1 post tagged “podcasts”

    Over the weekend I had a lot of exposure to video games in a lot of conflicting ways. This pipedream has been going on for longer than you might believe, and yet it’s only been in the last year of my life that I have even believed for a second that I might possibly be capable of writing about anything, even video games, in a way that others might enjoy. The prospect of being published has given me a lot of confidence, and now I just need to find a way to move further towards this as a part-time profession.

    Part of my gripe with things has been that I pay a lot out of pocket just to get reviewable copies of games. A lot of money. Added to that the cost of staying on top of the industry (playing the MUST-OWN titles) and buying the games that I actually want and my “hobby” slash “career training” starts to look more and more like a crack habit. And I don’t turn tricks well since I got fat.

    So I guess for starters, there’s your explanation on why I write only about games here, and obviously primarily older games. I am poor, soon to be more poor (though probably fabulous rich once does away with these nagging scruples) and yet I both love video games and love to write. So please, in all seriousness, pass these links along and leave some encouraging comments for me. I want to feel like this is something people like to read.
    So as gaming has cost me more and more, and facing the harsh realization in the middle of E3 that millions of just as fat dudes want to do the exact same thing I do means I have absolutely the chance of a man in a steak suit at the zoo of making any kind of name for myself in this field, I got very discouraged. Amped IGO has been a great site to work for if for nothing else than the staff of geeks and nerds to discuss nerdery with and the somewhat credible logo I get on my amazing business cards. But the fact remained, I was running out of money and hadn’t quite made my big break yet.
    Amadeo to the rescue. Between reviewable copies of quite a few games from my boys at Atlus, who are letting me review a copy of Deep Labyrinth right now (and that Mia says resembles a plastic wang), and a handful of older titles that Deo is sending me free copies of to review, I am suddenly looking at about 5 free games to review over the next 2 months. Amadeo is also hooking me up with the PR dude from Atlus who has been very supportive of my inquiries and is discussing future reviewable copies of games since I am such a wonderful reviewer for AmpedIGO.

    Atlus, for those who don’t recognize the company, is a Japanese developer and publisher who specializes in the following:

1)       Minimalist RPGs or abstractions of the standard RPG formula

2)       Cute anime characters in bathing scenes

3)       Deeply philosophical games about hot demons

4)       Crazy-ass shit that doesn’t make any sense even in

They have been and remain one of my favorite developers outside of Squeeeeeeenix, and to be in direct contact with them is perhaps the second feather in my foppish “credibility” cap.
    Meanwhile, I subscribe to a lot of different podcasts from different magazines and websites in the industry. For the most part, I think the 1up.com podcasts are hilarious and energetic, definitely worth listening to for the entertainment value. “1Up Yours,” the name of the show, comes across more like a radio show than an informative industry newsletter, but that’s why its so much fun. Conversely, I listened to the EGM Show podcast and …
    Let me backtrack a moment. Before there was even an internet, EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) was by far my favorite magazine in the world. With a strange combination of witty humor and semi-reliable reviewing (they’ve since improved to mostly-reliable), I knew from a young age that while I would never actually be able to do it, I had found my dream job. The current editor-in-chief is Dan “Shoe” Hsu, a witty writer who genuinely leads the direction of the industry and helps to validate the profession of game journalist in the eyes of the world. A hero of mine, I saw Shoe at E3 this year, and promptly proceeded to NOT speak to him for fear of making a complete ass of myself. So Shoe … I think you’re swell!

    Now that I have said that, let me follow it up with this: EGM, I don’t think you’re nearly as swell as I once thought you were.

    Listening to the EGM podcast this weekend, something I only starting doing this weekend, I immediately thought it was a joke. You know that way people sound when doing a nerd impression? Like they have a retainer and headgear and a lisp and a lot of spit in their mouth, possibly from eating pocket-warmed gummies?

Welcomsh to the EGM shhhhhhlp Shlow! Shhhhhlp. I am your host Dan shhhhhlp Schloooe shhhhlp!

    I am more than willing to believe that my EGM heroes are all nerds. Big nerds. As much as I romanticize Nerdhood as the new Beefcake, I acknowledge that not all nerds can be hot and smart and funny and cool and listen to the best music and like the best movies and have the best/correct opinions. But this was shocking! All 5 members of the podcast crew were EGM staffers, and EVERYONE OF THEM HAS THE SAME NERD LISP!

    But really my complaint comes not from their nerdiness, but from the revealed ignorance of these staffers. Throughout the podcast, in which the staff read letters from readers and answered their questions, the staff of EGM simply got things completely wrong. Two nuggest directly from the EOC’s mouth:

-A roleplaying game is any game in which you assume the role of a character. They’re simply called “roleplaying games” because it goes back to the origins of roleplaying games, which were first person PC games. Any game in which you play another character is therefore a roleplaying game.
- A “sandbox game" is NOT something like GTA. It’s in fact something like Rollercoaster Tycoon, in which you build things. Like in a sandbox.

    How is a leader of an industry and the Editor in Chief of the top-selling gaming magazine in the states SO WRONG about two pieces of highly relevant information like this?

    The podcasts for EGM were low-energy, full of wrong information, boring and mean-spirited (and reflective of not actually listening to the readers’ questions). EGM should seriously consider taking them down and not putting out anymore. They’re doing more harm for the credibility of EGM and its editors than any possible good.

    Sometimes its painful to be so right all the time.