Games Aren't Numbers

I suppose that as someone posting on the internet about video games I'm somewhat obligated or expected to write at least one post dedicated to professional games journalism, preferably about how much it sucks. In the past I've written a little bit about reviews and co-wrote a humor article for Eegra about GameDaily. But when it comes to journalism as a homogeneous whole, and the uphill battle to improve it, I'm stuck between two positions. I can't deny that websites like IGN or Kotaku have a lot (that's an understatement) of worthless writing and really deserve any criticism they receive. But I believe that very little good can come from any attempt to improve them.

The main reason I don't believe that reforming journalism is practical is that the writers who put out awful articles are doing it for the same reason any magazine or website would: there are companies with money that want them published and more importantly there are people with money who want to read them. If anything should be reformed it's the companies and the people. William Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley, two literary theorists of the past century, concluded one essay with the idea that all writing should be preserved in museums because of of the way it reflects all the thoughts and emotions of its time period. If gaming today can be examined through the journalism it produces then the industry itself needs a reformation. Journalism is part of an ecosystem and when bad journalism thrives its an indication that the community is broken.

Reviews are formulaic because the games they review are formulaic. Sensational articles exist because there are thousands of readers who want their quick fix of hype for the day delivered straight into their feed readers. If more games were based on originality and quality rather than hype and marketability then the current standard mold for reviews wouldn't be used. If games had a more diverse and mature audience then there would be more demand for intelligent worthwhile articles instead of reports about who in the industry is gay.

Another issue I have with trying to reform bad journalism is that every industry has its fair share of bad writing and that's just the way it is. Bad writing will always exist for everything and no one is forcing you to read it. No matter what, there will be people who want a numerical score churned out by midnight of the date each game is released, and there will always be writers providing these scores. I'm not surrendering by admitting this, I'm being realistic. But just because bad writing can't defeated doesn't mean good writing can't be supported. If a website or magazine really bothers you so much then just stop reading it and read something good instead.

I decided one day I wasn't going to read any more bad writing, so I just opened up my feed reader and unsubscribed from it all. With a little bit if searching I was able to find great sites full of well written and often insightful or entertaining articles and reviews. It was easy and I haven't looked back. In this blog's sidebar I have a list of articles I particularly thought were worth reading.