Hello!

I plan to apply for writing jobs at good games magazines (printed ones), but which ones should I apply for? I know the following magazines to be good:
- Edge
- PC Gamer

What other magazines are good? Is GamesTM good? I had previously thought PC Zone to be good, but it seems to be promoting Enter the Matrix. What are your opinions on this? Why aren't you answering me? Are you still there? Hello?

Whoops, thought I was on MSN Messenger there for a minute.

In summary, your task is to tell me what magazines are good.

What? You want to join a GOOD magazine? Are you nuts? Do you realise the expectation and high-standard you'd have to meet? You do know you'd almost certainly require 'experience' when applying to a 'good' magazine? (Or should that be 'successful'?)

Wouldn't it be better to apply to a 'BAD' mag? And make it better yourself? Single-handedly? Thus garnering a reputation for yourself? Like you'll always be remembered as that guy who made that once crap mag, great?


giant_frying_pan

Interesting choice of magazines, borts -- I'd agree that they're pretty much the only two good reasons to move to Bath in circulation, but that won't help you much as the pan-lid is all too correct about the need for experience. Being able to show that you can write well and to a deadline is one thing, but it's far from the only concern: The staff of flagship titles aren't best employed explaining "how magazines are made" to new team members... unless you'd be totally comfortable walking onto one of these publications, sitting down and just getting on with the job then you should be prepared to accept roles on mags that can afford to divert more time to training. This should not put you off applying for the top spots of course, just be aware that a known factor, already employed in the company, will very likely have the edge so working to become a known factor first is worth considering.

Quite a few people begin by writing for a tips mag (on which it quickly becomes obvious whether somebody has the basic skill required to form an authoritative opinion about videogames) while doing internal freelance for the company's other publications (which, similarly, will quickly show whether or not one has the knowledge needed to properly asses the form and the literary skill to convey one's opinion). It's certainly something you should consider, being a solid way to "pay your dues". Stop crying.

As for single-handedly making a bad magazine better... it's an understandable, but fundamentally naive aspiration. As a game-loving consumer it's totally natural to equate poor copy with poor writers, but once you get into the business you'll quickly realise that less than stellar mags get made largely, from what I've seen, due to economic considerations that encourage the sensibilities of the hardcore (the handful of people who will actually notice when R-Type III gets a Super R-Type screenshot and give a shit) to be ignored.

Copy has to get past subbers who don't necessarily play games that much and who will replace terminology, assumed to be mistakes, with proper English. Ditto for designers, who may similarly "fix" things. And because you're doing 13/14 issues a year in order to squeeze as much cash out of the market as possible, there's no time to maintain a live-binder to catch any errors. Or simply to sit for a day and hammer out six month's worth of cool feature ideas. Or sleep.

The end result also has to appease managers who are locked onto attracting the largest demographic and who have, since the PlayStation explosion, been convinced that casual gamers are the key to big sales. So, y'know, write casual or ("PRETTY FLOWER" - Ed) off.

Oops... I'm getting tetchy now. I knew that would happen. But really, if you think you're going to wander onto a poor magazine to find it staffed by inferior idiots then you're due a rude awakening; chances are, everyone will be at least as good as you, only more experienced, emaciated and cynical.

'Course, if you want to write a magazine your way, you can... you'll just have to finance it yourself, that's all. Because magazines get made how the owner wants, and it's as simple and -- in the case of rubbish ones -- as disassociated from the writers' skills as that.

Good luck breaking in... start by forming your own opinion on Games Tuh-Muh, because nobody is going to take you seriously if you can't even be bothered to research the publications you're considering applying to. ;)

Hey, I knew that applying to a bad mag with the hope of turning it around was a ridiculous idea. Blame the frying pan.

You paint a bleak picture, but thanks anyway. I suppose I'll carry on applying to mags as I was, but with slightly lowered expectations. How do you know so much about the subject, Sledge?

I just hope that the salary on a tips mag is enough for me to live on and pay back the terrible loan that I took out to pay for my MSc. If it isn't, I'll have to actually use that Computer Science MSc to work for an IT company.

Which doesn't sound so bad compared to typing out 'wickeeed' cheats for WrestleFest 2004.

I know, I know! :D Read it as if I know, and that "you" means "all of you" where applicable. I hate doing that @whoever thing.

Yes, it is a bit bleak (and you should certainly speak to others in order to get a more rounded point of view... I think the Digi guys have written the "odd thing or two" in the past), but it's something I'd have liked to have been more aware of before starting out as I would have probably put more effort into securing positions on better and better magazines than attempting to fundamentally alter the ones I staffed... which was never going to happen. If I've changed your expectations at all then it's only in the hopes that you'll avoid similar heartache -- directors decide that magazines are going to be written better, not good writers.

As a rule of thumb though, the more creative freedom and influence you want, the smaller the company you should join (the ultimate example being your own gig, staffed exclusively by yourself... and maybe a busty secretary).

[SLEDGE PICKS UP CLIPBOARD, SURVEYS LIST OF "THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE" AND NOTICES THAT "BE VIDEOGAMES JOURNALIST" IS CORRECTLY TICKED, ALTHOUGH THE "WITH BUSTY SECRETARY" BIT THAT FOLLOWS HAS BEEN SCRIBBLED OUT]

Oh, maaan! Get an IT job at a publishing house then do internal freelance as and when.

Or, as you're knowledgeable in IT, maybe there's some industry computer mag or other such low-key but specialist publication which you could contribute to, and also write about games for? Maybe you're closing too many doors by focusing specifically on games, and gaming publications. I know that little videogames boxouts tend to be awful in publications on another topic, but perhaps you could change that. It could be a way to get some editorial and journalistic experience, friends in the industry, and a name for yourself.

NGC doesn't suck. Edge doesn't suck. And one PC magazine doesn't either but I can't remember which. However, none of them are what you'd actually call funny, nor really that opinionated.

And everything else is beneath contempt.


Christ, I'm a miserable bastard these days. Somebody remind me again of why life's such a marvellous blessing and all that...

Well, there's nothing wrong with being miserable if there's nothing to feel happy about.

Thanks again for your advice guys. It will be taken into advisement by my internal committee.