[UPDATE] 2.11.11: I’ve taken the Vaults offline to conserve bandwidth. I’d be happy to sell them to the highest bidder…. [/update]
OK, not really over, but I couldn’t resist the callout to this week’s Rock Band DLC.
Here’s the deal. For Christmas this year, I’m giving myself a special gift: I’m putting Plastic Axe on hiatus. For how long? Not sure. Possibly forever.
Yes, I’m serious. I know that’s going to upset some of you fine people, and I’m genuinely sorry about that. But this is something that I’ve come to realize I need to do.
When I started Plastic Axe in August of 2009, I did it for a lot of reasons. One was that, due to the economy, I wasn’t getting as much freelance work as I had been, and I needed to stay busy. One was that none of the big games sites seemed to be giving music games the respect they deserved. And of course, one reason was that I have this unreasonable love for music games and I wanted to share it with you all.
But things have changed since then. Oh, I still love music games just as much, if not more. But with the economy getting back on track, I’m finding more opportunities for freelance work in and outside of gaming — and Plastic Axe hasn’t grown at a sufficient rate to justify sacrificing the time I could (read: should) be spending writing pay copy.
Along with this change comes the fact that my colleagues at RockBandAide and The Hero Feed have been absolutely kicking ass with reporting on the two big franchises. They have the time, the resources, and the motivation to stay on top of breaking news whenever it breaks — day or night — which is something I’ve rarely been able to do due to other commitments. As these sites have grown, I’ve increasingly felt like I’m merely duplicating what they’re doing, only hours (if not days) later. I’ve attempted some changes of direction, to move away from the news-centric blogging format (behind the scenes, I mean; nothing you’ve seen), but nothing I’ve tried to put together has panned out at a level of quality I would have been happy with.
So what’s happened is that I’ve found myself working on an increasingly lackluster-feeling site, without the time and energy to commit to taking it to that proverbial “next level.” What started as a labor of love has devolved into little more than a persistent obligation, and I need to take a break before it creates a lasting negative impact on the joy I take in writing, my love of music games, or worse, my reputation as a freelancer. (Or, you know, my gastrointestinal health.)
So here’s my plan: I’m giving myself a completely open-ended vacation from the site. If, in a few months, I feel like I can come back and give it more energy than I have been lately, I’m going to do that. But it’s likely to be in a different form than you see today. Meanwhile, I’ll be working on paying writing projects, making music of my own, and hopefully doing a bit more free-form blogging.
However! I’m not going to leave you fine people completely empty-handed. I’ve set up a system whereby my sleek and shiny (and not at all evil!) AxeBot-2000 can post on a daily basis, offering links to the music-game-related stories of the day. You should start seeing that tonight, but Skynet the AxeBot may have a few bugs in him still, so it may take a day or two to become fully operational. (Alas, li’l Axey isn’t smart enough to update the Vaults, so those will stay dormant until such time as I’m able to return.) And I’ll once again encourage you to follow RockBandAide and The Hero Feed — along with RockBand.com and One of Swords, of course! — for all your music-game related needs. You’ll be seeing them popping up in those daily digests, but you should make a habit of visiting regularly, too. I know they’ll take good care of you.
There’s a good chance I’ll be still posting every now and then on the Plastic Axe Twitter feed, as well. But if you want to keep up with my goings-on, you’ll probably want to follow @joerybicki, and come visit me at Joe Rybicki Dot Com and/or Johnny High Ground.
Now, a couple quick housekeeping notes: First: I’m going to try leaving comments enabled on the digest posts for a brief period after a post goes up (probably two days), so you can discuss the day’s news if you so desire. But if the comment threads start getting in any way ugly — I’m looking at you, you filthy spammers — I’ll just shut ‘em down altogether. And please don’t comment here in lieu of commenting at the source sites; this is meant to add to your discussion at other sites, not replace it.
And second: I’m leaving the contact form functional (for now at least), so feel free to drop me a line. But understand that the nature of this hiatus means I probably won’t get back to you very quickly.
Thanks for making this such a fun, interesting, and educational experience. I look forward to seeing you all again, here or elsewhere.
Rock on.
-joe
Aw, that’s a shame. Sorry to see you go from PA, Joe. Your obvious dedication to these games was what brought me to your site in the first place. I remember during E3 when everyone was covering RB3, you were the only place that actually had a good writeup about pro guitar. I couldn’t get any details at all from any of the other gaming sites. You knew exactly what kind of in-depth questions the hardcore fans wanted to ask.
For what it’s worth, I like your site’s clean, sparse layout a lot better than RockBandAide’s recent redesign which assaults my eyes with images and colours.
Good luck in your writing endeavours.
Aww, man that sucks. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m real disappointed the Vault won’t be updated.
Thank you for all of your hard work and your nice site. Please remember that you are appreciated!
Aw man, it must be dusty in here because I think I got something in my eye. Thanks for all the kind words and well-wishing.
Sad news. I really appreciated your site and the unique voice you wrote with in you more analytical pieces. While I agree that you could not complete with RockBandAide, I think your feature articles were much better. If you ever decide to come back, you should focus on the quality, not the quantity the other sites offer. Take care and enjoy the break!
Sorry to hear this. I started following Plastic Axe just to get weekly updates on Rock Band DLC, but came to really appreciate the other coverage as well. Merry Christmas and take care!
Sorry to see you go. I hope that everything works out in the end, and that you have a refreshing holiday season. By the way, will we still have your articles on GamePro to look foreword to?
What the… why do all the good blogs I use to follow close by the end of the year? I’ll miss your site, too! Thanks for everthing!
Sad news indeed… Best of luck in your paid endeavors. \m/
Sorry to see you go, Joe! I’ve come to rely more on this site than RockBandAide’s – along with some of the earlier commenters, I think the quality of the articles here is generally higher and this site is less of an assault on my vision.
Best of luck with the paying writing gigs, and I’ll check back every once in a while to see if you’re back to work here.
Aww, man, I’m going to miss you. I also read RBA and THF, but a lot of times appreciate your different perspective. I also look forward to the dlc threads on tuesdays. Completely understand, so I’ll just say best of luck and I hope we see you around somewhere.
This makes me sad. I still remember how you were the person who introduced me to RX Bandits. I just bookmarked your personal .com address. I will be seeing you there, man.
Good luck in your future ventures, Joe! I only found this site earlier this year, but I’ve very much enjoyed your take on the genre. You’ve done a great job even to the end, and I’m sure you’ll be successful in future endeavors. Farewell, and God bless!
NO DON’T GO
I’m sorry to hear this but at the same time, I’m glad you are getting more freelance gigs that take up your time.
Thanks for all you’ve done on the site, Joe, I’ve really appreciated it! Love the Vault, especially.
I also appreciate everything you’ve given the community. Especially that Squier write-up when no one else did.
Don’t underestimate what you did.
Of course, you should do what’s best for you. You’ll be fine without us and vice versa. I will be looking forward to an eventual return. Best of luck with all!
I’ll miss the site if it doesn’t continue, Joe. I’ve enjoyed reading it since you started, and while those other sites you listed are good, something about your site seemed more pleasant to read to me.
Good luck in your other pursuits.
Man, thanks so much for all the kind words, folks. It’s much appreciated.
I’ll probably also post here if anything particularly significant happens elsewhere, too.
Rock on.
\m/