Sundays are for sitting and compiling a list of interesting gaming reading from across the week, and finding myself remembering that the chatter by games journalists about a fall in standards is just ludicrous. We’d have been lucky to get pieces as splendid and varied as the ones gathered here in a whole year in the early nineties, let alone in a single fucking week. Wouldn’t it be good if someone would admit that games writing has never, ever been better than it is right here, right now? Wouldn’t it? WOULDN’T IT? AS IF A FUCKING TYPO IN A GAMESPOT PREVIEW MATTERS AT ALL IN THE LARGER SCALE OF CUNTING THINGS AND… oh, I better not include a link to a pop song.
- I suspect I shouldn’t have kept this for the Sunday Papers. Roburky has been writing an alternately hilarious and genuinely heart-breaking diary of playing as a homeless single-parent family in the Sims 3. If you haven’t picked up on it from any of the places its been linked to, you should go catch up now. It’s almost certainly going to end up the premier piece of popular games reportage of the year.
- I always like seeing people write seriously about games which often are dismissed without thought. Take Riven, for example – there’s a reason why it appealed to so many people, and an eye-rolling dismissal doesn’t serve anyone. In which case, I loved this piece over on general culture blog One-hundred Sounds on the appeal and beauty of Riven. Strong.
- For those who’ve been digging my writing about board games, you should bookmark Downtime Town. It’s Rab from Consolevania’s new board-games review site, with a mixture of video diaries and articles. Especially good is his contrarian defence of Monopoly. Also strong.
- I don’t link to Richard Cobbett’s stuff enough. He’s one of the unsung stars of British Videogame Magazine Journalism – I swear, there was a year on PC Gamer just after issue 100 when his mad energy was the only thing which gave the magazine a pulse. He’s blogged for years, but has his own site now, Narrative Flood. Here’s him writing in his characteristic mix of wit, seriousness and scarily complete knowledge of every videogame ever about the classic “Hot Girls In Games Problem”. That he can make such a hoary old topic like that sing is a credit to his ability.
- A very different kind of adventures with the Sims 3. The illustrious Seanbaby indulges in his sadistic streak. Which is less of a streak, more of a whole body covering. The screenshots are things of mad beauty.
- Gamasutra on the actual finances of free-to-play MMOs. Best of all, Daniel James of Puzzle Pirates puts numbers on the table. Key quotes: “MMO Puzzle Pirates takes in approximately $50 each month from each paying user (ARPPU) for a total of $230,000 a month, all resulting from microtransactions” and “that the average revenue per user (ARPU) is between one and two dollars a month, but only about 10% of his player base has ever paid him anything. As a result, he says, approximately 5,000 gamers are generating the $230,000 in revenue he sees each month.”
- More numbers. What Eve Can Teach Us About The Global Financial Crisis. Well, goons are heavily involved in both.
- Jim’s continuing Ragdoll Metaphysics on artificial people being the new games.
- Lewis Denby takes a shot at my Stealth Girlfriending Crown in his first column for Game Set Watch. Oh – and GTA and Red Faction travel-journalism-memory-esque-ness too.
- Tom Armitage writes smartly about how he wishes in the online world there were less Hicks and More Hudsons, and extolling the joys of making dangerous mistakes in the company of friends. Sadly, I’m Burke.
- Actually, as a side point, in the Mapping-RPS-Onto-Fictional-Groups game episode of Aliens, we decided that if RPS were the Aliens cast Jim would be Hicks, I’d be Hudson, Alec would be Vasquez, and Walker would be Newt. Oh – and Quinns would be Wierzbowski and Stone would be Bishop. And to avoid this being a re-tread of the last time I did this gag, LewieP SavvyGamer would be Burke – because he’s always fucking each other over for a god-damn percentage. Except – er – in a nice way. Natch.
- Remember the Nameless Mod? Sure you do. Here’s their postmortem of their epic Deus Ex Mod achievement.
- Oh God, have a couple of comics around which I’m going to mention. First issue of my three-issue Marvel Mini came out this week. It’s called BETA RAY BILL: GODHUNTER and is about a horse-faced alien with the powers of a Norse God hunting down Galactus, the eater of worlds. It’s totally cosmic and there’s eight page preview here. And in the week coming, Issue 3 of my indie-Baby Phonogram. There’s a five-page preview here and the cover looks like this.
- Tom Ewing’s writing opens up with Chumbawamba/Credit to the Nation’s Enough Is Enough and goes forth to writes smartly about the European Election results which kept most of RPS gnashing our teeth impotently for most of the week.
Failed.
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@Kadiya – “I have a lot of time for you K, but an occasional sense of humility wouldn’t go amiss. ‘Shouting at people’ LOL, very Prima donna”.
Are you serious?
I just don’t know how you can hear yourself think with all the ‘wooshing’. ;)
Thanks for all the links Kieron, I guess I was behind on my reading.
I do have to wonder how many of the “anti-NGJ” crowd actually read Kieron’s essay in full.
It’s pretty basic stuff, guys. It’s been out there for ages, there’s just an increasing trend towards it. And all it is is experiential writing about games. It’s not about verbal masturbation or ego-stroking. Just “this is what happened when I played the game.” I don’t know what’s so awful about that, particularly since KG pointed out pretty strongly (perhaps too many words into the essay for some?) that there is no way in the great world that it should replace any of what’s already out there.
Bye.
(It’s actually probably closer to traditional “reporting” than pretty much anything else games journalism has.)
James T: That’s some shitty pretentious writing being labelled NGJ. Assuming that *is* what the idea means is wrong.
Putty: Re: Doesn’t Make Itself Out To Be NGJ, see this interview that’s just popped up. And thanks.
In fact, thanks generally, peeps.
KG
I’m increasingly enjoying Ready-Up. There’s some really interesting and insightful stuff on there now and then.
(Additionally, it appears to be written by a disproportionately large number of attractive women. Just sayin’.)
@Ging, Howard, Paul
Perhaps when you get jobs you’ll find out how effective ’shouting at people’ is in the work place is, especially at the very people who pay your wage.
Actually, the point “only describe what happened in the game” is an interesting one. My sister became annoyed with a review/preview of Oblivion that described what I think the writer was extrapolating from the situation, rather than what was actually in the game. But this is probably more a technical point rather than a style one.
Of course, I’m totally breaking that rule right now (me, and a sweary Charles Dickens). But then that is the role of stylistic rules.
Reader-tip Number 23865: When a section is written in a humourous style and even labeled ironic, you perhaps shouldn’t treat it as literal.
KG
I think extrapolating from a situation can be useful but you’ve to be careful when you use it. It’s all about context. As all of this is. It’s not about going off on one all the time. It’s not about changing what’s already there. It’s just a possible new way of looking at things. A possible new avenue for it to take alongside the traditional stuff. Christ, what is it, five years since Kieron wrote this? And the debate still rages on? What the hell is wrong with you people?
*calms down*
I can’t believe Kad is still trying to argue this. I see where KG is coming from re: byline and stuff and agree with how he handles things.
@K
I kid, I kid ;)
Incidentally did you ever carry out that Darkfall re-review? I looked but I can’t see it…
@Evo
Argue? Having a different opinion about professional standards and handling things isn’t arguing.
@Lewis: And indeed, like I said, NGJ has been around for ages inside reviews and so on. The style as a whole article in itself is possibly a bit newer, but writing in first person about games is not that new. That said, like Putty says, audiences differ, and I was fortunate enough to grow up reading PC Gamer UK, which was always a little anarchic compared to magazines with more technical styles.
@Kadayi Perhaps you’re taking the term “shouting” too literally?
Cheers for the personal jibe re not yet having a job by the way – grand way to show maturity and keep the discussion at least vaguely civil.
Hey Kieron, what did come of that Darkfall thing at EG? I was just over there looking for your re-review since you mentioned it, but it doesn’t seem to be up yet, are you still working on it to make sure you won’t be accused of not playing it long enough, or did Tom change his mind? :-)
Jonas: In progress.
KG
Cool, looking forward to seeing how much your review differs from Mr. Zitron’s.
[Editing your trolling to look less unreasonable and more martyred really doesn't achieve anything. Shh. - RPS]
Step down now, Kadayi. Everyone else – yes, he’s behaved poorly here, but move along now. Better things to talk about.
RoBurky’s Sims thing is ace. It’s a really nice idea with good execution.
The Hive’s view on professional standards seem fairly consistent with my experiences in a different industry. e.g. I give my considered expert opinion, if the powers that be decide they want me to do something differently I point out how I disagree, get them to sign it off and once my back’s covered then I do what they asked me. As the man said, its their money, not mine.
Seems eminently sensible, what else is a professional to do?
Reading back now the embers have died, seems everyone was pretty much saying the same thing…