What's Nicky Learnt This *Decade*? (& more!)
🕑 Added 2019-12-31 20:51:08 +0000 UTCOkay, I'm actually really nervous to share this.
Here's a whole bunch of personal stories that I've never made public before β about being queer, going indie, and mental health:
π What Did I Learn This Decade? (2010-2019) π
π (35 min read. content note: some "heavy shit") π
I've grown a lot this decade, via trial-and-error-and-error-and-error. And I couldn't have done it without y'all β thank you for all your support, over all these years. I super mean it. Thank you. <3
(Regular What's Nicky Learning? posts return next month!)
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4 more things this month:
- πI relaunched Emoji Simulator! Lots of new examples + I finally fixed the saving feature, which was broken for, uh, 2 years.
- πΉI posted the talk I gave at the NYU Games Center! Learning & Games: A Confession (30 min talk + 1 hr Q&A) It's basically my GDC Microtalk + Chocolate-Covered Broccoli post combined.
- πΊAdventures With Anxiety is now on itch.io!
- πEvery year I share the most meaningful "content" I "consumed". So if you're looking for new stuff for your reading/watching/playing list, here's My Most Meaningful Media of 2019 (9 min read)
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Patreon Rewards: if you snagged one of the FINAL Hand-Drawn Peep rewards before I retired them, you should've gotten your peep last week! Message me if you didn't.
Here's some peeps I had a heckalot of fun drawing:

As for the Polygon and Wall-of-Thanks rewards, I'll do them next month after payment processing clears!
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Sadly, because I was doing those 6(?) things, I didn't work at all this month on Voice Gender Trainer 5000. I'm hoping to have a useable beta version in Jan 2020, then launch in late Feb 2020.
If you'd like to beta-test this tool in late Jan 2020, send me a Patreon Message! (Thank you everyone who pinged me last time, you're already on the list!)
And finally, once more, though I repeat this like a glitched .mp3, from the bottom of my heart:
Thank you. π
And I'll see y'all next decade!
Love,
~ Nicky Case
Comments
Rev Storm
Somehow missed the link even though I saw the post last time, but just wanted to say that you have no reason to feel bad for anything in it, and I'm really glad you shared!!
Clive Freeman
Great post on your last decade - I'm truly amazed, with all that's going on, that we are all still part of a world where people can succeed like this. What a tribute to you and your journey that you feel you can share this with us, too. I know it's small beer, but I moved my support up to the next level, as I feel such honesty and openness should be rewarded!
Eric Oaks
I just watched a video of someone else playing Coming Out Simulator and the text speed was normal, while it goes super fast on both Chrome and Firefox on my end. There may have been an update to Flash or whatever you use for the game that made it speed up drastically since you made the game in 2014.
Nicky Case
Thank you for the kind words <3 + congrats on finally finding emotional stability + best wishes on your journey in 2020 and beyond! It's a hard journey but the most worthwhile one
Eric Oaks
Great post and all, but I'm trying to play the Coming Out Simulator and the text goes by so fast that if I blink, I'll miss it. There is no way to scroll up so I can read more calmly; if I miss it, it's just gone. And I'm the kind of person who puts most TED talks and such at 1.5x speed on Youtube because he can't stand how slowly the information is being conveyed... when *I* am complaining something is too fast, please believe it :P Regrettably, I'm unable to play it in its current state. May I suggest you make some quality of life improvements for the simulator?
Cassandra Xia
So brave and so wise. Sending you lots of love and respect. Thank you for sharing, Nicky.
Glen E. Ivey
So thankful you shared all of this. I can't imagine the feelings that must have gone with putting it together and clicking "publish," but grateful you pushed through the bad ones.
Vivien Bakke
Happy new year β€οΈ
BowieBarks
I love that you share not only what you have done, but what you are doing and what you are learning. Looking forward to a wonderful 2020!
Jack Phelps
This was epic and wonderful, thank you so much for sharing (once again) <3
Brittany B.
Also, I totally admire the story of how you came to better yourself (through accepting yourself and also making intentional choices about changing life habits slowly, not making a Magnum Opus Self Help project out of yourself. I am still guilty of succumbing to that kind of magical thinking. Heck, I'm just about to turn 30 and I've only *just* (this year) been able to find an island of emotional stability in a sea of denial (and coping through substance abuse). I mean, it's not a race, and everyone's journey is different. But I just wanted to say, kudos, and keep it up, and you inspire me to make small positive changes in my own life! π
Brittany B.
Nicky, thanks so much for sharing this! I actually love patreon because i love the heartfelt, messy-real-world-emotions updates (like this!). Keep it real forever βοΈ
Aeryn Light
You are a wonderful human being. <3
D
That post is incredibly brave and I identify with it a lot. Thank you for sharing that! It's my new favorite piece of writing for 2019, which is impressive considering that I just finished Disco Elysium.