I was invited to speak about this and four other topics at the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences in Finland. This lecture explains how you should understand game journalists as people and treat the importance having the game press write about their products. The topics covered in part 1 are: 1.45 Quick recap: How press Works 2.30 Who are these people? 3.30 Similarities between press 6.40 Brand Boyer's GDC 2010 rant 7.45 When things go wrong in game journalism 9.45 The unwritten rule of game journalism 10.30 Why you should know this stuff 12.00 Know your real enemy, the big publishers 14.30 Don't use their tricks 15.45 What happens behind closed doors 17.00 Wake up and smell the coffee The topics covered in part 2 are: 0.00 New Game Journalism 2.15 Dealing with the game press 3.00 Step 1: Find your champions! 9.00 Step 2: Don't exaggerate 10.00 Step 3: Choose the right people 11.30 Summary 15.20 Further reading

1. #gamejournalism
Understanding Game
Journalism
aka. “It’s better to have other people say how
awesome your game is then having to do it
yourself.”

2. #starttalkingalready
Table of contents
• Who am I
• Understanding the game press
• Dealing with the game press
• Handy tips & tricks
• Summary
• Questions?

3. #thatguy
Who am I?
This is a lecture by
Vlad Micu
Did freelance journalism, consulting, event management and
research under own company
VGVisionary.com
Used to be the European editor of
Gamesauce Magazine
Wrote for many other international outlets including
GMR magazine, Control Magazine, Bashers.nl,
Gamert.nl, CriticalGamer.co.uk, XBLAFans.com,
Game Mode Magazine
And now went Indie since April 3rd to work on
Snobli Run
This slide’s design is inspired by
Brandon Boyer @brandonnn

4. #inversefunnel
#davidvsgoliath
Recap: Understand how press works

5. #struggleforrecognition
Who are they?
Professional press &
Professional game press
Enthusiast game press &
Wannabe game press/communities
VS
They get paid
They get free games & goodies
Understand their differences

6. #thefunnelisnotalie
Similarities
• Both of them deal with a
bombardment of PR & Marketing
• Both are fighting for attention and
traffic
• Largely dependant on what
publishers offer them
• Very little (or no) attention/time for
indies and small companies (because
it doesn’t generate traffic).
Love them both, but…

7. #struggleforprofessionalism
There’s an institutional problem
with game journalism
Brandon Boyer’s GDC ’10 rant
(he’s my hero)

8. #brandingiron
Different topic:
When things go wrong
Who knows this guy?

9. #scratchmyback
Recap: game marketing?
“Quid pro quo, Clarice”
– Hannibal Lecter

10. #saleshatesobjectivity
Why you should know about this
stuff
• Marketing vs. Press
• 1-10 Scale
discussion
• Make/break based
on Metacritic results

11. #david vs goliath
Know your real ‘enemy’
You
Random big publisher
• Dirty tricks, lots of money
• Pressure on journalists,
tons of advertising
• Power over the media
Your marketing
strategy
“The games press is often painted as corrupt, lazy
and – as I mentioned – fundamentally stupid. This is
because we tend to be corrupt, lazy and
fundamentally stupid. “
- Kieron Gillen (former game journalist)

12. #bedifferent
Don’t use their tricks
“I have been one of those people, doing everything I can to get
to try game journalists to place my games on the cover of their
magazines, extended previews, assets posted online and the
scores as high as possible. I have pulled ad buys in protest of
what I felt were unfair review scores. I have spoken to the
“boss” of publications before, and complained about certain
journalists. I have “banned” certain media outlets from getting
pre-release access to games, because of previous unfavorable
coverage.”
- Anonymous person from a Big Publisher

13. #awkwardmoments
Behind Closed Doors
“At the end of the twenty-minute presentation, the man
who was in charge—or at least, who talked the most—
held out a large, glossy folder emblazoned with the THQ
logo. “Everything you need is in here,” he said. […]
Here was my preview. […]
My qualification was the ability to publish information
about MX vs. ATV: Untamed without a THQ watermark.
So then I had an even worse thought: I was not the
author of the piece I was about to write.“
- Joseph Bernstein (game journalist)

14. #saleshatesobjectivity
Wake up and smell the coffee
“The job of a game journalist consists in many ways of
balancing acts between a perceived loyalty to the reading
public and a dependency on industry material. “
- David Nieborg (game researcher)

15. #weneedmoreofthese
New Game Journalism
“Where the review/preview structure is the bread and
butter of the majority of game publications; with very
few exceptions, there is no culture of historically and
critically informed game journalism to speak of.“
- David Nieborg (game researcher)

16. #itallstartswithanemail
Dealing with the game press
“A passionate games journalist who loves your
work will get you more coverage than an entire
PR department.”
- Kieron Gillen (game journalist)

17. #chooseyourtarget
Step 1: Find your champions!
“Here’s the good news: We’re on your side. […]
You represent the ideal of why we want to
write about games in the first place”
- Kieron Gillen (game journalist)

18. #fearisyourbiggestenemy
Reach out to them
“A journalist, investigating, that’s how 90% of
indie games get reviewed.”
– Kieron Gillen (game journalist)

19. #preparationiskey
Take action
• Read the press, and leave a
comment some times
• Get in touch with them, send
them a polite request to have a
look at your game
• Offer people review
copies/codes, politely
• Know why your game is
actually worth while looking
at
• Look back at my marketing
lecture.

20. #justdontsendthemflowers
Court them
• Get to know these people personally, have
a beer with them.
• Understand the mechanics of game
journalism (read everything I give you at
the end of this talk)
• Be polite x 3000
• Don’t pressure them, there’s enough fish
in the sea!
• Prepare for any attention or interest
accordingly, have your press kit and
elevator pitch ready
• Make it easy for them to remember you
and your game (do marketing).

21. #dontbethatguy
Step: 2 Don’t exaggerate
“The press is busy just like you. They work hard and are
often underpaid. It's perfectly fine to send them one email
and leave one voice message. […] Don't email them
multiple times per day or leave multiple voice messages.
[…] Annoying journalists is the shortest path to getting
ignored for the foreseeable future.”
– Luis Levy (game developer & author)

22. #thinkniche
Step: 3 Choose the right people
Making a PC game?
• Focus on big PC markets
– Great Britain
– Scandinavia
– Germany
• Magazines and website
watch each other
constantly and yes, they
copy stuff from each
other. All. The.Time.

23. #doallthesethings
Summary
• Do. Your. Research.
• Be polite.
• Have press kits prepared
at all time.
– Put your gameplay trailer
on your phone!
• Mail press, meet them at
events.
• Build a relationship.

24. #readitall
References/Further Reading
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Most importantly: http://www.pixelprospector.com/indev/2010/08/the-big-list-of-indiemarketing-and-business-tips/
http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=693
http://www.next-gen.biz/blogs/everyones-a-critic
http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_5728/A_Detailed_Look_into_the_Problems_of_Games_Jo
urnalism
http://www.gamespace.nl/content/NieborgSihvonen09_TheNewGatekeepers.pdf
http://sorethumbs.tumblr.com/page/20
http://bitmob.com/articles/what-defines-a-games-journalist
http://sorethumbs.tumblr.com/post/48781177/publisherperspective
http://bitmob.com/articles/a-new-era-of-video-game-journalism
http://sorethumbs.tumblr.com/page/20
http://shawnelliott.blogspot.com/2008/12/symposium-part-one-review-scores.html
http://shawnelliott.blogspot.com/2009/02/symposium-part-two-review-policy.html
http://vgmwatch.com/
http://killscreendaily.com/articles/intern-affairs-you-can-ski-jump
http://www.planetxbox360.com/article_5728/A_Detailed_Look_into_the_Problems_of_Games_Jo
urnalism
http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?page_id=693
http://kotaku.com/#!328244/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review

25. #imlonely
Contact me
• I’m in ur campus, working in ur Gamelabz
• Will be staying in the guest lecturer house at Talo 6 #F28.
Look me up there in the evening and let’s play some
beer pong.
• Mail me at v.micu@vgvisionary.com
• @vgvisionary
• Website: www.vgvisionary.com