As you've no doubt noticed, WWPD does not have the same focus on Flames of War we previously have had in years passed. We have spoken to this subject on the WWPD: News From The Front podcast and as many of you are aware many of our core group just do not have the same passion and interest in Flames of War. For some, gaming interests have changed. Others are not having the same experience with the game and have moved on to other systems that fulfill their gaming needs and of course, personal lives have changed with new careers and growing families. To one degree or another I am sure that you can relate to this since we, as gamers, have all encountered these changes to our various hobbies and games at various points in our lives and will continue to do so.
At WWPD our situation is unique, because everyone reading this IS our gaming group. We count ourselves extremely fortunate to be able to share not only the games we love with all of you, but to a large degree our lives. I am sure this is obvious to anyone who as ever listened to our podcast, so when our interests change, we recognize that it impacts you as well. Most people who listened to NFTF or logged onto our site expected and anticipated Flames of War content. The shift in our format, without that focus, may have not been to your liking. We built our reputation through being the web's premier source for FOW for a very long time and we have had an absolute great time doing just that. One of the cornerstones of WWPD is that we wanted our show to make people feel like they were participating in a conversation between friends who were all sharing games they were passionate about and for a very long time that was Flames of War.
So where are we now? Jon, Steve, and I are still the best of friends and we want to continue recording News From The Front. We can not in good conscience try to force conversations about Flames of War when we all do not have that enthusiasm and passion I keep talking about in this article. Work, personal interests and family obligations have been taking a serious toll in our lives recently and it has become increasingly difficult for us to get together and record. This has been a contributing force to our irregular recording schedule so we will be experimenting with new ways for us to record remotely from our own homes as some of the other podcasts have done. We will no longer be having regular, exclusive segments on Flames of War. We will still continue to talk about the games through our after action reports segment and commentary on any tournaments we will have or will be attending, but Flames of War talk will be limited. We will be talking about our current interests including all of the other games we are playing, whether it be miniatures, board, video or card games. This will be a gaming podcast, by gamers for gamers in the purest sense. There should be something for everyone and we hope you will continue to listen and share our gaming experiences with us.
I am proud to announce that we will also be launching a brand new Flames of War focused podcast called WWPD: Why We Fight. Hosted by Ben Davy (from Breakthrough Assault), Eric "Tarzan Truck-stop Atrocity Phase" Lauterbach, and myself Luke "cool pants" Melia. Why We Fight will focus on Flames of War, Team Yankee, Tanks and all other Battle Front related games. Our goal is to provide concise discussions on these games, with the same "quality", and I use that word loosely, that we provided on News From The Front.
In addition, we have some changes coming to the WWPD website as well. We will be adding new navigation features to the site to make it a bit more user friendly. From the main WWPD page you will be able to access links at the top of the page to whatever game suits your interest. For example: if you just want to see just Bolt Action, all you would do is click on the appropriate icon and you will immediately see all of the Bolt Action related podcasts, videos and articles relating to the game. The same will be true for Flames of War, Armada and other games to make it easy for you to customize your WWPD experience.
Near the end of 2016, Breakthrough Assault will merge with WWPD. The team at B.A. are faced with the same challenges that we are here at WWPD in regards to changing interests and growing family commitments. By combining our resources we will be able to provide consistent, in depth, quality articles on a regular basis for the betterment of the entire gaming community on a single site. We aspire to be the source for all of your Flames of War related needs. Ben, Adam and the Breakthrough Assault crew will still continue to record Beyond the Foxholes providing their unique perspectives on all of the games they are playing. (All in British accents I might add)
WWPD continues to grow and expand. I am happy to report that our website viewership continues to increase year after year, which is incredibly humbling for us. To us the most important aspect of gaming is the personal interaction individuals have with one another. Our goal is to be a resource for the gaming community and a place for all to feel welcome to share ideas, get advice and to be in an environment of friends who share the same passion and enthusiasm for gaming that we have. We may not always agree with one and another, but we are still grown men playing with toy soldiers and having a great time doing so. We hope you will continue to grow with us.
