Writing about games.

Game journalists face numerous challenges in the modern workplace; the radical time constraints, the increase in internet web articles and the reduction of manpower due to the current financial climate.

A traditional gaming magazine is constructed within a nineteen day period, producing over sixty-thousand words to fill a one hundred and fifty page product. The tight deadlines, the increasing budget cuts and diminishing workforce all contribute to a lack of quality, allowing very little time for polish and development. As soon as one article is complete there is very little breathing space before the next one has to be composed, which often lead to corners being cut, or devising faster methods of producing game reviews. This is often seen in objective ranking systems which have become a popular design in portraying games credentials. This method has often been criticised, but to compete in the modern market it is a necessary evil to stay ahead of the flock. Consumers want a quick, detailed, and easy to evaluate method of choosing a gaming title, and the ranking system provides them with just that.

In recent times, ‘New Gaming Journalism’ has become a predominant style when writing about gaming. The method involves the use of techniques such as full dialogue, emotion, opinion and a stronger narrative style of writing. This allows the reader to feel engaged with author and share similar gaming experiences rather than the typical cold and informative text of an objective reviewer. In the current game reviewing climate, numerous writing styles have been adopted by countless people scattered across the internet, alongside ‘NGJ’ writing lies ‘Gonzo Journalism’ which harnesses writing techniques such as a first person narrative with sarcasm, humour, exaggeration and profanity. Personally, I admire the construction of objective writing; it follows the conventions of good English and provides a balanced, evaluated decision using factual evidence. It may lack the warmth of subjective text and maybe the humour of Gonzo writing, but it suggests professionalism and credibility amongst the written world.