Thursday, February 20, 2014

Advice for Games Journalists

A lot of games journalists ask me how to get my games on their website, so I thought I would write a few tips on finding interesting games to write about:

1.  Look for games

Don't just sit there waiting for a developer to email you; go on forums, check Youtube/Twitter, see what people are playing.  Otherwise you're missing out on a lot of interesting games and only covering the developers who spend a lot of time writing emails.

2.  Do some research

When you do see a game on Reddit or another games website, don't just paraphrase what someone else said.  Try playing it or email the developer for a build, and then form your own opinion.  Don't be afraid to go against popular opinion!

3.  Be persistent

If I don't write you back about my game it might just be because I'm busy making it, try again or contact me on Twitter.

4. Don't fall for it

Just because Sniper Elite 3 made a video explaining their "X-ray kill-cam" doesn't mean you have to post about it.  Just because a mass murderer requests a PS3 in prison doesn't mean you have to post about it.  I know it's easier just to write a couple sentences and add a link to another website, but if you want to have good content you're going to need to put some more effort into it.  The first 5 seconds of viewing your website are the most important, if I see things like that I'm going to close the browser tab.


Alex Austin is the creator of BioShoot Infinite +1 and other games you haven't heard of, such as Sub Rosa, Hockey?, the Cryptic Sea EP, A New Zero, Rocket Builder, Relativity and Somnia.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

This is awesome. Put the ball in their court!