Killed the Kage – All change

Change is inevitable, like it or not, things have to change.

 

Change?

In a very very short space of time, I came to the realisation that I want to keep doing this, particularly reviewing games, streaming games and writing about games.  I really enjoy it, and it’s a much needed outlet for me to open my mouth and have an opinion about something (which I’ve always loved!).

So why change? Well the “killthekage” moniker is something I love, and something I’ve been pushing one way or another for years.  However, just because I love it, it doesn’t mean that other people do, too, and as I’ve been trying to branch out and contacting PR staff for games devs, I find myself wondering if they “get” the name, do they understand it? How does it come across to someone for the first time?

It’s aggressive, it’s niche and I don’t think it’s strong enough to be able to propel me any further forward than just talking to myself on here.

Not only that, but it’s an opportunity to take all that I’ve learned when trying to push KtK in different spaces as different things, and to kind of create an opportunity to re-focus and start from scratch, albeit much more competently (hopefully).

 

What’s coming?

In my hasty decisions, I decided to look into other web domains that I already own, and see if I can use those.  Of those, I wanted to immediately us www.ninjawarehouse.co.uk It’s a name I’ve loved for years, and the remnant of a false-start on a project with some friends a while ago.  I kept it because I like it, and it seemed perfect for my fresh start.

Alas, life is not so easy!  Not only is the “Ninja Warehouse” name used all over the place for other sites and businesses, I couldn’t get the “NinjaWarehouse” name on any social media accounts.  So my new, fresh start was immediately restricted by things I couldn’t do.

So, plan B…….what can I find in a similar vein, that I can use all over the place? It’s really important to me, to be consistent, all over the internet.  So no “1” or “UK” at the end of a name, no compromise.  I love the imagery that Ninja Warehouse created in my mind, this place where Ninja’s are trained and then sent out, which is why I always thought it would be great for a t-shirt company.

I thought of every synonym I could, that related to “warehouse”, then had to check social media account name availability, domain name availability and use of it across the internet.  It was a struggle, and I thought I would have to give up the concept and start all over again, which wasn’t ideal, as I already had a great logo ready to go (thanks Vas!), from the initial Ninja Warehouse days.

Then it hit me.  It isn’t exactly a synonym, and it doesn’t represent the same idea of a warehouse, but it was close, and actually it creates a whole new perspective and gives me a new scope to work within.  So, the searches happened, the availability was there, it was available everywhere!

Thus, Ninja Refinery was born, in great haste, but with great enthusiasm, and a renewed sense of potential and direction.

 

Now what?

 

Everything is going to change.  I’ve already changed as many accounts as I can remember, changing logos and names to be consistent across the board.

This site is going to get an overhaul, and will become www.ninjarefinery.com

The content will remain, but I’m going to have to look at all the assets and possibly re-do all the imagery.  Fonts will change, the main theme will change, the whole thing will change for the better, continuing on in the same way, knowing that this site will always change, and could have a massive overhaul on a whim, at any time.  I’m learning and progressing, that’s the whole point!

I want everything here to be more accessible, cleaner, sharper and I wanted a name that would perhaps enable people to be a little less resistant from the get-go.

It’s not about making money, it’s about being able to make connections in a field that I would love to work in, properly, someday, and if I’m more accessible from the outset, that can only be a good thing.

Now, only time will tell if this is the right thing to do, but if I don’t try, I’ll never know!

Lots to do!!

 

What about KilltheKage?

 

I still have plans for this, it’s niche, and it’s personal to me.  I love my skull and cross-bones logo, which my friend Adam brought to life after my initial sketches, and I’ll never ever let it go.  It’s just going on the back burner for now.  I’ll be keeping the domain, and I’ll be keeping the logos.  Everything else is up in the air.

 

The end and the beginning

 

This is a big write-up, about something that won’t even be a blip on anyone’s radars, but that’s fine.  This isn’t for anyone else, this is for me, this is for the sake of documenting a dramatic change in my personal online presence, and an opportunity to try and make more out of what I already have.  I’m excited, I’m motivated and I’m ready to give it a go.

The Kage is dead, long live the Kage.

 

If anyone does read this, I thank you for taking the time to do so.  If it’s being read years from now, as a means to understand how things came to be how they are, I’d like to think this will be a defining moment for me, in some way.  Who knows? This could be much ado about nothing, an embarrassing read to my future self, and the catalyst to some kind of disaster.  Let’s see what time and effort can do!