The gaming press has been around since the early 80s, but continuously faces criticism that it needs to “grow up”. The criticism is fair, but it assumes that all components of the press are dribbling morons and that other forms of entertainment do not suffer from the same issues . One merely needs to watch E! or MTV News for five minutes to see that the same level of immaturity and obsession dominates the coverage there too. The main difference is that those forms of entertainment also have coverage that caters to the high brow audience.

This week, The Warp Pipe will discuss some of the challenges the gaming press will need to face in order to produce more meaningful content, and share a few ideas of what we’d like to see.

Branching Out

Trust me when I say gaming press could be worse

Since I opened my first issue of Computer & Video Games back in 1990, I’ve been a fan of the gaming press. When my interest in magazines died a long time ago (my cupboard is like a graveyard of once-great gaming rags), a steady glut of video game websites quickly rose to fill the void. Roughly 7 years ago, I decided to join the ranks of folks writing about games online, and have now carved something of a career out of it.

I like the way the gaming press runs, even if there are some major foibles that need to be corrected. Every day the people in this industry face criticism from their readers. Some of this criticism is drivel, like the claim that anyone with a pulse could do the job because it’s all about playing games all day, or that writers take “money hats” in exchange for higher scores and favourable coverage. Other parts of audience criticism are perfectly valid, like the poor quality of prose (particularly among major American sites), superfluous articles (Top Ten Video Game Asses) and the overdependence on publisher PR.

The common thought is that the gaming press somehow lags behind other entertainment media - that the gaming press is immature and needs to evolve. I won’t deny that things need to change, but it’s not simply as easy as flipping a switch. As mentioned in the intro, most entertainment media coverage is heavily immature – one just needs to look at a television to see our cult-like worship of TV/Movie/Music celebrities. The difference is that there is a certain level of higher brow coverage to match.

We lost Greg Kasavin to the Command & Conquer series.

Change does need to occur, and the gaming press needs to continuously evolve to meet the needs of its readers. There is always going to be demand for top ten lists and pictures of half naked CG girls, hence why the outlets that embrace that type of coverage continue to do so. There are a few challenges that need to be faced and overcome before the gaming press can start improving and evolving.

The most important change to be made is a dramatic increase in the quality of writers’ work. Many outlets are criticised for poor grammatical and spelling standards and a relaxed approach to copy editing. It’s no secret that most writers in the gaming press are gamers first, writers second, but that doesn’t mean that self-improvement shouldn’t be on the agenda. I personally found that the best way to improve was to read and write more – and not just gaming related stuff. Copy editors are a must for all sites – you wouldn’t believe the number of outlets where the editor does no copy editing at all. We’re very fortunate here at GON to have an awesome copy editor (Jessi, I prefer the non-descript briefcase to the bag with the dollar sign on it).

Another problem that needs to be nipped in the bud is the veritable “brain drain”, where high profile and/or talented writers are being lured over to the development side of the industry. In the last couple of years we’ve lost veteran writers like Greg Kasavin, Jeff Green and N’Gai Croal to development. Sometimes it even seems like some people are using the press as a means to get into the development side of the industry, rather than actually wanting to write about games. There’s no doubt that every writer out there has a dream game they’d like to make.

We need to fully embrace other forms of content delivery

Part of the reason for the departure of major writers is the pay scale. Game writers don’t make much, and could be making more money elsewhere – for example, I’m a half-qualified CPA but value quality of life over a fat paycheque. With an Internet full of teenagers willing to write for free, it becomes increasingly harder to justify your existence with the revenue model of online websites. Everyone is reliant on advertising, and Internet advertising doesn’t pay particularly well. Magazines had the luxury of people paying for the content inside – that doesn’t really fly on the Internet. People are accustomed to not paying for reading things on the Internet, and to be blunt, we’re screwed unless we can find a way to make more money.

When the money is there, the industry can start exploring different avenues of content. Every major site has some form of video show or podcast, but these are one-size-fits-all programs. Shows like Good Game are a step towards increased legitimacy, but still have trouble breaking away from the “Woah, crazy gamer dude!” characterisation in their hosts. I’ve personally been harbouring dreams about doing a game review show that follows the mould of Siskel and Ebert at the Movies, where two knowledgeable hosts discuss the merits of a new-release game in an entertaining-yet-informed manner. It’s a difficult concept to pull off; not just because of the unique chemistry between the two hosts (which was lost after Siskel’s death), but the time and effort involved in producing a TV show, even if it’s just shot in a dusty old basement. Perhaps more time needs to pass before the gaming audience will appreciate that sort of content. (That and I need to find a suitable co-host.)

Will gaming ever have a duo like Siskel and & Ebert?

I’d also love to see someone take the formula from Inside the Actor’s Studio and apply it to gaming. Get a popular name developer into a room full of other developers and students and ask all sorts of questions about their career, projects and influences. Sadly, it’d be near impossible to do – most developers wouldn’t be able to talk freely without risk to their employment status, and there are issues with translators and such for foreign developers.

Changes in the gaming press are not going to happen overnight. It’s going to be a slow and gradual improvement, perhaps not fully noticeable until the next generation of writers fully bloom. Everyone appreciates constructive feedback, so don’t be afraid to speak your mind.