Gaming Blogs and magazines are both popular ways in which the average gamer can get the information they need to know before they decide to purchase a game or not. However these to forms of media, while trying to tell readers the same basic thing, vary on many different levels. Mind you I do not mean to say that one is better than the other or anything like that. I simply wish to explore how both forms of media are structured to handle the same topic, videogames.
Blogs for example tend to lean toward the author reviewing his or her experience of a game. This is not to say that some magazines don’t do the same, but that blogs seem to do this more. These blogs can be rather interesting because you get to see how other players viewed and analyzed the game. The most interesting tend to be from people playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) since they all have their own unique experiences to recount. While blogs can give their readers hours of reading material as well as a chance for said readers to leave comments about the blog they just read, blogs are not without their problems. The main problem I find with them in general is the way they are written. In Iroquois Pliskin’s Games Journalism Needs Games Journalists not only does she seem to wander from the original topic she also writes in a way that may not be enjoyable for the occasional reader. In this case she not only uses words that would not be in the average person’s vocabulary but she often seems to rant about what ever comes to mind. This latter seems to be a common problem which leads to the main topic of the piece either being briefly touched on or forgotten all together. I believe this is due to the unlimited amount of space they have to write their blogs.
In magazine articles the reader does not always get the in depth look of the game that they want. This is due to the limited space each member of the writing staff of the magazine gets for his or her article. The advantages of this however is that they often get to the point that they are trying to make and they do not stray from said point, and a reader can usually follow them. The disadvantage is that they may not get to say everything about the game they wanted to so important information may be left out of their article.
Since both forms of information can be resourceful it really matters on the reader what he or she wishes to know and which media is preferred.
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I see want it is that you are saying and I totally agree with you. A lot of the time it seems to me that a piece in a blog is a little too opinionated and contains way too much ranting. My opinion is a mag is way better even without the detailed look at a game.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that it depends on the persons perferance on where form of journalism is better.
ReplyDeleteBlogs are a good way to express a more personalized atmosphere about a game, but it's not exactly someone in the mainstream would be exposed to. The problem with current games journalism, at least to me, is that it lacks this personable quality. It's mostly a very clinical experience. Games journalism needs to bring back that personable feel, cause it had it a long time ago. But I don't know if it's something that can be done right away because the industry needs to allot for more time spent per game, and with the current output volume, don't know how likely that'll happen.
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