New Games Journalism

Such articles are of interest to people who already own the game under scrutiny, and to others who don't actually want to play the game, but who are nevertheless interested in the game's cultural importance.

For instance, I might describe how my nine-year-old son got excited about learning his multiplication tables when he played Timez Attack. Or, I might describe how the two-player drop-in/drop-out design of Lego Star Wars II is perfect for my son, who obsesses over each level until he completes it and my daughter, who has a shorter attention span. I might also describe how their inability to agree on which direction to explore and on whether to be methodical about cleaning out each level or whether to rush about madly from environment to environment led to temper tantrums that resulted in the game being temporarily banished from the house.

I'm asking you to read some samples of new games journalism, because I expect that for most students, game reviews will be first and foremost in your mind when I ask you to write about the games we study. Since I already know how to play these games, and since you don't have to convince me whether or not to buy them, we need to focus on something else instead of "how to play" or "how it looks" or "whether it is fun".  What else is there to say about a game, beyond whether or not you should buy a copy?  What about free games -- are they worth talking about?  What about games designed to persuade -- buy this produce, elect this candidate, support this global issue?

These new games journalism articles will give you some ideas, and I will try to guide you throughout the first week or so, by asking questions designed to get you to think along the lines that will help you write your later papers.

An upcoming exercise asks you to look more closely at the differences between a traditional review and a new games journalism essay.

I'll leave you with this article about "Ten Umissable Examples of New Games Journalism."

Write your first reflection/stance paper by first finding an example that interests you, and then following the instructions. (A reflection paper is part of a larger sequence of small assignments called the RRRR sequence, but don't worry about any of the other items yet -- just write the reflection/stance paper.)