Do Female Game Writers Gain Immediate Credibility?

Rhonda aka Devilicus recently asked me to answer some questions on the virtues of being a female game writer. Of course, I'm always eager to help out a fellow writer, so I spilled all my dirty little secrets about the supposed perks of being a girl gamer in the blogging biz.

You can check out the interview which includes Devilicus' views on the topic as well over at Epic Slant.

Cliffy vs Peter vs Dennis: A Look at Internet Bullsh*t

Since mid-summer the internet has been full of interviews from famous game developers like Dennis Dyack, Peter Molyneux and Cliffy Bleszinski, all because they had epic games coming to the market.

What made these three game personalities stand out from all the rest is the fact that they all apparently put their foot in their mouth during an interview or on a forum at one point or another which stood out enough to warrant an article or two about it.

What I find funny though is that when the first two names on my list made their comments, they were practically burned at the stake by the fanboys and the internet trolls, but when Cliff Bleszinski made his comments his fans were right there to defend him. Today I read an article that called Cliffy B out for his apparent arrogant comments in recent interviews and the same type of people that ripped Peter and Dennis apart, defended him to their last breath with a barrage of either valid points or just a mixture of text and swear words.

My favorite comments where from the people who claimed he was just very passionate about his games and advised the writer that he should shut up because he never created a million dollar videogame and therefore knew nothing about videogames.

Guess what? Based on those defense statements both Dennis and Peter are off the hook too for their past internet hate creating comments too.

I'm not saying that any one of these game developers were right or wrong in what they said, that's not the point here. What I am saying is that fanboys will always defend based on their love of the game and not what is really said by the person in question.

If Too Human sold as many copies as Gears of War 2 did in the first day, I'm sure the internet would hold less articles and blog posts ripping Silicon Knights, Too Human and Dennis apart.

If Fable turned out to be the role-playing game that we all wanted it to be, I'm pretty sure PS3 fanboys would be Xbox 360 fanboys and drooling at the idea of Fable 2, instead of freaking out about Peter's love for Xbox Live and demanding his first born's blood.

I have my own opinions about each of these personalities and their comments but what kills me most about all of this, is that one person can be called "passionate about gaming" and another "a douchebag" when they both said something arrogant about their game or someone else's gaming product. Only diff: A successful game on the market at the time.

Players Only with Scott Steinberg: Women in the Gaming Industry

Find more videos like this on Videogames Journos Network


Players Only with Scott Steinberg

Scott Steinberg and Casey Young hit the floor at the 2008 Game Developers Conference to get the opinion of the movers and shakers in the game industry about the huge surge in women who are flocking to the gaming biz. They discuss topics like the career choices available for women, how the industry is supporting more women to help them make the leap into a gaming industry career, and how the industry is catering to the female gaming population.

Lots of well known faces in the video like Dennis Dyack (Silicon Knights), Amanda McKay (Gametrailers TV), FourZeroTwo (Infinity Ward), Courtney Simmons (Sony Entertainment Online) and the PMS Clan.

Wacko Jack Finally Chimes in on GTA IV

Jack is back! Jack Thompson jumped back in the saddle one day before the release of Grand Theft Auto IV to carry on his battle against the evil that is Take Two. Jack has written a letter to the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, R. Alexander Acosta demanding that legal action be taken against Take Two and retailers for selling the game .

Ars Technica received a copy of Wacko Jacko's letter and posted the following on their site:

"Indictments should be returned against Take Two corporately and its Chairman, Strauss Zelnick, along with other Take Two officers. Indictment should also be against Sony and Microsoft which are making this pornographic game available to minors, and openly so, on their PS3 and Xbox systems," Thompson wrote. "Further, indictments should be handed down against Wal-Mart, Best Buy, GameStop, and all other retailers distributing this game to minors at their retail stores, openly, to kids who are only seventeen."

He then compares the game to, of all things, polio. "Grand Theft Auto IV is the gravest assault upon children in this country since polio. We now have vaccines for that virus... The 'vaccine' that must be administered by the United States government to deal with this virtual virus of violence and sexual depravity is criminal prosecutions of those who have conspired to do this. If you doubt me, look at the aforementioned streaming audio/video. It will make you sick."

Apparently Jack also provided a link to a video on IGN.com to a video called "The Ladies of Liberty City" as proof of the game being full of nothing but sex and violence, but Jack fails to mention that this video is all clips put together by the team at IGN.com, that only shows the nasty portions of the game.

GTA IV has tons more content available then just killing and screwing hooker and strippers and players can even avoid those portions of the game completely if they wish, so really who cares if it's in there.

Of course, Jack is dead set on going after Rockstar, but if regular media goes after GTA IV like they did Mass Effect, they better do their research this time, because Rockstar is prepared to defend their game. They were smart to avoid any nudity this time around and they put a morals system in the game, so players now have to deal with the consequences of their choices. You can choose to play Niko like a criminal with a heart of gold, much like Tony Soprano but with less pasta.

I doubt anything will come legally from Jack Thompson's side, because he has his own problems, but hopefully the Fox News hounds will behave too and won't rally any other nut jobs with a degree to their side.

[Via Ars Technica]

Dead Ahead: Theatre that Jack Thompson needs to see

Dead Ahead isn't like any of the kiddy plays you remember seeing in school, but perhaps that's a good thing.

The plays running at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People are setting a new trend in theatre world by teaching youth about the big, bad world around them, instead of showing the usual sugar coated fantasy stories.

Dead Ahead features a story about Cory, Andrew and Tiga who are all avid players of the violent video game, Dead Ahead. The goal of the game is “Gangland Supremacy in Mega City” where society’s rules, mores, and morality have little currency.

Using the game format as a framing device, this teen thriller examines group dynamics, societal responsibility, and ultimately - teen homicide. As the drama unfolds, the play’s characters are thrust into a moral dilemma when one of them commits murder. Is the murder justified? Is murder ever justified? Should they cover up the crime, or should they call the police?

In a striking conclusion, the play becomes interactive – and the audience must decide how the ending will be played out.

While I was originally terrified by the concept of the play and figured it for another strike against the gaming industry, I was impressed to hear why the author, Edward Roy choose to write the play as he did and was glad to see someone else trying to get the word out that real world violence amongst youth today goes deeper than video games and rap music.

"I started investigating how many teens were murdering their parents," said Roy, "and that both fascinated and horrified me."

Dead Ahead doesn't take the easy way out by suggesting video-game violence leads directly to actual instances of murder, but Roy warns us about what happens when an entire generation grows up playing games "where they shoot guns, people fall and yet nothing lasting happens."

Perhaps the most frightening thing that Roy has clued into is that real-world violence itself isn't the scariest part of the equation: it's the impulse that leads to it.

"A lot of kids walk around today," says Roy, "and their emotional baseline is repressed rage. They don't know how to identify it. They don't know how to deal with it.

"The wrong kid in the wrong place at the wrong time is capable of murderous actions we couldn't even begin to imagine."

McInnis feels that putting plays like these onstage ultimately does more good than harm.

"I know that some people feel we're running the risk of encouraging violence in our children by exposing these emotions, but I feel that they're far more dangerous if they're left repressed.

"We live in a world today where violence is so much a part of everything around us that to deny it is to create an atmosphere that gives it far more importance than it ought to have."

Roy reminds us that we must never forget that "to young adults of a certain age, what's most important to them is not what their parents think of them, but the approval of their peer group."

That's what winds up being so lethal in Dead Ahead, The issue is not whether it's right for one individual to kill another, but what peers think of that action.

"Kids today don't care what they think of themselves or what their parents think of them. It what their friends think that matters the most."

Dead Ahead is currently playing at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto and for ticket and perfomance schedules, go to www.lktyp.ca

To hear more about the play from the Director's point of view, click here for a video interview

[Quotes Via Toronto Star.com]

U.S. Economy Isn't Hurting Videogames Sales One Bit

You'd never know that the U.S. Economy was hurting right now if you looked at the videogame industry sales figures.

Video games software sales rose 63% from March 2007 to $945.6 million, which is higher than analysts had expected. Most analysts expected an average growth of 47% over the last year, but with games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl selling 2.7 million units, and Army of Two and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 selling over 600,000 units, it's not hard to see why the market is booming.

Hardware sales are booming too with a 46% increase in Nintendo console and handheld sales and the PSP sold 297,000 units in February alone. Game accessories have gone up 58% from last year and with Grand Theft Auto IV coming up, analysts are expecting a huge boost to the Xbox 360 and PS3 console market.

No one should be surprised though at the increase in gaming sales. During the depression, people still continued to spend money on movies because when times are bad, people still need an escape and right now video games are that escape. Better than spending your money on moon pies and penny whistles.

Free games in exchange for your soul

Today it came to light that a Gamespot reviewer, Jeff Gerstmann was fired because of a 6.0 review given to Eidos' Kane and Lynch game. See Eidos is paying Gamespot to plaster the site with Kane and Lynch advertising and they weren't too happy to see such a crappy review score.

So the rumor is that Gamespot fired Jeff because the advertisers were threatening to pull their advertising money and go throw it at some other site pussy whipped site. Another example of journalist integrity going to the highest bidder.

I admit that free videogames, swag and a job that pays you to play videogame sounds sweet and I would probably cut off a limb to get a job like that, but reviewing games based on how happy you want to make the company that produced it because they gave you some free hookers and some blow is not how games should be reviewed.

When I review a game I do my best to review a game with an honest opinion. I'll tell you if I like it, if it sucks or if I'm too dumb to figure the bloody game out. I would hope that a game company would want honest reviews, so that if the game does suck, they can improve upon it. All game reviewers' opinions aside, most gamer still buy games based on playing demos, renting it first or asking their friends. Demos can lie, but friends and rentals don't.

Plus sucky games don't add up to mass sales. They just end up in the sea of the bargain bin at EB Games and Walmart or in the vast regions of eBay listed for $0.99. I've bought crappy games before based on good reviews and have been pissed in the end. Funny thing was that review was on Gamespot. Bastards!!!!

Worst of all, I would never want to tell someone to buy a game based on the fact I don't want to lose the game maker's love, money and freebies, to only have them waste their time and money on a terrible game. How can I review games if I don't have a legion of adoring fans to read my reviews? I won't if I steer them wrong.

So for all gaming journalists out there ... don't drink the kool-aid. You won't like where it takes you.

The Frag Dolls are looking for a fresh new pair of boobs ... I mean gamer

Got boobs and the ability to pwn? Well, the Frag Dolls are looking for a person like you.

Ubisoft’s own Ladies of Pwnage, The Frag Dolls are looking for a new member to join their ranks. The all female gaming team promotes Ubisoft products and competes professionally in gaming tournaments.

Anyone interested in trying out for the new position, hit the official website to get the email address, list of requirements to join and a list of things the dolls do.

The Ultimate List of Gaming Music

When we talk about video game music, you tend to think the Super Mario Bros. theme, or the Halo intro, etc., but what about the mainstream music dedicated to our favorite past time, video games.

I recently came across this song called Pacman Fever by Buckner and Garcia. It was one of eight songs recorded for their 1981 album of the same name. The Pacman Fever album actually managed to make the Billboard Top 100 with two songs, Pacman Fever and Do the Donkey Kong

Gamers, these are the people you should base your lives around

In light of all the bad press video games have been receiving lately, it felt like the perfect time to bring to the attention of the media all the names in the gaming industry that have been using their position to help their community and set a great example for gamers and other video game companies.

With companies like Rockstar Games in the media limelight all the time because of their collection of controversial games, the world tends to get this bad view of video games and the industry behind them. Violent video games are used by politicians as platforms to get their names into the paper and media companies use them as ways to sell their headlines.

If they were to write or promote the work of people and companies in the gaming industry that give back to their community and create a positive example for gamers then maybe video games would not have to suffer the bad name that they have been given. Video games would no longer be a horrible influence but a positive one.

I found 10 great examples of good role models in the gaming community in hopes that they will be given the recognition they deserve and that others will try to follow in their footsteps.

1. Shigeru Miyamoto

Obviously the first name on my list is the first name is gaming, Shigeru Miyamoto, the Senior Marketing Director for Nintendo who is not only the main reason the gaming industry is as huge as it is, but is also a great example of how video games should be made. Miyamoto has always created great non-violent games which are not only loved by gamers of all ages but been successful in the gaming market. He is also seen as a role model for gaming companies because he has always believed in making sure all his games are well made and his staff is not pushed to meet gaming deadlines that will affect the overall quality of the games. Miyamoto was once quoted as saying “A delayed game is eventually good; a bad game is bad forever.”

2. Lorne Lanning

Co-founder and President of Oddworld Inhabitants, Lorne Lanning’s Oddworld series is a great example of how games can provide positive messages for gamers which their strong environment conservation themes. Lorne is also an active member in several organizations such as the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and is also an active jury member for events such as “Into the Pixel” and for the annual publishing of “Expose: The Year’s Best in Digital Art” which both support video game art.

3. Doug Lowenstein

Doug Lowenstein, President and founder of the Entertainment Software Association, originally called the Interactive Digital Software Association was started in June 1994 to serve the business and public affairs needs of companies that produce video games for all platforms. Out of the ESA came the Entertainment Software Rating Board which was created to put a rating on every piece of software published so that the masses would have the proper information about a game when purchasing it. The ESA board also created The ESA Foundation which brings the gaming industry together to help raise money for several charities like The Just Think Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of American. Doug also created the Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

4. Moyilo, a MMO company

Only a few months ago, Moyilo, the company behind the MMO game, Cabel setup an event that allowed banned Cabel players to regain old accounts and for new players to sign up for free accounts in exchange for donating blood. Moyilo felt by having their players donate blood they could teach the banned players a sense of responsibly and an understanding of public welfare.

5. Penny Arcade’s Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins

Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, the creators of Penny Arcade, the popular video game themed web comic created Child’s Play, a charity that was started to raise money and toys for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. The charity was their way of showing that the gaming industry could help children instead of kill them as noted in a HeraldNet article by Bill France. Child’s Play has gone on to raise millions of dollars and now gives to over 30 children’s hospitals worldwide. The companies in the gaming industry have also become involved in the charity providing games, system and auction prizes.

6. Roberta Williams

Roberta Williams, co-founder of Sierra On-line is only just one of the many female game developers to break the boundaries of the gaming industry’s “all boys club”, but she is probably one of the most notable for her early career in gaming that spanned almost 20 years and for her vast collection of published games. Responsible for titles such as the King’s Quest series and Mixed Up Mother Goose series, Roberta was a role model for all women in the gaming industry as she was proof you could not only work in the industry but also be successful.

7. Tommy Tallarico

Tommy Tallarico, video game audio composer and TV show host is the founder of Game Audio Network Guild and Video Games Live. G.A.N.G is a non-profit organization that educates the community in regards to interactive audio by providing information and instruction. G.A.N.G. empowers its members by establishing resources for education, business, technical issues, community, publicity and recognition. G.A.N.G. also supports career development for aspiring game audio professionals, publishers, developers and students. Video Games Live is a show dedicated to bring video game music to the world and hopefully convince the media that video games can be considered an art form. Tommy is also an active member in organizations like the Game Developers Conference and Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

8. Sande Chan

A game writer, producer, and consultant, Sande Chen is the co-author of Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train, and Inform and has written for mainstream and industry publications, including a column on women's issues in the game industry. In 2003, she became the Executive Director of Girls in Games, a non-profit organization that encourages girls and women to consider careers in the game industry.

9. Laura Fryer

A long time employee at Microsoft Studios, Laura Fryer started as a video game producer and ending up as a great influence in many of Microsoft’s project. As Director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group and founding member of the Xbox project, Laura started worldwide Xbox developer support and created the Xbox Advisory Board. Most notable Laura is an active member on the Women in Gaming International committee and the Game Developers Conference Advisory board where she started the annual “Women in gaming” session.

10. Jason Della Rocca

Jason is the Executive Director of the International Game Developers Association, a professional society committed to advancing the careers and enhancing the lives of game developers. Jason and the IGDA focus on connecting developers with their peers, promoting professional development, and advocating on issues that affect the developer community such as quality of life, creative freedoms, workforce diversity and credit standards. Without the IGDA, video games wouldn’t have a fighting chance against guys like Jack Thompson.

I would like to give honorable mentions to the following companies for their work to help create a better view of the gaming industry:

1. Nintendo and Konami for creating fun ways to get gamers off the couch and exercising while gaming.

2. Sony for getting involved in the Folding Home program which helps Stanford University use the power of Playstation 3 systems around the world in order to find cures for diseases like cancer.

3. Members of the ESRB board for continuing to provide the best information about video games so parents can buy the right games for their children.

4. Women in Gaming International for helping the advancement and inclusive of women in the gaming industry.

5. International Game Developers Association for also promoting video games as an art form, fighting the censorship of video games, making the industry a better place to work and most of all making the image of video games and its industry better in the eyes of the world.

This is just a small list of the people and companies that are setting a great example for the gamers around the world. Please feel free to add anyone you feel should be on this list because the more people we provide as example of great role models, the better the world will look upon our favorite past time and the people who make them.

Who do you think deserves to be a gaming role model?

Neiro from Destructoid is my gaming hero.

With all the backlash the gaming industry is taking nowadays for games like Bully and GTA, I felt it would be good to do an article about gaming role models, both real and digital.

I'm looking for good people to write about and so far I am sitting with only three people for my list. I'm looking for real people that give back to the community and set a great example for the industry and the world. Also I'm looking for video game character that set a great example for the players.

If you know anyone or any character that fits that description, then please post their name and why you think they are a role model in the comment field below. Make sure to include their real name, company they work for or their character name and game series.

Thanks in advance for the help

Pixelated Nudity Part 1 - NSFW

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