2025 Retrospective
Introduction
Hello! Thank you for your interest in my work and life. 2025 was an interesting year. I've dubbed it the "Year of Construction". The Pratt family has been busy constructing basements, games, servers, and memories.
Part 1: Family
Losing Grandpa Pratt
2025 started on a somber note. My grandfather’s health began deteriorating early in the year, and on January 21, he passed away at his home. Kate and I were able to see him the weekend before his death. I was happy that he got to meet John before he passed, but I wish it could have been sooner and when he was in a better state.
Leslie Alan Pratt was a great man, a great farmer, and an amazing grandfather. Finding the right words to capture what he meant to me is difficult. Living near him and my grandmother for most of my life was a huge blessing. As a young boy, I remember him teaching me how to ride a bike. I remember him teaching me how to shoot and play basketball. I remember riding in his pickup truck while he let me snack on his chocolate Twizzlers.
As I got older, my grandfather continued to find ways to make sure I knew he loved and supported me. He always came to my sporting events, church talks, and school events. He would often be at least 30 minutes early. It was a constant source of joy and comfort to arrive and see him and my grandmother already in their seats, cheering for me. Every summer, from the time I was 12 until around 25, I had lunch with him and my grandmother almost daily while I was working on the farm. I cherish the memories of the conversations and joy we shared over those meals. On the days I couldn't have lunch with him because of harvest he’d come check on me while I was driving tractor and bring me ice cream and ask me how I was doing.
Grandpa was always on my team, and he made sure I knew that. I love and miss him dearly.
Finishing a Basement and Family Adventures
The majority of this year was spent finishing the basement while we settled into the home we moved into in 2024. It took a surprisingly long time to unpack and really get settled. Even now, it still feels like we have things to unpack and find a place for. Finishing the basement was a lot of work, but Kate and I learned a ton about construction along the way. My office is down there now. Kate makes fun of me because she thinks I ran too many ethernet cables… which is possible. I think the basement has around 48 runs. I just think that you’ll never regret having more ethernet options. We still have a few items left before the basement is truly “finished,” but we should be wrapping that up in early 2026.
In May, my brother Luke graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Game Design. We've been working on a project together this year. It's a stealth game that features a cool robot. We’re currently planning to release it on Steam sometime in 2026.
In August, I got to fulfill a childhood dream of mine: attending Pokémon Worlds 2025 in California. When I heard it was going to be in Anaheim, I knew I had to try to go. I’m incredibly grateful that Kate let me drag her and the kids along, and Luke was able to come with us as well.
It was even cooler and more fun than I imagined. Taking my daughter Lizzy was especially meaningful. I think she had just as much fun as I did. She loved taking pictures with every Pokémon she could find, and she even convinced her dad to buy her a big Charizard Build-A-Bear. Her exact words were, “Oh Daddy! I would just lub a Charizard, Daddy!”
It was also awesome to get to go with Luke. We’ve both been huge fans of Pokémon and competitive Pokémon since we were kids, and finally getting to participate together was epic! We didn’t compete in the official tournament (I did NOT have time to qualify), but we did enter several side tournaments while we were there. Based on performance, you earn points that could be exchanged for prizes. I did fine and had a ton of fun with the Explosion team I put together, and Luke did really well. By pooling our points, we were able to walk away with two boxes of Pokémon cards. I think we both walked away from that experience thinking that we wanted to do more completive tournaments in 2026. Attending Worlds was surreal. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I was 12 years old.
After Pokémon Worlds, Kate and I spent a week at the Welk Vacation Resort in San Diego with the kids. It was so much fun, and I definitely want to go back. The resort was the perfect place to relax, recharge, and enjoy quality family time.
Once we returned home, we celebrated Lizzy’s 3rd birthday. I can’t believe she’s already three. She is so fun to talk to now, and she loves anything princess related.
Shortly after Lizzy’s birthday, we traveled to California to go to Disneyland. Kate had been wanting to go for a couple of years, and it ended up being an amazing trip. We had so much fun. Lizzy and John both enjoyed it way more than I expected. Lizzy loved the Little Mermaid ride and the Spiderman ride the most. Kate and I also learned that single rider is often faster than parent swapping. Even though I was still working in the evenings, I had a great time. I think we may have had too much fun because we already want to go back.
We celebrated Kate’s birthday at the end of September. I took her to see Sister Act at the Hale Theater. The next few months were extremely busy with work. We had a big release that needed to be finished before the end of the year. We still managed to find some time to visit my sister in Idaho. John turned one! He is so fun! He loves to wrestle and be chased around the living room. He is really fast. Halloween was a huge hit for the kids this year.
In December, my work sent me to the AWS re Invent conference in Las Vegas. I brought Kate and the kids with me, and it was really nice to spend more time together as a family after such a busy stretch of work.
Part 2: Personal Projects & Goals
Kate and Dylan’s Experience Goals 2025
This year we decided to rebrand our “Media Goals” into “Experience Goals.” We changed the name because the idea evolved into wanting to do more than just share specific types of media. At the start of each year, we each pick something for the other person to complete by the end of the year. It’s our fun way of sharing experiences with each other.
This year, Kate had me watch five musicals. One of them had to be a live performance. I ended up watching The Greatest Showman, Wicked Part 1, Wicked Part 2, Sister Act, and Hamilton. We debated whether Wicked should count as one or two, so technically I might have some homework in 2026 to fully wrap that one up. We’ve been wanting to watch Phantom of the Opera anyway.
I enjoyed all of the shows more than I expected. I was most surprised by The Greatest Showman. I never wanted to watch it because I didn’t want to see Wolverine sing and dance, but it ended up being my favorite. Wicked was my least favorite. It was fun to watch with Kate, but ultimately it wasn’t really my jam.
For Kate, I said she had to beat Halo Combat Evolved with me. She also had to participate in a Halo LAN party. She hasn’t done the LAN party yet because our basement wasn’t finished and we wanted it to be a bigger event. We’re planning to do it in February of 2026, just before Valentine’s Day. Here’s what Kate had to say about Halo Combat Evolved:
"Halo was really different from the other games I’ve played. It took me about half the game to feel like my controller skills were strong enough to actually help Dylan. It takes some time to check ammo levels, switch guns, and aim accurately without thinking. I think I would have to play it through by myself another whole time to be able to use the rocket launcher correctly. lol.
In general, it’s very much a boys game (the only “girl” is an AI in a body suit) and the plot wasn’t as deep, creative, or funny as Ocarina of Time. It’s the perfect game for those times where you just feel like running around and shooting things.
I don’t have that inclination very often, so my favorite part was definitely playing it and spending time with Dylan. I think I will enjoy the LAN party too! I’m really excited to have that experience!"
Step Counting 2025
This year I averaged 9,733 steps per day, for a total of 3,552,712 steps across the year. That’s slightly less than last year, but I was much more consistent. In 2026, I plan to continue targeting 3,650,000 total steps for the year.
Game Development
Trooper Commando
At the beginning of the year, I developed a small prototype game. It was a multiplayer shooter that could be hosted in the cloud using AWS. It was a fun project to work on, and I did get it running in the cloud. However, I ended up shelving the project before I could polish it and add UI for easy matchmaking. It was mainly a learning exercise. Maybe someday I’ll dust it off again.
BOWBOT
This year I’ve been developing a game with my brother Luke called BOWBOT. Luke just graduated with a degree in game design, and he’s been flexing his design muscles while I handle the programming. BOWBOT is a stealth game, and we currently have two levels that we are playtesting. We plan to release the game sometime in 2026.
Project Swordbreak
Development on Swordbreak slowed down a bit this year so I could shift more time and resources to BOWBOT. In the long run, this should help speed up Swordbreak’s development. BOWBOT gives me opportunities to test systems that I originally built for Swordbreak. This year I improved performance, refactored the combat system to be more reliable, and started working with a 3D modeler who will help enhance the player character model.
Network Rack + Immich
This year I got a full 18U network rack. I had a lot of fun putting it together and planning future upgrades. One of my goals for 2025 was to smooth out our backup process for photos and videos on our phones, and I finally found the solution with Immich. I’m hosting it on my home server, and every time our phones connect to the WiFi, they automatically back up photos and videos.
It’s honestly awesome. The software even has facial recognition. I’m over subscriptions and didn’t want to keep paying Google or Apple to store our photos. This works great, and it’s easy for Kate and me to share everything.
Personal Website
In 2025, I also set a goal to build a website that I genuinely thought was cool. You’re probably reading this blog post on that site. Overall, I’m really happy with how it turned out. I was aiming for a retro TRON style aesthetic, and I think I pulled it off.
Part 3: Arts and Entertainment
Here’s a quick rundown of the books I read, movies / shows I watched, and other experiences I had this year.
Books
For books this year I pretty much just re-read Harry Potter. I was working so much that the idea of finding and really sinking into a new book felt a little exhausting. I ended up just reading my comfort series. It had been a few years since I last read them, and I was curious if I would still love Harry Potter now that I’m in my 30s. I’m happy to report that they are just as good as I remember.
Movies / TV Shows
For movies, K Pop Demon Hunters easily wins my movie of the year award! It was such a good movie. It was so refreshing to see something so cool and new! The album was actually my number 1 listened to album on Spotify this year.
I also enjoyed the new Superman movie, and I thought Thunderbolts was really good too. I took Lizzy to see Zootopia 2, and we both loved it.
I really wanted TRON: Ares to be good. TRON: Legacy is one of my all-time favorite movies, so my expectations were high. Unfortunately, Ares ended up being a disappointment. Though not quite as bad as I expected. One bright spot was the Nine Inch Nails soundtrack, which was actually pretty solid.
As for TV shows, the main thing that stands out is the final season of Stranger Things. I thought it was really well done.
Video Games
For video games, the big event this year was the release of the new Nintendo console. I waited in line at GameStop for about four hours and managed to get the last one. Totally worth it.
In terms of games, Monster Hunter Wilds was my game of the year for 2025. Luke and I both got really into Monster Hunter World a few years ago, and Wilds takes everything to the next level. The movement feels so much better, and the game is absolutely gorgeous. I’ll definitely be playing it a lot in 2026, and I’m eagerly waiting for the DLC that we all know is coming.
I also got really into Hell Divers II this year. Once they announced the ODST collab, I bought it immediately It’s been an absolute blast. Lately, it’s been my go to game to hop on for a bit before bed. Ten out of ten. Everyone should play it!
I also played through Breath of the Wild on my Switch 2. Zelda in 4K is legendary.
Currently I'm working through Pokémon Legends ZA and Metroid Prime 4. Once I get through those I'm planning on doing a 4k run through Tears of the Kingdom!
Part 5: Conclusion & 2026
I should be releasing BOWBOT with Luke sometime in 2026. I'll continue to focus on building the vertical slice for Project Swordbreak. I'm currently working on a program to help me manage my life and household. I'm calling it P.A.R.A.D.I.S.E ( Pratt’s Automated Residential And Data Integration System Engine). Maybe next year I'll go into detail about what it does.
I’ll also continue updating my website. One of my goals for 2026 is to write a few blog posts.
In 2026, I want to focus more on health. The last couple of years have been full steam ahead, and I think the Pratt family would benefit from slowing down and avoiding too many big decisions.
There’s a trend I’ve seen in short form content where people talk to versions of themselves from 2020, reflecting on how much can change in a short amount of time. That really resonated with me. In 2020, the world was entering a pandemic, and I was jobless after my contract with the Church ended earlier that year. It was a low point.
If I could tell that version of myself anything, it would be that I was going to meet Kate at the end of 2020, fall in love, and build a wonderful life together with two incredible kids, all in less than five years. Reflecting on the past makes me incredibly grateful for the present and excited for the future.
Let’s go 2026.