Genre Writing – MEMORANDUM

Professional Writing and Video Games

By Abby Kullman

Gaming Journalism

screenshot of a video game on a desktop — Screenshot of a desktop video game

I used to think that video games existed in a small vacuum, lacking a community worth acknowledging. It was only when I got older that I realized the content made by fans far outnumbered (and many times outweighed) the original content itself.

Many sites dedicated to video games and its subsequent journalism have risen to fame over the past few years (IGN, Kotaku and Polygon). Articles on the games are very important in understanding and appreciating the context of the game itself. For me, it is important to understand something on a basic level before I throw $60 at it and hours of my time.

Gaming journalists constantly employ the skills a professional writing major would know firsthand. Using the knowledge gained from writing professionally, they are able to inform their audience of things both writer and reader care about.

While some people may think that these websites only feature reviews, most gaming websites include a plethora of different stories. This includes anything from news articles on various hardware sales to advice on certain games (i.e. guides on how to play them). Even the impact of certain games in/on society can be found on these sites.

So What Does this Mean?

Sometimes these sites cover certain games to the point where they are so eagerly anticipated that the public consumes any and all journalism on the subject. This can usually be considered a good thing, but other times, it doesn’t end so well.

A few years ago, I remember a specific example where professional writing caused a game to crash and burn horribly—both in sales and in the eyes of the gamers. This particular game was called No Man’s Sky, and I was one of the people who was super excited to finally get my hands on it. I had read so many different articles on how amazing this game (which promised hours and hours of fun planetary exploration) was going to be.

And then the game came out.

I noticed that the articles started to show up less and less when I first began to play the game. The more time I put into it, the more I found myself disappointed. Not only was this not the game I thought it was going to be, I was lied to by the creators themselves and the websites I had viewed the articles on. All the cool things (you know, the hours and hours of fun planetary exploration) we were showed were false. I haven’t been able to play the game since.

We’re all Gamers Now

Since then, I have come to learn that professional writing is very influential even in the video game market. Without these thousands of articles and their writers, this explosion of positive content (and subsequent backlash) probably wouldn’t have happened at all. The power of creating content on such a professional level gives these games the ability and culture to perform well—or not so well.

Publish Yourself – Create a Zine

By Adam Jones

Circulating your name amongst the realm of professional writers can prove to be difficult—especially if you’re lacking the necessary time to work as an intern. However, a simple (and cheap) method of publication that has risen back to the surface of the mainstream over the past decade is the pamphlet-style “zine.”

Stemming from works like Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, it is evident that zines are effective while, at the same time, allowing a writer’s personal brand to remain intact. And they are markedly easy to produce.

Generate content that matters to you.

Philly-based Maya Smith has recently tacked zine-making onto the list of their multiple creative talents. As a queer person of color, Smith has dealt firsthand with the oppressions that both black Americans and queer folk are faced with in our society. To educate their readers on how they (and others like them) feel, Maya is creating their zine, entitled black//queer, to show people what it’s like to be non-binary and of color in America.

“My zine is mainly about getting word about the lives of young black and queer or non-binary people out there,” Smith said via web interview. “I talk about my own experiences as well as what this means to me on a larger scale (like with other people and how I’m seen in the world, etc). I’m making it to put out there for anyone to see and read, really.”

Smith went on to explain that they have one more photo shoot to finish before the zine will be complete. Then, they will begin printing, binding and, finally, distributing (advertising their work at a cost of merely $5 per zine).

This simple, cost-efficient method of publication is ideal for any young writer that is stuck in the professional limbo of working towards an undergraduate degree. Examples of cool, popular zines can be found all over the web. In fact, eHow.com offers an excellent tutorial for first time zine-makers.

Food Writing in Professional Periodicals

Stephanie Patrick

Food has some of the most expansive types and styles of coverage in print and digital media today. From journalistic essays, articles, travelogues, memoirs, blogs, cookbooks, films, and even poetry and fiction, the possibilities of writing about food seem endless. For communicators and professional writers who want to explore this genre of writing more, they need to understand the dedication it takes for professional publications to bring the extensive world of the culinary arts to everyday people.

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