Corey Keller

Here we are, the very last day of 2018 as we slowly anticipate the arrival of the new year. It’s the time of year where everybody gets sentimental, reminisces on the past year and vows to make changes for the new year to come. While I think it’s ridiculous to put that much weight on one single day and expect it to be a miraculous life changing event just because you made a resolution, I feel there is still something about the ending of the old and the start of something new. Let’s be honest, you don’t need New Years day to be the day where you make a change for your life. You can do that literally anytime during the year. It’s just up to you if you really want it or not. But that is a discussion for another time.

So with the end of the year upon me, I took the time to look back and think about what the heck I did this year. I didn’t make any “new year resolutions” for 2018, I just wanted to continuously be pushing myself to try and learn something new and be better at what I did know. I didn’t need the dawn of a new year to tell me that, I just felt it in my bones and decided I wanted to push myself. This was in April, I believe. So I did it.

It hasn’t been an easy year. 2018 had some victories, and some disappointments as well, that I will always take as a learning experience. Sometimes you forget just how much you can accomplish in a year until you take the time to step back from it and examine what you’ve done. So what’s gone on this year?

Well, I tried to make playing music a priority and pursue it the best I could. I tried Getting back out on the road and playing shows, recording new music and doing it with some of my best friends, but life had other plans. I let some bandmates down and came to the realization that I had to quit music for a while. Who knows for how long, but it was one of the hardest things I had to do. It was something that 2018 decided to throw at me and you either adapt and learn, or you become bitter and hopeless. I chose to adapt.

I decided to harness that creative side I was missing out on and let it flow into something else. I decided to push myself to create and design more board games than I ever have. If I wasn’t writing songs, I’d be writing rulebooks. If I was creating rhythm’s, I’d be creating game mechanics. You get the idea. I pushed myself to design and fully flesh out a new game every 8 weeks. So far I have hit every deadline (and then some) and in 2018 I have designed a total of 6 new games. Which if you want to find out more about them just ask, I always love talking about them. 

It’s kind of like that new years resolution thing I mentioned earlier about why wait until the start of a new year to make a change? I saw an opening for change in my year so I made the change. I didn’t say I’d wait until 2019 and, “that will be my year”! I chose to adapt and push myself when the need arose. Anyway...

I began to work a lot more in 2018 as well. I Decided I would put more time in my work life since I wouldn’t really be traveling anymore. I spent the whole year becoming a better barista and learning the ins and outs of coffee. Started out as a barista, then to assistant manager, then to general manager and now to becoming a part owner of said coffeeshop within the same year. Something I never thought I would do is own a coffeeshop, but it happened and I’m not mad about it. 

That is just the beginning of the work side of things. I get to help one of my good friends open up the first brewery in our town and I couldn’t be more excited! Another step I took when the opportunity arose and I decided to push myself to learn and accomplish new things. I also get to partner up with said brewery and open up our towns first board game pub! Which has also been a dream of mine for a long time. All that developed and was set in motion in 2018. 

I did get to travel some this year as well. Got to see new places, got to see my brother get married, went to several funerals and even more weddings. Joy, peace and sorrow was also carried through 2018.

All this to say, it is nice to look back on the year and see what you have accomplished. What you can learn from, what you can do to better yourself and figure where to go from there. But don’t wait until the start of a year to make a “resolution” to change. Change happens when you decide to step up and make it happen. You adapt, or get left behind wondering what could have been. 

Anyways, that is just my thoughts on 2018. I know I am forgetting a lot of things. What do I know?

“The pain in my bones transfers to the air in my lungs as my voice quivers with fear. 

The day I’ve feared the most since my fingers first bled and calloused over, much like my heart is now, is here. Breathe in, calm the nerves, take it in and let it out.

I quit...

There it is. I said it

It felt like fire. It sounded like a foreign language I’ve never understood and never would. This mountaintop I dreamt of climbing would come crashing down. The weight crushing my spirit. I can see it before my eyes. How do you re-assemble a mountain? Gather each particle of dirt and place it back piece by piece? What about the trees that flourished along the path to the top, do they re-grow? Now splintered and worth nothing more than firewood, I watch as they burn.

What about the town on the other side of the mountain that lies in the valley? The mountain was a part of that town. They were a team. Does the town keep thriving? Maybe they were better off without the mountain...”

Well hello everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and follow along my game design journey. Let’s dive right in...

So I am a firm believer in if you want to get good at something, then you should go all in and finish a project. You can read about the subject you are trying to be better at and you can also watch videos and have discussions with others who are good at the subject you are shooting for, but you have to buckle down and  learn first hand. 

In this video I talk about prototyping your board game quickly! I specifically talk about a deck-builder and how I go about prototyping my games. It should be QUICK, SIMPLE and CHEAP! A prototype is a rough idea that doesn’t need to be perfect right away. 

Hey Everybody!! Here is a video to explain the journey I am taking with Board Game Design! Won't you follow me along with this year long journey?! Every 8 weeks there will be a new Board Game designed and you will be able to purchase it from the Game Crafter or download as a Print and Play. I will post a straw poll at the beginning of every 8 weeks for the community to vote on! Most likely on my Facebook...or Instagram....or here. It'll be posted where you can't miss it! What do you think?! Am I crazy? Are you excited for new games? Leave a comment and let me know!

So it is just a few days past my 31st birthday as I write this, and I am feeling pretty good. Birthdays... They are something to signify the day we arrived upon this earth and is something, we feel, to be celebrated. Another year older. Another reminder of our mortality and why we didn't accomplish all we wanted in the past year. As my 31st birthday came and went, I didn't necessarily "feel" older. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement surrounding this number as there was for the 30th. Now 30. That was the big one. The number I had been dreading for quite some time growing up. I think we can all agree that 30 is kind of a significant age in a persons life. It's the age that most, at least in society's point of view, should have a family by now. A good career, a nice house and possibly have most things figured out. I used to think that at 30, if you weren't already doing what you wanted to be doing, you were too late. It was too late to learn something new and start over. Well, that was just my immaturity and stupidity talking. Here is what happened when I turned 30...

Flash back about 3 1/2 years ago, My wife and I had my brother, and my wife's best friend living with us in a 2 bedroom house in Oklahoma City. It was a time of growth in our lives living in a small home with 2 other people. We would spend many nights hanging out just talking about the future and where we see ourselves and what we have, or haven't, accomplished. We would dissect our very thoughts and attitudes and wonder what was holding us back in our lives from just going all in to pursue what we were passionate about. You see, up to this point in my life, I had done a lot of things that I was proud of. I played music and toured heavily. I traveled to a handful of countries and experienced some different cultures. But there were still some creative outlets deep down that were trying to come out, but I was always afraid to release them. I was always afraid of failure. I was scared to try, because I didn't want to fail. I felt I was getting older and didn't have the time to dedicate to pursuing something new. I had become lazy. So these late nights that we would stay up late talking about our desires and passions, lit a fire in my soul and I kept asking myself, "What if I just did it?" Seriously! "WHAT IF I JUST DID IT?" I always wanted to write a book, so you know what I did? I WROTE A FREAKIN BOOK! I Got it published and sold a surprising number of them. Oh, and I wrote a second book a year after that! (3rd one is on it's way) Even after all this I still felt like I wasn't giving my whole attention to a passion. I was holding back. So fast-forward to October of 2015, just before my 30th birthday, I decided to commit to something. I decided that I wanted to be an Illustrator. It was something I knew I always wanted to do, but never took the time to dedicate and practice and just blew it off because I didn't want to be bad at it. Man, that is a terrible mindset to have! I decided to dedicate my time.

I wanted my 30th birthday to have significance. I didn't want just another year to go by and me wonder why I didn't do anything. So I made a commitment to myself, my wife, my friends and everyone on the internet, to dedicate 365 days to becoming an illustrator. (It takes way more than a year, but you have to start somewhere!) I didn't want to just say that I was going to do it, and not ever do it. So I decided to go public with it and commit to posting an illustration/drawing on Instagram everyday. I invited people to leave comments and criticisms. I asked for advice and even posted drawings that looked like total crap because I made the commitment to do it. If you want to stay accountable, go public!

This was honestly one of the scariest things I have ever done. Dedicate a whole year?! Every single day I had to make sure and sit down and draw something. To put the work in no matter how I was feeling. That is the thing, some days I did not want to sit down and draw. I didn't want to stay up past midnight because I had a long day and I knew it was going to take me several hours to finish a drawing. But I did it. Why? Because I finally made the choice that I wanted to change something about myself and dedicate my time to something I was passionate about. Yes, I missed some days. Some days went by and I completely forgot to sit down and draw, but I couldn't let that stop me. I kept on going. Every day I consumed more and more knowledge from different artists on youtube. Asking questions on forums and art sites. I even reached out and asked advice from artists I admire and was surprised they took the time to answer me. I didn't just draw everyday and leave it at that. I consumed. I pushed myself to get better. I took on projects. I made myself try different mediums of art. I found out which mediums I hated! I found out which ones I loved!

The point of this is that I made the decision to try. I decided that even if I failed I would do it. I had to know if this was something I was really passionate about. Here I sit. Almost a week after my 31st birthday. I did it. I actually accomplished a task that took my full commitment. I stuck it out. I learned that this is truly a passion I will stick out for the rest of my life. So many avenues have already opened up for me in the world of illustration. I never would have known they were there if I didn't try. If I didn't decide I was willing to fail.

How about you? What is something you could commit to? It doesn't have to be a year. It could be a month. A week. Aren't you tired of wishing you would do something? Just do it already! Go write a book! Go paint a picture! Go learn how to run a business! Go do that thing deep down you know you want to do. Failure is a part of life. It doesn't control you. You control what happens after failure shows up. Go dedicate your time to being that thing you wanted to be. Find people to believe in you. I believe in you. You are never too old to start. You are never too young to try.

Let me know what you start so I can cheer you on!

Cheers.

-Corey

Good morning, you beautiful people. I need to update you on a few things that are going on and let you in on some information. I've got info on new releases of things coming your way, and the delay of other releases. So sit back, sip your coffee, and read these words. 

First things first:

1. You just got out of the studio?!

Why yes I did actually! I know I haven't talked much about the record, or that I was even going to the studio to record it. I wanted to make sure all the stars were aligned before I said anything. So, I am officially part of the "Smash My Records!" family. Which is pretty darn exciting! I will be releasing a 5 song EP on the label that will be released fairly soon. I had a great time recording this EP, with Producer/Engineer Cody Nichols, at Revealed Studios and also with my best friend and drummer, Duncan Grantz. We worked hard and are really proud of the work we put out. I can't wait to get this out to you all and I am so ready to release the first single off the EP for you all to hear. So, with that being said, this record will be the first thing that I will be releasing in the next few months. Keep up with me on my facebook  and Instagram for up to date info on the release.

2. Where's the book?!

So I had previously mentioned that I was releasing my next book in October and unfortunately that is getting pushed back. Since the record release is taking priority, the book will have to be pushed back to make room for the EP release. So if you were looking forward to grabbing you one at the end of October, you are going to have to wait until the end of November now. Working with publishers, sometimes things take longer than expected and they don't like you to release everything all at once! So we are working to strategically release these projects one at a time. Record first, then book. We don't have the official November release date yet, but it will be the end of November. Stay tuned!

  3. Okay, but what about the kids book?!

Ah yes, the kids book. I am super excited about this one! An original story by me, and illustrations by......well.....me! So far, nothing has stopped the projected release and finishing of this book. We are still looking at December for the release of "Adventures of Rufio." I am working with Publishers on getting this story out the best way possible and we seem to be on track. So continue to be on the look out for this wonderful book around Christmas time!

 There you have it. 3 new releases to end this wonderful year. I am excited for all three and hope you are to! Follow me on all my social media outlets and let me know what you are most excited about!