MikeJAMoran
Member
I guess I could be in this. I have a Masters in Journalism and have freelanced for CVG, PSM3 and Xbox World magazines. Currently working in marketing (not games marketing) but starting some new projects.
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JournoGAF |OT| Road to the Pulitzers
- Thread starter Moobabe
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Not at all! Everyone is welcome - we all have the same woes etc
More_Badass
Member
Well for my blog, I started out posted my stuff on N4G...until they were rejected because they was from a "personal blog". Before using Twitter (and still even now), my best source of views was Reddit. A link on Reddit would easily get over a 100 views at a time when I'd usually only 20-50. Now I have enough exposure that I regular get 100-300+ views a day, but Reddit and presence on Twitter helps the most.
Interested to see what the pros say
TheGoddamn
Member
My name is Lukas. I podcast and write reviews for Nintendojo (with the most recent being one for Ace Attorney 5).
Earlier this year, I also founded Kambyero, a site dedicated to critical essays about video games, the first of its kind in our country.
Looking forward to chewing the fat and learning with everyone here!
Earlier this year, I also founded Kambyero, a site dedicated to critical essays about video games, the first of its kind in our country.
Looking forward to chewing the fat and learning with everyone here!
This is what I'm talking about! I love essays like this!
A question for the guys who write for bigger sites (I understand if you can't answer) - do you ever feel constrained as to what you can write about? I'm sure you all have personal preference of genres etc - but would you maybe explore more of the critical essay stuff if you weren't salaried to review or report news?
More_Badass
Member
Never try to write for your audience, write for yourself. Because you can't please everyone. If you are honest though and don't sweep the bad under the rug to focus on the good, you'll do just fine.
Broken Joystick
At least you can talk. Who are you?
I think this is the best advice I've been given since I started, a lot of people told me this so I'll continue to do so. I think something to do with how your passion comes into your writing more makes it that little bit better rather than jumping on the latest bandwagon. My favourite advice comes from ONM's Matthew Castle: "Write about what you care for, not what's trending. Pepper it with gags. Remember that games are daft. That is all."
A question for the pros out there. What did you study/what qualifications do you have and would recommend to get into this whole business? I'm currently on my second year of A Levels, and University next September is a possibility, where I'm considering doing Journalism, but there's lots of different types out there. I've seen that Staffordshire University do a "Games Journalism and PR" course but I think I'd want to do a general "Journalism" course so if the video game part doesn't go well, I've got something to fall back on to.
Also will any of you give me work experience please
Also will any of you give me work experience please
I like your chops kid!
Patrick Klepek
furiously molesting tim burton
OK, I'll bite.
Hello! I'm the news editor over at Giant Bomb.
I have also probably been a part of GAF longer than most anyone here!
Hello! I'm the news editor over at Giant Bomb.
I have also probably been a part of GAF longer than most anyone here!
More_Badass
Member
From a recent review for an IOS game I enjoy, this was listed as a con:
"Difficulty will be off-putting to casual gamers"
I never understood this and would love to hear the opinions of other writers. Should difficulty really be considered a con or flaw, enough to affect the score/rating of a game? Games don't have to appeal to everyone, so I always thought it was ridiculous to consider high difficulty or the fact that a game may be frustrating/"off-putting" to causal gamers as a con.
Do you think because it's an IOS game, a game should be reviewed from a different perspective?
Edit: here's the review link, if you wanted the whole context. As for the other flaw, the developers are adding improved controls based on our feedback on Toucharcade
"Difficulty will be off-putting to casual gamers"
I never understood this and would love to hear the opinions of other writers. Should difficulty really be considered a con or flaw, enough to affect the score/rating of a game? Games don't have to appeal to everyone, so I always thought it was ridiculous to consider high difficulty or the fact that a game may be frustrating/"off-putting" to causal gamers as a con.
Do you think because it's an IOS game, a game should be reviewed from a different perspective?
Edit: here's the review link, if you wanted the whole context. As for the other flaw, the developers are adding improved controls based on our feedback on Toucharcade
Hey. I write for Save/Continue from time to time. http://www.savecontinue.com/
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Best exposure I ever got was this article:
The Death of the Video Game Expert
Kotaku pinched my infographic from it...
...for their own, way more popular article:
There Are Too Many Damn Video Games
(Is this standard procedure? I got accredited and got lots of views from it, and wasn't really upset, but I was surprised.)
My question might have got lost because it was in an edit, so I thought I would ask again. In my shoes, would you have been glad to get more exposure, or upset your infographic ended up a centerpiece in someone else's article, or just proud you made a blip worthy of notice somewhere?
EDIT: Yay Patrick joined in! Big fan, Mr. Klepek. You do fine work.
matthewwhatever
Member
I'll add myself to the list, since I've been writing for Gaming Age for over a year now.
I feel a little weird calling myself a journalist, since about 99% of what I write is reviews. Then again, "critic" and "journalist" seem to be almost interchangeable for a lot of people, as far as gaming goes, so why not?
I think it's neat to see there are people here who have their own gaming blogs. I was a music critic for well over a decade, and a huge portion of that was on my own blog/site. I know how much dedication and hard work (and sometimes luck) it takes to get people to read your stuff, so good on all of you for doing it.
I feel a little weird calling myself a journalist, since about 99% of what I write is reviews. Then again, "critic" and "journalist" seem to be almost interchangeable for a lot of people, as far as gaming goes, so why not?
I think it's neat to see there are people here who have their own gaming blogs. I was a music critic for well over a decade, and a huge portion of that was on my own blog/site. I know how much dedication and hard work (and sometimes luck) it takes to get people to read your stuff, so good on all of you for doing it.
Hi! A bit of a departure from other posters, but I write for Teamliquid.net's Hearthstone and SC2 team. Esports!
What about DOTA?!
ANd I'll add all you new chaps to the OP tomorrow morning, or when I wake up for this PS4 thing.
I love DOTA2, but I don't know enough to safely write about any aspect of it, be it the strategy side or the professional scene. We have a strong team, though!
JohnnyPanda
Neo Member
RyougaSaotome
Member
Been working on a new bi-weekly column I'm really excited about. Understanding Japanese puts me in the unique position of being able to play and write about stuff that otherwise would go untouched in NA/EU. I have a Japanese PS+ account, which grants me access to 100s of free PSX games a month.
I had been struggling to find a way to put these things together, and then I realized that it could be a ton of fun to go back and pick up random retro PSX games that never saw English language releases. Sort of a weird retrospective taking a look at a game every two weeks over a wide range of genres and the like.
More than anything though, I'm hyped to find some buried treasure. Hahaha.
I had been struggling to find a way to put these things together, and then I realized that it could be a ton of fun to go back and pick up random retro PSX games that never saw English language releases. Sort of a weird retrospective taking a look at a game every two weeks over a wide range of genres and the like.
More than anything though, I'm hyped to find some buried treasure. Hahaha.
More_Badass
Member
I'm working on previews for Edgar and Witchmarsh and my impressions of Tetrobot
---
Also, anyone interested in the discussion I posted a few posts above? I'm curious to hear what you guys think
This is a really interesting point, and is a problem that I personally have never had to deal with. I think a good parallel game that can be drawn from a non-mobile platform is Knack, and the mixed reviews it's been getting. I haven't played Knack, but because it was marketed as a kid's game, I have seen multiple reviews list it's punishing checkpoint system and general fragility of the character as a negative.
I don't really have a good answer though, I think in terms of iOS games, it should at least be addressed that certain games prove to be difficult, but I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to characterize it as a negative. I guess I take issue more with the pros/cons box than anything else. If it was a paragraph in a review that could be taken either way, I think that's totally acceptable.
Dougstyles
Banned
My philosophy on the difficulty of any game:
Can it be overcome by good play within the confines of competent design?
The only time I'll ever list difficulty as a negative on the high end is when the answer to the question is no.
Knocking a game for being too easy, on the other hand, is simple.
I have my own site ( http://greettherifts.com )which has a focus on niche games and under discussed aspects of gaming.
One of my favorite pieces of writing is about animation in darkstalkers: http://art-eater.com/2010/07/test-1-darkstalkers/
One of my favorite pieces of writing is about animation in darkstalkers: http://art-eater.com/2010/07/test-1-darkstalkers/
MikeJAMoran
Member
During my masters degree I created my own video games magazine which was later shortlisted for the Professional Publisher Association's Best Magazine Concept award.
Its angle was long form analysis and interviews; not quite The New Yorker but a bit more in-depth than most magazines and websites. I like narrative style interviews.
Would it be okay to share some of my work on here and gain feedback? It's non commercial. It's from Summer 2011 and some of the people I interviewed and wrote about were:
Tommy Tallarico & Jack Wall for a feature about video game music
Greg Kasavin (creative director at Supergiant Games) on Bastion
John Edwards (Lead Engineer at thatgamecompany) on Journey
Mark MacDonald (8-4) and localising modern games
Michel Cagne on art in games and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Some of the guys at Child's Play and Humble Bundle on its success
Ian Marsh (Nimblebit) on Tiny Tower and F2P iOS games
Its angle was long form analysis and interviews; not quite The New Yorker but a bit more in-depth than most magazines and websites. I like narrative style interviews.
Would it be okay to share some of my work on here and gain feedback? It's non commercial. It's from Summer 2011 and some of the people I interviewed and wrote about were:
Tommy Tallarico & Jack Wall for a feature about video game music
Greg Kasavin (creative director at Supergiant Games) on Bastion
John Edwards (Lead Engineer at thatgamecompany) on Journey
Mark MacDonald (8-4) and localising modern games
Michel Cagne on art in games and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Some of the guys at Child's Play and Humble Bundle on its success
Ian Marsh (Nimblebit) on Tiny Tower and F2P iOS games
Moz La Punk
Member
Complete access (through google analytics, among others), but I work at the office and am not a freelancer. We share special statistics with freelancers (if they're particulary high or low for instance) and we give an overview of the most popular articles to them. Yes, we watch what is popular. And we might adjust content. For instance: game x is very popular in our demographic, we should have more articles about it. Seems logical, no?
Well, I got out of bed at 4 am to cover news about the PlayStation-event for Gamer and InsideGamer. I'm writing a review for one of the most hyped Wii U-games of the year. I just completed a videogame magazine that went to 800.000 folks, making it one of the bigger gaming magazines in the world. And I'm editing articles from our freelancers.
Cool, I visit your site!
toddhunter
Member
If a game is targeted at casual players it is a legitimate con for the majority who should be interested and if the reader isn't a casual player they can disregard that note safely. After all you have limited time and space and can't necessarily inform everybody about everything.
If people are only worried about the score and don't want to read what you write, you might as well just write dirty jokes to amuse yourself and slap a number at the end.
At least that is the way I look at it. Making the context of your points clear is the important part. For example I might explain that I hate driving in games and dock an open world game for having too much of it. As long as that is explained the review can still hopefully be of value, even to readers with different opinions.
I think more to the point is how much individuality should reviewers be permitted? If writing for a big site, I could see myself having to be more objective, but I don't necessarily think that makes for a better review. Ideally you would have multiple opinions and identifiable personalities on the same title...Mean Machines style.
For my part I've been reviewing games and writing about gaming related topics for a few years now at my own site (http://toddhunterreport.wordpress.com/ or @toddhunter on twitter). It is only humble, but a good article might get a few thousand hits which keeps me going.
Normally I will try to focus on games that are not reviewed as much elsewhere, but I'll also tackle bigger titles or issues when I feel I have something to say. My hook is I attempt to throw in what is hopefully a somewhat humorous twist.
It is quite interesting to see what gets noticed and what doesn't and I keep a close eye on the stats. I don't run ads or anything, so I don't chase the types of articles that are popular but if I did hints and tips for indie games would easily be the way to go.
Most of all I'm proudest when an article gets comments, such as a piece I wrote about collusion in the FGC which proved to be somewhat controversial. Getting people to disagree is at least a start to opening up a conversation even if the audience isn't as big as I would like.
More_Badass
Member
@toddhunter - a few thousand hits for an article? What's your secret?
toddhunter
Member
I suppose just keep at it really and write things people are interested in. It takes time to build an audience.
More_Badass
Member
I guess I could vent here. Okay, I don't have any definite proof but here it goes:
I was very excited and interested in the game Witchmarsh. I asked the devs on Twitter if they had an email, which they did, and I emailed them questions about their game, asking about the different character classes, the type of environments, if the world is linear or open, stuff like that. I planned to write a preview about the game yesterday but wanted more info than the paragraph or two that was on their Tumblr page. Now none of this detailed information is available on their Tumblr, so the only way to get it would be from the devs
So I'm waiting for a response. Then later yesterday, I see that the devs posted on Twitter (which has been removed or deleted now), basically saying "thanks @IG_Enthusiast for the article about Witchmarsh on IndieStatik"
So I read through the IndieStatik article (http://indiestatik.com/2013/11/15/witchmarsh/) and all the info there correlates with the questions I had asked in my email, about classes, gameplay diversity, world set-up, etc.. I seriously think that they sent the info to the wrong site. So now IndieStatik got to write an exclusive first preview instead of me and my blog. And I'm still waiting for a response
Like I said, there's no definite proof. What do you guys think? Am I just been petty or is this something you would be frustrated about as well? Sorry if this thread isn't the right place for a rant/issue like this
I was very excited and interested in the game Witchmarsh. I asked the devs on Twitter if they had an email, which they did, and I emailed them questions about their game, asking about the different character classes, the type of environments, if the world is linear or open, stuff like that. I planned to write a preview about the game yesterday but wanted more info than the paragraph or two that was on their Tumblr page. Now none of this detailed information is available on their Tumblr, so the only way to get it would be from the devs
So I'm waiting for a response. Then later yesterday, I see that the devs posted on Twitter (which has been removed or deleted now), basically saying "thanks @IG_Enthusiast for the article about Witchmarsh on IndieStatik"
So I read through the IndieStatik article (http://indiestatik.com/2013/11/15/witchmarsh/) and all the info there correlates with the questions I had asked in my email, about classes, gameplay diversity, world set-up, etc.. I seriously think that they sent the info to the wrong site. So now IndieStatik got to write an exclusive first preview instead of me and my blog. And I'm still waiting for a response
Like I said, there's no definite proof. What do you guys think? Am I just been petty or is this something you would be frustrated about as well? Sorry if this thread isn't the right place for a rant/issue like this
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
So far this thread is not the place to get something like this answered, apparently.
PandaPedinte
Member
Have you tried to contact the devs again? Seems like it was a mistake from their part. I could be annoyed too.
Of course that would be ok! That's what the thread is for!
My interview about Demigod should be wrapping soon - got a few more questions to ask before I can piece it all together.
Have you tried to contact IndieStatik? I mean - they're the ones who posted the article right?
More_Badass
Member
Not exactly sure how I would approach this
Yeah it's difficult - I wrote a series of articles for my website which was entitled something like "Why I Love" - it wasn't a review, just articles gushing about certain games or franchises.
I then noticed the same style of series pop up at PC Gamer - I contacted them out of curiosity, explained my stance, but the editor reassured me that they had used that title a few years previous and wanted to reintroduce it.
I'd be polite - explain what you think has happened, explain how difficult it is to get noticed in this field (which it is) but don't be accusatory.
Edit
Also it'd be interesting to see what the guys at the bigger sites recommend you do, my experience in that field is pretty limited.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
This is weirdly related to my question I couldn't get answered... which I guess I'm a little hung up on more than I knew.
Is it weird that I looked up the author of the Kotaku article and sent him a LinkedIn invite and he accepted?
I know it's weird that games writing and journalism would be my dream job if I hadn't already climbed up in my day job to a level of success that I would be a fool (financially) to want to work in games writing and journalism...
Is it weird that I looked up the author of the Kotaku article and sent him a LinkedIn invite and he accepted?
I know it's weird that games writing and journalism would be my dream job if I hadn't already climbed up in my day job to a level of success that I would be a fool (financially) to want to work in games writing and journalism...
It's not so weird - maybe contact him and ask? What's the worst that could happen
Hi everybody,
I'm Romain Mahut, I work for Jeux Vidéo Magazine (France's biggest video games magazine) and its website (http://www.jeuxvideomagazine.com)
In the past, I've written for PC Jeux (the French PC Gamer), Joystick, Consoles + (which was the oldest video game magazine in France), and the French OXM. I also wrote a few posts for Destructoid back in 2006 (when I was still a student) but that doesn't really count.
I'm on Twitter @RomainJV247 (I tweet both in English and in French).
I might have already met some of you in real life as I've been a part of a few press tours in the States.
Great topic idea by the way.
I'm Romain Mahut, I work for Jeux Vidéo Magazine (France's biggest video games magazine) and its website (http://www.jeuxvideomagazine.com)
In the past, I've written for PC Jeux (the French PC Gamer), Joystick, Consoles + (which was the oldest video game magazine in France), and the French OXM. I also wrote a few posts for Destructoid back in 2006 (when I was still a student) but that doesn't really count.
I'm on Twitter @RomainJV247 (I tweet both in English and in French).
I might have already met some of you in real life as I've been a part of a few press tours in the States.
Great topic idea by the way.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
To what end? I don't even know precedent. Is this a cool thing, and I just should just say hi and thanks for noticing my work? Turn it into a networking thing, try to get a paid gig?
The first part maybe - if you know he noticed it that could put your mind at ease.
I sincerely hope this thread works out for the best. It's easy enough to simply criticize the current state of games journalism, but I'm interested to hear some insight from the other side of the discussion.
Hey, journos! *waves*
Just know that, to varying extents, you're all living a dream of mine. I went to college to study journalism in the hope that I'd eventually find my way into a position with a gaming publication. When I graduated in 2008, I entered into an abysmal job market for writers and was eventually forced to turn to other career opportunities that presented themselves. I now work in IT support and enjoy it, but I'd drop it in a heartbeat to get the chance to cover the games industry for a living.
So today I settle for writing overlong OP's to threads that only a handful of people read or respond to.
Hey, journos! *waves*
Just know that, to varying extents, you're all living a dream of mine. I went to college to study journalism in the hope that I'd eventually find my way into a position with a gaming publication. When I graduated in 2008, I entered into an abysmal job market for writers and was eventually forced to turn to other career opportunities that presented themselves. I now work in IT support and enjoy it, but I'd drop it in a heartbeat to get the chance to cover the games industry for a living.
So today I settle for writing overlong OP's to threads that only a handful of people read or respond to.
I do some writing for Next-Gen Gaming Blog over here in the UK, try to mix it up with reviews and opinion pieces... All my stuff is found here: http://nextgengamingblog.com/blog/author/benward/
One piece I'm particularly proud of was opening up when I was diagnosed with severe depression... Posted about it here, and got a great deal of feedback from folks in the industry. http://nextgengamingblog.com/blog/videogames-depression-and-me/
It's been a real eye-opener, and although I wouldn't class myself as a 'proper' journo, I'd like to consider myself as at least a competent writer.
One piece I'm particularly proud of was opening up when I was diagnosed with severe depression... Posted about it here, and got a great deal of feedback from folks in the industry. http://nextgengamingblog.com/blog/videogames-depression-and-me/
It's been a real eye-opener, and although I wouldn't class myself as a 'proper' journo, I'd like to consider myself as at least a competent writer.
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
OK cool. Thanks for weighing in.
De-mon
Member
My name is Ramón and I work for Vandal Online (a veteran spanish gaming site from 1997) as review and news editor, also as graphic designer for some advertisement. I'm on Twitter, Deviantart, Tumblr and my web.
I am also participating in an indie game as artist, Niko. I want to see the two sides of this industry!
I am also participating in an indie game as artist, Niko. I want to see the two sides of this industry!
Hydrogen Bluebird
Member
Hello everyone,
I'm a former mobile game producer (I've since moved on to different industry) and I've been a freelance games writer for several months now (I've been writing about games and game development on my own blogs or on Gamasutra for several years).
It's nice to read posts from writers from big and small outlets/websites; and reading stories about how to gain an audience or write better articles. I'll be following/posting in this thread to see what everyone has been writing about and make games writers/journalists friends as well
Hey man, I've had several featured articles/blogs on Gamasutra and I've listed them below:
The Education of a Game Producer part 1: Three ‘P’s to Remember
Between Telling Too Much and Too Little: Balancing Video Game Instruction
Where did Sony go wrong with the PS Vita?
Lastly, I'd like to share the feature I'm most proud of so far. It's a game development article for GamesRadar entitled Six things you may not know about game development (from a former game developer) For those who want to read more of my stuff, here's my contently/twitter page.
I'm a former mobile game producer (I've since moved on to different industry) and I've been a freelance games writer for several months now (I've been writing about games and game development on my own blogs or on Gamasutra for several years).
It's nice to read posts from writers from big and small outlets/websites; and reading stories about how to gain an audience or write better articles. I'll be following/posting in this thread to see what everyone has been writing about and make games writers/journalists friends as well
Hey man, I've had several featured articles/blogs on Gamasutra and I've listed them below:
The Education of a Game Producer part 1: Three ‘P’s to Remember
Between Telling Too Much and Too Little: Balancing Video Game Instruction
Where did Sony go wrong with the PS Vita?
Lastly, I'd like to share the feature I'm most proud of so far. It's a game development article for GamesRadar entitled Six things you may not know about game development (from a former game developer) For those who want to read more of my stuff, here's my contently/twitter page.
If you want a paid gig at Kotaku, pitch articles to Kotaku! I can't promise that any of them will be accepted, but Stephen reads every pitch that comes his way, and if he likes something, he might buy it.
Do you guys ever approach people who's articles you've see online? Or does Kotaku go for the unpublished articles that are pitched directly to you?