I started reviewing videogames professionally in 1993, when Genesis and SNES roamed the earth. Over the next 15 years I worked for magazines and websites like GamePro, GamesRadar, Official Xbox Magazine, and World Of Warcraft Official Magazine, while freelancing for Wired, PC Gamer, and many others. In an attempt to guide the next generation of reviewers, I wrote and published Critical Path: How to Review Videogames For A Living in February. Ask away!
I don't know the current statistics on the percentage of female game players. I'm a reviewer, not a statistician. :) And I think we've both seen games that are marketed directly to female players, so it seems pretty clear that publishers do.
I have always been a non-fiction guy, in writing and reading; I have friends who have made the jump from critic to storyteller (Jay Turner & Gary Whitta to drop a few names), but I am not one of them, nor do I ever expect to be. It's not that I wouldn't like to try, or that I don't have ideas that I think might make interesting games, but I don't believe there is a direct connection between those two fields and it's never been a goal -- I love being a game critic. A lot of people do think, after playing a game or reviewing a game, that they can make a better one -- to which I say, that's probably the healthiest thing you can undertake. Give it a try and get an appreciation for how difficult it really is. Your subsequent reviews will turn out far more informed.
Not just try -- it's required. It's irresponsible to review a game where co-op or multiplayer is an important element and not properly play those modes. For pre-release games that are not yet publicly available, the PR team will arrange for devs or the QA staff to play in those modes with you. If the game is publicly available, go online. Not having friends is not acceptable -- play with strangers, since that's what other people in your situation would have to do. There is no excuse and no reason why a reviewer could not play a game like L4D in single-player mode as well as co-op mode. Playing a game to its fullest before writing about it is the job. Accept the responsibility or don't accept the assignment.
Sure, they try. I mean, it's in their best interest to be polite and accommodating and put you in a good frame of mine about their product. The trick is not to let it actually affect your decision. Giving me access to more information -- developer chats, deeper Q&As with the team -- often makes me like a game more than trinkets or trips because I understand more of what's going on behind the scenes for real. I understand the team's goals better and what they are trying to do with the game. T-shirts are nice and all, but if you want to impress me, give me knowledge and understanding instead. :) There is a line that can be crossed, and it's up to every writer not to cross it. For 15 years, I had no trouble seeing and respecting that line.
Aircraft Mechanic
Did you ever catch something critical right before a plane was about to take off?Sommelier
What's your favorite bottle of wine for under $20?Professional Gamer
What's the longest playing gaming session you've ever had?Keep in mind that this is entirely subjective, and I can only comment on the games I've played or reviewed (well, yes, I have played all the games I've reviewed, you know what I mean...) I think the worst games I ever reviewed were Combat Cars for the Genesis (a top down racer with no mini-map) and Chicago Enforcer for Xbox, which was a very very bad 1930s FPS. I was just amazed that it made it through certification. Best? I have too much nostalgia for the old days of arcades to say anything other than Robotron 2084 or Tempest, but they still kick my ass today. Any game that remains challenging 30 years after it was created deserves the title "classic."
I do a lot of my gaming on 360 and iPad because I worked at OXM and it is most available in my free time, respectively, but I could just as easily be doing it on PS3 and 3DS. My playing a lot of 360 should not influence you in the slightest. I am platform agnostic and I have active disdain for the so-called console wars. As if we don't have enough divisive issues in the world, some brainiac decided that one machine dedicated to playing games had to be empirically better than another. Downright ridiculous. Play what makes you happy on whatever you can put your hands on. The important thing is that we're playing games and enjoying it.
Sure -- but it might not be in those obvious A/V categories. At some point we're going to hit a visual threshhold where it just doesn't matter if games look better, or the improvements made will be less obvious. So the innovation has to come from things like gameplay and concept and big ideas, I think. We know spaceships can blast aliens; we know dudes can beat each other up; we know one hero can save the world. But when you consider how many interesting topics books and movies cover that games currently do not, you realize there's tons of room for growth. The world of gaming is not limited to simulations of both real and imagined worlds and activities; I think we're going to see "better" come from "more thought-provoking" in the long haul. And those thought-provoking games can absolutely come with photorealistic graphics, surround sound, and tangible 3D worlds -- but those can't be the focus in and of themselves.
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