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Plainview

Plainview

I am a sinner.
Sep 11, 2013
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The front page will be launching in the future and we need are looking for contributors. Do you think you have what it takes to make the front page? Can you write coherently and know how to structure a news story or review? If yes, send me a PM letting me know what you would like to contribute and link me to pieces of work you have done before. The more published you are the better the chances that you can become a contributor. You will receive full credit for the pieces that are published on the front page and they can be used for your portfolio.
 
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I have nothing in the way of proof, but I am a well-written lad who can contribute some reviews and such on a smaller scale while we're getting our proverbial foot in the door.

Definitely a good idea though -- the forums are fun for us, but we still need to in some way be a source of useful content to attract the masses and make you them dolla dolla bills yo.
 
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PV I've only dabbled in journalistic writing mate, as most of my experience comes from writing novels and screenplays for television shows and movies, but I'd be willing to take a crack at it.
 
Nervusbreakdown said:
How the unboxing videos, I love those?
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I always like those too. Though, and correct me if I'm wrong, but don't those usually take place before launch dates? Would be tough for people on this site to do stuff like that.
 
I can write pretty well, when I put my mind to it. I spend most of my day writing, so it's second nature to me. I'd like to contribute to the front page at some point. However, my problem is that I tend to be "behind the curve" with my gaming -- rarely playing the latest and greatest, typically playing through games that are older or off the beaten path. Another problem is that it typically takes me a long time to get through a game, because I don't play daily or for long periods of time. So, I am probably not a great candidate for reviewer.

Maybe I can come up with something else. We'll see. Sounds like you've got a few aspiring game journalists already knocking on your door, so that's good.
 
Anderson said:
I can write pretty well, when I put my mind to it. I spend most of my day writing, so it's second nature to me. I'd like to contribute to the front page at some point. However, my problem is that I tend to be "behind the curve" with my gaming -- rarely playing the latest and greatest, typically playing through games that are older or off the beaten path. Another problem is that it typically takes me a long time to get through a game, because I don't play daily or for long periods of time. So, I am probably not a great candidate for reviewer.

Maybe I can come up with something else. We'll see. Sounds like you've got a few aspiring game journalists already knocking on your door, so that's good.
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I did reviews for my last site... however, I am a poor father of twin boys so I only reviewed what they sent me LOL

If I were to write reviews for here, they'd be spaced out quite a bit.
 
An essay a few years back a teacher published in a collections book, I wasn't a fan of it but she loved it, and wrote a few pieces of copy for PricewaterhouseCoopers. I haven't written anything other than forum posts and a few screenplays the last few years. Writing has been a hobby of mine but I've fallen off because of other concentrations. I try to be too much of a Jack of all trades sometimes so something had to go by the wayside for the time being. I always write more in the winter since I'm home much earlier than I am in the spring and summer.
 
I am not published yet myself. Like Videodrome, I write papers constantly (History Major, scholar for life) and was just digging at your requirement. Or maybe that is a way to dissuade folks whom will write lower quality material and yet not cut out those unpublished writers that have excellent prose.
 
Raniok said:
I am not published yet myself. Like Videodrome, I write papers constantly (History Major, scholar for life) and was just digging at your requirement. Or maybe that is a way to dissuade folks whom will write lower quality material and yet not cut out those unpublished writers that have excellent prose.
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I don't want to speak for Plainview, but reading between the lines, I'm guessing that being published is more of a preference than a firm requirement. I think he is trying to ensure that he has people who can write well. Being published is no guarantee of that -- we have all read crap that somehow got published -- but the odds are better.

You could always submit a sample of unpublished work. That'll give him an idea. I don't think he's looking for a beefy resume so much as proof that you can write.
 
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Writing the sentence good:
The sensible thing to do was to stay in the vat, where it was at least cooler, but Wesley, his judgment distorted by the hallucinogenic muffins, decided that he had to make a break for it, leaving behind not only Madge and Vernon and his tiny chum Rodrigo, the miniature poodle, but also the supposedly impervious 'Miracle Fiber' Jumpsuit, bought in hope of protecting himself in just such a situation, and his sample case of fruit jellies, diligently carried by hand through a variety of similarly perilous if not as uncomfortable assignments, anyone of which, with the possible exception of this, he would gladly undergo again, to preserve Democracy in California.
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Faulker has a great sentence that goes on for several pages. I'd transcribe it, but I don't have the patience. :laugh:

Here's a smaller example:

There was a wisteria vine blooming for the second time that summer on a wooden trellis before one window, into which sparrows came now and then in random gusts, making a dry vivid dusty sound before going away: and opposite Quentin, Miss Coldfield in the eternal black which she had worn for forty-three years now, whether for sister, father, or nothusband no one knew, sitting so bolt upright in the straight hard chair that was so tall for her that her legs hung straight and rigid as if she had iron shinbones and ankles, clear of the floor with that air of impotent and static rage like children’s feet, and talking in that grim haggard amazed voice until at last listening would renege and hearing-sense self-confound and the long-dead object of her impotent yet indomitable frustration would appear, as though by outraged recapitulation evoked, quiet inattentive and harmless, out of the binding and dreamy and victorious dust.

Whew! That's some writing there. I think we should've named our forum "outraged recapitulation." "Impotent yet indomitable frustration" is probably already taken.
 
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I think reviews should follow a linear grading structure, im not much into backstories and personal gaming experiences.

Maybe grade it on alot more areas than other reviewers usually do and calculate the average, just throwing some out there:

Graphics
Sound
Story
Gameplay/mechanics
Controls
Multiplayer/co-op/online features, if applicable
Value/bang per buck
Re-playability
Uniqueness
Fun factor
Gamerankings average
etc

Thats my opinion on reviews.
 
Plainview said:
The front page will be launching in the future and we need are looking for contributors. Do you think you have what it takes to make the front page? Can you write coherently and know how to structure a news story or review? If yes, send me a PM letting me know what you would like to contribute and link me to pieces of work you have done before. The more published you are the better the chances that you can become a contributor. You will receive full credit for the pieces that are published on the front page and they can be used for your portfolio.
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That's me out then. I'm about as coherent as a drunk hillbilly.

Do we even need a front page ? From what I recall most said they never bothered with it on TXB.
 
menace-uk- said:
Do we even need a front page ? From what I recall most said they never bothered with it on TXB.
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It might be different here, because the front page will grow directly out of the forum and its members. At TXB, the front page and its staff were a separate entity from the forum. Occasionally, Sparky (who joined yesterday, btw, or at least someone named Sparky did) would say something on the forum, but the forum and front page were pretty much two separate worlds. If, though, the front page grew directly out of the forum, I think forumers would naturally be more interested in it.

I don't think a front page is necessary, but I think it would be a nice addition. It might attract some new visitors and fresh members (a forum alone is unlikely to). It might make it feel more like a fully fleshed out site. It might give some of the forumers with journalistic aspirations something to do. It might attract some dev's or PR people to the site. There might be some interesting reading, now and again. Who knows. From a purely pragmatic angle, I think having a front page would increase the chances of Plainview having an income stream (amazon, etc.) that counterbalances the costs.
 
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In my opinion, reviews should do a better job reflecting the wider spectrum of priorities for the readers. Gamers don't prioritize different aspects of the games they play the same one person to the next. I prioritize presentation, story, etc. over replayability depending on the genre. I'm likely typical in that depending on genre I alter my expectations. An rpg with bugs is fine, but a platformer or shooter with bugs? No good.

So I'd propose reviews that don't give overall scores at all. Instead, they break down the major categories into their own scores. That way readers can put the emphasis not on the overall score which reflects the author's priorities implicitly but instead on the aspects of the game design that matter to them personally. I feel any attempt to add an overall score automatically de-emphasizes the individual categories and pushes all the focus onto the overall score, which is dumb.

I'd also love to see more reviews include gifs in the writeup as well as screenshots. Should be doable now with direct capture from the next gen consoles I'd presume. Or at least much easier.
 
I'd be happy to contribute. I've written many reviews in the past few years, as it's become a regular passion of mine. I can't be responsible for providing a dozen pieces a month, but I can focus on a specific group or genre, if need be. I wrote a Diablo III review and posted it on this site last week. It was written quickly, not my best work. If you want more samples, just contact me. My gaming passion lies in RPGs and the indie scene, so if you need some sort of coverage on those, I'd be honored to help.
 
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Not a fan of pre-dicated formats for how reviews should be structured. I say let the writers decide. That's their job. If the review sucks or you think they left something out, then tell them. Otherwise, creative freedom and all that.
 
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I took English 101 and Literature, does that count?

In all seriousness though, I'd be a dream to be video game reviewer. Although, I'm assuming that Plainview couldn't pay me, so I'd just have to review what I could get my hands on.
 
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