GWJ User Guide

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Updated June 2022

Who We Are

Gamers With Jobs is the brainchild of Shawn Andrich and Sean Sands, both gamers who, oddly enough, didn’t have “real” jobs when they launched the site. It began years ago as a news site with a forum, and evolved into what you see today: an inclusive safe haven for folks interested in the hobby of gaming to any degree.


The Podcast

A cornerstone of the site, the Gamers With Jobs Conference Call is our way of providing a podcast that feels like you are hanging out with friends after a long day in the office. We strive for smart, in-depth discussions about the latest games and gaming-related news, as well as light, playful tangents. We're always thrilled to discuss the new hotness, explore fun and strange indie gems, and revisit games that are a few years old.

The Podcast Crew

Regular Hosts

Amanda Knowlton (They/Them) - Amoebic most places, Amoebism everywhere else. Deemed Meebs by one Shawn Andrich, who also projected they'd run this town someday. As the chief operating officer, they keep the lights on, doors open, and all things running for everything GWJ and Storyroost. They're an avid pursuer of a variety of game genres, but still regularly play Deep Rock Galactic.

Daryl Lathon (He/Him) - Daryl is an actor/VO artist/editor/director/writer/manager/improviser/dreamer/breather/proofreader/eater, who also manages to squeeze in some gaming from time to time. When gaming, he tends to play games of sport (including racing games), 3rd person shooters, open world adventures, while occasionally venturing into 4x and strategy genres. He views games as more than simple entertainment but as a tool for personal exploration (deep thoughts).

Glendon Hass (He/Him) - With a striking resemblance to Ponyboy Curtis, Staygold is a Canadian with a passion for data, storytelling, probing the depths of the human spirit and mind, coffee, and cooking. His gaming proclivities take him from real time strategy to battle royale, from single player narrative action games to crunchy work placement board games, and pretty much everything in between. If there's something to be learned, a challenge to overcome, or a system to deconstruct and optimize, you'll find Glendon there.

Richard Lovejoy (He/Him) - Richard is a Brooklyn-based working actor/writer/dog trainer/notary public/banana dog aficionado. The arc of his gaming habits bends towards crunchy RPGs and strategy games, but he has a soft spot for weirdly challenging action games and rogue-likes/lites that test his (incredibly poor) reflexes.

Editing and Production

Jonathan Downin - Main producer and mixer man behind the scenes, Jonathan makes sure your ears are in the same condition at the end of the show as at the beginning. Truly the magic behind the GWJCC.


Podcast Crew Emeritus

Shawn Andrich – A Co-Founder of GWJ and former host of the GWJ Conference call, Shawn now lurks in the rafters and occasionally drops down to sit in on the show.

Sean Sands – Co-Founder of GWJ, Sean has penned hundreds of articles dissecting the gaming industry and revealing his darkest secrets. He has two kids and a wife way above his pay grade.

Julian Murdoch - Every family needs the grizzled, old, crazy uncle telling war stories from the good old days while forgetting his dentures and drinking prune juice, and Julian Murdoch is ours. He's written for four major gaming magazines, each of which folded within 12 months of his arrival. We keep asking him not to write for us, but someone gave him the keys and locksmiths are expensive.

Allen Cook - Indie darling and southern comfort, Allen plays the weird stuff.

Cory Banks - Cory provides indie cred to the show. It doesn't hurt that he grows a mean indie beard and wears the finest in horn-rimmed glasses. Cory has written for a number of publications and brings a special brand of caustic wit to the show.

Lara Crigger - Freelance writer Lara Crigger has written for nearly a dozen gaming publications, most of which Julian shut down. As a handheld and casual games aficionado, she plays all the games you secretly want but have too much cred to play.


The Front Page

Every week we'll keep you posted on the latest releases with our "Week Ahead" feature, and occasionally we'll even bring you fresh and unique games writing. If you're interesting in writing an article, send us a pitch to [email protected].

Writers Room

Felix - Felix lives in Australia and uses the time difference to get advance notice of game releases for The Week Ahead. His current gaming habits consist of yet another game of Civ 6, trying last month’s big release, and staring dumbfounded at how his kids play games. He has resolved to play a multiplayer game, one day, for a record 8 years in a row.

Antichulius (He/Him) - As a writer, Antichulius loves the Oxford Comma a good em dash; as a gamer, it seems sometimes like he enjoys collecting games as much as playing them. But recently, it's his desire to share his hobby with two young children that guides most of his gaming choices—with Pokémon and Minecraft in heavy rotation.


The Community

The Gamers With Jobs community is the crown jewel of the site, featuring a thriving forum section, a burgeoning Discord group, and more awesome people to play games with than you could possibly fit onto your friend lists. We expect a lot from the folks who participate in the Gamers With Jobs community; egalitarian-minded respect for others, thoughtful posts and engagement, and compassionate discourse all make the forums what they are today.

Signing up and getting active in the community is one of the best things you can do to get more enjoyment out of your gaming hobby.

Key Community Members

Mods

Marcel "MudBunny" Beaudoin (He/Him/DAAAAAAAD!!!!) - Living in Canada, Marcel is a federal government drone working in IP. As a busy father and husband, he likes things that have clear breadcrumbs on what he is supposed to do and have a simple gameplay loop. Action RPGs and looter-shooters are his focus, but a nice RPG is always being looked for.

Hypatian - Moderator emeritus and once long-time resident of D&D. Katherine is no longer quite so excited to maintain her own hardware, so she now plays the occasional console game between trips to Rhode Island beaches, libraries, bookstores, and the like.

Sometimesdee - Dee Phair sometimes moderates between chasing her kids and choral rehearsals. She plays mostly JRPGs, with the occasional farming sim. Her crowning pandemic achievement was when she turned her local PTA officers into Animal Crossing addicts.


Things to Check Out Before Joining the Community:

The Code of Conduct – This guides our policies and decisions when moderating the forums. It’s a good read, too. Really.

The GWJ Discord - This is a great place to connect and play games with other community members.

The Steam Community – If you want to join our group on Valve’s Steam service, simply submit a request and then post your Steam username in this thread.

The Greatest Forum Threads (Archived via Wayback Machine) - Want a crash course in some of the inside jokes and history of the community? Just hit this page and prepare to be entertained.

Console Friend Lists – Reading a thread and want to join the fun? See who’s actively posting and grab their online name from these pages:

Xbox Live Friends List
PSN Friends List
Switch Friend Codes


The Donation Drive

We run an annual donation drive at the end of summer, giving everyone a chance to help us cover hosting costs and keeping the site ad-free so we can focus on bringing you unimpeded games content. You can find out more in the Donation Drive FAQ.

Donation Icons and Tags Under Forum Names

You’ll notice that there are little images under quite a bunch of forum names in various threads. These indicate that the person has donated to the site in the past. Every donation drive we bring in a new icon to signify how many years someone has donated.

The tags you see under forum names signify how many posts someone has made. Everyone starts as a Coffee Grinder and works their way up from there. Once you hit 1,000 posts, your tag changes to “Choose Your Tag!” Members of the community will inevitably take notice, and someone will create a thread in the Everything Else forums where everyone can offer tag suggestions. Once you choose, notify Amoebic or a moderator to update your account.


We're in This Together

Gamers With Jobs exists because we all share a desire to have fun with our hobby and connect with like-minded people. We’re very proud to be catalysts for a great many meet & greets, collaborations, and friendships all across the world. We hope you stick around and join the fun!

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