin_Br Under pressure. Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands Posts: 3,773	You probably know I've thrown some negative feedback your way regarding your latest review, but I want to let you know that I did really enjoy the other 89 articles that you wrote. I, for one, will miss your contribution in the form of those articles and the great things you've done to maintain this site's high quality standard and direction. Good luck with your future endeavors, man! --Erwin Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ > Learn more about my forthcoming point & click adventure: Bad Timing! > Or... Visit Adventure Developers: Everything about developing adventure games.

11-24-2004, 05:09 AM	#11
CSY Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 34	good luck with your life! Share Share this post on Twitter

11-24-2004, 05:31 AM	#12
Mattsius Mostly absent Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Turku, Finland Posts: 2,532	Sorry to see you leave! You will certainly be dearly missed, don't ever doubt that. As many have said, you and Marek are the heart and soul of this site and, inevitably, a part will die with your departure. You have done a miraculous job over the years, especially this last year, when some really great people have joined AG to form this firm base which will carry AG to new heights. I wish you good luck with your future endevours, and do take care of yourself, Evan! P.S. I'm still looking forward to your next top 20 list with excitement. Share Share this post on Twitter

11-24-2004, 05:57 AM	#13
Tobbe Living with my love Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Finland Posts: 1,453	Sorry to hear that you´re leaving...You´ve done a great work..Good luck to you!Hope we´ll hear from you later on.. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ ''My names George. It means... Well, its just a name'' George Stobbart-Broken Sword

11-24-2004, 06:02 AM	#14
DomStLeger Whinging Pom Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: London, England, UK Posts: 1,032	I'm completely shocked by your announcement, very unexpected but understandable. The site is loosing a very talented and hard working editor, whose articles are always very enjoyable and well written. I'm certain that Adventuregamers greatness is due in no small part to the hard work and many hours you've doubtless put into the site. I think it is this unsung effort and work that we probably never fully appreciated and for which we owe you the most gratitude. Thank you for helping make the site what it is today, and helping shape and run something that is enjoyed by so many. Good luck for the future in all aspects of your life. I'm already looking forward to your return in may. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Dom Currently Playing Tex Murphey - Under a Killing Moon (YAY GOG.com!) Recently Completed Broken Sword Director's Cut Still Get Mozilla Firefox! Forget that Chrome and IE rubbish!

11-24-2004, 06:05 AM	#15
stepurhan Freeware Co-ordinator Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: South East England. Posts: 7,309	Sorry to see you go but happy to hear that we still have such a capable staff on hand to keep this place running. It would be a tragedy if, like so many sites gone before, AG died because someone who'd played such a central role was steppng down. Good luck on the various projects out in the real world, expecially the enjoying adventure games one (I hear they can be quite fun ) and I'm sure we'll all look forward to seeing you again when you feel you're able to rejoin us. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ No Nonsense Nonsonnets #43 Cold Topic A thread most controversial, that’s what I want to start Full of impassioned arguments, of posting from the heart And for this stimulation all will be thankful to me On come on everybody it won’t work if you agree

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11-24-2004, 08:05 AM	#16
SoccerDude28 Homer of Kittens Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: San Francisco, Bay Area Posts: 4,374	Stinger Thank you for all the work and dedication you put into this site from your own free time. The adventuring community owes you big time. I wish you all the best in your life, and you will be truly missed around here. Drop by sometimes and share in our fiery debates Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ -------------------------------------------------- Games I am playing: Jeanne D'Ark (PSP) Firefox rules

11-24-2004, 08:06 AM	#17
Jen Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 115	A hard choice, I'm sure, and a big loss to the community. I wish you every happiness in whatever you do next. Share Share this post on Twitter

11-24-2004, 08:34 AM	#18
eriq gaybrush threepwoody Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,567	Well as long as you are going to create your Top 20, I'm fine with your departure. I can totally relate to having other priorities. Your dedication has been admirable. Especially during E3. Maybe we will bump into eachother this coming year. I want an autograph on my bum. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ eriqchangstudio.com Facebook Connect

11-24-2004, 09:55 AM	#19
ADVENTURE-RAIDER Adventure Collector Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: CYPRUS Posts: 226	Good luck, man. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ *I still haven't found what I'm looking for!* -- U2

11-24-2004, 11:49 AM	#20
Tanukitsune ACK! Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Spain Posts: 2,448	Sorry to hear your leaving, I hove you have good luck with your life... Happy adventuring forever, man... Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Apparently I have a Devianrt Art account... And people actually like it!