Well, here we are again. It’s always such a pleasure…

And I’m late again. And I’ve got to address that and a few other things before I jump into the content calendar. Because the content calendar’s a mess now. I promise I will keep this very brief.

Ongoing Health Issues

For the last two months, I’ve mentioned dealing with some “ongoing health issues.” And it’s been affecting my schedule a bit. Here’s the thing: I’m currently living with a bout of mental exhaustion, anxiety, and moderate depression. It’s not the first time. It won’t be the last. It’s just a thing that is. But it’s reached a point where it’s affecting my physical health.

It’s being dealt with. I have the resources and support I need to work through it. And it isn’t the first time I’ve had to work through it. And there’s no shame in it. Which is why I’m just coming out and saying it. Everyone runs into trouble now and then. Everyone needs help. And it’s up to each of us to do what we need to do to work through things so we can keep living the life we want to live. It’s only when we ignore this s$&% or when we aren’t willing to put in the work it takes to overcome it that we get into trouble. Or when we think the illness somehow excuses us from responsibility for our own lives. But that ain’t life advice. I’m not qualified to give life advice. I’m just saying that I am taking care of myself and taking responsibility for my recovery. And I’m only saying that because I know I have friends out there in a similar boat. Who are maybe struggling to recognize or admit their problems or begin the difficult journey of overcoming them.

Things have been improving. Slowly. But I am taking some steps to reduce some stressors on myself and allow myself to catch up. I’ve made a few changes to this month’s release schedule and adjusted some future projects. Which I’ll explain below.

Anyway, that’s it. That’s the truth. Now you know what’s going on. But also know I’m okay. I’m taking care of myself. And I’ll recover. As I have in the past. Thank you for your support and your patience.

August Content Schedule

This month, I’m putting the two heavy series I have on hold — that’s Town Mode and Strategy and Tactics for Dummies Teaching Dummies — and I’m instead focusing on some lighter, one-off topics I’ve had floating around for a while. Those two series will return in September. I just need some breathing room to tackle the next big topic in Town Mode. And I also need extra time to get the Theme Packs back on track before there’s not enough year left for me to release them all.

Anyway…

Ongoing Website Cleanup and Maintenance

You might have noticed that TheAngryGM.com keeps getting minor tweaks and face lifts. That’s because I’ve been tweaking it and lifting its face in the spare time I have between writing actual content and working on ongoing projects and future events. Which is how I have to do it. Because my supporters don’t pay me to prettify my website. They pay me for content.

Anyway, ever since I diversified my crowdfunding so people could support me on SubscribeStar in addition to supporting me on Patreon, I’ve had to reorganize things to adjust my workflow and distribution. And I’ve been using those necessary adjustments as an excuse to tweak the site in general. By now, you all know I finally added a chronological archive of my features.

Well, recently, I also tweaked the front page to display the most recent four articles instead of just the last thing I posted. And moved the “articles by category” down the page. And I put dates beneath the titles so you all know what date the articles were published on.

I also finally managed to fix the search bar, which has apparently been broken a long time, but no one reported it until recently. And then it took me a while to run down the tiny little bit of code that was shooting the error. Because I ain’t actually a website developer. I just fake it. Nonetheless, I had an orphaned function that had been inserted by an add-on I’d installed and then removed which didn’t clean up after itself properly. Probably because my changes to the code… do you give a s$&%? No. You don’t. I fixed the search bar. It works.

I also managed to get my articles to display the other articles in their series in the sidebar.

I’m going to keep working on this s$&% here and there in the coming weeks. Eventually, post dates will be added back everywhere so you always know when a post came out. And for those of you who support me and have access to the super-secret audio files and podcast feeds, I know you’re waiting for the back episodes of my audio content to populate. That’s time consuming, but I promise it’s happening.

Feeling the Heat Theme Pack

The next Theme Pack — the first of six that’ll come out between now and the end of the year — is due out this month. It’s called Feeling the Heat, and it’s about elementals and summoning magic. You’ll get some different takes on elementals, some new rules for how summoning magic interacts with morale, and for using the remains of magical creatures to enhance your spellcasting.

That’ll be free to all Frienemy Tier supporters on Patreon and SubscribeStar and all Frienemies for Life and it’ll go on sale with the other Theme Packs at the Angry Games Online Shop in the fall.

Tension Dice Kickstarter

Now for the bad news: delays due to the above mentioned health treatments along with issues created by the general state of the world economy have forced me to re-evaluate the Tension Dice Kickstarter. It is still going ahead. But it’s going to have to wait. Currently, I’m projecting that I’ll be able to launch the Kickstarter in January.

Updates will be forthcoming at the Tension Dice page at Angry Games’ website next week.

The Angry Games NonConvention 2022

Now for the good news: although it has taken a lot longer to iron out a date details than I would have liked, the Angry Games NonConvention — basically just a weekend meetup for Angry supporters — is on. I’ve finally got a contract and will be releasing more details tomorrow. Because of cost and space limitations, I will have to limit the number of attendees and guests. And right now, only certain supporter tiers are being invited. But if this year’s event is even remotely a success, it’ll pave the way for more next year.

Those of you in the loop because of your support levels will receive more information in the next 48 hours. But know the NonConvention will take take place in Columbus, Ohio from Friday, October 14 at 2 PM EDT to Saturday, October 15 at 11:00 PM. And while it’s mostly just gonna be a hangout, meetup, and a chance to play some games together, there will be a catered buffet dinner for attendees on Saturday. Like I said, I’ll be releasing more details in the next 48 hours. But at least you can all start getting excited.

And I’d like to thank Ben/DebitVictory for taking point on this, scoping out venues, getting quotes, and helping me put a contract together.

And That’s the News…

And that’s it. The news for the month. Thank you again for your support, patience, and understanding. And thank you for your readership. I look forward to getting back on task and moving forward.