Videogame Journalism
Hello. Something I want to know - does the USA / Canada / Australia have any 'specialist' games mags? I hear about something called EGM, which sounds like our CVG - standard news-(p)reviews-chips&teats layout, sub-par writing, inane reviews ("this game has great gameplay!!"). Is this the case?
A few years ago, the UK was doing alright - we had both Edge and Digitiser. Edge was, and arguably still is, the hardcore gamers preference. Holier than thou attitude (referring to itself in the third person), consistent editorials (Redeye, yes), interesting features, and very, very big words. Think Tequila on caffeine. Not much caffeine, after all, you know Tequila.
Hey - not perfect, but well worth its £4. Critics argue that its quality has rapidly deteriorated in recent months, but I'm not fit to comment on that.
Then there was Digitiser. Updated and available for free every day, each issue of Digitiser on Teletext (I think this was a brief fad for Americans, to summarise - magic telly words) contained some news, a review, a preview, and some letters. And some humour. Very much a Marmite thing, you either got it or you didn't - though I'd have to question the mentality of any human that doesn't find Insincere Dave hilarious - Digi became a cult hit. Sadly, after ten years, Digi's writer - tottering, nude drunkard Mr Biffo - left to become a big television sensation (writer). So far, he's wrote some kids shows, Crossroads eps, and an episode of Eastenders featuring human beatbox and Dirty Den saying The Most Taboo Word on primetime. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
It's strange that I can rattle off names of UK games journalists easily - Stuart Campbell, Paul Rose, Kieron Gillen, Tony Mott, Stephen Poole, etc. It's not as if they're famous or anything, but their reliable and entertaining words in the past have left me wanting more from what's available today. I find myself having to go online, but I only have Tycho and the Extra Life crew. Not much, really, is it?
OK, so, main point of the post. One: is / was your available gaming journalism any good?
Two: read these - give them each a good ten minutes of your time:
<a href='http://www.worldofstuart.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Stuart Campbell archives</a> - in particular, <a href='http://www.thumbs.aloft.dial.pipex.com/wos/world/digi.htm' target='_blank'>his Digitiser Panel 4s.</a>
<a href='http://theweekly.co.uk/digiworld/' target='_blank'>Digiworld</a> - brief attempt to start a new online gaming magazine. Died. All archives are available and free to try, £4 to pay if enjoyed.
<a href='http://www.moleman.freeserve.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Moleman's Digitiser archive</a> - it's a humour test! You're to read through these funny bits of Digi, and see how many times you laugh. Note: if none of you enjoy it whatsoever, I can attribute this to both culture divides and your soul and how it is not there. Regardless, I'm not the only one who found it frequently funny. If you like, check out <a href='http://www.bell101.freeserve.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Bell's fan site.</a>
Please comment on these. Enjoy them? Different? I don't know - tell me.
A few years ago, the UK was doing alright - we had both Edge and Digitiser. Edge was, and arguably still is, the hardcore gamers preference. Holier than thou attitude (referring to itself in the third person), consistent editorials (Redeye, yes), interesting features, and very, very big words. Think Tequila on caffeine. Not much caffeine, after all, you know Tequila.
Hey - not perfect, but well worth its £4. Critics argue that its quality has rapidly deteriorated in recent months, but I'm not fit to comment on that.
Then there was Digitiser. Updated and available for free every day, each issue of Digitiser on Teletext (I think this was a brief fad for Americans, to summarise - magic telly words) contained some news, a review, a preview, and some letters. And some humour. Very much a Marmite thing, you either got it or you didn't - though I'd have to question the mentality of any human that doesn't find Insincere Dave hilarious - Digi became a cult hit. Sadly, after ten years, Digi's writer - tottering, nude drunkard Mr Biffo - left to become a big television sensation (writer). So far, he's wrote some kids shows, Crossroads eps, and an episode of Eastenders featuring human beatbox and Dirty Den saying The Most Taboo Word on primetime. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
It's strange that I can rattle off names of UK games journalists easily - Stuart Campbell, Paul Rose, Kieron Gillen, Tony Mott, Stephen Poole, etc. It's not as if they're famous or anything, but their reliable and entertaining words in the past have left me wanting more from what's available today. I find myself having to go online, but I only have Tycho and the Extra Life crew. Not much, really, is it?
OK, so, main point of the post. One: is / was your available gaming journalism any good?
Two: read these - give them each a good ten minutes of your time:
<a href='http://www.worldofstuart.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Stuart Campbell archives</a> - in particular, <a href='http://www.thumbs.aloft.dial.pipex.com/wos/world/digi.htm' target='_blank'>his Digitiser Panel 4s.</a>
<a href='http://theweekly.co.uk/digiworld/' target='_blank'>Digiworld</a> - brief attempt to start a new online gaming magazine. Died. All archives are available and free to try, £4 to pay if enjoyed.
<a href='http://www.moleman.freeserve.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Moleman's Digitiser archive</a> - it's a humour test! You're to read through these funny bits of Digi, and see how many times you laugh. Note: if none of you enjoy it whatsoever, I can attribute this to both culture divides and your soul and how it is not there. Regardless, I'm not the only one who found it frequently funny. If you like, check out <a href='http://www.bell101.freeserve.co.uk/' target='_blank'>Bell's fan site.</a>
Please comment on these. Enjoy them? Different? I don't know - tell me.
Comments
Then, there is the genious of them: Small columns, for each genre, by a *Ahem* Knowledgable Master of the Genre. Each month, they provide great insight in each(except for Extended Play, which just tells you some damned good deals, and sweet expansion packs that they haven't reviewed yet(or mods, or patches, or patches for mods). The other ones have really great insight, and its kind of funny- I've been reading them for the longest time, and they always have great stuff, that usually has something that'll make you think. It doesn't matter if you don't like the genre/don't know much about it- I myself know next to zip about wargames, yet, the Colonel- William R. Trotter, makes incredibly intelligent reading in his column every month.
Try them. They kick ****.
An alternative to PC Gamer would be Computer Gaming World, which is bleh. Not bad, but not OMGZ AWESOME either. Their writing is great, but there's no awesome spectacular hidden surprises, just reviews and previews.
And on the case of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), yeah, it blows. So does Game Informer, which is another everything mag.
me too, ever since their warcraft 3 announcement issue <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
These days, I get most of my gaming news online. I'll jump around gamespot, gamespy, IGN, and others to get as many views as possible. I've also found that 95% of the time I agree with Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade, so I look to them frequently for news of Things I Should Care About.
previously known as Computer Games Strategy Plus.
you can find archives of past issues, I think, here: <a href='http://www.cdmag.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.cdmag.com/</a>
It really is the most respectable computer game publication. The writers are mature and professional, unlike EGM D:
These days, I get most of my gaming news online. I'll jump around gamespot, gamespy, IGN, and others to get as many views as possible. I've also found that 95% of the time I agree with Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade, so I look to them frequently for news of Things I Should Care About. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm definitely with coil on this one - PC Gamer just used to be better, and that's a fact. I've been getting it for over six and a half years, so trust me on this. It's still a pretty good magazine, but it's no longer my be-all and end-all for gaming news and demos. For one thing, their demo disc is well-nigh worthless these days. Virtually every demo they release has already been on the internet for weeks, and they can only include one or maybe two due to the size of the things. It's true that these things aren't really their fault, but it doesn't change the fact that it's mostly useless to me. Unless they start offering DVDs (which they did, for one month, and it was wonderful), I'll renew my subscription as a magazine-only one, if I decide to renew at all.
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Long live K. Gillen. The man is an editorial genius; he definitely produces the most enjoyable, original and downright fantastic copy.
These days, I get most of my gaming news online. I'll jump around gamespot, gamespy, IGN, and others to get as many views as possible. I've also found that 95% of the time I agree with Gabe & Tycho of Penny Arcade, so I look to them frequently for news of Things I Should Care About. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm definitely with coil on this one - PC Gamer just used to be better, and that's a fact. I've been getting it for over six and a half years, so trust me on this. It's still a pretty good magazine, but it's no longer my be-all and end-all for gaming news and demos. For one thing, their demo disc is well-nigh worthless these days. Virtually every demo they release has already been on the internet for weeks, and they can only include one or maybe two due to the size of the things. It's true that these things aren't really their fault, but it doesn't change the fact that it's mostly useless to me. Unless they start offering DVDs (which they did, for one month, and it was wonderful), I'll renew my subscription as a magazine-only one, if I decide to renew at all. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Agreed with the both of these guys. My first issue was the one with the big Quake 3 symbol emblazoned across the front cover. I consider one specific issue to be the climax of their quality: the issue that came with their best CD ever, the one that included a TON of full, classic games like X-Com UFO defense and Wing Commander. From there onwards, they went downhill for a number of small reasons that can be summed up in one phrase:
The Internet killed them.
Their 1-month turnaround time to print means <i>all</i> of the news is either old or has been proven downright <i>false</i> by the time it hits newsstands. The CDs that come with each issue are useless to anyone with broadband. The reviews -- aside from potentially being biased towards companies that pay for many full-page ads -- are no more useful than actual player reviews and opinions. In other words, PC gamer simply isn't worth the money anymore, and I haven't heard of any other print mag for computer games that is.
[edit]I'd also like to emphasize my agreement with Coil about how useful the guys at Penny Arcade are for game advice. They really do know what they're talking about.
Lots of magazines here. But not all are good. Ação Games plainly sux, whilst SGP, EGM and PC Gamers are great. They have excellent coverage of everything on the industry.
Would give you the site so you would see, but it's all in Portuguese. No use I think... hehehe....