Ccesarano, I think you and I would be of like mind on the [state of games journalism]. Even where I have not always succeeded, my goal in everything I have written has been to challenge people. Sometimes those people were in the industry, sometimes it was the reader and on occasion it was even my peers. I could not have done this for 10 years if I didn't have that kind of freedom and opportunity.
The best I can say is stick with it. You seem like the kind of guy I want to see writing on the industry. Stick your foot in every door you can, and if they manage to close the door get a battering ram.
This was my first interaction with Sean Sands. In fact, it is very likely the only real interaction I've had with him until this year's PAX East, where I wrapped myself about his body from behind, nearly spilling his drink, and whispering "am I the Goodjer you're looking for?" into his ear (look, I was drunk and Certis put me up to it).
I imagine his impression of me has rapidly gone downhill since our first "meeting."
Nevertheless, here I am, regularly pasting words onto the ever-flowing paper of the Gamers With Jobs front page. Almost four years after I read Sean's article "Who's Got Next?", his goodbye to The Escapist, I have found myself writing for a website I can be proud of. GWJ isn't just another press-release factory, and I'm not pressured to get reviews (for horrible games) out as soon as possible regardless of completion status. I don't write here with hopes of one day being noticed by one of the big folk, but because I want to write here, for the love of the site.
Which makes it all the more startling that Sean's farewell article was also the first time I had even seen his column. Had I never seen it, I'd have never found my way here.
At each stage of my life, there's been some online community that I've felt just as close to as my friends and cohorts in real life. Each of those online communities also leaves a textual trail of my immaturity and hubris. I've met friends online and played bouts of Left 4 Dead with them, and I've debated console wars and quality of games for years.
Yet never have I felt so at home as Gamers With Jobs. True, I still feel as if I'm a phoney masquerading as a member here. But then, something tells me such feelings aren't so unusual.
I have found more than just a community where I can discuss and share ideas, more than just people to play games with. I've found true friends and supporters. I found a team to marathon a twenty-five-hour gaming session, all in the name of helping sick kids. More of you came in and offered us all support, playing games with us, speaking with us, and following our streams. I've found co-hosts for my podcast. I've convinced more people than expected to buy a niche title, only to find myself discussing branching paths in games, agency, and the difference between immersion and engagement.
That I'm able to write on this site is surreal, and even as I force myself to grasp the reality of the situation, I cannot believe that I am here, now, putting words on the front page of the absolute best website I've ever been a part of.
So when I sit down at my family's table for Thanksgiving this year, I know what to be thankful for most of all. As easy as it has been to pummel my own self-esteem and ego over the years, it becomes a bit tough to do so when there's a network of friends and supporters that believe in what you are doing.
Thank you, Gamers With Jobs.
Most of all, thank you to the Sheawns. Without the two of you, this community and all the good it does would not exist.
Comments
Hear hear!
Yes, this place is special.
What Stele said ^ -mortalgroove
Switch: 6273-9936-5107
Ewwwwwwww. But a hearty yes to the rest!
Love it.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
What's best is that I WAS THERE when ccess nearly tackled Sean, and heard those seeds of his regular articles getting planted in his head.
Ah, the Tamo Bar at PAX East, what CAN'T you do? Aside from charge less than $8 for a beer, of course...
I had thought I was so strong, so unmovable, and then ccesarano showed me that no, I could be toppled like a house of cards on a windy day.
In all seriousness, this article made my day.
The thing about smart people is they seem like crazy people to dumb people -- Thing I saw on the Internet
I claim allegiance to this portmanteau. To paraphrase Martin Luther: Here I stand; come at me, bros.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
The fantasy of every GWJer
--
Come play Team Fortress 2 with GWJers! Server: 74.91.120.31:27015
7-8pm central, Mondays & Fridays, bring chicken wings
I believe that this is what the pillow of heterosexuality was created to prevent.
I can only assume that when the antichrist arrives he will be left handed, Australian, and attempting to steal our womenfolk.
Strewth wrote:Prozac is a man's man. Or clinically insane. It's hard to tell.
This is what happens when I'm not allowed to run the front page. Thanks!
NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ― Howard Thurman
I've really enjoyed all of the articles you've posted since I've been here, Chris. Your posts on agency and narrative have been highlights of my (admittedly relatively) short time on the site. I'm very grateful that you are writing articles on the front page for this amazing community!
LastSuprise: Destroyer of Wallets would be an excellent tag and/or third handle for you.
https://twitter.com/theharpomarxist
Fist bumps for everyone.
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SW-3864-9679-7572
You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
Right on, Chris. You're a great addition to the front page.
Aw, man. We'll miss you.
Someone make a sitcom about the Sheawns, now.
I like to think that Trichy's brain is a Rorschach test, in that it is not trapped here with us, so much as we, are trapped here with it.
StrangeBlades wrote:MTRI Trichy and I lovea are lovenesting in our lovefibres.
I'm pretty sure I used this slang in a podcast thread once and Cory yelled at me for it
Also, keep up the great work Chris. It's been fun reading!
Why are you even READING THIS?!?! You should print it out, rip it to pieces, burn it, gather the ashes and SNORT IT ALL.