In many ways being a videogames journalist who spends most days playing games and writing about an industry that I love is a dream job. Playing through Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception campaign, for instance, was pure bliss and then having to write the review for it an absolute pleasure; not really a chore at all. But, being a videogame journalist isn’t always as cool as most people might think. Like any job, it comes with its downsides.
The good, the bad, and the downright ugly
Out of the hundreds of games I’ve reviewed over the last six years, only about a quarter of them have received scores of 8 out of 10 or above. That means I’ve spent a lot of time playing games that are average, or end up in bargain bins no sooner have they been released.
The problem is that you have to complete these games if you have any chance of building up a balanced and honest opinion. Playing games from genres that you have no interest in puts you in a bit of dilemma, but you have to cast all preconceptions aside and put yourself in the mindset of the people who actually play them. I particularly can’t stand reviewing family-friendly games and titles aimed at children, but when you’re a full-time journalist you have no choice but to review whatever comes your way.
You should feel sorry for the poor folk who had to recently review and play through the likes of Steel Battalion Heavy Armor, Game Of Thrones and that awful Battleship game from Double Helix Games. Could you handle that type of torture on a regular basis?
Go to the bargain bin, pick five games at random, play them, review them in 7 days and then tell me you want to be a videogame journalist
Being a videogames journalist isn’t all about playing games either. There’s the daily grind where you’ll spend hours surfing the net to find a story worth writing about. Press releases pile up in your inbox, which have to be re-written in an interesting manner, and articles have to be promoted across the web. This can often mean a chunk of your day posting on forums where users might have an interest in the topic you’ve written about, and submitting to news aggregator sites such as N4G, Evil Avatar, Digg and Reddit.
Laborious tasks such as uploading and posting up dozens of screenshots and videos may also really grind you down, and if you were to see the back-end of some gaming websites you’d be surprised at how many steps are involved in getting this simplest of tasks up on a website in a presentable manner.
Indeed, for every article we write on PlayStation Universe, there’s a whole process of fairly boring and time–consuming procedures that we have to follow, such as tagging correctly, cross-linking and adding games to the database. The writing part is fun, but just as much time is actually spent doing the mundane stuff.
You need a thick skin
Everything you write is under scrutiny, from the headline you choose to the content of your article. Some readers hang on every word you write and therefore you have a responsibility to be honest, but also be able to back up your facts when, inevitably, someone disagrees.
When you’ve worked hard and spent hours writing a review or an article and then read a barrage of negative comments, and sometimes abusive remarks, it can be hard to take. However, it’s vitally important that you connect with your audience and therefore reading comments shouldn’t be ignored. I’ve always tried to respond to any negative criticism, but when you’re faced with dozens of comments from people who simply think you’re talking out your arse it can be soul-destroying.
Forming a thick skin early on and being aware that not everyone is going to like or agree with what you write is therefore vitally important. I’ve learnt quickly that it’s easy to end up on a slippery slope of self-censoring that sucks the personality out of your articles if you don’t stay true to yourself. As a result of this pressure from readers and sometimes even publishers, you’ll read many gaming articles across the web where writers are afraid to speak the truth for fear of backlash.
One of the toughest things about being a good vidoegames journalist is to provide a balanced opinion, while not losing sight of your own views. You then need to present them in a way that can be backed up in case people don’t agree with your 3/10 review score for Call Of Duty: Black Ops, or your article on why Xbox 360 is fizzling out while Sony is sending the PS3 off in style. At PSU, we pride ourselves in speaking our minds, but with that honesty comes the risk of upsetting people so a thick skin is most definitely needed.
The clock is ticking
Deadlines always loom and playing a game, especially a bad one, from start to finish with one eye on the clock, and then knowing you have two hours to write a review, is not much fun at all; it can be very tough to reach that deadline and play that game with as much focus as you’d like. If you can’t do it though, there are a dozen other people out there who are ready to take over your job. There are a lot of great writers on the net, and a lot of people who have knowledge of videogames. We regularly receive emails from new writers keen to join. Our jobs are fragile. This is an industry where your job is never safe unless you consistently produce good, timely content.
Imagine a bomb under your chair that will go off if you don’t meet a deadline
Your private life is under scrutiny
Watching what you say on Twitter and Facebook is really important. From the moment you join up with a reputable website or magazine your Tweets and Facebook status updates are watched like a hawk by the masses. It can be difficult censoring yourself, but you need to be aware that you are representing a company and everything you write about on your personal space could have an adverse effect.
Be careful of voicing your opinion on social networking site, you could get the sack
The most extreme case we’ve seen of this recently is with Destructoid writer, Ryan Perez, who was sacked for Tweeting negatively about Felicia Day. Be honest, but never get into heated Twitter arguments or personal insults. This can be tough if insults come your way, or if you take to your social media channels after a heavy night of drinking, and forget for a moment that you’re in a position of responsibility. I have a lot of opinions outside of gaming that people wouldn’t agree with so I hate having to censor myself on these channels; it can be very suffocating. (That’s why I also have a secret Twitter account.)
Be prepared for people to tell you about their favourite games and ask your opinion…all the time
When I’m not at work and people ask what job I do, I’m usually faced with one of two reactions. Either a blank face from people who don’t know anything about videogames and just stare at me with no idea what to say next, or the complete opposite, where people think it’s the coolest job on the planet and will talk at me none stop about their favourite games, while assuming I’m an expert on every game that has ever existed.
This can be great fun, after all I love talking about games, but on many occasions I’ve been at a party or even on the train and got into a conversation where my job has cropped up. I’ve then been cornered for the rest of the night or journey with people talking at me for hours about things I find totally boring, such as the guy who lectured me for over three hours on why Eve Online is the greatest game of all-time. That was quite possibly the most boring night of my life.
You’ll be skint..
In the beginning at least, unless you manage to land a full-time magazine role, or walk into a job with one of the major gaming sites, then it’s unlikely you’ll get paid very well. I worked totally for free for two years, holding down a full-time job and then working most evenings to build up a portfolio that would enable me to pursue this career.
To make it work you’ll suffer hardship
Many of the great websites out there pay very little, certainly not enough to make it a full-time job; expect $5 dollars a post, or $10 an article. Magazine work pays better, but there’s a lot of people fighting for this work and unless you’re established in the industry it’s now very hard to get into as magazine work has faded away in recent years due to rise of the online videogames websites. Competition is fierce online so getting to work for one of the well paid sites is only going to happen with dedication.
Dedication’s what you need…
And it’s dedication which is really what being a videogames journalist is all about and only by working extremely hard, often with little or no thanks, will you ever be able to forge out a full-time career. Expect to work around the clock covering breaking stories and working to deadlines, while trying to maintain balance to your social life and usual work. If you aren’t prepared for that, forget it. I also had to fend off criticism from family members pressurising me to get a “proper job” after I decided to throw myself into the industry and give up my 9-5 role as an account manager.
That gamble has paid off for me, but be warned, this is a tougher career than you might think.
Okay, now I’ve got that off my chest…stay tuned for part two of this feature where I’ll tell why being an online videogames journalist is the coolest job in the world! Right, back to the bloody news grind.