Dice Monkey’s 10th Anniversary: a Retrospective
Wow, 10 years! Can it have been that long?
10 years ago today, Dice Monkey went live at www.dicemonkey.wordpress.com. Having stumbled upon sites like Stargazer’s World, Critical Hits and others, before discovering the RPG Bloggers Network, I thought, “I could do that!” Looking over a list of gaming terms on Gnome Stew, I discovered the term “Dice Monkey”, someone who is preternaturally skilled with dice, despite employing terrible strategies. Perfect for me!
At the time, I was stationed on the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), and 4e has just released. I kept the blog updated every day, and ended up with around 5 regular writers.
Within a year, we purchased DiceMonkey.net. I was one of the founding hosts on RPG Circus (a fantastic podcast). From there, we eventually moved to Chicago, and I started Dice Monkey Radio, a podcast I hope to start back up. Bridget and I got media passes to GenCon, where I met a ton of people in person from the RPGBN. It was a fantastic experience.
Around this time, Twitter really began to take off. I watched as other bloggers dropped their sites and began talking on Twitter. I’ve developed a ton of relationships over there. Building the site’s audience, I was able to make more connections, being given the opportunity to receive review copies of games from lots of companies, including Wizards of the Coast.
The site has its starts and stops, based on my availability. We’ve had writers come and go, but I’m still here, and am currently the only writer here on the site. As you may remember, the site got demolished in one fell swoop this year, so rebuilding it has been a challenge. I’ve gotten some amazing opportunities thanks to the site, including:
Interviewing RA Salvatore for Dice Monkey Radio.
Getting to know and befriend Shelly Mazzanoble over at Wizards.
Getting to participate in early play tests of many games including 5e.
Getting to go to GenCon, and make twice-daily blog posts covering our time there while running from event to event.
Receiving a tour of WotC’s HQ just last fall.
Working for Margaret Weis Productions for the Marvel Heroic RPG.
And so many more amazing memories.
Where do I see the site going from here? Who knows. I know that I’ve tried to make it a daily news site in the past, but my work schedule doesn’t permit me to keep up with that pace. Perhaps it will just remain a site for my thoughts and content. I’d love to see it grow to more, but only time will tell.
Here’s to another d10 Years. Keep rolling 20’s!
