Hi all, Lewis here. Hope you're surviving out there. Oh yeah, Alt:Mag turned ten years old today.
It feels like a lifetime since I first created this blog as an update blog for a magazine that never came out. Amazingly, that crude blog grew to become something a lot more polished as time went on, and has enjoyed somewhat of a lukewarm following over the years. Many articles have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, and some incredibly talented writers have contributed some amazing posts throughout the blog's history. I want to say a huge thank you to all of them. And to anyone who has taken time out of their day to read our articles or share them: thank you!
If you will allow me to indulge myself for a moment, I just wanted to say that this is a huge personal achievement for me too. I've always been a creative person, but Alt:Mag was the first thing I ever did that I persevered with. I have autism, and those close to me know that I have a tendency to natter for hours about the things I love. As much as I'd love for people to love everything I love, it's just not possible. That's why I decided to take to the internet to share my thoughts in the hopes they'd find others who were just as interested as me. Turns out it paid off, and ten years later, the website is still here.
Alt:Mag is also something I closely associate with my friends. I will never forget the days me and all the gang would rock up to comic conventions in our official Alt:Mag t-shirts and hand out fliers promoting the site to unsuspecting cosplayers. And of course, how could I forget the time me and my buddies shot a promotional movie in our home town about a (maybe homeless?) guy who really just wants to play Pokémon Yellow. For these reasons Alt:Mag will always mean the world to me.
Despite Alt:Mag celebrating such a significant milestone, it currently sits dormant, with the last article being uploaded in November of last year (one I'm quite proud of, to be fair). I just wanted to write this post to let you know that I am still writing articles behind the scenes. Unfortunately for Alt:Mag diehards (if you exist), I've turned into a bit of a perfectionist. Gone are the days of uploading a two paragraph article with an unrelated photo of Mad Dog from Time Crisis just because I felt cheeky that day. When I write an article I'll spend weeks on it. Sometimes they will even remain unfinished. This article drought won't last forever though. I hate to see great blogs go silent, and I will try my best to ensure that Alt:Mag doesn't suffer the same fate.
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| I really hated Kerrang! magazine, didn't I? |
But honestly, the main reason I've not had time to write here recently is because I've been involved with something outside of Alt:Mag: The Dreamcast Junkyard. Some time in 2018, DCJY founder Tom Charnock reached out to me and asked if I wanted to write for the website, an offer I accepted in an instant. Not only is the Dreamcast my absolute favourite game console, but The Dreamcast Junkyard (especially Tom's writing) was heavily influential on Alt:Mag all the way back to when I first started the site back in 2011. Even today, The Dreamcast Junkyard and Alt:Mag share a lot of similarities, in the sense that they're both not-for-profit blogs that writers gravitate to because they just want to write their thoughts about something they're passionate about. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of everything going on there, and have made a lot of great friends in the process. It's ridiculous how alive the Dreamcast scene is in 2021.
I've been very involved with a lot of things Dreamcast Junkyard (and as an extension things within the DC scene), and I thought I'd link them all here in case you're interested. These range from small informative articles and podcast appearances, to quite substantial pieces of investigative journalism (at least by my standards) and involvement with upcoming book projects and even a physical magazine.
Dreamcast Junkyard articles I've written (some highlights):
- Real Racer IX: Cancelled Game or Student Assignment? (2020) - an investigative piece into an unreleased Dreamcast game that was presented at a Japanese video game convention
- In White 1999: The Time D2's Laura Appeared as a Model in a Japanese Fashion Magazine (2021) - another investigative piece looking at a Japanese fashion magazine that included Laura from D2 (one of my favourite Dreamcast games) modelling a Japanese fashion designer's clothes. I knew I had to document this odd magazine feature for the sake of Dreamcast and D2 fans alike.
- 10 Times Rappers Have Referenced the Dreamcast in Songs (2020) - My most ridiculous article of all, but also one of my favourites. No one probably cares which rappers have referenced the Dreamcast, but I decided you all needed to know anyway. It got us a tweet from Del, anyway.
- 5 Dreamcast Fan Translations You May Have Missed (2021) - I've always championed fan translations of Japanese games, and so I've written quite a few articles for the Junkyard talking about them. Here's one of my favourite ones.
- Sakura Wars Columns 2 has been Translated into English! (2021) - My most recent article discussing a newly released translation patch. My article also provides a retrospective on the game itself.
- A Brief History Of ChuChu Rocket! In Your Pocket (2018) - Although now out of date due to the release of ChuChu Rocket! Universe, this is still a great read for fans of this wacky puzzle series.
Podcasts I've appeared on:
- The Dreamcast Junkyard DreamPod - My monotone voice appears on quite a few episodes of the Junkyard's official podcast. If you're into this system, there's hours of audio goodness in store for you.
- Dreamcast Years Episode 10 - I appeared on Andrew Dickinson's podcast to discuss some incredible games that were released in the year 2006. Very fun episode, and an excellent podcast in general.
Physical media I'm involved with:
- The Dreamcast Junkyard A to Z of Dreamcast Games by Mike Phelan - Friend and fellow punk from the Junkyard, Mike, wrote an incredible guide that covers every physically-released Dreamcast game ever. It's been available to download for free for quite a long time, but many have always wanted to see this impressive body of work released in physical form. I was more than happy to put my graphic design abilities to the test to create the cover artwork for the physical release of this book. Follow the Junkyard for more information on the book's release in the future.
- Dreamcast: Year Two by Andrew Dickinson - Another book I'm involved with, but this time it's my writing that will appear in it. I really loved Dreamcast: Year One, an excellent book that covers the Dreamcast's 1999 release in the UK. Year Two will be covering the year 2000, and two reviews from myself of two of my favourite Dreamcast will appear within its pages. I have also contributed a column to the physical zine that comes bundled with the book if you backed a certain tier on KickStarter. Exciting!
I know I said "allow me to indulge myself for a moment", but I guess I spent this entire post indulging myself. Either way, thank you for reading Alt:Mag. Here's to ten years, and beyond.
Live on and be yourself!
