It’s been a little while since anything has been posted up here. Not for lack of want, or even for lack of trying.
Life tends to creep up on you sometimes and just takes all the energy you have to do the more important things. Of course, family and day to day life are always the priority.
So, grand ideas, big pieces and hours and hours of gameplay sometimes take the back seat.
This time, it’s largely been work that’s sapped everything out of me. For better or for worse, I’m sorting that out shortly and hopeful it’ll free me up, even just mentally to get into things properly.
The big ideas never fade. I’m always planning, thinking and working out how to do new things. The site is static in as much as it continues to exist, but the content can change, right?
Hell, part of the fun is that I get to keep learning, shifting and changing.
Changing
No major changes are afoot. Despite my often pondering changing the whole design, that’s never priority.
I look at how long reviews take vs how much time I have. I examine what I actually enjoy against what becomes a chore. And I get to adjust accordingly.
Reviewing games and peripherals is always a joy, and something I’m always working on improving. This will always always exist on some form, but adding in the “Quick looks” has really helped me get into things and put content out, which I love.
Coffee stuff is under constant review and something I’m just not happy with yet. Confidence is a large part of that, but I’m getting there, and I’ll continue with my brew guides, too
Ninja Refinery
What I’ve tried to do is make Ninja Refinery more than just a website. It’s a presence, for better or for worse.
Twitch, social media, the NinJack stream team. There’s plenty to go at, and it’s all part of the same thing. It’s nice to have these little bits to chip-away at.
Streaming comes in ebbs and flows and I want more consistent output there. I’m working on making things more viewer interactive and less “watch me play a long solo campaign”.
From now on, the streams are going to be multiplayer focused, with a view to hopefully getting people to squad-up and join in the fun.
Splitgate, Titanfall 2, Halo, Overwatch, Fortnite, PUBG, Rumbleverse, Monster Hunter hunts! I wax lyrical about battle royale games, let’s focus more on those and on my favourite things to play. Maybe some Hitman, doing challenges with proper use of channel points to help dictate how I approach a level? Streaming should be fun and not something I do just for the sake of doing.
I have loads of stream team ideas and community plans. I just need to be consistent in my output to help grow the viewership and hopefully help the NinJack community expand.
If the presence across the board is a little more organised and consistent, hopefully more people want to get on board.
Monetisation
I’ve been toying with ads. The site has grown to a point where people will offer money to post on it. I’ve managed to make it the first year ever that hosting and domain costs are paid for by the site itself.
I want to update merch, do more giveaways and make things more engaging. Hopefully generating income and investing it back into Ninja Refinery, regardless of what aspect, will help get more people involved, too.
If the ads are obnoxious, let me know. Or you want to buy a t-shirt, let me know! Where I can give back to the site and the people who support Ninja Refinery in some way, that’s what makes me happy.
If I can write or stream for someone else for a few quid, I’ll do it, just so i can invest it back and help grow things more.
Focus
Consistency and focus are required. I love that I have total ownership of everything here and the creative freedom I have.
Hell I want others to be creative and join in however they want! Wanna write? Go for it, I’ll post it and share it as far as I can!
Streams won’t just be as random and dull. Reviews and quick looks with fit their own niches and the coffee stuff will eventually get there.
I talk and think about video content, about podcasting and a million other things. It’ll come, but less haste and more speed. Focus on improving the core, then expand from there.
It’s all a learning curve and it may never amount to anything at all. But (life/energy permitting), I’ll keep going anyway.
I’ll keep writing and trying here, over at fullsync.co.uk and even for enostech.com where I can.