With Polygon once again embarrassing themselves with a simple gameplay preview, it's time once more to ask if video game journalists should, in fact, be good at the only job they have to do. You know, a job requiring literally no credentials or bars for entry. Being good at a hobby is hard!
Game Journalists Have One Job.
When the Gamergate controversy began to grow in size, I wasn't exactly first in line to shout down game journalists as if they were horrible monsters. Fact of the matter is, the only reason I ever use any video game-centric website is to check and see if I've missed any big information or release dates. Video game websites are a mere intermediary between big publishers and me, and their only job is to sell crap and stay relevant by being drip-fed information hours before the public is aware of it.
As you have probably been able to tell, I don't care at all about the shallow navel-gazing these publications are known for. What could possibly motivate me to read about why The Witcher 2 was so good half a decade after I played the thing? Furthermore, why should I care at all about what some brainless Yes-Man says about people who don't like the ending to Mass Effect 3?
These types of pedantic and rather silly articles only really serve as filler while waiting on publishers to send them out as criers for when the next big thing is coming out, but anyone with a functioning brain has probably considered the contents of said articles in their own time. I'm not terribly concerned with the role of women in video games because some of my favorite games are written by women and many of my favorites feature female protagonists. You get the idea.
If this article seems hypocritical, I feel it necessary to remind you I do this for fun in my free time. I'm not sitting on a paycheck with the thought in mind to create content for your dumb brain to think; these are just the musings of someone who likes video games. If you want to click out of this right now, that's just fine. If you've got something out of it, that's wonderful! The point is, video game journalism should be relegated to the recommendations and telling me when something I'm interested in will be released. I don't need you digging up secret pre-release information like some kind of fat spy, just tell me what you know and be done with it. If I could be on the same drip-fed publisher list, I would never, ever bother with any of these pathetic websites.
So imagine my complete and utter surprise when Polygon released possibly the most hilarious gameplay preview of the new Doom with the dexterity of a man with no limbs. I don't understand why they turned off likes and dislikes, I gave that video a big ole' like and favorite for turning me into a shrill laughbeast for a full half hour after the video ended. Of course Polygon can't play video games, they're too busy blubbering about Bayonetta's confident sexiness to actually take the time to--pfft--play video games. What are you, a loser? A babyman? A virgin?
What's really maddening about this whole situation is that I adore video games. I want to "get good" at a video game to appreciate the experience all the more. Let's be honest, I'm pretty good at the vidya. Just like everything else. So the audacity of journalists, particularly with articles such as the one from RPS linked above, to decry the need to have some level of experience and aptitude in their field of work is simply appalling.
I won't say where or go into specifics, but I work with database systems. I have to make sure everything I input is perfect and go hands-on with physical components, and I never, ever complain. I don't go to my boss and whine about it being too hard and I don't demand an easier workload. I get paid to do a job and I want to do it to the best of my ability. Let's not even tackle the absurdity of journalists actually complaining about having to play video games, because that should go without saying. You have a dream job and you want nothing more than to do it with as little effort as possible.
Of course, as I mentioned in the preamble, Polygon is still up to the same stuff. Months after the release of Doom, this publication is still pushing out "preview videos" featuring gameplay that I can only now assume is a joke. I'm astounded by this complete refusal to be competent and actually put time and care into your work.
That's about it. I don't have much to say on the issue but it burns me up that game journalists are recoiling in disgust over the very notion that they should be required to have some form competency for their job. If these are the people who are going to plaster their websites with ads then shouldn't they at least attempt to sell that product without seeming inept? If I were a developer I'd balk at the idea that my product was going to be displayed in its worst capacity because some idiot reviewer doesn't know how to hold a controller.
I mentioned it in my last rant, but these factors are part of the perfect storm that's causing the general public to abandon outlets such as Polygon. More than a handful of seemingly indestructible websites have been completely obliterated by the complete disinterest in this heavy-handed approach to video games and how exactly they should be discussed. You want to know why game-related Youtube channels are flourishing? Because those people have a passion for what they're doing. They love the craft, they love their fans, and the general public in turn shows them respect.
I'm not about to wave the Gamergate banner. I think it's pretty stupid to wrap yourself up in a cause that's really only related to your hobby, but I do agree with the notion that game journalists should be held to some sort of standard. Furthermore, these are the same people who have turned the word "ethics" into some sort of vague punchline. Do you really trust these people to peddle products at you when they clearly do not respect you?
I respect you. Validate me.
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