Creator Spotlight: Jord Tury

Jord Tury is more than just a creator. He’s an experienced gamer, an established photographer, a published author with a new novel in the works—and a proud husband, and father of two. Jord continues to blow us away, with every piece of work he shares. We got the chance to speak to Jord about who he is, what he does, and what inspires him to keep creating. Read on to hear what he had to say!

On his early days

Man, I’d love to tell you that I’m a world traveler or mountain climber, but honestly, I’m just your average Joe. Born in the cesspit of a city known to the majority of the United Kingdom as Gloucester, I grew up learning to hate the outdoors. But that was mainly because of the rebellious vibe the city had. I just wasn't overly keen on being drawn into that sort of crowd when growing up. Instead, I spent most of my years pursuing hobbies that wouldn’t get me killed, or featured on the morning headlines. And by that, I meant I lurked around a computer screen like a malnourished little gremlin.

I learned to write fairly young. That was something I always wanted to pick up, ever since I wrote my first story in a thick red book at 12 years old. From dabbling in poetry to writing my first young adult novel, I looked to fill my thirst for creativity by picking up things that fascinated me as I expanded my knowledge within the arts.

On his life as an artist

In the 10 years I have been on the scene, I have written and self-published four novels, two of which can shamefully be found on Amazon by punching in my name in the search bar. Although to be fair, I’d avoid them. Because, as the saying goes, “You are your own worst critic,” so I have a fair reason to hate my own work, annoyingly.

But, moving on to the present day: I am a happily married family man with a beautiful wife and two incredible kids. And honestly, without them, I’d be nothing. They are my inspiration and my muse; the reason I pick up the pen every day. And I know I can wind them up at times, when spending long, grueling hours away from them just so I can “write one more paragraph.” But, I like to think they forgive me each morning, when I stand proudly over a new piece of work that I can share with the world.

On who he looks up to

You know, it’s difficult to point out a specific role model as such here. And honestly, I don’t want to turn this into a cliché sob story, like some sort of reality show final. So, here it is, plain and simple. I look up to myself.

There it is. I hope that doesn’t make me seem self-centred or stubborn, because it’s frustratingly true. Growing up in a rough city with big dreams of breaking out as a best-selling writer never really did bode too well with my parents or friends. And, even today, when I speak ambitiously about writing, I continue to receive the cold shoulder, like I’m just speaking out of my arse the entire time.

Since I was young, I learned to mold this perfect version of myself in my head, and I like to believe I’m reaching that ideal character as I try so desperately hard to prove others wrong each day, and thrive towards making big dreams a potential reality. I look up to this fictional character crafted deep within my brain, and through the power of determination and persistence, I hope to be just like him someday.

On his passion for gaming

Gaming for me has always been a quality pastime. From the early years down in my Dad’s shed where he stored a secret PlayStation, to the modern-day twilight hours where I can enjoy the freedom of picking up a controller for an hour or two without a kid pestering me for Baby Shark compilations. I’ve always had a huge passion for gaming; there’s no doubt about that. But, actually looking deeper into the mechanics of video games and writing about them—that’s something I only really started doing a year ago or so.

MMO games, like Habbo Hotel, were sort of like the central social hubs for us back in the early 2000s. And, kids like me, who evidently feared the Gloucester wildlife, found great comfort in being able to retreat to virtual worlds like that. It was a place we could essentially geek out and be whomever we wanted to be, without being judged by anybody else.

Admittedly, I have played thousands of video games in my time, and not once have I ever thought of taking a real break. I mean, sure, I have kids now, and those quality hours can be hard to come by. But, I’ll always have gaming in my heart. That’s something I don’t think anybody could take away from me.

On his upcoming novel, Purity

Okay, so Purity is the fifth novel in my never-ending catalogue of projects. It’s heavily inspired by the Goosebumps stories, mainly Ghost Camp, with a mix of other novels written by the great R.L. Stine.

Set over the course of the summer holidays, our protagonist, Violet, finds herself stranded in a lakeside retreat called Purity. With nothing to do but wish the days away as her mentality weakens and her family continues to grind her down, she searches for an escape and a coping mechanism for the grueling months of solitary confinement. On one particular day, she meets a mysterious boy who emerges from the thick layers of fog that surround the lakes of Purity. Awkwardly present and dauntingly creepy, he looks to Violet like a lost boy searching for a warm embrace. Nothing out of the ordinary, of course. But Purity wasn’t expecting a plus one. And as the days drudge on by, we come to learn that this unusual boy is even more mysterious than we ever expected him to be.

Purity is currently in the works, and it should be available to purchase on both paperback and Kindle by the end of next year. Hopefully!

On his message to readers

Well, I’d like to make it clear first that I have never once looked to writing as a way of extorting potential readers for financial gain. Heck, I’m thrilled just to have one person read an article, and chances are, I’d be the one willing to pay them for that honour.

Honestly, I have no real motive other than to make people laugh or smile. That’s really all I’ve ever wanted when writing any of my articles or novels. I don’t want the money, nor the heaps of attention. I just want to pluck out the target audience, and deliver them content that might be considered worthy of reading someday.

I want to prove to all the younger writers who have the ambition but lack the motivation that they are capable of reaching out and snatching the dream. I want to prove that, despite not having much support either, I was still able to force through the negatives and thrive for the positives. That’s something any of us can do, should we be willing to put our minds to it. I don’t want to profit. I want to inspire. That’s all.

On future projects

To be honest, I still haven’t quite figured out what I want to make of my life yet. I mean, I’m a 25-year-old man living in a city that I’m not overly set on, and my career is so unbalanced that I’m between working in private investigation, and stacking shelves down at the local Tesco.

Writing is where my heart is at, for sure. But enough people have told me that becoming some famous writer is next to impossible, and that I should join the real world. But you know, I’d love nothing more than to prove them all wrong in the end.

I’ll continue to invest my time into Vocal and pour my heart into poetry, gaming articles, and ambitious novels—because someday, that all might just pay off. I’d love nothing more than to make journalism, either in music or in gaming, a full-time job and actually benefit from it. And, should the day arrive where I can pay my rent with earnings from an article I’ve written, well, that’d be the proudest day of my damn life, without a shadow of a doubt.

I’m a dreamer. I always will be. I don’t want to sell out to another nine-to-five office drone job. Not again.There has to be more out there, right?

On overcoming challenges

I know it’s been said a billion times before, but honestly, keeping up with the trends is, without doubt, the most difficult thing in journalism, gaming, or photography. And, for that reason alone, I tend to stray away from the intense competition, and focus more on a wider category that might’ve been covered ten times over. But, by adding my own twist and personality to it, I can bring a new light on recycled pieces and make them my own.

Take one of my articles for example. I wrote something a while back about top sidekicks in video games. There’s nothing original about that whatsoever, and I knew that more than anybody. But, that wasn’t a reason to back out and find something unique and unheard-of, because I wanted to challenge these other writers, and play them at their own game. I wanted to take their article and try to make it better. And that in itself is a challenge, for sure.

The hardest thing in this line of work is producing something worth viewing. A photograph, an article, a book, or a poem; chances are, they’ve all been done before. But standing out above the rest is what makes it a challenge. And that’s a challenge I enjoy taking on, every time I pick up the quill or a camera. It’s a thrill in itself, just stepping up to the plate in the hopes you’ll hit a home run. It’s a tough industry to crack. But it’s one I’ll always be willing to take a swing at, of course.

On advice to younger gamers

Firstly, please, nobody look up to me—especially as a gamer! I suck at gaming. That’s the truth. I really am not massively great at video games, despite playing them for most of my life. And that’s not me trying to be humble or anything. That’s just me being honest, straight up.

Gaming should always be about the journey, not the endgame. It should be about discovering worlds that can take your mind away from reality for a while. It should be about passion, not competition or petty sibling rivalry. It should be about bonding with people you’d never of thought to talk to before. It should be about fun, plain and simple. Nothing should make you think otherwise. And if it does, then you’re definitely playing the wrong game, or not thinking straight.

Sadly, in this day and age, things like microtransactions tend to kill the community’s vibe, with their cheeky scandals and play-to-win schemes. But, whilst developers thrive to squeeze us gamers for all we’re worth, it’s always worth clutching onto the original days of gaming when things weren’t so complicated.

Keep it real. Appreciate the classics. Respect every player as if they were family. And, if you ever begin to feel the veins bulging out of your forehead in anger, just turn the damn thing off. Gaming is fun, but it isn’t worth an aneurysm.

On his favorite Vocal story he’s written

I’d probably have to say, from my stories on Vocal, “PS4 Exclusives that Crushed the Xbox One” is my favorite. That was something I was wanting to write for a long time. I just never really had a list compelling enough to utterly obliterate Microsoft fans. But, after scribbling a list on a pad for several years, I was finally able to present some of my proudest work to date. Take that, Microsoft.

But jokes aside, I am a huge fan of all platforms and genres. I just tend to steer a little closer to Sony's arms than poor old Microsoft's. Bless 'em.

I cover a bunch of things on Vocal, though. It's not all gaming antics and sidekick quarrels. I cover social media, a few dark trade secrets, and even dabble in go-to guides for new parents. Those, along with a handful of poems, unusual rants, and exaggerated thoughts; that's what I'm all about.

I'll write about anything if you give me the chance, though, to be honest. It's all an exciting challenge that's definitely worth exploring. Today, I may write an article on women's lingerie. Tomorrow, I may write a list on Lego collectables. I haven't the slightest clue about either, but I'd sure be up for the trial. Just give me 20 minutes with Google, and two cups of coffee. Then, I'm all yours.

On what’s on his mind

What is the one thing you couldn’t live without? My wife and kids, of course. And a dose of punk rock 😉.

Cats or dogs? Cats, of course. Dogs smell weird and try to shag your leg. Cats just sort of, I don’t know. Sit there and shed fur.

Go-to late night snack? Crisps. Endless amounts of crisps.

All-time favorite game? Horizon: Zero Dawn on PlayStation 4. Although, to be fair, my list is quite the anthology I must say. But as far as standout titles that really hit me go, Horizon: Zero Dawn is at the pinnacle of my list.

If you could go anywhere for vacation, where would you go? Japan, for sure. I’d love to see some Asian culture.

Favorite local bar, coffee shop, or restaurant? We have a bar here in Worcester called The Marrs Bar. And although I can never take much time away from the family to go for a lonely pint, I still admire their local gigs and relatively cheap beer prices. I just wish I could backdoor shuffle from the endless Baby Shark anthems and actually visit the damn place once in a while.

Favorite story you read on Vocal? I can’t honestly pick out one certain article, I’m afraid. I do enjoy flicking through both Gamers and Geeks, though. There’s always something worth reading on those.

Check out Jord’s most recent story below, and keep up with him on Instagram! Thanks for sharing with us, Jord!