Hitting Restart: How LTG almost ended, and how it’s come to be.

“Should we call it and end Last Token Gaming?”

At that point, it felt like Last Token Gaming was running on empty. The content we were churning out reflected that. While each piece we published was written well, they carried a feeling of both exhaustion and tiredness to them. It was as if each article was more an obligation than something we wanted to write about.

One thing started to feel clear; Last Token Gaming was a ship that couldn’t be controlled by two people. In fact, the ship was sinking and we were barely above water.

That was the issue for me; writing for Last Token Gaming became an obligation to keep the site going versus actually wanting to put time into discussing the topics. Every day felt like I had to do something; play a game for hours on end to beat and review, try to look at any major issues to discuss for the site, or think of things we hadn’t seen covered. It lead to many stressful nights that helped fuel my burnout.

The site also pointed out a huge flaw that I’ve had for a while; I didn’t know how to manage or lead a website. I wasn’t able to set consistent deadlines or keep on top of any of the writers we had to get content going. Any content we were able to muster aside from writing had a lot of work that needed to be done without the proper people in place. All of it felt overwhelming, and it reflected in my poor management. Yet, I had a hard time letting go of handling all the managerial work for Last Token Gaming; this was my baby, and I wanted it to run exactly how I wanted it to. I wasn’t ready to trust someone else with any facet of the site other than writing.

All of this fueled my answer when I heard Marshall ask this question.

“Should we call it and end Last Token Gaming?”

“Yes,” is what I told Marshall, and we both reflected that sentiment. Now I can say nearly 1 and a half years later, with 17 other staff members and with all the major strides we’ve taken, I’m so glad we never went through with it. In fact, it would’ve been one of the biggest regrets I’d ever have.

Last Token Gaming to me not only reflects my views and philosophies on gaming, but reflects perseverance and dedication. I love the staff we have and their tenacity to cover subjects in a fair obstructive view that most other sites wouldn’t. They’ve all held themselves accountable and owned up when they felt they were letting the team down. No one is afraid to bring up a suggestion, or constructive criticism, while also praising someone’s writing. Most importantly, Last Token Gaming feels like both a family and community we all manage together.

The moment that really cemented that feeling was finding out everyone was spearheading the money we needed to buy the domain and site for Last Token Gaming. At the time, my personal life had been in a bit of a turbulence, and hearing that everyone was going in on the site had me tearing up inside. Being able to buy the site and make it our own made everything worth fighting through.

I could try and tell you how the site helped me grow personally as a writer, a gamer and as a person. After all, I finally learned how to trust others into running aspects of the site that I couldn’t manage. It’s lead to the site being run better, and to new ideas that have improved the site. Having others who edit my writing before I publish it has helped improve my writing. Looking at where I am now versus a year ago, I feel like there’s a vast difference.

However, that’s not how my narrative really goes.

Truth is, my personal growth only goes in tandem with the growth of Last Token Gaming. There’s not much to say other than a personal thank you to my staff, to anyone who’s contributed and to all of you wonderful readers. Having found some of the greatest people to work with in the gaming industry has reminded me what I love so much about games and reviewing them; community. All of us in Last Token Gaming are merely gamers who just happen to write about our experiences, our views as objectively as possible.

Most importantly, you’ve gotten me to love writing again.

So here’s to the start of a new year, and to Last Token Gaming. Things are only looking up from here.