You Are A Fucking Machine

Like many folks, I too have a gaming blog. Its for personal reasons, primarily for my friends, many of whom have pursuits elsewhere (mostly in the field of comics) and since I’m always looking for interesting and weird tid-bits relating to the world of video games for my friends, have a journal site is a effective means to pass the news along in a timely and low-hassel manner. But I also have one for professional reasons: I’m a professional “game journalist” (yes… dirty word, I know) and having a blog allows me to be visible and active, and via my own platform. I believe it showcases my skills when it comes to digging aforementioned news and info, as well as the commentary I occasional provide. Plus I pimp my whole “New York” angle as much as possible.

Do I take blogging seriously? …. Eh, not really, cuz its all goofy fun in the end, at least for me. Perhaps I should since I do reap immediate benefits, but I just find bloggers in general, at least the ones who take it, and therefore themselves, too seriously humorous at best, and annoying at worst. Yes, its officially “the next big thing” and as is such the case with all next big things, there’s sparks of genius in places, but the landscape is mostly riddled with deafening mediocrity.

But I’ve noticed that a lot of gamers who blog take what they do VERY seriously. Perhaps too much so. Yet that’s okay… whatever floats their boat. Some go way overboard by having three of four blogs simultaneously. That’s overkill I think. Granted, I have two blogs, one on my site and a LiveJournal, but the LJ is simply there to pass along notice that I’ve made an update on my own site, nothing more. But again, having multiple blogs is also fine in itself. Though I think the very act does deserve some analysis.

I went to school for cartooning but shortly after graduating, I pushed it aside to pursue game design. And recently I’ve decided to make comics once again. This past weekend I went to SPX, a major small press comic books show were folks sell their own comics to like-minded folks. And then it finally dawned on me… the reason why so many folks I know, the gamers, are so frustrated. You see, everyone at the show, the folks who were selling their own books obviously love comic books, enough that at one point, they decided to take a stab at it. And it seems that whenever someone really loves something, that person will try to create something of their own, whether its film, or music, or any other form of art. But its just not as feasible when it comes to video games. Its almost impossible these days to create a game by one’s self, and that level of frustration, or something stemming from it, is fairly evident from almost every diehard gamer I encounter. And many, it seems, have decided to use this frustration, this energy, to write about it video games, as a means to be more closer connected to them. Which again, is fine and dandy.

Though it should be pointed out quite a few can become noticeably far too attached with the concepts and ideas regarding gaming, at least their own… yes, the act of video gaming is often a very singular, person experience, but I believe its a tad bit absurd when folks become so accusatorial or defensive in regards to something which they themselves had no creative involvement in, let alone that its just a video game in the end. And I know that statement might be offensive to some, but speaking as someone who’s life has been profoundly impacted by video games (I grew up with, they’ve helped forge many friendships in my life, as well as my career), at least I can still view them as just video games at the end of the day. And if gamers have a problem with that, and perceive my outlook to be condescending, well, that’s their problem. Hence why when I encounter fellow game designers or writers who are so bitchy about their professions, I have to roll my eyes… we are living every fifteen year old boys wet dreams! But again, that’s a whole another debate. My point is that gamers can be a very over-emotional, scatter-brained set, and much of the writing unfortunately reflects this.

…. But regardless of my personal opinion of diehard game bloggers, if its what makes them happy, then more power to them. But I seriously object when such personal words and thoughts are being used by a large media conglomerate. Actually its not so much the act in itself, its the lack of proper compensation.

Let me just reiterate that I’m not some whiny game writer who’s pissed that its tough to get a paying gig nowadays because so many people are doing the same thing, and for free (since there is that very clear connection between blogging and New Games Journalism), but I do find it very dirty how Ziff Davis is pimping the writings of some 15 year old at zero cost. Its not like he’s writing the actual news, but he is the poster child for a major corporation, and that kid is not getting his dues.

1UP pushes the whole community aspect with their point system, but its such a hard sell… like being buddies with editors of the magazines. Hey, while I’m not necessarily friends with any of them, though I will sat that folks I am acquainted with are indeed very warm and personable (well… they were cool bosses, what else can I say?), but putting them on such a pedestal seems a tad bit ridiculous. Yet people seem to be stumbling over-themselves (or at least that’s the implied message) to be “buddies” with these folks, who again, are people that write video games.

Speaking of the folks who work for ZD that blog, how much of an open forum is it exactly? I’ve had discussions a few times about this, and have brought up a possible scenario of someone saying something that might be offensive to the parent company, to the point of censorship taking place. All have said that ZD is very hands-off and that nothing has even come close to resembling such a situation, but the fact that its a very real possibility is bothersome.

But back to the use of bloggers, what’s most annoying is their use of their female quotient. In almost every ZD mag you have some girl’s smiling face and her going on and on about how cool 1UP is, as is the ability to blog about games and the community that’s attached to it. Hey, did this girl get a check? Because if not, that’s pretty fucked up. Though if they do, I am willing to change my stance on this, but no one in the multiple times I have brought it up has answered my question. Forgetting all that, if I was female gamer, I’d be a bit annoyed by it all… its just a far nicer, less outwardly offensive variant of the booth babe. It appeals to horny males to join the site, period.

Do I feel that blogging is killing game journalism? Well it is to a certain extent, but those who are doing ZD’s dirty work should at least be paid for their efforts. And it isn’t so much that people are possibly being taken advantage of that bothers me, just the fact that everyone is so willing to play along; I guess bloggers who have their faces and words featured are happy for the exposure. Maybe some believe that it will propel that to a writing career of some sort, but if ZD is getting the work for free now, why should they bother paying later down the road?