Here we go, then...
One of the weird things about being a video game journalist
is that everyone assumes you don’t do any work. Quite honestly, I try to avoid
work at the best of times but, with that said, I cannot deny that there is a
bit of a grind involved in this job. No, this isn’t going to be one of those
“oh, poor me, I play games for a living” columns. I am fully aware of the fact
that I have fallen with my glutes in the dairy product.
Rather, I want to bring up a problem that has plagued gaming
journalism for almost as long as there has been such a thing as gaming
journalism. It is so ingrained in the field that it can never be removed, and
it is the major reason why people will never take gaming journalism seriously.
It in insidious, too, because most of the people that it affects don’t even
realise that they are falling victim to it. Instead, they carry on, completely
unaware of the problem.
What is the problem? Well, quite simply, it boils down to
one factor – a large percentage of the gaming journalists out there are
complete idiots.
See, being a journalist working for a newsroom is one thing,
but writing for consumers – which is what video game journalists do, like it or
not – requires a different approach. You’re not breaking news and uncovering
deep, dark conspiracies like some chain-smoking alcoholic reporter in a 1930s
style news room. You are a middle man, an information filter between the people
who sell games and the people who buy them. And with that position comes a form
of responsibility. Many video game journalists have an encyclopaedic knowledge
of games, and can write beautifully… but they have absolutely no concept of
what ethical and responsible journalism is. Without all three, you’re not doing
the job properly.
I believe most people who get into video game journalism do
so because they think it’s an easy way to get free games. And so they start
writing and, if they’re lucky, they start getting sampled by game publishers
and distributors. Mission accomplished, right? Nope. They need to keep writing
to get the games they want. But they start getting selective, only writing
about the games that they want to play, and therefore ignoring the bulk of the
games that are sent to them. The publishers and distributors get mad, and start
complaining. So the so-called journalist reacts in the only way the
unenlightened can: they start throwing their opinion around like a blunt
weapon, blasting whoever they can at any given opportunity.
They seem to think that this is how it works but, in all
honesty, aggressive and reactionary responses like that merely indicate that
they have not yet realised what their function is. Just because everyone thinks
you’re cool because you write about games doesn’t make you some kind of guru.
It merely means that they don’t understand everything that is involved. Just
because you can write and publish a blog doesn’t mean that you are the world’s
leading expert on anything. And behaving like an egotistical, self-involved
brat when things don’t go your way simply proves that you have no clue.
Your opinion is not gospel, it is merely what you think. You
are not there to tell others what to believe, but rather to help them create
their own, informed opinion. You do not walk on water, and the sun does not go
out when you sit down. You’re just a video game journalist, responsible to your
readers and the industry that keeps you going. You’re a servant, not a leader,
and what little influence you may have will only be effective if you stop
wielding it like a weapon.
If you’re willing to play every game you get sampled, think
before you speak, realise that no game deserves a perfect score, admit that no
game deserves to be slammed, stop believing that you speak with the voice of
absolute authority and are willing to admit that you’re a game journalist
because it is more fun than getting a real job, welcome aboard.
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