My own 31/31 blog series may have come to a close, but it was far from the only one to grace GIO's community this month. I would like to say that I did not participate in my 31/31 challenge alone this summer, no. I had the privilege of doing so alongside some of the best and brightest on GIO. These bloggers did nothing but inspire me to do my best at keeping pace with them in what was surely one of the best months for blogs that I can remember. It is now my honor to award them a token of the mine and I hope the site’s appreciation for such superb content over the past 4 weeks.
With the power infested in me by the blog herder supreme, Saint himself, I present the GIO 31/31 medal of honor, given to all those who have met the 31/31 challenge. All its receivers have stared blogging in the face and laughed, beating all odds to deliver the GIO community regular and quality content. Congrats bloggers, you’ve earned it.
Note: The medal above is my own hand-made creation. The medallion shows off the default GI logo and the emblem on the medal's upper-half is my attempt at capturing the Test Chamber logo and the various color codings and complimenting logos represent "The Big Three" of Nintendo, Sony, and X-Box, as we move into our next generation of gaming.
The Destroyer: Blogger, gamer, artist of recreation, winner of the 31/31 All Smashed Up Tournament, The Destroyer wears many a fine hat as a proud GIO member. With more than a few blogs under his belt, he's done the best tributes to Kingdom Hearts, Zero Escape, and Ace Attorney that you can probably find on the site. I have yet to play any of his favorite series sadly, but I vow to rectify that with Ace Attorney starting this weekend. Check out his massive blog library. Thoughtful, funny, and just plain well opinionated, you'll be hard-pressed to find a greater collection that's relevant to the average and not-so-average gamer out there.
Saturday Morning Replay: Not all of us are blessed with as much time as we'd like, but Saturday Morning Replay makes up for it with quite a few interesting blogs whenever you see them arise. Sure, he may not always blog about the latest industry development or franchise complaints or advice, but his 31/31 this last month has provided plenty of diverse ideas. From advice for new bloggers to mock roasts to gaming nostalgia of yesteryear, SMR has blogged about anything you can pull out of a hat. Blogging on the road or with a migraine is a feat indeed, and if you don't see him, know that he's probably inching his way closer the ivy league education or GI as we speak.
xl9:
Few other users [except godofwine7 ;)] have matched xl9 in the mastery of top ten lists, whether it be video-gaming presidents, gods, trees, or turtles, or Super Smash bros. brain-storming. His 31/31 has convinced me that Nintendo has a lot of work ahead of itself if it's to ever match the awesomeness of a brawling Tom Nook or a Wuhu island stage. (I still have my heart set on it.) He may have missed two days of his 31/31, "technically," but his grand finale of a blog more than made up for two days' worth in this blogger’s mind. Who am I to deny such works of art the reward it calls for?
I, of course, don’t expect these to be the only fine bloggers to be winning this award, no. I’m aware of many others continuing their challenge as we speak and I can only hope others will succeed in this noble effort someday as well. They will be added to the 31/31 Hall of Fame upon completing the challenge and given the same honors granted to the previous. I look forward to any of their work and will be glad to recognize it. Give a cheer to your friendly neighborhood 31/31ers!
Last, but not least, long live gaming!
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