Press Reset: The Story of Polygon - financed by Microsoft for $750,000

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Borgnine said:
Pretty good tweetfight going on with aegies and manion. They both just revealed they grew up in the projects, someone is going to pull a knife soon, just watch.
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Who is manion?

It is kind of amazing how much time they spend fighting with people on twitter. I hope to see some response from Justin McElroy to @britishgaming's belching baby tweet.
 
WhiskeyKnight said:
That hits on a major problem the enthusiast press has -- brain drain. Developers recognize actual talent and quickly scoop up the most interesting voices (Luke Smith, Shawn Elliott, Jeff Green, Eric Wolpaw, etc.) This leaves the media side as a perpetual B-team. And as we know, former journos rarely, if ever, go back after becoming devs.
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Add to that the problem where the enthusiast press is openly looking to be co-opted by the people they're covering. And the people being covered have no problems co-opting them.
 
WhiskeyKnight said:
That hits on a major problem the enthusiast press has -- brain drain. Developers recognize actual talent and quickly scoop up the most interesting voices (Luke Smith, Shawn Elliott, Jeff Green, Eric Wolpaw, etc.) This leaves the media side as a perpetual B-team. And as we know, former journos rarely, if ever, go back after becoming devs.
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I don't think it's that major of a problem though. I mean my favorite "commentary" about games now is probably Idle Thumbs and Gamers with Jobs. The former is primarily guys who work in the industry and the later are guys that have other jobs that write and talk about games on the side.

I'm not even sure it is a big deal if paid videogame journalism goes away. Now ask me about the decline of traditional journalism and it's replacement with the blogosphere and I am very much concerned about that. But (1) videogames aren't nearly as important and (2) people will just naturally want to write and talk about games. I'm more concerned about people not just hopping a jet at their own expense and flying to other countries to do research on real news and report back on it or spend days with sources to put together a story about the debt situition and then giving it away for free. But gaming commentary will always exist and even exist in good quality just because even those who do something else for a living will continue doing it on the side. So much so that I don't even really consider it a viable "career" field. Worse comes to worse we have to wait for games to actually be released and for people on message boards and podcasts to play them before we get any kind of evaluation of them. That doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me.
 
Borgnine said:
Pretty good tweetfight going on with aegies and manion. They both just revealed they grew up in the projects, someone is going to pull a knife soon, just watch.
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I guess my earlier comment about someone in charge finally putting their foot down on using twitter like this was completely wrong eh.
 
Fong Ghoul said:
Man I started somewhat defending the teaser trailer but this is kind of ridiculous. What a PR disaster.

I feel bad for those guys (most of whom I like and respect) because they probably were convinced by some marketing people that this was a really good idea. I hope they can just move past this and continue to write about video games and make a cool website.

And while I like these guys as people and writers the hyperbole of "greatest team of editors ever assembled" is pretty ridiculous. Its a bunch of dudes from Joystiq, Crecente, Arthur Gies, Phil Kollar, Matt Leone, and a few other people. Again, all good people and no disrespect. But its just a solid editorial team. It's not fucking Voltron.

They should have just left it at the original video, which had a couple of "heh" moments and wasn't completely about themselves. It was lighthearted, and they didn't appear to be taking themselves too seriously. Just "hey, here's us. We're making this thing. We like video games."

"Vox Games is dead. Welcome, Polygon."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RT1EoRG7s4&feature=player_embedded#!
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I tend to agree that the initial video had a more earnest and interesting feel to it.

However I find it amusing to hear Justin McElroy saying that videogames are great because of a ramp exploding in Fifty Cent the game and then to listen to his existential crisis in the documentary trailer.
 
I feel that this debacle will end up making me follow a lot of people on twitter that I don't really care about. But it is good that the industry found something to laugh for the week.
 
antitrop said:
You really hit the nail on the head with that one.
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I'm not sure that I totally agree. Yeah, there are Sewarts and Johnstons, Kujawas, Intahars, and Mielkes. However, there are your Croals, Suttners, and Fords (I only liked Greg) who consult. There are your Boyers and Zunigas who continue to write, just not about video games. I imagine the pay and security isn't much better. There are your Smiths, who transpose their gaming love onto, say, Shawnimals.

They aren't all aspirational designers. There are just very few Fitches and Hsus willing to stay there for the pay and fun.
 
Borgnine said:
Pretty good tweetfight going on with aegies and manion. They both just revealed they grew up in the projects, someone is going to pull a knife soon, just watch.
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Dayum that shit is the illest. I wonder what gang signs Polygon crips flash when they see each other on the street? Do you do a triangle if you're a neophyte, and add more sides until you're a hexagon like Big ArthurG? You know he's a bad-ass gamesjourno because he was making Gs as a REBEL even before kickstarters started sprouting up and any little thug with a webcam and bluetooth headset knew how to get dat VC $$$.
 
kagete said:
Dayum that shit is the illest. I wonder what gang signs Polygon crips flash when they see each other on the street? Do you do a triangle if you're a neophyte, and add more sides until you're a hexagon like Big ArthurG? You know he's a bad-ass gamesjourno because he was making Gs as a REBEL even before kickstarters started sprouting up and any little thug with a webcam and bluetooth headset knew how to get dat VC $$$.
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I just don't want this overlooked.
 
kagete said:
Dayum that shit is the illest. I wonder what gang signs Polygon crips flash when they see each other on the street? Do you do a triangle if you're a neophyte, and add more sides until you're a hexagon like Big ArthurG? You know he's a bad-ass gamesjourno because he was making Gs as a REBEL even before kickstarters started sprouting up and any little thug with a webcam and bluetooth headset knew how to get dat VC $$$.
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My brain hurts, thanks.
 
Curufinwe said:
Who is manion?
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Rori. Man-yown. He used to write about games, friend of Shawn Elliot. Shawn was always talking about them playing games together on GFW Radio (especially Company of Heroes), he finally made an appearance on Shawn's last show. An important voice because he knows a lot about games but doesn't seem to have any connection to the industry anymore and so is free to say whatever he wants. Also a valuable resource for gross ass pics and tubetard links.
 
Borgnine said:
Pretty good tweetfight going on with aegies and manion. They both just revealed they grew up in the projects, someone is going to pull a knife soon, just watch.
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I like that "tweets do not represent my employers" is on his page, right next to the profile pic that has the hipster Polygon effect on it. Like that's not an employer-driven style?

Glad to know Twitter cat fights are still a part of Games Journalism 2.0
 
I feel the hatred towards Polygon from these other game "journalists" is pure jealousy. First of all, they have zero right to talk because the same people getting made are gutter trash as journalists and are exactly the reason why that guy was embarrassed to be associated with them, and I understand why he feels that way. Second, they're jealous of their resources and the huge pub they will get being associated with The Verge and that they already got MS as one of there big sponsors which shows they will already be ahead of the curve of most these gaming sites who struggle as is to get ad support. Plus they have a kick ass web design is is awesome on the iPad.


Again, they do come off as pretentious hipsters (whatever the hell that means on GAF, I've seen people here associate anyone with big glasses as hipster, which would make the late great Gregory Peck a hipster by there definition), but at least they are trying to bring cred to something that needs it


Skyrim PS3, repeat that yourself whenever you think of the current state of gaming journalists
 
Are they still filming for this thing?

Because I want to watch the video of them reacting to the backlash to the documentary trailer.

The internet kind of hates everything so its normal to expect that kind of backlash but having respected members of the games press shit on it has to be a real kick in the balls.
 
I want to hear them talk about their equity agreements when they took this big "risk" but I don't think that will shown. A lot harder to get sympathy when people know they can cash out.
 
Ken Masters said:
I feel the hatred towards Polygon from these other game "journalists" is pure jealousy. First of all, they have zero right to talk because the same people getting made are gutter trash as journalists and are exactly the reason why that guy was embarrassed to be associated with them, and I understand why he feels that way. Second, they're jealous of their resources and the huge pub they will get being associated with The Verge and that they already got MS as one of there big sponsors which shows they will already be ahead of the curve of most these gaming sites who struggle as is to get ad support. Plus they have a kick ass web design is is awesome on the iPad.


Again, they do come off as pretentious hipsters (whatever the hell that means on GAF, I've seen people here associate anyone with big glasses as hipster, which would make the late great Gregory Peck a hipster by there definition), but at least they are trying to bring cred to something that needs it


Skyrim PS3, repeat that yourself whenever you think of the current state of gaming journalists
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You had me going until the end of the first paragraph - ahahahaha, fantastic post

Gannd said:
I want to hear them talk about their equity agreements when they took this big "risk" but I don't think that will shown. A lot harder to get sympathy when people know they can cash out.
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Can you give us more background on this? You mentioned 17 million...where did that come from exactly?
 
Borgnine said:
Rori. Man-yown. He used to write about games, friend of Shawn Elliot. Shawn was always talking about them playing games together on GFW Radio (especially Company of Heroes), he finally made an appearance on Shawn's last show. An important voice because he knows a lot about games but doesn't seem to have any connection to the industry anymore and so is free to say whatever he wants. Also a valuable resource for gross ass pics and tubetard links.
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Oh, I know of him.

Anthony Gallegos going from doing videogame podcasts with Shawn to doing them with Arthur is a great example of that brain drain that was mentioned.
 
Ken Masters said:
I feel the hatred towards Polygon from these other game "journalists" is pure jealousy. First of all, they have zero right to talk because the same people getting made are gutter trash as journalists and are exactly the reason why that guy was embarrassed to be associated with them, and I understand why he feels that way. Second, they're jealous of their resources and the huge pub they will get being associated with The Verge and that they already got MS as one of there big sponsors which shows they will already be ahead of the curve of most these gaming sites who struggle as is to get ad support. Plus they have a kick ass web design is is awesome on the iPad.


Again, they do come off as pretentious hipsters (whatever the hell that means on GAF, I've seen people here associate anyone with big glasses as hipster, which would make the late great Gregory Peck a hipster by there definition), but at least they are trying to bring cred to something that needs it


Skyrim PS3, repeat that yourself whenever you think of the current state of gaming journalists
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Justin McElroy ladies and gentlemen
 
Borgnine said:
Rori. Man-yown. He used to write about games, friend of Shawn Elliot. Shawn was always talking about them playing games together on GFW Radio (especially Company of Heroes), he finally made an appearance on Shawn's last show. An important voice because he knows a lot about games but doesn't seem to have any connection to the industry anymore and so is free to say whatever he wants. Also a valuable resource for gross ass pics and tubetard links.
Click to expand...

Wait it's not the same Rory who was on GB and Whiskey Media? I always assumed they were one in the same.
 
WhiskeyKnight said:
That hits on a major problem the enthusiast press has -- brain drain. Developers recognize actual talent and quickly scoop up the most interesting voices (Luke Smith, Shawn Elliott, Jeff Green, Eric Wolpaw, etc.) This leaves the media side as a perpetual B-team. And as we know, former journos rarely, if ever, go back after becoming devs.
Click to expand...
This happens in every enthusiast press. Political writers get pulled into PR and Comm. teams. Local writers get pulled into PR firms. Technology writers getting pulled into software and tech companies.

Those jobs are more stable than writing about industries.
 
Ken Masters said:
I feel the hatred towards Polygon from these other game "journalists" is pure jealousy. First of all, they have zero right to talk because the same people getting made are gutter trash as journalists and are exactly the reason why that guy was embarrassed to be associated with them, and I understand why he feels that way.
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games-journalismaf8t.gif



Ken Masters said:
Skyrim PS3, repeat that yourself whenever you think of the current state of gaming journalists
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games-journalismaf8t.gif
 
EternalGamer said:
Anyone notice that Phil Kollar, Griffin Mcelroy and Matt Leon are editors that are nowhere to be found in either video.

Is it any coincidence that they are also the three editors whose work I previously liked the most? Perhaps they had enough sense to stay out of it. All three are much more low key than the majority of this bunch of braggadocios.
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Never read any work from any of the McElroys. But I've always enjoyed the work of both Phil & Matt. They're only listed as "deputy" editors for Polygon, bottom of the totum pole, which is a damn shame.
 
lol mcelroys existential crisis. fucking joke

all this trailer pretty much told me was

"guys please please PLEASE support us and go to our site once its up or else were FUCKED. please dont make us regret this decision. you see that dude we moved halfway across the country and his baby? yeah. if you dont support us hes fucked too."
 
Talon- said:
This happens in every enthusiast press. Political writers get pulled into PR and Comm. teams. Local writers get pulled into PR firms. Technology writers getting pulled into software and tech companies.

Those jobs are more stable than writing about industries.
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Excellent point. Same with fiction writers and academic jobs.
 
Borgnine said:
An important voice because he knows a lot about games but doesn't seem to have any connection to the industry anymore and so is free to say whatever he wants. Also a valuable resource for gross ass pics and tubetard links.
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ha, "important voice" my ass. i moved from major-league to amateur stuff-hating. and tubetards are becoming more difficult to dredge up every day.

honestly, i wasn't looking to start a twitter fight. it was more of a privilege check than anything, but i have a bad habit of being overly abrasive.
 
Reluctant-Hero said:
Never read any work from any of the McElroys. But I've always enjoyed the work of both Phil & Matt. They're only listed as "deputy" editors for Polygon, bottom of the totum pole, which is a damn shame.
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Griffen was great on the Joystiq podcast and he wrote some very good reviews for them. But dont' bother listening to The Besties, Polygon's current podcast. He has been reduced to playing the "straight man" to a bunch of laughing hyenas who spend almost all their time making the worst jokes they can think of and then laughing at them. Every week I ask myself why I don't delete it from my podcast feed and the sad truth it is it is just because I don't have anything better to replace it with (I listen to a lot of podcasts while commuting/jogging/gaming etc.).
 
Ken Masters said:
Second, they're jealous of their resources and the huge pub they will get being associated with The Verge and that they already got MS as one of there big sponsors which shows they will already be ahead of the curve of most these gaming sites who struggle as is to get ad support. Plus they have a kick ass web design is is awesome on the iPad.
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I think you live on a different planet than me.

EternalGamer said:
Wait it's not the same Rory who was on GB and Whiskey Media? I always assumed they were one in the same.
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No. Manion wrote a handful of review for 1Up though.
 
SailorDaravon said:
That maybe would have been acceptable if they had been up front about it, but up until a few months ago (I'm behind on Rebel FM) this was the first I had ever heard about this, and IIRC that PC was built what, like maybe 2 or 3 years ago at this point? And even in that case if they really have THAT much more than they need for possible future equipment and hosting costs for basically forever, they could have donated it to one of the charities that they do things for once or twice a year. Or used it to buy shit to maybe give away to listeners in contests. Or any of a million other things.
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I think all the people complaining about how Rebel FM spent "their" money feel as self important as Polygon "journalists".

Yes, I'm using quotation marks intentionally. Once you donate money it is no longer yours. Get over it and don't donate it next time if you don't like how it was spent.
 
If anything I'm even more interested in watching the documentary after seeing the full trailer. I'm not clear on the story behind polygon and I don't really know what they're talking about when they say that they'll be doing something different. They do seem more than a little self important from what I've seen so far, but it's just not as upsetting to me as it seems to be for others here.
 
kagete said:
BTW, anyone want to start a pool betting on how long before Crecente mentions he's a gamer-dad in his articles?
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Should have brought Brian Ashcraft over for maximum gamer-dadage. He could have also ported over the valuable "japanland is so wacky/hentai" content over from Kotaku.
 
Neato_Jinkins said:
not sure what GB or Whiskey Media are. i wrote a bit for GFW/1up/Gamespy. dude's got a cool name though.
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Huh. I'm not sure why I thought you guys were the same person. I guess just that it is not a typical name, you both lived in the same area and both wrote about gaming related stuff.

GB is Giant Bomb and Whiskey Media was the the name of their media hub. The other "Rory" did film reviews for them and appeared on Giant Bomb on a regular basis.
 
PlayDat said:
If anything I'm even more interested in watching the documentary after seeing the full trailer. I'm not clear on the story behind polygon and I don't really know what they're talking about when they say that they'll be doing something different. They do seem more than a little self important from what I've seen so far, but it's just not as upsetting to me as it seems to be for others here.
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Money
 
somesayyea said:
apologies if this has been posted, but this sums up everything that is wrong with this situation:

http://botherer.org/2012/08/23/polygon-and-the-documentary-that-cured-cancer/
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The reaction to the negativity has, sadly, mostly been met by incredulity and disgust, rather than any demonstration of introspection. The tweets that have appeared in response to criticism, or entirely deserved pomposity-pricking, have been complete denial. Rather than taking stock, asking whether there’s a reason for this reaction, and questioning the direction, there’s instead been a wall of anger or self-pity. There’s no sense of their saying, “Woah, yeah, we did take this a bit too seriously, eh?” Instead there’s the sense that the idea that a documentary of this nature should be criticised is utterly unacceptable – how dare we?! And that only makes it worse. They’re a talented bunch, and they’re attempting something they believe will be special. That’s great. But oh boy, you need to think about how you present yourself to others. And when it’s to tell people that you are incredible, that what you’re doing is unsurpassed, in a documentary about yourself that you’re making yourself – people are going to take the piss. Because that’s when taking the piss is needed.
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So incredibly well said.
 
EternalGamer said:
Huh. I'm not sure why I thought you guys were the same person. I guess just that it is not a typical name, you both lived in the same area and both wrote about gaming related stuff.

GB is Giant Bomb and Whiskey Media was the the name of their media hub. The other "Rory" did film reviews for them and appeared on Giant Bomb on a regular basis.
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You're thinking of Matt Rorie. Different guy.
 
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