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To those of us who know and love GameCola, it seems to be an amusing and fun website dedicated to videogames of all varieties. It’s fun in so many ways—wonderfully funny and diverse members, well-written articles, and hilarious podcasts all accomplish their fun mission in publishing.
However, as a person who has not played a lot of videogames in my past, I have a whole other reason for loving the ladies and gentlemen of GameCola as much as I do.
For the past year, I have been away from home. As an exchange student living in Denmark, there were many times in my early experiences that I felt isolated for the simple reason that there was no one else around me that spoke English as a first language. The Danes were certainly capable, but I could not have easy conversation with more than one or two people while I was there.
Then I discovered GameCola. Through Michael Gray, I arrived in the middle of a Back to the Future: The Game walkthrough. I remember arriving in the middle of a game I knew nothing about, with people I had never heard of, but within two minutes I was laughing. Sincere laughter that comes from witty conversation was not a regular occurrence in my cold, dark, Danish winter.
I watched all of the Back to the Future: The Game walkthrough videos that were available at the time, then listened to a podcast. Then the Drama Queens podcast. The rest is history. I became a regular follower, eventually contacting through the podcast so that I could tell them just how I feel.
I am a fan of GameCola. Through my time away from people that spoke the same language as me, I listened to podcasts and watched YouTube videos of these simply hilarious people who were just…talking about videogames—yet so, so much more. (As any fan of GameCola can confirm, sometimes certain people have a few small problems staying on topic.) There is more than I can describe about what they have done for me.
Following GameCola helped me when I didn’t even know I needed it—just by doing what they do. I didn’t feel lonely or homesick when I listened to podcasts. They made me happier, especially in some of my darker moments.
GameCola has a different atmosphere than many of the websites out there today. They have heart. They have witty, sarcastic humor, but no one is a jerk. They actually respond to their fans! They let you know that they appreciate you as a viewer, a watcher, or a listener. Clearly, they all have some kind of passion for what they’re doing, or they wouldn’t keep doing it.
I don’t even think most of the writers of GameCola know the kind of impact they can have on a person. Yet the impact is still there. I am incredibly grateful.
Thank you, GameCola. For doing what you do. Though I am now back in the United States, I will continue to be an avid fan.
– Julia
I think the resounding silence from the staff is a sign that we really don’t know how to respond to such kind words. So, thank you, on behalf of everybody.
(Unless the joke here was that you were saying we respond to our fans, so everybody was refraining from commenting on purpose, in which case I’m sorry for ruining the gag.)
Oh! I read this at work and was going to reply when I got home last week. That clearly didn’t work out as I had thought it would. It did turn out to be kind of a sweet gag though.
Anyway, thank you, Julia. I know that all the writing and podcasts and videos I do, I do with you in mind. I don’t mean “you” as in “The fans”. I mean you, Julia, specifically.