I think it's a very human thing to want to sit in reflection at the end of the year. And it's such an arbitrary distinction! The calendar year didn't always used to be this way, not even in the West. Amongst so many other things, I learned about older timekeeping systems this year. Did you know that "o'clock" stands for "of the clock", and was used to distinguish time according to these newfangled clock gadgets as opposed to time according to the sun? I feel like I might have known that once, but I was reminded of it again this year. It's really fascinating to think about the many ways of living, and how each different person understands the human state of being in this world. Even though this modern way of deciding timekeeping is a rather recent innovation, I'm grateful for the opportunity it gives me to think about what's come before, and what is yet to come. Here's my stab at it for 2024.
I developed a greater appreciation for history this year than ever before, as the start of this reflection might suggest. I think I finally reached the age where something clicked in my brain about modern solutions being just a tiny subsection of all the solutions we've developed since civilization began. And while most of those solutions originated from older ones, there's such a fascinating thread of ideas to follow back down to those original methods. At a time when people were first experimenting with phenomena they didn't have names for, they still figured out ways to understand the world around them far better than many people do now, even with all the marvels of modern science at our fingertips. Why have I been thinking about all this? For the sake of storytelling. I'm running a historical period drama, so I need to understand the thinking and reasoning and methodologies of the time period. I've consumed a lot of information about the Medieval and Renaissance periods, and I know I've barely scratched the surface. But I'll keep going as long as I have that driving factor in my life, because I think that's what my driving motivator is, in the end: the motivation to tell great stories.
I told lots of stories this year.
I attended conventions dedicated to gaming, where I sold teas and demonstrated games and their systems to potential buyers. I went to four conventions--the most conventions I've ever been to in one year--thanks to that. MAGFest, Origins, GenCon, and PAXU.
I wrote live-action games for four events in different venues, each with different themes and lore behind them. I created the Shale, a world reliant on the mercy of a nature spirit for the Tennessee Renaissance Festival. Then Tasmata, an ocean realm long desolate, filled with the remnants of ancient civilizations from before the floods that drowned them for the Ohio Renaissance Festival. After that, I researched all I could about Tolkien's worldbuilding and developed a narrative in Middle Earth about a lost artifact of the Valar for Literary Adventures in the town of Waynesville, Ohio. Finally, I developed a group of time-traveling agents, intent on stopping the catastrophe of Y2K for the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio.
I wrote an adventure for 5e D&D with the help of three other authors, focused on befriending baby mimics and discovering how your weaknesses can become strengths with the support of your friends. It's published and available for digital purchase right now, and I'm so proud to have that accomplishment under my belt. I also edited some brilliant adventures for a friend in France, and added two new books to the set of print-on-demand game books I've edited.
I ran tabletop roleplaying games for my friends. I completed one long-running game after 2 and a half years in March. I've continued running two long-form campaigns that are about a year and a half old at this point over the course of this year. I started running a new long-form game in September, reimagining a campaign I'd already run and love with all my heart. I completed a handful of short-form games alongside all that, and continued the adventures I get to enjoy as a player with my long-form in-person group.
I continued working on the novel I've been writing with my dearest friend since we were both in middle school, and I wrote story content on my own with the goal of adding it to games or novels of the future (though whether they'll come to fruition is a question for the future).
I learned a lot about game design this year. I came to appreciate things I never had before about simplified mechanics and more complex systems. I threw myself into game theory and game design resources and have been stocking up on knowledge to improve my skills. I designed a dice game and a card game and went through first-round playtesting for both of them. One of them I get to debut for the public in a special event next year, and I'm thrilled to have that opportunity ahead of me!
Just as I learned all of these new ways to appreciate mechanics and probability and player options, I learned more about my personal values when running or partaking in a game. I learned that I'm always seeking to tell the best story, and I desire a greater degree of narrative control in order to manifest that for my players. I also learned that requires a great deal of trust from the players, especially because control is a part of the player fantasy. I learned better ways to communicate my methods of facilitation to people who play my games, and I learned better ways to help the people who play my games feel like they're influencing the story the ways they want to more often than not. In the end, everyone around the table should be satisfied, and I'm working to achieve equilibrium between player and facilitator desires with the experiments I've been performing. I haven't succeeded on all fronts yet, but I'm getting better with each passing session.
I traveled a lot this year and made memories in many places.
Washington D.C., with friends from Kansas. We played Flamecraft with in the airport lobby outside security before my flight home, after a successful convention where we sold out of nearly all my friend's saleable product.
Saint Mary's State Park in Ohio, where I joined my friends from the Fae Guild for a group meetup (they've been a great influence on me, my own Faesona will debut next year).
Forge Tavern in Columbus, Ohio which became the favored meetup spot for me and many dear friends of mine who live in southern Ohio, while I'm in the far north.
The Swan House in Findlay, Ohio, where I got high tea with a dear friend I hadn't seen in a long time.
Columbus, Ohio where I learned to play Blood on the Clocktower for the first time and acquired a new social deduction game fascination.
Davis, West Virginia, where my high school friends and I met up for a vacation in the mountains with lots of hikes, crazy PowerPoints, and a competition complete with prizes (my teammates completely carried me on the trivia portion).
Indianapolis, Indiana, where I got to meet the team of Incredible Dream and share a delicious, five-course dinner. We played a game where everyone at the table wrote an obscure fact about themselves in secret, then everyone had to vote as a group on who they thought the obscure fact was about. It was great fun for me having people guess what things I had or hadn't done--I was suspect number one for almost half of the facts (turns out, association with the Renaissance Faire means people will think you've done anything).
The Escape Game in Columbus, where I played an escape room in costume with friends I'd been planning to go to the Renaissance Faire with. Due to a massive storm, we had to pivot, but it turned out to be a wonderful, memorable day even so.
Perrysburg, Ohio, where I auditioned for my first musical in many years. I got to be a part of the choir that makes The Hunchback of Notre Dame so special and bring the cathedral to life for our audience from the balcony night after night. Reconnecting with the theatre scene is always so special, and every one of our performances was unforgettable.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I got to meet long-distance friends in person for the first time. I also visited several US monuments I'd never seen before, and put into practice a tip that one of the friends I got to meet had mentioned to me the month prior: always take photos with people in them because those are the ones you'll look back at the most.
And of course, Toledo and Bowling Green, Ohio, where I spend my days when I'm not being drawn this way or that by the pulls of my passions, hobbies, and livelihood. My life wouldn't be the same without them and the friends I have throughout their neighborhoods, new and old.
So there you have it, 2024's highlights. A sampling of all the things that made this year special to me in simplest form. I faced plenty of struggles throughout, and the stress levels were extremely high, but in a few more hours I'll have officially made it through.
30 years and counting. Many marvelous memories made, and countless more to come. I'm so grateful to be here, to have the chance to do so many amazing things, and to continue to share all that inspires me with the rest of the world I live in. I'm so happy to create stories worth telling, and I'm beyond gratified that the story I'm writing with my own life is one that I'm proud of.
Who knows what discoveries next year will hold? Only one way to find out.
~Hannah
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