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Yelp and NGJ

 
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kirkjerk
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:20 pm    Post subject: Yelp and NGJ Reply with quote

I was thinking about how uneven Yelp is... so many of the entries say more about the reviewer than the place reviewed. Reviews of tattoo parlors that are all "let me tell you about my tattoos" and bars that are all "let me tell you how hammered me and my friends got this one night here, we got kicked out".

But then it hit me that the focus on the personal, subjective experience is kind of sort of what NGJ is ostensibly about.

I dunno if it means anything, if the subject matter makes the difference, or the format, or what, but still, it made me wonder if NGJ was a careful what you wish for type situation...
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helicopterp
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trashy writing is trashy writing. I thought the purpose of NGJ (not the mode, but the purpose) was a migration away from game reviews as either a) consumer reports, b) objective statements that signify little or nothing, and c) big-business industry profiles.

With that comes the unnegotiable that a writer must exist with a perspective behind the text, making the writing into a dialogue rather than an inherent authority. It isn't easy to write, but it makes more sense from a critical perspective.

Many writers who limit themselves to plain, expository personal experience--and I think there is a style of writing (can we call it, "lookatmei'mhipwithmysarcasmandaloofonewordsentences?") that has grown with this mode--often ignore the salient ideas for others in an experience of their own. It makes for trashy, actionbutton.net style writing.


However, format also plays a big role here. Stories about the people who play games in addition to the games themselves often succeed in a group setting (I guess I'm thinking about TGQ's Shiren the Wanderer suite as an exemplar). Camaraderie is important. It becomes oppressive (to use the word lightly) when writers use those sorts of stories singly in the format of a review, which is a format that bears much greater inherent authority.



Just my thoughts. But it boils down to "trashy writing is trashy writing."
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SuperWes
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like this review.

-Wes
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kirkjerk
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

helicopterp wrote:
Just my thoughts. But it boils down to "trashy writing is trashy writing."

True enough.
It might be a domain issue though.
I guess gaming *could* get into chest thumping "MAN I ROCK AT VIDEO GAMES" type reviews, but that's less likely than with reviews of places for a night out, or to get a tattoo. NGJ probably has more to worry about from obscure reference dropping and general "more indy than thou" writing.
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Scratchmonkey
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

helicopterp wrote:
It makes for trashy, actionbutton.net style writing.


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helicopterp
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

After a few short minutes of research, I think I originally based the actionbutton.net portion on the first few reviews I ever read there. On the whole they aren't as trashy as all that. Woops!

But hey since we're talking about it, what's with all the royal we over there? And why aren't there author names anymore?
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Mr Mustache
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Game journalism, new or otherwise, could really use a nice solid theoretical base. The language is invariably so arbitrary, regardless of which site you try to read, it's just a fucking chore.
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Scratchmonkey
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

helicopterp wrote:
But hey since we're talking about it, what's with all the royal we over there? And why aren't there author names anymore?


I think it's meant to represent the group of writers as a collective under a banner of shared opinions about how games should be, which I guess is a fancy way of saying that it's the editorial "we" rather than the royal "we".

Not sure what's up with the names not showing up on some of the reviews. It seems to be random enough that it's a mistake; that might be just what they want us to think though.
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helicopterp
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, I get that they want to be seen as a single body of opinion. But why would they want to? Personally, I'd rather think of them as a diverse group who are comfortable with each others' differences, publicly as well as privately.
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