Hey Fediverse -
I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion around the lack of game outlets that people like to follow nowadays. I used to follow a decent amount, but with how many of them have changed - Giant Bomb, PC Gamer, RockPaperShotgun, Game Informer - I also have been looking for a new outlet/community.
I’ve been working towards starting an outlet myself, and I’m wondering what folks would like to see out of one. My list:
- Independent, or more so. Referral links make it hard to trust an outlet being unbiased if they have a financial incentive to promote things.
- Discourse focused: Modern coverage, especially from influencers, is a lot of a singular person speaking. Giant Bomb especially had great dynamics between the various perspectives when covering a game.
- Diverse Coverage: By this I mean, not just focused on AAA titles and the yearly release calendar. Covering mods, older titles, different communities (speedrunners, small multiplayer communities, etc.)
Other questions:
- Would you be interested in supporting an outlet financially? Would you even if all content was available freely, eg. public media as opposed to “premium access.”
- Do you have any preferred platforms? Would you be interested in an outlet that prioritizes the Fediverse over Twitch, Youtube, etc.?
- Do you have a preference between written content, video, audio?
Some people might argue it’s a different thing but for me individual YouTubers have replaced the role gaming magazines / websites took in the past. I follow a few who tend to enjoy the same games as I do. They usually do not release their videos right when the embargo is lifted but take a bit more time - which I enjoy.
That said, I could see how a fediverse focused gaming outlet might fill a niche. I don’t think anything like this exists yet and existing outlets barely have a presence here (or I didn’t notice, I haven’t exactly been looking for this).
Would you be interested in supporting an outlet financially? Would you even if all content was available freely, eg. public media as opposed to “premium access.”
if you think you’ll be doing this for a long time, i think “should this be paid or free” is more a question for yourself to determine and not the hypothetical audience you think you’re writing for. at least for now, there is room in the medium for both paid gaming journalism and unpaid gaming journalism.
Your list of ideas meshes pretty well with what I’d like to see: something that’s independent and not just shilling whatever their sponsors are selling; something that presents various perspectives to give an overall view of a game, rather than one influencer’s opinion; and coverage of a wide variety of games beyond the AAA titles. Loving the idea of covering mods and older titles, and don’t forget the indie games.
I’d definitely be more inclined to follow such an outlet if it was in a written format on the fediverse. Maybe I’m just really old, but following influencers and streamers on Twitch and YouTube has never clicked with me. Too much self-aggrandisement, not enough on-topic discussion. For that matter, the other thing I really miss is written guides to games. That’s probably beyond the scope of what you have in mind, but it’s another area of games coverage where too much is on YouTube and Twitch.
Just… more games, less capitalism please?
(Personal finances permitting, I’ll happily support an outlet with good quality content, especially if it’s freely available and not put behind a paywall. I’m so much more amenable to “donate if you like my content” over “you can’t see this until you cough up some cash”.)
I’d be interested in an outlet that:
- Does not accept free copies/codes for game or early copies of the games. Access journalism is a plague.
- Brings in guests to the show/podcast/whatever who are proficient and knowledgeable about the games being discussed. I don’t expect the hosts to be experts, but I’m tired of hearing layman’s takes on games that I’m interested in.
Would you be interested in supporting an outlet financially? If it’s a good product, I’d support a Patreon or whatever.
Do you have any preferred platforms? Would you be interested in an outlet that prioritizes the Fediverse over Twitch, Youtube, etc.? I think it would be best to post content cross-platform otherwise you risk having a dead community or, worse, a circlejerk community.
Do you have a preference between written content, video, audio? I think video and written are a minimum nowadays with audio being a nice bonus.****
I agree with you on keys/access. Part of why I think being beholden to the release calendar for content is such a problem. It was one thing when previews meant something, now that every publisher/developer promotes directly to their audience and being critical gets you on their bad side, there’s not a huge point to it.
Guests are a good point! That’s been something I’ve wanted to focus on, similar to Giant Bomb at Nite and the Interview Dumptruck. Doing post-mortems with developers could be really interesting.
I hear you on the dead community point as well. Kind of want to encourage discourse happening outside of the big platforms, but using the larger ones to help build an audience.
I think that 404 Media is a great example of a recent independent media organization that has a great user experience and a monetization strategy that doesn’t make me feel gross. A lot of their pull is the excellent journalism and writing, and the fact that the journalists that started it are respected and have a decent following. I don’t know how feasible this type of setup would be without that head start.
Generally, what you have on the list is what I want to see from a gaming news outlet. I especially like the idea of focusing on older games, mods, niche communities, and that sort of thing. I guess if there was more of something I wanted to see in games journalism it’s more in-depth coverage of gaming topics and less rushing to cover the latest AAA release. I’d much rather be reading a long-form article about microtransactions or watching a video essay on the possibility of a video game actor strike than reading about where to find the best ship or weapon in Starfield. Of course, I’m just some random person on the internet, so take that all with a grain of salt.
Drama. Just drama. Reviews about other video gamers drama.
People Make Games is a channel that I would call game journalism. Look at their coverage about Disco Elysium, its really great.
I’d be interested in an outlet that has reviewers actually finish the game before writing their review. I get the perceived need to release a review as early as possible, but personally I’m willing to wait if it means a more accurate, thorough review (I’m more of a “patient gamer” these days anyway).
Inviting guest reviewers could also be a good idea I think. Always good to get different perspectives and voices.
As for mediums, I prefer video for reviews as it allows for demonstrations of different aspects of the game. This is especially helpful when talking about a game’s performance and artistic direction.