"Gaming Journalism, the ladder"

                                 "INTRODUCTION TO MY PASSION AND HOW I THINK"
               
                 If you are someone who gets pretty mad easily and you can't think for yourself, then this blog probably isn't for you. This will be an open letter, maybe even a challenge to my readers and to the leeches that have caused all this to transpire in the last 24 hrs. We as gamers have been the target of bad press for quite some time, some media sites have gone as far as to downplay the entire situation to further their agenda of literally defecating on their viewers. Bringing a generalized insult to the table when developers are being made an example of to shift the attentions of the audience to themselves and then try to separate them. If these sites do this, then the fallout of the gaming community wont be as bad and they can watch us fight amongst each other. This will also future proof there sites and absolve them from any unethical wrong doing.

                                   "WHERE IT ALL STARTS 'you' THE GAMER"

                 Standard practice, developers create game, said game is then published by said publishing house, advertising and product placement is then issued by said publishing house, and public relations people. Release date comes and the advertisements have been getting hits on all fronts, television, YouTube, pretty much all social media. So now we all know this awesome game is coming and its really getting a lot of momentum as far as pre-orders and we can't wait. We get game, it's not nearly what we thought it was, said game has had well over 30% of actual content removed due to last minute changes. Now mind you the features they talked about in all these interviews have now been replaced with something far less appealing and the open freedom you once had is now narrow and the decisions you could make are no longer carries an impact as it once did and what should have been an amazing game is now a watered down version of it's former self.
                Pre-orders were above normal, due to the habitual hype train that gained all that momentum, sales have now come to a screeching halt and developers are pissed because there share holders want to back out or sell them off to the highest bitter. Share holders just discovered they put all there chips on the losing horse. What does this mean for us? That initial 60 dollars we just spent is now down the tubes. All that support we were supposed to get, the promise of bug fixes and game optimizations we were supposed to get, increased frame rates, the DLC packs that were promised haven't showed up in the last year due to the sudden shift in the company. So gamers go to the forums to find out what the hell is going on because the broken mess they purchased at full retail hasn't been shown any of the promised support the developers announced just before the games launch.
                  How many of you have heard this story, please stick with me, if you are this far it gets better I promise.
                 So now the reviews in the first quarters of this games life span have been extremely poor and just isn't performing well with the public at all. So what do the developers do to make sure this doesn't happen again? They contact a game site that has a pretty big following and has really talented, and passionate gamers that have a knack on really good opinion pieces and are well spoken and articulated on said opinion pieces. Well said developer now has a contract with said publishing house to do a sequel, despite on how poorly the first one performed they have to honor the contract or risk losing a lot of money on both sales and court fees. So now we still have a few hundred thousand pissed off gamers that never got the patches and the support they were promised on the initial 60 dollar promise. Now that we got steps out of paragraphs 1 and 2 done, now lets repeat those and add a few things to spice it up.

                                         

                                                     "THE NDA AND BUY OUTS"

                  So now those steps are done lets line some pockets that have that talented knack for game reviews and see if they are willing to make some cash for a review that will in no way show the faults of the sequel and will even hype the game up before the announcement of it's release date and have them tell there readers that they were allowed to play a short "review copy" to solidify there opinions.
So in no way is the initial writer allowed to tell the truth because of signed NDA  that outlines to the writer that if they are to speak on any of the problems in the games current build that legal actions will be taken. "There are some NDAs that even go as far as outlining an entire review that they have to follow or the same actions are taken". Even mentioning said NDA can also carry legal actions to put them in a financial bind.
                  Public relation firms or independents "like me" are contacted to help with the consumer to developer gap and we also get to test the game out, sometimes under the same NDA and if we are to write about said games, we have to follow the same rules that these sites follow. There is a difference between an independent PR and a big website. We can say no and tell the developers that are trying to buy us out to go take a hike. Websites are usually ran by very money hungry people and often offered a really nice "support package" that can carry the site for the next year or two given they agree to the entire contract "Looks at Microsoft and EA". Some of these sites are offered promotional gamer gear, petty cash to do giveaways or pay the writers a nice check or its all the above in one nice package. "You would think this would be a gamers wet dream come true."
                   So now that money is in hand, reviews are being written and the best thing said at the office is silence like the grave or you are fired. Remember that sequel? You know the one that this site just wrote an amazing review for? It's doing extremely well but for some reason the gamers from the first one aren't buying it, they're not buying the review and they're even starting to dig for information and shortly become whistle blowers. Why do you think they found said information? Nine out of ten times they have friends on the inside,"feeding them information" and talk some sense into them and help them find their way back to the passion they once had, leaving behind the corporate sell outs they once were and probably left the site. The people that are in charge of said sites usually let the money get to there heads and are trapped on cloud nine with their new found buddies and anyone who takes that away is the enemy. No reconciliation of any type can possibly help them. "Looks at old site I wrote for"
                   So now we have a jaded set of gamers from the first game looking at a site they once loved and believed in for being honest and not the sheep they have become today. All credibility of said sites are being questioned by the community they helped build and the best they can do is deny the accusations by the following statements.

• Where is the proof?
• Where did you get this information?
• Why does this matter? 
• There isn't anything you can say to prove your claims. 
• You are just being childish.
• It's only gaming, not a big deal. 
• Why do you care?                  

                               "The lists goes on and I am sure you get it at this point"  
The first sign of denial is either dis association or making light of the situations that have transpired to keep those sheep that are willing to take everything they read as if it came from the bible. We as a gaming community have supported these developers through and through, what do we get in return? Lies with false promises and what can only be described as a grossly breached code of ethics and will fullness to punish those that don't play ball.   "So much for , its only games line" 

"Questioning journalism as its entirety"

Journalism in the gaming industry have been struggling to stay as a serious entity and one to be taken as such because of those who are being bought out on a constant bases. 

This has almost become a normal business practice, some in which call it, paid advertising. 

I love how you can place a label on it and suddenly it's OK ,and all guilt is alleviated and credibility is intact. 

CNN , Fox news and ABC have all been busted for doing cover ups and taken money to fabricate stories to stirr up issues in the USA to keep the people focused on that issue while over shadowing the real problems that our country involves itself in. 

Funny, sounds just like the gaming industry, just not to a war time stand point. So what do we do to make sure this practice has a stop put to it? 

Stop supporting these game sites and the people behind the scenes paying for their games over the top reviews. Stop supporting these game Dev's who show a lack of support and belief of a title they are responsible for. When a game developer needs to pay for something like this, they know they screwed up and they need to make as much money as possible. They know it takes money to make money and that anything goes when they are under fire from their first title. 

"Publishers are the main offenders, few developers have done this."

"If you read it this far, thank you and there is still more to come" 

"We all start somewhere" 

We believe at one point that we can make a change in this industry for the better. We carry such a love for this hobby that it can be a very scary thing and become embarrassing for those on the outside that don't understand gamers as a whole. The thing is, we as gamers look for ways to aspire to be like those people we read about in gaming magazines, websites, even developers, because we respect and love what they do so much we believe we can surpass them and even become successful at it. 

When first starting out you aren't given the keys to the kingdom, you literally have to 

be in forums, start a blog or a YouTube page and share an interest in it and be

truthful. 

Don't give up just because you aren't getting the views you were hoping for. Self promote when ever and what ever you can to make sure your name gets out there. 

This literally starts off as a labor of love and then at some point you will land a nice PR or writing job. "Like me" :D.

You really have to make sure this is something you really want. If you do become someone like this then it's all down hill from here. You will have enough contacts for days to keep you busy and you may even get review copies of games by people who are doing the same thing you were, trying to get there names out there. 

If you get scouted by a site to be a writer, if they have a control over the content being written, IE trying to make sure your reviews fit there agenda, then leave. 

Don't ever be untrue to your foundation as a person and the hobby you love. 

We are people with wants and needs, but the moment that is taken from you, you might as well just stay where you are, because nobody else that is still true to themselves will have you aboard their site. 

"Not saying all sites are untrue" 

"Harassment of our sisters in gaming"

It's no secret that women in general have over sexual-ized in today's media and paints a false picture in most young minds that this is how they are in the real world. 

Quite simply put, we know this isn't true through personal experiences and those we love that game with us. But this is where it gets interesting, there have been reports in the gaming industry where certain people in charge of said office or developing team sexually harass there female employees and when anything is said they are automatically dismissed as just being sensitive. Then to make matters worse these same guys that are doing this are telling them that if you wanna be a GAMER you have to deal with it. 

What kind of crap is that? Now we as a gaming community who all have been representing GAMERS for a majority of our gaming careers are now labeled as misogynists who can't stand the idea of women playing games with or against us. 

Sweet now because of a few jerks in the community and developing offices, I am now a part of a generalized misogynist community and because I am a male, I am the enemy. Where the hell was this memo at? Did you guys get one? I sure in the hell didn't. 

So let me guess, when there are a few jerks out of the MANY GAMERS that are out there today, it is OK to lump us all together and slap a label on it and call it journalism at it finest? This is where things are made personal and are no longer in the confines of "its only gaming". 

You have not only insulted me and millions of people around the globe but you look down your nose at us as if we are below you somehow and that you are better then us. The same people who take bribes and sacrifice all the hard work that PR people like myself do, and honest game sites do to make sure you get paid. 

I know there are some jerks in this community that have gone as far as send death threats and swat people over a live stream. I have seen gamers get into boxing matches over some childish things, and yet you wanna lump us all together. 

I have contacts and friends in almost every major game site from IGN all the way down to your lowest tier. I will make it my duty to report on everything that comes my way, especially if you are accepting bribes. I will make it my sworn duty to take your sites down through the means of exposure of your own greed, all whilst exposing said developers at the same time.  

We should never compromise ourselves for another individuals gain. 

source of image

"Gamergate and finally my conclusion"

Finally we are reaching an end of our journey and this is something that needs attention. #Gamergate before I start, I want to make sure you understand, current events helped fire up this movement. The scandal was only the final catalyst in which caused an explosion all across ed the internet. When you take in consideration of all what you just read has been transpiring for years and then to have a well known person like "Zoe Quinn" who had preached against what I had just posted for so long, only to find out that she was doing the very thing she hated most. Slapped a label on it and then dismissed it. Gamergate has some pretty radical members that go against the very message it's trying to present.

But does that make everyone of them this negative and crazy misguided misfit? 

No absolutely not, but you have sites like Polygon and Kotaku that want to 

down play the cause and divide the GAMER mind set and try to twist it to there own agenda. There are already members of this community who have been censored in their opinions and videos that were flagged down in the light of "intellectual property" and claims of harassment that were later dismissed as fake. 

Actually admitted to the press that there harassment was faked to gain attention. I'm sure not all of it was fake, but I know for a dam fact that the numbers they were claiming was absolutely false before they admitted to it. 

We as a community need to stay united and if we can get over each others differences for the common good, then they don't win. We can continue to just enjoy our hobby and let all of this go behind us and move forward. Gaming journalism is dying and the developers and publishing companies are running out of ideas to get there games hyped up and are now 

relying on YouTube personalities to do the work for them. 

"FINALLY MY CLOSING STATEMENT" 

Thank you for reading all this if you did and or didn't. I know it was a lot, but I hope you gain something from it, be it positive or negative.

If there weren't gamers, then there wouldn't be gaming sites that we helped to get there start. There wouldn't be social media sites like Twitch, and Hit box that ca tor to what, "gamers" who stream what? Games, see how I find it funny how they try to disconnect the term from the cause. It really cracks me up. 

We as a community need to stop with segregating each other by preferences and come together and just have fun. I love gaming so much I am willing to put everything about myself on the line to make dam sure that some corrupted gaming site isn't going to taint that of which we love.

My name is Andrew, my tag is bremstone for dam near everything I do, except business wise. 

If nobody else fights the good fight, then who will? 

Selflessness is a very big part of my life and I know I can't be the only one out there that feels this very thing we love become tainted slowly but surely. 

If you are one of those people that have caused so many issues, please stop and join those of us that are trying to save the very thing we love. 

No more excuses of "well you are online so you don't matter" "We are a small group what can we do?"

No more of this, we are a gaming community who have been gamers for a majority of our lives. We are passionate and are caring human beings that don't need to go out and cause trouble. We are as sensitive and compassionate as anyone else that you could find on the streets, 

we are the very wheels that keep this very industry rolling. 

We are gamers

#GAMERS4LIFE

Yours truly Andrew

Contact me at bremstone55@hotmail.com

If you read this, please use this hash tag signifying that you read this, us it on twitter and facebook. 

Thanks and please spread this around. 

Its time that I come from the shadows.