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September 30, 2010 3:30 AM   Subscribe

Kieron Gillen on being a games journalist. Advice from the man who, after fifteen years, has called time on his involvement with the same profession - and a good read for writers in general.
posted by mippy (15 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Bless.

RPS is a genuine treasure, but I've always felt a bit conflicted about Kieron - maybe because he's incredibly arrogant, but in that good way that comes from being absolutely clear-eyed about your own worth. And failings.

(raises pint, downs it, gets in round)
posted by Sebmojo at 3:51 AM on September 30, 2010


He may be arrogant, but he's usually got something interesting to say. BTW, most days there is interesting stuff to read over at RPS. Most recommended.
posted by Harald74 at 3:56 AM on September 30, 2010


He may be arrogant, but he's usually got something interesting to say. BTW, most days there is interesting stuff to read over at RPS. Most recommended.

Oh, granted - that's my point. He's actually as good as he thinks he is.

His Darkfall review (the last paid videogames work he did) for e.g.
posted by Sebmojo at 4:01 AM on September 30, 2010


Man, I remember the first review he wrote for PC Gamer magazine back in the 90s... it was Thief: The Dark Project. I guess I would have been ten years old. PCG was clearly the best PC magazine around at that time - no contest.

He was always one of my favourite writers for the mag and even though I don't really play PC games any more, I still check out RPS from time to time. Sad to see him go.
posted by Ted Maul at 4:09 AM on September 30, 2010


Actually I wasn't ten... I was 12 or 13. The comment stands!
posted by Ted Maul at 4:10 AM on September 30, 2010


I've actually been following Gillen since he was a forum poster on Warren Ellis's forum on delphi, even before he was doing games journalism as a career. He's always been into comic books first.
posted by empath at 4:47 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


If you're as good as you think you are, are you really arrogant? Surely arrogance is having an exaggerated sense of your own worth?
posted by pharm at 4:53 AM on September 30, 2010


Also, he picked up a lot of that tone from the Warren Ellis. He wasn't always that cocky. The New Games Journalism Manifesto, for example, was a direct outgrowth of a "Manifesto" thread on the Warren Ellis Forum where a lot of people were posting manifestos of their own and historical ones. There were actually a fair few comics writers that cut their teeth at the WEF -- Brian Wood and Matt Fraction off the top of my head.

I wish Delphi's search function wasn't a piece of shit, or I'd pull up some of his old posts.
posted by empath at 5:38 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]



Do not listen to your bosses. They will infect and ruin your brain. They don’t have your best interests in heart. Who profits from making you hate yourself? They do. The less you realise how good you are, the more they can profit from you. And they do and they will.

This is a great rule of thumb for the bad elements of just about any job anywhere.
posted by Drastic at 6:04 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


I used to live by that rule of thumb, then I got laid off. Apparently you do have to listen to your bosses every once in a while.
posted by empath at 6:06 AM on September 30, 2010


Well, sure. You have to be good at pretending to. That's part of smartening up your talent, which leads you to go on to do great things.
posted by Drastic at 6:24 AM on September 30, 2010


Delphi Forums still exist? How disturbing.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:06 AM on September 30, 2010


He should have added "don't take bribes" to his list of tips for budding game journalists.
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:01 AM on September 30, 2010 [1 favorite]


I was briefly considering taking a gander at "video game journalist" as a possible route I could take. I think I'll avoid it, now.

Thanks for this.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 8:48 AM on September 30, 2010


I am sad about this, but happy for him because it seems like he'll be happier elsewhere. I can't say that I thought he was pissing away his talent, though, even if he thinks so; I enjoyed his writing tremendously, and I'm nowhere near alone in that, so that doesn't seem like a waste.
posted by Errant at 12:17 PM on September 30, 2010


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