Electronic Gaming Monthly

Never meet your heroes, they said. Welp, I've been lucky enough to work for some of the industry's best editorial minds and despite the aforementioned warning, it turns out you can learn a lot running one of gaming's most storied publications.

It Was All a Dream

It's safe to say that when I was a kid, games took up the bulk of my time. They were pretty much my entire childhood, and chances are if I wasn't playing the latest release, I was talking about the best way to get past that one boss in level three who kept showing up, or I was pouring over the pages of my favorite gaming magazines, reading and re-reading about its hotly anticipated sequel.

Be it Nintendo Power, Gamepro, Gamefan, or the mighty Electronic Gaming Monthly (or EGM for short), my friends and I were always sneaking a peek at one of them during class. Heck, we even went so far as to make our own video game 'zine in 6th grade (featuring a hand-drawn Skate-or-Die cover illustrated yours truly)! New screenshots straight from Japan, unbelievable cheat codes, ads for Gamecave featuring stuff we could never afford...man, what a time to be alive!

So, imagine how thrilled I was when a couple decades later, a good friend of mine called me up and asked me if I wanted to come join him and the rest of the gang put together the Electronic Gaming Monthly!!

I still can't believe it to this day, but well, when they ask you to join the Review Crew, you say "yes."

'Nuff said.

The Only Constant

Now, while I had worked for a print publication prior to EGM, it was to be my first full-time print gig but that quickly changed when the publisher decided to launch a full-fledged online content site. Then an interactive digital companion to the print publication for tablets. Then develop more of a social media presence. Then let us wacky kids start a podcast. Then ask me to replace the current executive editor. Then take on a project called Gamecenter, the official video game magazine for Walmart. It seemed like each new month came with a new challenge, leaving the crew scrambling anew.

But the fun part?

We were asked to do so with minimal increases to our in-house staff and freelance budgets, meaning that there was an incredible amount of planning required to ensure that we made the most of every interview, press event, and trade show to gather and parse content such that every last beast noted above got their fill.

Luckily, the organization required to keep up with the admittedly frenetic pace of things was fairly similar to the daily demands I'd encountered while running online ops for the folks at Gamefan Online and IGN.com, and the team we had was nothing short of extraordinary, despite many of them being relative rookies.

All-in-all, the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with a veteran publisher who loved to push the envelope seemed daunting at the time, but it definitely taught me a lot about the importance of consistency, communication, and collaboration, as nothing short of a well-oiled machine would have managed to make such a journey.

Project Highlights

CONTENT PRODUCTION - THE THRILL I'D NEVER KNOWN

"Is the thrill that'll getcha' when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone!" - It may not seem like much in the scope of things but much like that celebratory scene in Almost Famous, penning our massive blow-out on Gearbox Software's Borderlands 2 was pretty special. I laugh now to tell it, but I nearly had a panic attack sitting down with Mikey and Randy for this one.

EDITORIAL DIRECTION - MAKING A F***ING SANDWICH

One of coolest pieces in the revitalized Electronic Gaming Monthly arsenal was the EGM Interview. It was a one-on-one piece with zero PR presence and zero mandated revisions from the publisher where developers could truly speak their minds. I conducted several, but none rivaled this sit down with former Uncharted boss lady Amy Hennig, who dropped gems on her past, present, and future while letting the world know what she though about sexism in the industry. Too cool.

INDUSTRY ADVOCACY - FIGHTING FOR CREATORS

As one of few folks who'd had the pleasure of working as both a developer and editor, I relished the opportunity to serve as a voice for game makers when I had the chance. I especially enjoyed this piece on how used games impacted the wallets of the teams who brought our favorite worlds to life. So many death threats. So worth it.

ON-CAMERA WORK - THE CAMERA REALLY DOES ADD 10 LBS

Video content was still taking off at the time, but our publisher rightly saw it as a huge part of the future. That meant replacing transcriptions of audio interviews with bits like this, which serve as a stark reminder of how often I say "umm" and that we really needed to take better care of ourselves physically. Hooray for work-life balance, amiright?

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT - I GOT THE BAG

I got my start with the fan base via reader mail, and was eventually ask to expand my efforts into social media. Print was on the way out when EGM "wose from its gwave," but we did our best to integrate online interactions on the page as we transitioned into the digital age. This meant combing Twitter for reader reactions and developer comments alike.

PODCAST PRODUCTION - THE TABLE HEARD ROUND THE NET

Speaking of clever instances of interactive integration, editor Eric Patterson found a neat way to scratch our publisher's itch to make the most of our in-office debates while giving us an opportunity to do something we were all big on: starting a podcast! We recorded said chats and repurposed them in print, ensuring that maximum mileage was achieved.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT - DEFEATING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The transition from print prominence to digital dominance saw the end of many an industry stalwart, but publisher Steve Harris was determined to avoid that fate. So, we found ways to leverage our work on as many verticals as possible, including a website that blended content with social networking and a tablet version of the magazine.

The Show Must (Not) Go On

Ah, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's funny to think that those three measly words can illicit an avalanche of emotion, but as anyone who's worked in the industry will tell you, you either loved, hated, or love/hated it and any other response meant you somehow weaseled your way in without having to work.

It's an important distinction, as there was a massive difference in your overall health and well-being, depending. Working meant some fresh hell like manning a booth to demo your product, attending countless appointments, or (like us journos often did) running around like a crazy person trying to see everything only to rush off to a host of after-hours events to show face.

It led to many a sleepless night, some seriously insistent headaches, and even the ever-popular "E3 Flu" but I tell you what:

I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

I say this because, for all the effort, angst, and eventual illness, there was nothing quite like hitting the show as a games writer. Not only because you got to see almost every title you'd been wondering about that year, but also because it gave you a chance to catch up with so many outside your circle; what they were working on, how their families were doing, and what they had seen that you simply had to find time for before the show was said and done.

It changed a lot since the EGM days and hearing that it is, at the very least, taking a big break for a few years may make the event planners and publicists among us smile, but me?

I'll always miss it.

My other stuff

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Devil's Bluff

Project Management

Every game dev dreams of creating an original IP. How many fantasize about doing it with a tenth of the initial budget, a fully remote team, and a nine-month development cycle? A lot less, probably. To make this asymmetrical cross-platform survival horror title a reality we did it anyway — and boy-oh-boy, did I learn a lot.

Quick Hit NFL Football

Game Design

Occasionally, a recruiter calls up and hits you with a doozy. My favorite went a little something like this: "So, hey...want to come help a new company with a non-existent dev team build a product from the ground up to challenge EA Sports' Madden Football with a Live, Web-Based Free-to-Play Product?" Sure. Why not?

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