An article looking at the fitness gaming market and whether or not the genre has reached its limits. It was published in MCV 669 on Friday, January 6th 2012 and later published on MCVuk.com.
Actually, death is probably an exaggeration. It’s more like I’ve been put on life support.
As people have noticed on Twitter, GameBurst or me whining in the MCV office, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword left me disappointed. Extremely disappointed. So much so that far from longing for the next Zelda game (my usual feeling upon completing each entry in the series), I might never want to play a new Zelda again. I’m not even sure I can muster any excitement for any other Nintendo game. I might not get a Wii U.
From anyone else, this seems a perfectly reasonable reaction. From me, it’s akin to blasphemy. I have been a determined Nintendo defender since the day I opted for an N64 over a PlayStation, quick to come up with reasons why the company still had that special magic that Microsoft and Sony can’t quite capture – no matter how technologically far ahead the pair are.
Let me state that I have not given up on Nintendo completely. I still cherish the games I own, I would happily replay previous Zeldas (or other Nintendo hits), but I no longer have faith that their future endeavours will be masterpieces that I will love in the same way. My eyes have been opened to the criticisms that I once so doggedly defended against. It’s like that moment where you realise you have grown past the cartoons and comedies that entertained you as a child – you know why you found them so entertaining, but you’re wary of watching any more lest they ruin your rose-tinted memories.
With this admittedly melodramatic statement made, I will explain what brought about this change. Obviously, proceed at your own risk: here, there be spoilers.
An analysis piece following the release of the Portas Review, a Government-commissioned study into the state of High Street retail by TV’s ‘Queen of Shops’ Mary Portas. It was first published in MCV 669 on Friday, January 6th 2012 and later posted on MCVuk.com.
Not that I’m a bad journalist, but there’s definitely room for improvement.
This is essentially my New Year’s Resolution when it comes to my work at MCV, a statement of intent at the things I want to be achieve by the end of the year. True, putting it on the internet means there is the danger my boss could see it, but there’s nothing more motivational than accountability, eh?
Write at least one cover story per month
Or at least two stories for the first news spread. Some have said these are the most important pages of MCV and I’ve managed to get quite a few stories on them over the past few months – even a few lead of covers! So I’m going to try to keep this up.
One independent feature per month
MCV’s feature list is extensive and covers pretty much every sector or topic imaginable. And while these features are great fun to write, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as coming up with your own pitch, working on it and seeing the final piece in print. I’m always noting down ideas for new features or interviews, but I never seem to have the time to produce them. This year, I’m going to make the time, and write at least one feature per month that’s not on the editorial planner – even if it doesn’t get used.
More analysis and opinion pieces
Similarly, I’m going to try and expand on the sort of features I write. I’ve plenty of sector and company profiles, but it’s hard-hitting analysis or interesting opinion pieces that always make for the better read – just check out any of Ben Parfitt’s opinion pieces on MCVuk.com. In the past, I’ve always been worried that I don’t have a strong enough opinion about certain topics, so this year I’m going to make bloody sure I do by sitting down and asking myself: what do I think about X? This will probably tie in with my personal New Year’s Resolution (‘write every day, blog every week’) and result in a short piece on this site looking back on each week’s main news story.
Get debating
With stronger opinions under my belt, I can then force them on the world. Or more accurately, engage in discussions about them with my peers. I always see Twitter light up as the entire industry debates everything from the latest game announcement to controversial review scores, and I haven’t been joining in as much as I feel I should. That’s not to say I’ll be spending my entire working day arguing pointlessly on Twitter, but I want to feel more confident throwing in my two cents. It’ll also help me network (albeit virtually) with more people in the industry – something you can never do enough of.
Ask harder questions
I’m regularly encouraged to do this by the editor and deputy editor, so it’s time to act on it. Or at least, it’s time to consider flagellating myself if I lead another interview with the horrendously generic ‘Why is X important to your company?’.
Read more
Obviously, I keep up with the news and reviews I’m interested in or need to be aware of, but I need to expand this more. The best way to improve your own writing is to read other people’s: from that you can learn what works and what doesn’t. We already get plenty of magazines in the office, but I’ll start looking out for other mags from other industries (either in print or on Apple Newsstand) to pick up a few tips from them.
Do less
Or more accurately, stop doing more. This is not an MCV-specific resolution. I work Monday to Friday. I co-host a twice-weekly podcast (and will potentially be joining a second one. More on that later in the month). I’m going to be trying to update this blog every week. I also write and produce a monthly audio column for a friend’s website. I help run a Scout troop, meaning I have commitments every Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon. I am halfway through writing a trilogy of fantasy novels that I intend to finish this year. I’m narrating the audio version of a friend’s series of children’s books. And of course, I have a family to see, a social life, a pile of games to play and a slightly bigger piles of books to read.
I need to stop taking on other things.
Not the most original title, I know, but it’ll do the job when people are googling for this sort of article.
A while back I recieved an email asking for advice on how to get into games journalism, and not for the first time. While I don’t consider myself an expert – having only been in the industry a few years – I do try to offer a few tips I’ve learned from editors and other journalists, as well as my own experiences.
And to save anyone else having to email me, I thought I’d sum up these tips in a handy blog post. They’re nothing radically new, you can find similar advice elsewhere, but I hope it helps…
“So what do you think of it so far?” I ask the bloke next to me, not wanting to spend the next 45 minutes queuing in silence. We’re watching people playing the playable code of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at the Eurogamer Expo.
“Yeah, it looks alright. Hope the PC version isn’t as laggy as that,” says PC gamer A.
“Well, it is only preview code,” I point out.
“It shouldn’t be,” says PC Gamer A. “The game is due out in a little over a month, so they’ll be going gold within a month. It’s probably because it’s the console version. It should run a lot better on PC. Look, look at that.”
He points to a monitor where someone is trying to ride a horse down a cliff face. The action judders as the preview code struggles to handle the horse animation and the creature’s unsual path.
“That shouldn’t happen,” he continues. “If they can’t make it work properly on consoles, they shouldn’t bother.”
“To be fair, that guy is trying to break the game. It’s bound to be like that if you push the game too far.”
“Not on the PC it shouldn’t,” A scoffs. “That version should be able to cope.”
“It probably will,” I say, “but that’s assuming you’ve got a PC that can run it. My one’s a bit of a frankenstein affair, built out of spare parts. It’s a shame because I loved Morrowind on PC.”
“They’re meant to be played on PC. The controls are all wrong on a controller. Plus it’s the only one that will actually look half decent.”
“What? It looks great.”
“It looks okay, but it’ll look better on PC.”
“Or it will do once the modders get their hands on it,” chips in PC Gamer B, the man behind me.
“Yeah, exactly,” agrees A. “Oblivion looked like arse until they released the high-definition textures.”
“It’s a sorry state of affairs when developers have years to work on games and we have to finish them off for them,” B adds.
“Maybe,” I say, “but if developers tried to make sure every game was perfect, they’d never be able to release it.”
“Yeah but they shouldn’t release it just because it’s ready for consoles,” says A. “Like I said, the PC can handle much better graphics and more smoother gameplay.”
“I still prefer consoles,” I say. “It’s nice and simple. You put in the disc, and off you go. No need to worry about installation and stuff.”
“That’s just lazy,” laughs B, only half sincere. “PC gaming only takes a little effort.”
“It take more than that,” I say. “It took me months to get a game running and when I finally found the problem, I had to go into something called a .ini file and remove a semi-colon. If a piece of punctuation can prevent you from playing a game, I’ll take consoles any day.”
“That stuff’s easy to sort,” says A. “Anyone can do that.”
“But not everyone knows how,” I point out.
“Well, they should,” says B.
And on it went. I could recount the entire conversation, but I honestly got bored and was only paying the minimum attention required while I waited for my go on Skyrim. I know not all PC gamers are this snobbish, but spending the best part of an hour with two that are is enough to make you cautious about any of them.
A feature in which I interviewed the developers behind Modern Warfare 3 and CoD Elite about how the Call of Duty series will evolve in the next few years. It was originally published in MCV 655 on Friday, September 16th and subsequently posted on MCVuk.com.
A news story rounding up the Call of Duty XP and Elite announcements, as well as Activision’s overall vision for the franchise’s future. It ended up as a cover story, and was first published in MCV 654 on Friday, September 9th 2011. It was subsequently published on MCVuk.com.
A roundtable feature asking PR bosses what they really think about the relationship between publishers and the press. It was first published in MCV 651 on Friday, August 19th and subsequently published on MCVuk.com.
A feature looking at the most efficient ways publishers can manage their fan communities. It was originally published in MCV 645 on Friday, July 8th and subsequently posted on MCVuk.com.
