To cut to the chase, I’ve accepted a position with Wizards of the Coast on the Play Design team and this will be my last article on StarCityGames.com for the foreseeable future.
Currently, I’m sitting on Andrew Brown’s couch in Renton, WA. In just a handful of hours I’ll be starting my first day of work.
And I’m a little terrified.
But it isn’t an emotion that can be properly conveyed in one word.
I’ve had nothing but time to think over the past week. There have been some subtle allusions on social media as Tom Ross, Todd Stevens, and I embarked on a cross-country trip from Roanoke, VA to Las Vegas for the Grand Prix being held there.
Most folks (rightly) labeled us as crazy people, but now you get it.
The kindness of those two, and then later Gerry Thompson choosing to join me from Vegas to Renton, were just the freshest examples in my mind as I stared out at thousands of Magic players playing the best game on Earth on Saturday evening. It was surreal, knowing that I was leaving an event site as a competitor for the last time.
Magic has really given me just about everything in my life, including many of my best friends. Even more so, I’ve been given the rare opportunity to further entrench my life in it, and give back.
That’s a word that’s been on the forefront of my mind over the month throughout the life of this process: opportunity.
Many moments of my life have been sculpted by the combination of people and a game coming together, to the point where it almost feels completely random. I’m not terribly proud of the young man I used to be, but I’ve been blessed to be given the experiences and be surrounded by incredible people that encourage me to keep growing. Needless to say, I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of this community.
Notably, throughout my reflection, something keeps sticking out to me.
The first several months of my stint in Roanoke were weighed down by a massive chip on my shoulder. I had experienced plenty of ups and downs with professional Magic, and simply had a goal that I desperately needed to accomplish for myself: Platinum.
I wrote an article after I did, but that isn’t important. I want to focus on just a few sentences from that piece:
“When I locked Platinum, I was happy, but I didn’t feel any different about myself. I suppose somewhere along the journey I had already subconsciously realized that I was capable; I simply needed to execute.
I don’t feel any overwhelming hunger for Worlds or a specific title. I just want to keep growing and have the satisfaction of being good at my job.”
That may be the source of my anxiety.
While I do think I’m more than capable of succeeding within this position, it is just so important to me that I do.
I’m not interested in just trying to get folks in the comments to blindly support me (although I do appreciate support), but rather to give you an honest insight into my thought process.
That has always been the goal in my Magic content.
Clearly I’m going to be a little less in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be the doing the best I can to be good at my job.
In this case, rather than trying to entertain and help you get better at Magic, I’m going to be striving as hard as I can to contribute to you having fun playing Magic.
I think it best to keep these types of things short and sweet:
Thank you all for consuming my content over the past few years, and SCG for being an incredible outlet for both my voice and those of many other talented people.
I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it.
I’m looking forward to what Magic has in store next for all of us.