Kieron Gillen's 2004 blog was really interesting; it gave solid examples of the direction that gaming journalism needed to go. Simple buyer's guides and so-called "objective" critiques still have an audience, but writing needed to advance in a way which the writer merged himself with his critique in a unique narrative setting. This method would even prove interesting to the non-gaming community, as it relates a personal story as opposed to a blow-by-blow breakdown of the mechanical aspects of a game. It's an ideal method to move games journalism from the world of reporting to the realm of narrative in order to describe the art of a game. The injection of a personal storyline into game investigation would have numerous benefits in countless situations, ranging from a better connection with the current audience whilst drawing in a larger audience that normally wouldn't have considered the game.
L.B. Jeffries' evaluation of Gillen's ideas touched on many important points; although New Games Journalism is a revolutionary means to change the face of gaming criticism, it isn't meant to be used in every situation. As he stated, it's only really effective for relaying a unique game experience, such as an epic multiplayer event. To describe the same gaming event experienced by everyone during a single-player adventure would be downright lame, so in order to keep things interesting, it'd be best if New Games Journalism tactics were only applied to unique and epic situations, such as the Jedi Knight II battle described by Always Black.
The Problem with Games Journalism article really kicked the pretentious game writers off their horses. While writers like that will always exist, it is important to remember the target audience when working for a periodical. In this case, the readers aren't looking for advanced composition and complex language, they simply want to know the in's and out's of a certain game, and whether or not they should spend money on it. This isn't to say that good writing skills aren't appreciated- this certainly isn't true, and good form is always the best means to convey an idea. Leveling yourself with the audience to get the point across will always be the best method.
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I agree and mentioned this in my blog, that you need to consider your audience when writing about video games. I thought that the Problem with Games Journalism made this point well. Many gamers don't want complex vocabulary and syntax, they just want a number from one to ten. Reviews are what sells.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting thought about applying the style to only certain situations like with Always Black. Now that to me would seem more appealing as opposed to reading all reviews from the NGJ style. Good thinking.
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