User blog:Element Knight 375/Retiring...(but not leaving!)

Hey hey, everyone. It's me, Gavin. I'm making this blog bost to announce my retirement as an idea-maker.

Allow me to explain...when I first arrived here, I found myself churning out idea after idea because there was so much ground that I was suddenly able to cover in terms of games I would've liked to see. Games like The Element Chronicles led to games like Nintendo Sports Mix and Star Wars Battlefront III, and so on. Then I began coming up with original material as my knowledge of games matured, and all of it created this long wave of incredible interaction and creative feedback from you guys that I absolutely adore.

Nowadays, though, I've been feeling things winding down. I still have lots of contact with you guys, and I continue enjoying every minute of it, but I'm beginning to feel less and less inspired to create new ideas. I'm finding progressively less to draw on, I'm working more slowly, and my work is getting less attention (not that I'm complaining, it's just a fact).

As such, trying to generate new content is feeling more like a task than a fun hobby. Plus, now that my discussion board is back in action and I've accumulated 40 IDEAS in almost 5,000 EDITS over more than 3 YEARS, I feel perfectly satisfied with everything I've already done. I've created so much that I'm proud of, and so I see no need for me to keep pushing myself.

But my reasons are limited to just that - my life is quickly becoming more interesting and active. I'm due to enter into a new school in September, I'm about to turn 18 on the 12th, I'm starting to think about colleges, and my first nephew is about to be born. As such, I'd like to spend more time working on the novel I'm writing, pay more attention to my future, and quite honestly, take the time to actually play more video games. In short, part of me is "moving on" in making this decision, and it's a decision I come to with no regret.

HOWEVER, this does NOT mean that I'm "leaving the wiki," or anything dramatic like that. I'm not going to continue working on new projects, and I'm admittedly not going to be spending as much time here, but I'm still going to have a presence here. I feel like I've become an important part of the community here, and whether any of you out there think of me as a friend, a leader, an inspiration, or just some guy who left an encouraging comment on your page, I still want to be that guy if you'll still have me. For myself, I consider you a lot of you guys my friends, and I don't want to lose that.

So, I want to request that everybody keep posting on my discussion board if they've still interested, even if I don't post as often; I want everybody to feel welcome to come to me for advice or feedback; most of all, I don't want anyone to feel like I'm ditching them.

All in all, I'd like to  THANK YOU GUYS  for your amazing support and kindness over the years! Without your feedback and friendliness, I wouldn't have come nearly as far as I have, and you've made this one of the most generally fulfilling experiences of my life. I hope my ideas continue to get at least some attention; and hey, I did make a sequel to Element Chronicles like I always promised, so if you're interested, check out The Element Chronicles II: Fall of the Rise! I think it's alright.

Anyway, here's to the future, and to the great things to come for this wiki! I love you all!

Peace and happiness,

Element Knight 375 (Gavin)