NGJ

Jon King

New Games Journalism

As I have began to read about “New Games Journalism” or “NGJ” I have realised that it is a form of expressing an opinion based solely on the individuals experience whilst playing a particular game, or in other words it is a model of New Journalism applied to Video Games Journalism.

People who write NGJ face two major issues whilst writing their reviews of games which are,

1. If the Journalist is employed by a particular company and he or she is writing a review of one of that company’s games then the review will almost certainly be a biased one, therefore the review isn’t worth the paper that it’s printed on!

2. The amount of time needed to complete some of the games on the market is vast. Reviews will often be written after the journalist has only played a small section of the particular game.

It seems to me that people who write NGJ are paid by the companies that have made the game that they are reviewing. However it is also a useful tool for the competition in terms of the way that a company can pay people who write NGJ to write a poor review of a rival company’s game in order to manipulate the consumer market. Sometimes it can also be random people writing their own thoughts and feelings on a particular game or game related issue, maybe in order to try and improve the games that are being made by constructive criticism. It’s hard to tell. I believe we live in a “money driven world” which is rife with corruption and it’s probably true to say that most of the NGJ stuff that is available to read is written to influence, in one way or another.

I have read a piece of NGJ called “Shoot Club: Saving Private Donny” and found this piece of writing particularly interesting. It is about using computer games to influence a teenagers mind. Quite a current issue I think. When reading it you kind of get the impression that the kid in question wants to join the army, like his older brother. His brother was injured badly in Iraq and the kid talks like its cool to be in the army. The adults mentioned in the piece are worried that a game that they are playing is going to influence him that much that he will want to join the marines and follow in his brother’s footsteps. So to change his mind they all decide to shoot Donny, in the game, every chance they get. Even if they are on his side, to make him see that war isn’t all what it’s cracked up to be, those Americans love their friendly fire!

It’s not too bad a read and it has a message within its humour, which seems to say that war is bad and that needs to be remembered even though they play games which have mindless violence in them. I’m not sure whether this piece of work was written from a true experience of not. It seems to be a true experience but who knows, it could be written by someone on the payroll of the people who developed the game for all I know.

Having said all this it does make you think about several different things in different ways. I can’t help but feel that its true worth is something to do with the money men, but hey maybe that’s just me looking for a conspiracy! I think that the bottom line is you take whatever it is that you’re looking for out of whatever it is that you’re doing and that games or films or music or anything else is just a scapegoat for people’s wrong doings.

When it comes down to a writers use of objectivity and subjectivity I’m not sure which I value more. I do like to look at the facts and figures in regards to the matter as it is something that you can relate to others with, therefore being objective is something that I value. However being subjective is a more interesting way to express a personal opinion and, I think makes for a more interesting read, giving the reader ideas and views that he or she otherwise might not have had before. I think that both are important.

I feel that I know a little more about the world of “NGJ” now and have started to think about the way in which I would like to improve my writing. In regards to the “Saving Private Donny” piece I would like to incorporate a little more wit into my writing, as the writer did there. Other than that I think that the more I write the better that I will become.

I forgot to discuss the issues surrounding objective ranking systems for games sales. I do not buy into the consumer psychology of, if its number one then it must be good! I’m sure that from time to time objective ranking systems do get it right and the best game does get to number one, but it’s the same across the board when it comes to media based products. The market is driven, predominately, by the people who advertise the most and this is a fact of life. Anybody who has more than a couple of brain cells to rub together must see this dam evil!!! Therefore I feel that ranking systems are an effective tool in terms of business, they must be or they wouldn’t use them. However ranking systems can be manipulated to suit and so I never bother with them.