Hey gang,

I was just reading the latest round of posts in the "Geryk analysis," and the topic of reviewer credibility and thoroughness came up. Now, I am not a reviewer, I'm a gamer. I play computer games, tabletop games, card games, and even make my work into a game whenever I can. It keeps life fun and interesting for me. Now, I know a bunch of you typosaurus types frequent this board, so here's my personal definition of what the use of a reviewer is, and what I expect.

1. Thoroughness. Play the game. Play it all the way through. I think a lot of reviewers, their eyes focused on their paycheck, don't consider the consequences of what they do. My time is precious to me. That might sound odd, coming from a gamer, a man who has probably frittered away a fifth of his adult life either playing or thinking about playing games, but it's true. I hardly watch TV, and go to movies only once in a while. But you know what? TV is free. Games average $50 a crack for new ones. If you steer me wrong you have cost me money, and maybe a lot of time, too, if I don't catch on right away to how horribly wrong you were. You have a responsibility to the people who will read the results of your labor. Blow it, and I'll not trust you again.

2. Honesty. Go ahead, tell me what you think. Even if no one else cares, I really want to know. Gamers are a loose society of people, most of whom don't even know each others' real names. But we are the only ones who really understand each other. Your wives don't understand "the gaming thing." But your buddies on Everquest do. If you've done your job and thoroughly tested the game, what you think will be based on what you've seen, colored by your personal preferences. So long as you are fair, and tell me what those preferences are, then I can get a pretty smack-on idea of what the game is. Even better: If you explain the thinking that got you there, I can tell if it matches up with my own way of thinking. Armed with THAT, my chances of landing a game that I'll really love improve greatly.

3. Consider the audience. Don't just think about the editor breathing down your neck. Think about the people relying on your opinion. No, I do not generally buy games based on one review, but I think most people do. It doesn't make them stupid or careless. It just makes them people with other things they'd rather be doing than hunting down multiple trusted reviewers. You know who I trust? I trust Mark Asher and Tom Chick. If I played Deus Ex and loved it (I haven't tried it (yet), BTW), it wouldn't make Tom any less honest or credible for his personal dissatisfaction. In fact, I'd admire him for having the stones to say what he thought, rather than being one more trained seal, barking for the audience. I trust Jeff Green, who seems to take real glee in calling out crappy products when they cross his desk (and congrats on the promotion, man). I'd trust Johnny Wilson, if he was still doing reviews. I trusted Lloyd Case with hardware, no doubt. Last, I trust regular columnists who don't substitute honesty for what they hope will be popular attitudes. GamerX seems okay with this. GameSpin is great for this, and Shoot Club is, frankly, the funniest gaming column about gamers it's ever been my pleasure to read. That it hasn't been picked up yet boggles me. Greenspeak is the first thing I read in CGW, and has been for years (except for that Happy! one). That, by the way, is my honest and informed opinion after reading all the articles. Feel free to disagree, but know that I at least did the work getting that opinion for you!

Okay, enough out of me. I just wanted to point out that a careless or bad (meaning dishonest or uninformed) review of a major game can influence thousands of readers to collectively blow thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars on bad product. Conversely, it can make a good game go unnoticed, preventing more of its kind from coming our way. Not to overstate what you do, but to paraphrase Tom, credibility is a coin too easily spent. It's a fun world, guys. You get the privilege of helping get the most fun out of it. Is that a cool job, or what?

Thanks, and good gaming!

"Honesty. Go ahead, tell me what you think."

This is a big one. Too many reviews (ones that I get, too) spend way too much time describing the game and all its features, and far too little time evaluating those features. You end up with an entire review that reads like the description on the box with a rating attached.

Reviewers need to have strong opinions. They need to present those opinions, and they need to back them up. Description is necessary too, but why describe a feature without also explaining how it affects the game and whether or not you like it?

I agree. The informed opinion is what tells me if it's fun. Really, I don't so much care what a game can DO, so much as whether I'm going to enjoy the way it does it. What a game can do isn't telling me if it's fun. Whether it cheeses out a reviewer that I've come to associate with similar "fun" responses to mine, though, that counts. Think of the "Robertville" example in Tom's last Shoot Club. Civ II can do an awful lot of things. But Lisa just thought it was cool to name cities. So, for her, Civ II was a fun city-naming sim, instead of a civilization sim/strategic game. It didn't matter one thing to her what the game did, so long as it did something she liked. Tom, too, in stavring off Robertville, got an unexpected satisfaction from the game in a twisted, if understandable, way.

I also like the whole free press idea, though I believe I'm more enamored of it than a lot of reviewers. Too many of them write the same old review for the same game, hitting the same things. It becomes as formulaic as many of the games themselves. Then, when something really new comes along, a lot of reviewers don't seem up to the task of evaluating the new thing AS a new thing. Go ahead, be different, if you can back it up with good arguements.

Game reviews with restricted word counts can be tough. I agree that you don't want to spend a lot of time talking about gameplay mechanics, but sometimes the game is different enough that you have to. Metal Fatigue's a game like that. It has three planes -- underground, surface, and air -- that you can play on all at once and you can also build your own combots with a mix and match parts approach. It's hard to talk about whether these elements work without first describing how they work. By the time you do that, you may have burned 25% of your word count.

If word count is limited, I'd rather the reviewer focus on his opinion. If I'm still confused about gameplay or details, I can always go find a detailed preview elsewhere.

I'm also in the camp where I want a reviewer to show his opinion and bias. If a reviewer loves a game but it doesn't come through in his review, then I won't buy it. Plus, I always check the byline to see who the reviewer is. After a while you tend to learn a reviewer's tastes and can easily compare that to your own.

Tom's infamous Deus Ex review is a good example. I can see where he's coming from on many of his points. The weaknesses he pointed out, however, I don't place the same emphasis on. I could care less about crates and such. Consequently, I bought it and loved it. I still read and respect Tom's reviews but I understand some of his biases and can compare them to my own.

"I agree that you don't want to spend a lot of time talking about gameplay mechanics, but sometimes the game is different enough that you have to."

All the more reason to avoid describing mechanics without also putting it in the context of evaluation. Save space.

I find that there are very few games that can't be adequately evaluated in 700 words. You may have to evaluate only the most important aspects of the game and avoid covering other elements altogether, but that can lead to a more focused review. Some game really do need two pages. Most of the reviews that I read that are over two pages long tend to ramble and would likely read better if they were shorter.

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I find that there are very few games that can't be adequately evaluated in 700 words. You may have to evaluate only the most important aspects of the game and avoid covering other elements altogether, but that can lead to a more focused review. Some game really do need two pages. Most of the reviews that I read that
are over two pages long tend to ramble and would likely read better if they were shorter.

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I agree 100% with the above replies. The word count has made me a better writer. Without a doubt it was the single most important catalyst in making me get to the point without a lot of meandering beforehand.

Ben's right though. Some games demand more. NASCAR Racing 4, NASCAR Heat, in these two page reviews I struggled to contain all the words I needed to evaluate them.

--Dave

My biggest problem is with mags like PC Gamer (and to a lesser extent CGW) is that their writers tend to waste what little word count they have on little jokes whose sole purpose is to make the reviewer look clever. Every time I see a little Vederman/Morris joke exchange in the middle of a review I just want to puke.

Well,
You probably wouldn't feel that way if the reviewer were actually, you know, funny. I'll take a tangent or joke from one of Erik Wolpaw's (non-editor edited - aka CGO) reviews over just about any bias or opinion.

He made Code Blue fun to read about. Amazing! Genius!

-Andrew

"I'll take a tangent or joke from one of Erik Wolpaw's (non-editor edited - aka CGO) reviews over just about any bias or opinion."

Whooo, I wanted to better explain this statement if I may.

By "non-editor edited" I mean, not rewritten by the editor. Of course we are all edited and often that's a very good thing, but CGO's guidelines allow for a lot more personal flair than other outlets typically do.

There's nothing wrong with a more serious tone to a magazine if that's the editorial goal but I appreciate reading reviews that are stylistically different, which is why I appreciate some mags over others - to read. Naturally not every writer can get away with humor in a review, in fact its something that should be avoided by everyone but Erik from now on.

-Andrew

Humor can definitely work in a review if it relates to the game. And, as you pointed out, it needs to be funny, which PCG isn't.

My issue was when the purpose of the humor is to make the author look clever. I enjoy Erik's reviews and wasn't referring to him but the style primarily used in PCG. Part of it comes from my dislike of the magazine's obsession with promoting their own personalities. Its seems much more based on ego than on any sort of stylistic approach.

"I enjoy Erik's reviews and wasn't referring to him but the style primarily used in PCG. Part of it comes from my dislike of the magazine's obsession with promoting their own personalities. Its seems much more based on ego than on any sort of stylistic approach."

It worked better in PCXL when the magazine seemingly had one voice, that of the entire editorial team. The Vederman stuff in Gamer is hard to take.

The problem with humor is that in a publication devoted to hobbyists, you can't waste their time. They really are geared towards finding out about new and upcoming games, so if you're going to take up some precious lines and paragraphs with humor, it had better be good.

I find it interesting that all the writers who frequent this forum write for either CGM, CGW or various web sites. Where are the PC Gamer guys? Does that say all that needs to be said about their interest in subjects like this?

--Dave

I wouldn't be surprised it they read this forum or others like it, but PCG is generally so disrepected that posting on the forums would put them open to attack. Dan Morris and someone else did post a few comments regarding their NOLF review on the Gone Gold forum a while back, but they soon disappeared.

I wish they would post, though, because I'd like to see their thoughts on the criticisms against them. All the writers here have been very open and honest about their writings (particularly Tom, Steve, and Andrew) and I'd like to see the same from them. Letters of criticism in their magazine are usually answered with sarcasm . Plus has anyone ever found comments about Coconut Monkey funny?

Top 10 things game reviewers are good for on the battlefield:

10) If you're out of sandbags, stack them up like cordwood for protective cover and machine gun nests
9) Use them to pad paratrooper landing sites (they're usually soft and flabby)
8) Have them broadcast, via PA system, belittling criticism of enemy weapons, tactics and equipment quality
7) Have soldiers strap them to their fronts instead of Kevlar vests (see #9 for reasons)
6) Have soldiers strap them to their backs as camouflage
("Soldier! Recon show any signs of troops?"
"No sir! Just game reviewers!"
"Oh, never mind then.")
5) Have them run through the battlefield carrying large battle ratings sandwich boards, reading "7/10!", "79% but still good!" and "3 1/2 of 5 stars!"
4) If out of mortar shells, lob game reviewers instead
"Ohmigod! Look out! It's game reviewers! Save yourselves!!!"
3) Set them up as scarecrows in sniper infested areas
"I can't shoot!"
"Why not?"
"Game reviewers everywhere!"
"Damn!"
2) Strap to MASH unit helicopter landing skids to reduce stress to airlift patients (see #9)
1) Use as morale officers, as they criticize the enemy for its "lack of realism in simulations"

Geo, that list rules!

Though #3 falls a little flat since why would the sniper care if he hit the presumably worthless game reviewer? Waste of ammo I guess...

This is an interesting thread. It occured to me that until it was brought up on this message board, I never really paid attention to who wrote the reviews that I was reading. Instead, I'd think of it as the publication giving the review, not the actual author of the review. I.e. in my mind I would think, "Gamecenter gave such-and-such a 8/10, it must be pretty good." I guess this is why the only name that I recognized when I first started posting here was Mark Asher's (from his GameSpin column when it was on Gamecenter). I think from now on I'll pay more attention to who's writing the reviews that I read.

"Though #3 falls a little flat since why would the sniper care if he hit the presumably worthless game reviewer?"

See #9, it wouldn't be one shot, one kill.

Oops, sorry, these spur of the moment lists always forget logic. :) Well, let's say:

3) Drop bundles of game reviewers into areas where you want snipers to target?
"See anything"
"Game reviewers everywhere!"
"FIRE AT WILL!!!!!!!!" (just like in Ring of Red when using Rapid Fire troops)
:D

Well, geez, if I have to choose one... I think I�ll volunteer for number 8. Anyone remember Auzette (Tim R) from SG+ (CGM)?! Now that was a writer...his piece on Magic Battle Mage was a classic! His articles often had me in tears, and unlike most writers in the industry, not once did I feel like his humor detracted from the piece. Many of Tom's articles have that same flair.


So, since this seems to be the writer's corner here...who is going to E3 this year? With the massacre of web and print magazines falling to the .com implosion, think the press rooms will be empty tombs? The last 2 years, E3 coordinators have gotten pretty strict with freelance writers getting in without magazine sponsorship. Those harsh restrictions could bode ill for press coverage.

Personally, I'll be taking a pass this year. The combination of my new daughter and increased demands at my day job at Intel has resulted in my involvement with the industry being pretty sporadic the last year. Besides with theglobe.com lingering on the precipice of oblivion, the folks I knew at GamesDomain and CGM are pretty much gone...:( Even the division I freelanced for at Prima publishing was obliterated with their buy out. A lot of shake ups this year.

This will be the first E3 I�ve missed in 6 years. Sucks too, as this is the last year they'll hold it in LA before they go back to Atlanta... double :( Anyone else going? Not going?

"Anyone remember Auzette (Tim R) from SG+ (CGM)?!"

What's he up to now? I know he went to Cavedog and was part of the Boneyards team, but then I lost track of him. Did he get cut when Cavedog disappeared? I haven't seen him writing anywhere again so I'll assume he's got an industry job somewhere.

"Sucks too, as this is the last year they'll hold it in LA before they go back to Atlanta... double :( Anyone else going? Not going?"

It's going to Atlanta next year? I hadn't heard that. I'm surprised they don't hold it in Vegas -- plenty of hotels and convention center space. Vegas is kind of nice because you're never too far from the convention, unlike LA where you can be 45 minutes away from E3.

"What's he up to now? I know he went to Cavedog and was part of the Boneyards team, but then I lost track of him. Did he get cut when Cavedog disappeared? "

He survived that round but I never talked to him after the second axing when Homgo got desolved. I often wondered the same thing but hate bugging Peter...erm Jaded about it! :)

"It's going to Atlanta next year?"

I overheard one of the E3 coordinators talking about it last year. I haven't seen an official announecement, but If you see a relocation reservation area like there was three years in Atlanta, you'll have your answer:)

Vegas might look too attractive to pass up next year. It's a town that I think will especially susceptable to economic slowdowns. If times are tough, you might not be able to pass it up.

Just a thought.

Kevin said:

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My biggest problem is with mags like PC Gamer (and to a lesser extent CGW) is that their writers tend to waste what little word count they have on little jokes whose sole purpose is to make the reviewer look clever

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Dave Long said:

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I find it interesting that all the writers who frequent this forum write for either CGM, CGW or various web sites. Where are the PC Gamer guys?

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Interesting theory, Thierry, but I don't see the PC Gamer guys on Usenet or other forums either. I believe I might have seen Dan Morris speak up on one of the newsgroups once, but otherwise, those guys don't seem inclined to press the flesh like Bauman, Green, et al.

And where's Barry Brenesal to answer for his Corporate Machine review in the latest PC Gamer? I flipped through the magazine in a bookstore yesterday and stumbled across his body slam of Corporate Machine because of the graphics and, get this, the music! Egad.

Bub, you're off the hook if we can get Barry in here to kick around. :)

-Tom

Couple of things about the PC Gamer guys. A few years back the mag was positively roasted on Usenet over and over again, so that has probably made them a bit gunshy.

Second, they may have a policy in effect to keep from commenting in public forums. Remember the Scott Wolf fiasco? They felt burned by that and may ask that their contributors shy away from a lot of public posting.

Just a theory.

Considering how the usenet used to treat the PCG folks back in the good ol' days of Critical Bill, I'm not real surprised that they avoid it like the plague.

Also:

"Besides with theglobe.com lingering on the precipice of oblivion, the folks I knew at GamesDomain and CGM are pretty much gone...:("

I can't speak for GamesDomain, but we're still here and going strong (well, maybe not that--that would imply that we actually work hard, or something). Scott Udell is the only member of the old school S+ crowd who is no longer here (he left for a job with a military contractor about a year and a half ago).

"Bub, you're off the hook if we can get Barry in here to kick around."

I was still on the hook? Does it ever end?

Well, I made the critical error of pursuing PCG at around the same time as Mark and Tom were bribing the CGM/CGW people for work.

I did some work for PCG about a year ago but that petered out some time back. I truly wish I'd kissed other assets so I could now write 50% of CGM each month or the bulk of CGW's news section (like Chick and Asher respectively).

Instead I'm doomed to admire from afar, wish I'd backed stronger horses and futilely pine for Jeff Green to reply TO ONE FREAKING EMAIL FROM ME....

I'm not bitter.

So far as Barry goes, well, PCG seems to love him and I've never met him personally. I'm sure he's very nice, but I'm not going to make any effort to get him in here just to get "off the hook". If I do, Tom will just find some other way of placing me back on the hook and Barry would grow to hate me.

I'm 30 today. I need peace and good vibes.

-Andrew "Martyr and Freelance Writer"

Happy birthday, Bub!

Peace and good vibes!

"I'm 30 today. I need peace and good vibes."

Wow -- you managed to time your 30th birthday to coincide with the collapse of the Internet. That's great timing if you want to be sure to be depressed. :)

Heh heh... I turn 30 next year. I wonder what catastrophic event will occur then besides me being officially "old"?

--Dave

Happy Birthday Andrew...hang in there.

I have met Barry - and as far as I could tell he was a nice guy, though he appears to follow the infamous play-for-ten-minutes-then-review style, LOL. He did a lot of hardware reviews for Computer Shopper at one time. He also contributed to the Computer Shopper games section (don't know if they still have one - I haven't used the Shopper to buy computer stuff since buying on the internet or auctions made it easy).

30??? Hell I turn 40 this year. But you know what? I feel better now than I did ten years ago. What's that Bob Dylan line? "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now"? :-)

And to reiterate what Ben has said, Computer Games is still alive and kicking. Other than Scott, who left for DoD pastures a year or so ago, we have pretty much the same core group we've had for the past few years, with the addition of Ben and Jason since 1998 or so. The loss of Bill Abner and Bill Hiles was depressing, but par for the course in this business.

Actually I like 30 (already).
It's trite, I mean - what's different?
But it feels "adult" rather than "young adult". I have a mortgage, a one year old daughter, a wife, I own my truck, my career is on the mend, College is done, ... etc., In many ways these are the salad days. I think my 30's are going to make my 20's look like, well, look like the insecure but fun time they really were.

Now 40, well you're almost dead at 40 right Bob?

;)
-Andrew

I dunno, Bub.

At 21, I can't even see 30 from where I sit. In fact, until 20 days ago, I couldn't even buy beer! (Not that that holds any appeal - I'm not a big drinker.) I have a wife, we have a mortgage, we own our car (okay, we have a few payments left to make), we both have good jobs, we're talking about kids (but not for at least a few more years), and are discussing starting our own business. With the exception of the college thing (which, between my wife and my job, is going rather slowly), I'd say you don't have a lot on me, despite the nine years!

Depressed, now? ;-)

No, I had fun during MY 20s.
;)

Mike, I think you're older than me!

-Andrew

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Now 40, well you're almost dead at 40 right Bob?

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Yeah, I know that I don't live the typical "21" life. But, hey, I have a good time. And, I'm looking to have enough money to retire by 35. (Yeah, right!)

Nah,
All kidding aside Michael, part of me does wish I had some wisdom when I was 21. I did have an awful lot of fun from 18-26 or so, but having that time back would be handy.

I wonder if our President ever thinks that?
Of course, he'd be talking about 18-39 or so....

-Andrew

Yeah, I figure that by the time I'm 35, I'll have far fewer regrets than most people at that age. I don't know how much of it is "wisdom," and how much of it is just a different definition of fun. Really, most of my life, fun has been a late night with a good computer game.

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What's he up to now? I know he went to Cavedog and was part of the Boneyards team, but then I lost track of him. Did he get cut when
Cavedog disappeared?

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You're only as young as the woman you feel. Now that would make me only 30 years old.

{I hope my wife doesn't read this - laugh!}

Cheers,
Sean. {34 years young!}

Mike Murphy mouthed:

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At 21, I can't even see 30 from where I sit. In fact, until 20 days ago, I couldn't even buy beer! (Not that that holds any appeal - I'm not a big drinker.) I have a wife, we have a mortgage, we own our car (okay, we have a few payments left to make), we both have good jobs, we're talking about kids (but not for at least a few more years), and are discussing starting our own business. With the exception of the college thing (which, between my wife and my job, is going rather slowly), I'd say you don't have a lot on me, despite the nine years!

Depressed, now? ;-)

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Am I depressed? For sure! I weep openly, and unashamedly. I'll weep like a hysterical little girl s'more, and then I'll go play some Serious Sam, or something.

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I'll be 35 in July, and this is the first time I have really started to feel older at all. It is the whole slew of things: age, kids, impending mortgage, lots more work responsibility, etc., but I now actually feel like a grown-up instead of like playing at grown-up. It ain't necessarily bad, just different.

Mike mused:

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Good sir, you misunderstand me. I was merely taking cheap shots at my friend Andrew. (And I know that I say that like we've met, which we've not.)

I did not mean to brag, or to depress anyone! Although I have played my cards differently than most, I certainly do not regard myself as better than anyone else (and would have no right to do so), so I certainly hope you did not interpret my words as boastful.

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My golly, I need to sit down and do work instead of goof off on these boards.

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"You, with your myriad responsibilities and sense of maturity, have now exposed me for the petty man that I am. I'm turning 22 this summer, and you, young pup that you are, have one upped me in the sim that we lovingly (mostly) refer to as "life." Pox on thee to the extreme!"

Thierry!
You're a 22 year old editor at a 350,000 sub rate magazine who goes to Berkeley! For what are you ashamed exactly?

At 22 I was selling knives at $5 an hour (and a generous 1.5% commission!) at Hoffritz Cutlery.

Still, since I dated many a fine young lady from that school (I was at SFSU), believe me, it is we who should envy you!

-Andrew

At 19, I feel so young. To think, I'm still 8 months away from 20. Ugh!
But I can say that I "work" for a big-time magazine (if all the other writers would stop stealing all the games I want to review!)... so I guess that's not too bad.
As for E3... I would love to go this year, but I'm flat broke.

Life's goofy.

"For what are you ashamed exactly?"

The Scooter Shame List has been used a guaranteed Motivational Device for the past four years. People just feel better about themselves when they hear the things I weather through. Consequently, I won't speak more unless you pay an initial installment of just $19.95, followed by four subsequent payments of $9.95 each.

Now, to address things Tom (Ohle, not the Chickster) said:

"At 19, I feel so young."

I started in this industry when I was 17. Charles Ardai started writing when he was 14, I believe.

This makes me remember that I reviewed Jedi Knight when I was 18. And that I had e-mailed "Ichabod Kagass", and set-up a one-on-one Jedi Duel with him. We both used ICQ (scary thing is, I think I have the exact same number. Bloody hell. 1312965). Eheheheheh.

"But I can say that I 'work' for a big-time magazine (if all the other writers would stop stealing all the games I want to review!)..."

Before I was on-staff, I was the fool reviewing "Krazy Ivan" and "Deus" and whatnot. All I can say is, keep at it. Editors will soon see your resolve, and start giving you less mediocre/better stuff.

Or you could find a way to worm yourself into the staff, and start cherry-picking games yerself. That's what I ended up doing, =)

"As for E3... I would love to go this year, but I'm flat broke."

I went to my first E3 two years ago, when I was 19.

But people only remember me from last year, when I had an, erm, "mishap" at The Standard. I think Mark was there.

"Life's goofy."

Agreed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, I wouldn't mind having "wine, women, and song" added to that, but that's besides the point.

-Thierry

Well, I've technically been in the "industry" since the age of 15. Got a job at Gamers.com at 16, then Mplayer at 18. I realize things can, and will, get better. I'm just so broke right now that I see past all that stuff :)

Thierry,
I'd call your achievement remarkable. You broke into a nationwide pub at an early age. I spent the better part of my 20's on various low-paying, low profile, "fun" writing stints like

*Part time Obit writer for the SF Chronicle
*Copywriter for a medical specimen acquisition firm (lab techs who picked up stool, urine, pap smear and blood samples) - that'll test your writing ability.

Then I literally stumbled into game reviewing, which proved a lucrative & extremely fun career these past three years. Sadly, it appears to be over as a viable freelance revenue source but I'll get by and do what I can on the side from now on and concentrate on the "bread and butter" writing for my career.

It hurts when you literally lose 80% of your work outlets inside of three months though. December looked sooo good....

Sadly, my story isn't exactly unique.

It helps to laugh though, so I'm casually referring to E3 this year as: "The Wake"

What's your major at Berk?
-Andrew

"This makes me remember that I reviewed Jedi Knight when I was 18. And that I had e-mailed "Ichabod Kagass", and set-up a one-on-one Jedi Duel with him. We both used ICQ"

Yep, I remember that. Jeez, that seems so long ago.


We tried Jedi Knight at Shoot Club several months ago. Most of the guys thought it was pretty cool to have Star Wars stuff, but I think they were confounded by the Force powers. I wish Shoot Club was more tolerant of learning curves.

-Tom

Top 7 Uses for Game Reviewers at a Grocery Store:

7) "Bagboy!"
6) "Hey, Game Reviewer, price check on Cruex Jock Itch medicine!"
5) "Cleanup in aisle 7!"
4) "Drink this 5-days past freshness whole milk, Game Reviewer, and give me a review on it!"
3) "Feel the fruits and tell us when you get a rotten one, Game Reviewer!"
2) "Smell the fish in the glass case, Game Reviewer, and tell us if it stinks yet!"
1) Attach buffer discs to their big bellies and use them to wax the floor.

"What's your major at Berk?"

I'm being a CGW Conformist by snagging a degree in English. So my days are spent telling people that I'm not going to be a teacher, and that I'm indeed not going into a field involving some sort of engineering or finance like the rest of my family.

I had entertained the idea of a double-major in English and Physics, but I got sick of using vector calculus to figure out velocity. Once I stopped doing that, I soon lost all ability to do any sort of math more complex than figuring out 20% of a given quantity.

"4) 'Drink this 5-days past freshness whole milk, Game Reviewer, and give me a review on it!'"

Safeway milk cartons are still good for about a week and a half after the stamped date. I think I drank two-weeks past without any problems.

This PSA brought to you by:

CGScooter

"'Anyone remember Auzette (Tim R) from SG+ (CGM)?!'

What's he up to now? I know he went to Cavedog and was part of the Boneyards team, but then I lost track of him. Did he get cut when Cavedog disappeared? I haven't seen him writing anywhere again so I'll assume he's got an industry job somewhere. "

Tim's working for a company called "My Island Entertainment" (at least, his e-mail address led me to a web site with just that on it). I know he's doing web design/development stuff for whomever he's working for, and that it's kid-related (but not computer gaming related as far as I can see--I've seen the beta of the site, but don't know if I should say more). Don't have any news from him, except that he sounds really, really, REALLY busy.

"Scott Udell is the only member of the old school S+ crowd who is no longer here (he left for a job with a military contractor about a year and a half ago). "

Yup, I'm now working for a company called Logicon (kind of on the fringes of military gaming, though). I left 'cause I was feeling burnt out, missed being so far from my family (they're all back in the Midwest, and I'd lived in the east for nearly nine years), and had issues with the former owner (if only I'd known he was going to sell the whole shebang just two weeks after I left... *sigh*). I quit freelancing for a time back in January (again, some feeling of burn out... and not getting time to play the games I wanted to play!), but I'm getting the urge to write again (I miss it), so will be contacting the CGM/CGO folks when work lets up (wouldn't you know, just when the urge begins, it looks like I'm going to have to start putting in near double-time at work for a couple of months). I was asked (several times, actually) to do a column for the new wargaming/military sim site, militarygameronline.com (basically, the old TheGamers.net reborn), and for their associated mag, and I am going to try that (it won't be just computer stuff--board and miniatures too).
Hmm, and maybe one of these days I'll learn to write without so many parenthetical statements (doubt it ;).

Hey Scott, thanks for posting and the info! Sounds like Tim is happily busy or busily happy.

OK, I'll bite. Thierry and I actually went to the same high school. We never really spoke with each other then, and we don't really talk now, either. It kind of had that effect on people.

I can just feel the tension and bitterness.

Hey, upon retrospect, with exception of about a handful of people and some teachers, I basically fucking hated UHS. We were two years apart, to boot. My memory was hazy, but wasn't Irene Hung the only person from my class that was in your clique, mostly due to Ed? I'm pretty sure you and I never really did anything involving UHS after graduation, that's for sure.

I still think it's a helluva wonky coincidence that two people from UHS and then Cal ended up working for separate aspects of the (unified-at-one-point) Ziff Empire.

-Thierry

Hey, two of the three EICs of the print mags, Bauman and Green, were practically neighbors in So Cal, weren't they? Further, their email nicks are doofus and doofaeus, or something like that. That's just fucking weird, man.

Heh, high school certainly afforded me plenty of opportunity to refine my knowledge of games, I'll say that much.

As for Berkeley, it's the alma mater of many a game journalist from what I can tell. Didn't most of the Gamers.com staffers go to Berkeley, including Thresh (or maybe Thresh just lived there)? Also, I'm pretty sure the entire staff of the site Game Revolution consists of Berkeley students and former students; I actually was fairly close friends with one of the guys who started that site, which makes for an interesting story. Besides that, a great deal of GameSpot's editorial staff from over the years consisted of Berkeley students / graduates. Even today, we've got five guys on staff (myself included) who completed degrees at Berkeley. The funny part is, with one exception, none of us knew each other at the time (granted, we all finished at different times). I guess Berkeley's just big enough of a school and just close enough to San Francisco to make such a coincidence plausible.

--Greg

>OK, I'll bite. Thierry and I actually went to the same high school. We never really spoke with each other then, and we don't really talk now, either. It kind of had that effect on people.

Heh, that's very funny -- I didn't know that. Well, they must have taught you lads something, since you're clearly two of the best in the biz, in my opinion.

Stefan

Greg or Thierry:
UHS
That wouldn't be University High School in Irvine CA?

Mark said: "That's just fucking weird, man"

Yeah, there's all sorts of wierdness in SoCal. As you may recall, Bub, Gordon Berg, Chris Lombardi, and I all spent time at UC Irvine.

UCI is also the alma mater of Tim Cain of Troika games and of many an Interplay employee. Tim was actually a teaching assistant in one of my comp sci classes. Further, a bunch of Anteaters, including one former classmate, ended up at Quicksilver. I'm not aware of any, but I'll put money on odds that some UCI guys made it to either Blizzard or Virgin (at least, back when Virgin used to be in Irvine). Small damn world, eh?

Um, not me. I dated a few UCI girls though but I'm a SFSU/UWM man. I'm strictly State College.
Grew up in Irvine though.
Sadly.

"Grew up in Irvine though.
Sadly. "

I know what you mean. Ever get ticketed by the local Gestapo? I got nailed twice...

The Moustache Gestapo?
Yes. My buddy had a big blue dodge van and hippie hair. I wore tie-dyes. We were doomed Behind the Orange Curtain.

"That wouldn't be University High School in Irvine CA?"

Half right: It's University High School in San Francisco, CA.

Desslock, high school gave me three things:
1) A good freshman-year course in grammar. However, it didn't seem to help many of my classmates.

2) Nothing.

Needless to say, my math skills are shit.

--Greg

" And to reiterate what Ben has said, Computer Games is still alive and kicking. Other than Scott, who left for DoD pastures a year or so ago, we have pretty much the same core group we've had for the past few years, with the addition of Ben and Jason since 1998 or so. The loss of Bill Abner and Bill Hiles was depressing, but par for the course in this business."

Yea Bob I guess I poorly worded that. The people I knew at SG+/CGM (except you) have pretty much moved on/been canned.

Cindy V, Bill A, Peter S, Scott U, Tim R, but most of those really weren't due to the recent shake-ups like I incorrectly inferred. Still, the whole industry is starting to feel 'alien' compared to the last 5 years I've been part of it. Hasn't helped that I've been on hiatus with the birth of my daughter and my expanded job scope at Intel.

Btw, thank you for the reference last year, helped greatly!!!