Vylokx’s Corner

In honor of Killian Luc Tomsky.
It would mean the world to me if you consider a Donation to the RuthieLou Foundation [LINK]

Article 1

Hello and Good Tidings,

My name is Jaron Tomsky, I'm a 36-year-old gaming veteran looking to finally pursue my dreams in the gaming industry. I was just linked to your website (https://80arcade.com/) from the main HexTCG article that was posted today, March 2, 2018. Your outlook on game development struck a chord with me immediately, both by how perfect this new Shards game appears for me and my family at first glance, and how closely the mission statement of 80arcade reflects my interests, passion, and imagination.

I am a hopelessly devoted and enthusiastic fan of not only old-school arcade games, but also newer deck-building games of the past decade. I am especially familiar and enthralled with Cryptozoic's "Cerberus Engine" ever since the first day I played the DC Comics Deck-Building Game and taught my mother how to wipe the floor with me while playing as Wonder Woman. Lately, I have made it a personal goal to become proficient with the gameplay and mechanics of literally every true digital card game ever released, including Hex:TCG, Hearthstone, Solforge, Eternal, Shadow Era, etc., to name more than a few. 

Recently, I was having a casual conversation with my sister and fellow avid gamer, Jenna, about a realization I had for my major mission in life: to find a way to pass on the magical feeling that we experienced at our long, lost "Aladdin's Castle" (a great little coin-op arcade that we used to frequent in our local mall in Terra Linda, CA) to the "shallow pocket paradise" gamer generation of the present. Weekend after weekend, my entire family happily nuked virtual enemies together in the late-80's and 90's playing each and every quarter-muncher under the rusty roof of that dingy, but lovable arcade. Those favorite memories of growing up in the "Oregon Trail Generation" are ones I have always cherished, and which fully shaped my oddball personality and hobby choices ever since.

Thus far, the closest I came in my life to finding a great outlet for my creativity and peculiar sense of humor took place about 7 years ago, when I was asked to become a staff writer for the official World of Warcraft Trading Card Game (WoW TCG) during the later years of that games lifespan under Cryptozoic's leadership. I wrote a weekly article entitled "Tier Fun" in which I deeply explored the silly side of deck-building. I favored the discovery of deck concepts that I found to be the most fun to play, thematically or stylistically over the "flavor-of-the-month" decks that were proven and competitively dominant. I encouraged my fans to let their imaginations run wild and to suggest future article themes that they wanted to spring into the spotlight.

Despite having no formal prior writing experience, I was welcomed with heaps of encouragement from both my peers and my contacts at CZE. I developed a dementedly lovable writing persona dubbed "Vylokx, The Demon Guy" due to my favorite deck-building theme of that era. The WoW:TCG community was an amazing group of gamers that embraced my quirks and contributions with open arms. I was fortunate enough during my travels to meet many fans that either requested signed copies of my "vanity card" namesake, or simply wanted to swap great gaming stories at Darkmoon Faire conventions all over the world from Oakland to St. Louis to Rotterdam.

The years I spent writing thousands and thousands of silly, heartfelt words for that wacky article were the most rewarding of my adult life. I tossed aside all notions of coming off a bit too "weird-o" for the readership, and just allowed myself to indulge all of my inner childish tendencies. I unleashed a barrage of jokes, puns, deck concepts, alongside a heaping helping of 80's and 90's nostalgia references. Memorably, I even proposed to my loving wife and yet another avid gamer, Megan, via not-so-subtle secret message in one of my Tier Fun articles in 2012. I achieved my first dream of using my imagination to entertain like-minded people from all walks of life, and now I feel ready to embark upon achieving my greatest dreams. 

Without delving too far into my past victories and future goals, the message that I truly want to convey in this letter is the fact that I adore the profound mission statement of 80arcade and honestly believe that I embody it. Also, I am currently feeling the urge to take the leap into an adventure that is much more exciting and challenging than my comfortable, yet mundane career as a Tech Support Specialist for TerraVista Solutions. I would gladly jump at any opportunity to join your staff on this journey to become nostalgic trailblazers of the digital gaming industry.

I'm truthfully not aware of any official openings at your company at the present time, but I would be elated to offer my assistance in whatever role you may need that lines up with my knowledge, skills, experience, and/or shameless enthusiasm for all things fun. I have attached my current resume and a few select, unedited samples of a few of my favorite "Tier Fun" works for general consideration. I hope the articles will get you acquainted with a fun-loving guy interested in embracing, sharing, and rediscovering those magical experiences that I discovered within dimly lit arcades of yore.

I would not hesitate to relocate from my current home office in Northern California if I were to be asked to climb aboard. I'm greatly looking forward to everything that your company has to offer in the future, and I wish nothing but the greatest success with your games.

Sincerely,

Jaron Tomsky

A.K.A. Vylokx, the Demon Guy

Article 2

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