As the festive season approaches, many industries slow down to take a well-deserved break, and this includes the folks at Rock Paper Shotgun (RPS), a website dedicated to video games and gaming culture. The team at RPS has announced that they're taking their winter holidays and that they won't be available until the New Year. Emails and queries will have to wait until January 2, 2024, when they're back in action, but they've made sure their readers aren't left high and dry during the celebrations. There is, as one can expect, a cavalcade of content to keep their audience entertained and engaged while they're away.
RPS has managed to imbue the announcement of its temporary closure with warmth and humor, acknowledging the peculiarity of pausing operations at the onset of winter. With the jest that their bosses believe January to be a warmer month to return, the writers express their enthusiasm for the upcoming break while inadvertently confessing to the all-too-familiar tradition of writing the previous year's date in error during the initial months of a new year.
Despite the break, RPS has a treat for its readers, reassuring them that they have #content scheduled to be published during the holidays. The unveiling of the Game Of The Year 2023 is scheduled to happen through the final door of their Advent Calendar. While it seems most of their readers have their suspicions about the winner, RPS insists on maintaining the suspense and encourages everyone to indulge in the ritual of the reveal, playing on the theme of traditional charades that are customary this time of year.
RPS takes pride in their Advent Calendar but also understands that some readers may have had different expectations. In a bid to cater to a wider range of tastes, they've prepared something called the “RPS Selection Boxes.” Here, staff members share games that they personally believe deserve a nod, including some that just missed being featured on the Advent Calendar or didn't quite make the cut. These alternate recommendations, or "hon. menchies," will be available for readers to explore day by day, starting from December 26th.
But it’s not only about looking back at the games of the past year. The RPS team is also set to offer perspectives on the year that was through various Year In Review summaries. These include roundups of the best reviews, feature articles, and guides from 2023, as well as a look at gaming trends that shaped the year from the viewpoints of their guides team. These retrospectives aim to give readers a comprehensive reflection on a year's worth of gaming.
In addition to the meticulously planned retrospective content, RPS is opening up its archives. Supporter-funded posts which were previously available exclusively to subscribers will be unlocked for all readers to enjoy. By diving into the "From The Archive" tag, the wider audience will be able to access an array of past content.
As for the holiday cheer, there will be no shortage, with the team promising an array of Christmas Crackers—jokes of questionable quality that are a testament to the team’s humorous spirit. The promise of one joke per day acts as a palate cleanser, set to provide a chuckle or a groan in equal measure.
In the spirit of the holiday season, RPS offers heartfelt thanks to their readership and encourages them to engage with the community through comments, sharing their own gaming resolutions for the new year. The writer, speaking from a pre-scheduled standpoint, muses over the tasks that await them before they can join the festivities herself, possibly indulging in some chocolate and pondering the gaming landscape of 2024.
Readers are left with a sense of camaraderie as RPS bids adieu for the holidays, with the promise to return refreshed and ready to continue their love for all things gaming. The gaming website proves that even in an industry as fast-paced as video gaming, taking a moment to pause and reconnect with traditions and the community is not only necessary but can be done with style and a sense of shared joy.
You must be logged in to post a comment!
