Links: Blogrollin' in the New Year

The life of a blog is nasty, brutish, and short. It takes a lot of effort to keep one going, even if you're doing it for a living.  A sudden change in circumstances (a new family, a new job, the abrupt collapse of your media network) can kill a blog in an instant.

I try to keep my blogroll stocked with only regularly updated blogs, so here are a few additions...and subtractions... 

+ Gamasutra: Once upon a time, I wanted to be a computer game developer, so this blog - written by devs for devs - is an interesting behind-the-scenes look on a life that never was. There are articles on the technical and design stuff (best practices for HD remakes) and on the business aspects (how to monetize your freemium game without selling your soul).

+ Destructoid and Kotaku: It's weird to think of Destructoid and Kotaku as the elder statesmen of video game culture blogs, but we are in 2016, and a lot of their competitors have come and gone, victims of the social media age and a dearth of advertising dollars for all but the latest triple-A game releases. I'm mainly putting them on the blogroll to see how long they last.

- Art of the Rifle: Rifleslinger's blog was the story of one person's journey into field riflecraft, an art that is in danger of becoming lost in the frenzy of 14-pound long range precision rifles and tactical carbines. It'll be on the Web indefinitely though, and remains a great resource.

- The Robot's Voice: This website, which used to be called "Topless Robot," was a reliable source of convention reports, movie trailers, bad fanfics, and pop culture news. It will be missed.