NeoFA is a bunch of ignorant manchildren with anime avatars who only care about Nintendo, moe anime, JRPGs, lame social justice stuff, and epic cinematic experiences like The Last of Us and Gears of War. I never registered an account there and never will. It is a waste of time to care about anything they have to say about anything, and most topics are just morons trying to spam memes and animated gifs to fit in, whiteknighting, and brownnosing game journos and moderators. They even start threads for disturbing obsessions like Kaz Hirai's birthday for Christ's sake. You literally become dumber when you try to do anything but read the news in the first post and skip all the rest.
Gonna be kind of hilarious for anyone reading this thread for the first time in a few months if, when his post eventually shows up, it's followed by like three pages of posts about how we can't wait to read something that was posted an hour ago.
schreier said:K, I responded, but I guess it has to be approved by mods before it shows up.
NeoFA is a bunch of ignorant manchildren with anime avatars who only care about Nintendo, moe anime, JRPGs, lame social justice stuff, and epic cinematic experiences like The Last of Us and Gears of War. I never registered an account there and never will. It is a waste of time to care about anything they have to say about anything, and most topics are just morons trying to spam memes and animated gifs to fit in, whiteknighting, and brownnosing game journos and moderators. They even start threads for disturbing obsessions like Kaz Hirai's birthday for Christ's sake. You literally become dumber when you try to do anything but read the news in the first post and skip all the rest.
Don't expect a worthwhile or unbiased post from someone who works for the Gawker network that pioneered click-baiting garbage and pushed the formula to an obscene level, ruining the Internet and our culture. They even have a giant electronic billboard in their office where top hits are updated to the second, and the editors are paid according to this, creating some very perverse incentives. There are also lots of other factors that make them utterly corrupt. And this type has the gall to accuse Grunker of click-baiting? This site could not care about click baiting in a million years, and Gawker is not placed to lecture anyone about anything concerning ethics. They're a large part of the reason why shallowness and shock value reign supreme in the gaming media. They always push this bar lower and even revel in it. This is a sick joke.
One point in particular is Grunker seems to put a lot of stock in to was that the two other journalists present at his session asked no questions.
Jaesun approve this dude now, please
One thing pointed out there that is of course valid is that this is very impressionistic. One point in particular is Grunker seems to put a lot of stock in to was that the two other journalists present at his session asked no questions
Even if one of these journalists was hit with the sudden inclination to dig a little deeper, even if that journalist had done his research and came prepared with tough questions, he'd still be in the wrong place to do anything about it.
Hey, Gunker,
I think it'd be unfair of me to criticize your article someplace where you can't respond, so I thought I'd make an account on here and respond to your most recent post. I don't know a ton about RPGCodex or the policies here, and I haven't used this message board before, so apologies if I'm not working this properly.
I get your point. You don't think it's possible to get quality coverage out of a convention. You think that because of the nature of conventions, where a reporter's access is limited to PR-crafted demos and lame Q&A sessions, there's no way to pursue in-depth journalism at events like this, and that major gaming sites should stop putting up with them.
Incidentally, it's worth noting that Gamescom is primarily a show for fans, not reporters. It's closer to something like PAX or Comic Con - an event where publishers come to show their goods to the public at large. Journalists can't get as much out of a show like that, unless they're taking meetings behind closed doors - which many of them are.
You might notice, by the way, that Kotaku didn't send anyone to Gamescom this year. We thought it'd be a waste of time.
All that said...
There are a few things worth addressing, here. For one, sometimes a reporter's job is to relay information provided by PR people of corporations. That's a fact, in any field of journalism, whether it's a White House reporter sharing what the press secretary said on any given day, a Yankees beat reporter writing what the coach said at a press conference, or a games reporter writing about a hands-off presentation at E3. While you're right in that your average demo session or preview event is carefully built to give off one specific message, I don't think relaying that message is at odds with my job as a journalist, so long as I'm honest and candid about my feelings at that event.
Earlier I posted a link to my boss Stephen's write-up of our preview coverage. Here is a valuable excerpt:
It is our intent to present to you video game previews that resemble what we'd tell you about a game if you'd entered our chatroom or if you bought one of us a beer. We'd tell you what we *really* thought, because what we *really* thought is what you, the Kotaku reader, deserves.
That's the key, right? Telling you how we really feel. That's our mandate, and that's part of what makes me proud of our site and what we do.
But hey, I don't think previewing games is particularly interesting. If my job were solely to write previews, I'd be looking for a new career. I try to spend most of my time at conferences talking to interesting people, finding cool indie games I don't know about, and looking for stories that don't just echo what everyone else is doing.
Let me give you an example. A few months ago, Sid Meier came to NYC to show off his newest game, Ace Patrol. Instead of just spitting out a preview and calling it a day, I decided to take a different approach, and I spent some time talking to him about his life and history, then turned it into what I think is one of the best stories I've written to this date: http://kotaku.com/the-father-of-civilization-584568276
Some reporters choose to spend their time echoing what everyone else does, sure. I spend a whole lot of time fuming when I see websites rewrite my articles with a tiny little "source" link on bottom. But in general, there's so much good stuff out there these days - whether it's Simon Parkin's work at Eurogamer and the New Yorker, or Polygon's in-depth features, or many many others - that I think game journalism in 2013 is better than it's ever been.
BTW, there was one line in particular from your original piece that bugged me a little bit, because it contributes to this very untrue idea that "all games journalism is just PR":
As it stands, it seems to be yet another part of the gaming PR industry designed not to rock the boat.
I think that, while we at Kotaku certainly have our flaws, you'd have a hard time saying we're not afraid to "rock the boat" when we run stories like this: http://kotaku.com/leaked-e-mails-suggest-bethesda-misled-gamers-about-pre-1149092622
I've rambled enough. If there are any points I haven't addressed, or if any of you have any questions, post them and I'll do my best to respond.
Let me give you an example. A few months ago, Sid Meier came to NYC to show off his newest game, Ace Patrol. Instead of just spitting out a preview and calling it a day, I decided to take a different approach, and I spent some time talking to him about his life and history, then turned it into what I think is one of the best stories I've written to this date: http://kotaku.com/the-father-of-civilization-584568276
I've rambled enough. If there are any points I haven't addressed, or if any of you have any questions, post them and I'll do my best to respond.
Otherwise, I dare you to identify for me video gaming's giants of criticism. The people who embrace a wide, mainstream audience of people and have the same authority and knowledge as people like Ebert or Dirda or Grimes or Siegel or whoever.
Trannies aren'tOtherwise, I dare you to identify for me video gaming's giants of criticism. The people who embrace a wide, mainstream audience of people and have the same authority and knowledge as people like Ebert or Dirda or Grimes or Siegel or whoever.
RPG Codex
I think it's time for someone to stop and think for a while, because when your best example of Kotaku's fearless and uncompromising journalism is "Arkane said they aren't doing Prey 2, but they are!", something might be wrong...I think that, while we at Kotaku certainly have our flaws, you'd have a hard time saying we're not afraid to "rock the boat" when we run stories like this: http://kotaku.com/leaked-e-mails-suggest-bethesda-misled-gamers-about-pre-1149092622
I think it's time for someone to stop and think for a while, because when your best example of Kotaku's fearless and uncompromising journalism is "Arkane said they aren't doing Prey 2, but they are!", something might be wrong...I think that, while we at Kotaku certainly have our flaws, you'd have a hard time saying we're not afraid to "rock the boat" when we run stories like this: http://kotaku.com/leaked-e-mails-suggest-bethesda-misled-gamers-about-pre-1149092622
Ah yes, using a hurricane as scapegoat to not publish anything about all that scandal... As I posted at the time:I think he's replying to the wrong Codex article as well, he should be responding to this one http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=8579 , especially since it mentions Kotaku and Schreier.
- Hey guys, aren't you a bit corrupted?
- WHAT? HELL NO, WE ARE PURE BRO!
- You sure? Because, we may have some proff that you're all a bunch of PR bitch...
- BRO, PEOPLE ARE DYING! HOW CAN YOU WORRY ABOUT THAT NOW? Now go buy Halo 4 (10/10 GOTY) & Mtn Dew, it's your civic duty to save US economy or some shit...
The hilarious part is that worrying about journalism corruption mid-Sandy is having wrong values, but reviewing AssCreed & Halo 4 at that time is being professional.
Indeed, that story looks good (from a quick look-see), and it is so because it is not a preview. This is the third time that you basically concede to my point; game conventions and previews suck, so why do them?
It seems you have chosen to withdraw the accusation that I am trying to slander your profession in order to get clicks, and it also seems like you have dropped the strawman that I have somehow framed RPG Codex as the only worthwhile news venue.
As for points you do not reply to, well, you don't really reply directly to my post. What I will say, however, is that I'm not interested in discussing your career or Kotaku specifically. The fact is that much of the news stream comes from these places, and previews are almost as big as reviews in terms of the space they fill. That is a structural, systemic problem with games journalism and THAT'S what is interesting to discuss. THAT'S what I'm critiquing in the editorial.
It seems to me that Florence ran his head into this brick wall as well when he criticized the profession. When he pointed out the systemic problems, people responded with a bunch of anecdotes on how they once wrote a really good article or how they have a policy to ensure good reporting. Yeah, that's not really the point.
So the bottom line is this: You argued against my editorial on GAF, seemingly because you disagreed that games journalism had the systemic problems I identified in the editorial. Since then, you have stated that you generally don't like the things I don't like (previews, conferences), that your best story was one that refused to fit the idiotic format, and you have linked me to a Kotaku editorial dismissing the value of previews but succumbing to the demand for them.
All in all, I find myself confused. Confused that you disagree so vehemently, and then basically tell me I'm right.
I'm not asking you or Kotaku to single-handedly deal with these systemic problems, but the first step is admitting you have a problem. That would be a neat first step to take, instead of dismissing the supposedly naive, wide-eyed folk like me out of hand.
I think it's time for someone to stop and think for a while, because when your best example of Kotaku's fearless and uncompromising journalism is "Arkane said they aren't doing Prey 2, but they are!", something might be wrong...I think that, while we at Kotaku certainly have our flaws, you'd have a hard time saying we're not afraid to "rock the boat" when we run stories like this: http://kotaku.com/leaked-e-mails-suggest-bethesda-misled-gamers-about-pre-1149092622
This asks the question, what is the point of a preview? If all you're doing is telling us what you saw, why can't we just watch an actual video of what you saw? What is the point of having a person there?Previews sometimes suck. Usually, even. A few months ago, just after Aliens: Colonial Marines came out (after having gotten pretty decent previews a few months before that, thanks to a deceptive demo), I asked my boss if we could stop doing previews. We all had a long discussion, and we decided against it, because it'd do a disservice to our readers to not provide them with the information that we get from those conferences. The solution, at least for us, is to be as honest and as candid as possible about what we're seeing and hearing, and to ignore the demos that suck or feel like a waste of time.
They're great opportunities to meet people and learn things and discover games you wouldn't have known about otherwise.
The solution, at least for us, is to be as honest and as candid as possible about what we're seeing and hearing, and to ignore the demos that suck or feel like a waste of time.
That's how I interpreted your story, because those were the implications, whether you intended them or not.
But Florence's arguments were based on their own anecdotal evidence: a gross PS4 contest, an image of advertisements, one writer who did something really scummy (worked for Square Enix and then wrote about them without disclosing that fact).
There is nothing inherently flawed with the field that makes it impossible to be ethical or honest. The people he mentioned had done unethical or dishonest things, yes, but that doesn't mean it's systemic to game journalism.
"I don't do many previews, so there's not a systemic problem." For the last time: I am not talking about you or Kotaku, and I don't care what you do. I'm am talking about the collective of gaming media, the face of it. IGN, Kotaku, GameSpot, whatever. And the fact is, when you group all this up, you get extremely high review scores, you get a preview business almost as big as the review business, you get reporters and PR people who are each other's closest allies, you get a lack of critical analysis and an overabundance of optimism towards major publishers and their game.I won't argue that there aren't problems in game journalism, and yes, there's something bizarre about the idea that we get to see multiple marketing-crafted chunks of every video game before it's even out, but that's not a huge part of my job, and when I am at those events and conventions, I get a lot out of them. So, no: I don't think this is a systemic problem.