• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Giant Bomb XXI | Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am very much pro-desk.

And this is not the Chris Hardwick OT, but I first saw him when he was hosting a bunch of the panels I was going to at San Diego Comic-Con. He's one of (if not the best) hosts there, because he knows not to ask questions the panels can't answer, he's cool to the fans, he gets everyone on the panel involved, and he seems genuinely excited about all that stuff. Over the decade+ I've been going, he's turned into the guy the long-time con fans cheer for almost as loud as Marvel or DC or Tom Cruise or whoever.

I eventually listened to a bunch of episodes of the Nerdist Podcast, and along with the live panel hosting, those are CH at his best. He gets to be more casual and natural, without anyone to answer to or looking over his shoulder. In all this stuff he comes off as humble and excited and genuine and very caring. He's very good in these podcasts at adjusting and guiding the conversation based on the guest. When I first listened to them, it was to hear celebrities tell stories. As it went on, I got more and more into noticing Chris Hardwick feeling out the guests, shifting gears flawlessly when getting stonewalled, opening up to people who were into it, and getting very professional when guests who were all business rolled by.

Reading between the lines on some of that stuff, it seems like the TV shows he does are not his passion as much as stand-up and his podcasts are, but he still won't take these jobs if he doesn't believe in them. I get the sense that there's an aspect of "If I do it it means they won't get some asshole." He does a LOT of different things, and seems like a really, really hard worker. I think because of how TV Networks are, he has to 'turn it up' a few notches for the cameras. I think @midnight is something he sees as valuable because it gives a stage to comedians, and is Chris trying to use his platform/connections to shine some light on some colleagues/friends/people he respects. Fancy guests fill the seats, which gets more eyes on people he wants to highlight.

Guy seems to have some genuine anxieties and can be a bit quick to defend himself, but having spent a few dozen hours hearing him talk, I don't think he's wholly 'fake'. It sucks that he has to 'turn it up' for TV, but thems the breaks.
 

Zekes!

Member
What's a good Murakami starting place? I really like modern Japanese literature (ie post-1868), but I've never read Murakami for whatever reason.

I think you could almost start anywhere. Kafka on the Shore was the first Murakami book I read, back in I think 2007/2008, and it encompasses everything there is about classic Murakami, though he does have some more grounded works. I would start with one of these:

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Kafka on the Shore
Norwegian Wood
A Wild Sheep Chase
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

All his other works are worth reading, and two of my top 3 Murakami books would be his short story colllection called after the quake, and his non-fiction investigation into the '95 sarin gas attacks in Tokyo which is a book called Underground.
 

Zekes!

Member
I just busted out my PSP to play Star Ocean 2. Been wanting to go back to Rondo of Blood because of Vinnyvania so maybe I will now that I have it pulled out of the drawer.

I'll probably just play SotN
 

yami4ct

Member
so how should we feel about how a lot of games press members end up being PR mouthpieces for game companies

it says a lot that many think Mitch Dyer's going to be Ubisoft or WB PR/CM

People need to get paid and, right now, major game sites aren't really paying the bills for most journalists. Those skills translate directly into PR and those jobs probably pay significantly more (and often are located in cheaper cities than San Francisco).

People going to PR says more about the state of game coverage than anything else. I'm certain these publishers are looking to leverage audiences these journalists have built, but that's only a piece of the issue.
 

Anjin M

Member
People need to get paid and, right now, major game sites aren't really paying the bills for most journalists. Those skills translate directly into PR and those jobs probably pay significantly more (and often are located in cheaper cities than San Fransisco).

People going to PR says more about the state of game coverage than anything else. I'm certain these publishers are looking to leverage audiences these journalists have built, but that's only a piece of the issue.

Heck, I didn't catch what was going on until just now. I agree with everything being said here. As long as they can pay teenagers peanuts or "exposure", game journalism will always be a weird thing.

Also, San Francisco and New York have to be two of the craziest cities to host a cost effective website.
 

Jintor

Member
Like I said elsewhere, journalism by itself is already a hell of a thing to try and get paid for. It's rough. Niche journalism especially is by its nature even more difficult.

But everyone wants PR.
 

yami4ct

Member
Heck, I didn't catch what was going on until just now. I agree with everything being said here. As long as they can pay teenagers peanuts or "exposure", game journalism will always be a weird thing.

Also, San Francisco and New York have to be two of the craziest cities to host a cost effective website.

Hosting your entire staff in SF is kind of an outdated format. If you aren't personality focused like GB, you don't all need to be in one place. I get that most industry events happen around SF (and now NY more often), but if you don't need your whole crew together you really only need a correspondent or 2 living there that can cover. Everyone else can work remotely. USGamer operates that way and Polygon and Kotaku somewhat do as well. I'm certain it's much more cost effective for your employees and it's a good selling point for your site to them.
 

Myggen

Member
Did anyone see that desk Vinny tweeted? I'm making it my avatar.

CeFMsOFW4AEkM5e.jpg

Sweet avatar.

Explosion at the airport in Brussels less than 24 hours after I was there. Oof.

Coincidence?

I'm just asking questions.

This thread title isn't helping my case.
 

mnz

Unconfirmed Member
I have no idea what this title refers to, I don't even think I have seen a reference in this thread.

edit: Ooooh that music site. Well, ok, sure.
 

Kelas

The Beastie Boys are the first hip hop group in years to have something to say
Not since 'turd miles per hour' has a title been so controversial.
 

Jothel

Member
So I wanna put up some posters but my wall has wall paper on it, soooo yeah. What's the best for this?

Of course I mean my signed GB posters, which is why I'm asking here
 
N

Noray

Unconfirmed Member
so how should we feel about how a lot of games press members end up being PR mouthpieces for game companies

it says a lot that many think Mitch Dyer's going to be Ubisoft or WB PR/CM

Can't blame anyone for getting the hell out of the games press. The pay is shit, in the most expensive city in the world, low job security, no direct long-term career prospects... It's not like guys like Mitch Dyer are amazing critics we'll be mourning for years. Most of them are already glorified mouthpieces anyway. Good on him for getting out while the getting's good.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
I always found entertainment "journalism" super weird anyway. Unless you're talking about strictly the business side of things, which gaming has in gamasutra.

And gaming is such a closed in industry already as compared to music and movies.
 
How good would GB do with Patreon? Better or worse than EZ?

If Patreon donations equates to their wages, to continue in their current form they would have to achieve well over the current EZ total. Add in the trips to E3, PAX and more on an annual basis, plus the need for two separate offices on opposite ends of the country, and GB under Patreon would have a very different look.
 

Wunder

Member
If Patreon donations equates to their wages, to continue in their current form they would have to achieve well over the current EZ total. Add in the trips to E3, PAX and more on an annual basis, plus the need for two separate offices on opposite ends of the country, and GB under Patreon would have a very different look.

It'd just be infinite jar times

which im ok with
 
Actually, now I think about it, Giant Bomb's server costs must be stupidly massive. They have TBs of video on there - all available to download. That alone could not exist with pledges as main source of income.
 

Patryn

Member
Actually, now I think about it, Giant Bomb's server costs must be stupidly massive. They have TBs of video on there - all available to download. That alone could not exist with pledges as main source of income.

There's a reason that I think they started defaulting people to YouTube.
 

derFeef

Member
Actually, now I think about it, Giant Bomb's server costs must be stupidly massive. They have TBs of video on there - all available to download. That alone could not exist with pledges as main source of income.

I think amazon's solutions are not THAT expensive anymore. But yeah generally, I can not estimate the cost of such a thing, but I think the pledge money is very low for EZ, especially if the "drop rate" strikes.
 
Actually, now I think about it, Giant Bomb's server costs must be stupidly massive. They have TBs of video on there - all available to download. That alone could not exist with pledges as main source of income.

All twitch and youtube solo shows. Maybe some kind of big drives for a bllsl type of deal or E3 coverage. It'd be a very different GB.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom