How to Pitch a Panel

Posted: June 5, 2013 in Uncategorized
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You may have noticed that I speak on panels every once in awhile.  In total I’ve done five at PAX, three of which I pitched myself and served as moderator.  I’m pretty good on panels – I can throw out a joke and chew on a topic with acceptable skill, and usually don’t enter a fugue state when I see the audience (usually), but by that time, my most valuable skill has already been used.  See what I’m really good at is pitching panels.

So with the Escapist Expo opening its doors to panel submissions, I thought this might be the perfect time to talk about how you go about it.

Pitching anything isn’t that hard as long as you put some thought into it.  Really you’re just trying to convince someone to give you a room and a couple of open microphones.  It’s similar to applying for a scholarship or grant, or even a job.  Everything will work out fine as long as you bring an interesting and unique topic and show that you have your act together.  Check your spelling and grammar.  Be professional.  Don’t use curse words or too much slang in your submission.  Use on email address that isn’t CocaineSatan@BabySealExecution.com

You’re not just selling a panel here, you’re selling the idea that the con staff can trust you with a PA system.

1. Do you Really Want to Pitch a Panel?

First you have to decide whether you want to pitch in the first place.  What are the parameters?  How long would you have to talk?  Are you comfortable speaking in front of several dozen, or even several hundred people?  Do you think you can get enough people to come out and do the panel with you?

2. No Seriously, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO PITCH A PANEL?

You’ll be sitting at the front of the room and everyone will be looking at you with their scary eyes.  They’ll expect you to say things without stammering incomprehensibly.  No hysterical gibbering or onstage breakdowns allowed.  If you’re moderating you have to manage your fellow panelists.  If you’re not comfortable with that, then seriously don’t pitch a panel.

3. Choose Your Topic

Figure out what makes you unique and pitch to that strength.  Maybe you’re a veteran D&D GM and can chew the fat about how to control wild players.  Alternately, you may have a day job that has an interesting angle on geek culture, think “Actual Lawyers vs. Rules Lawyers” or “Stim Pak Fallacy: Medical Professionals Talk Healing Systems.”  Life experience could come into play too – the year you spent abroad observing Korean game culture or how military FPSs relate to your own service in the armed forces.  Panels can literally be about anything, I saw one at Rooster Teeth Expo that was just members of the 501st showing off their costumes and taking questions about how to join the group and make armor.  Range far and wide for topics.  If you want to get ideas, look at what got accepted at the last PAX.

4. Choose Your Panelists

Panels live and die at this step.  If you and your friends are going to an event locally, this isn’t always a big deal, but if you’re traveling it can foul up the whole thing.  One of your panelists might not have the vacation time, or be able to afford the flight, or he might want to stay home with his pregnant wife to see the birth of his firstborn, the selfish bastard.  Point is, whatever your topic you need to lock down 3-4 people other than yourself that can commit to going to the event.  I try to invite four at the least, so if one drops out I still have a relatively full panel.  In all cases though, never ever list someone as a panelist until you’ve cleared it with them first.  They need to willingly consent to the appearance – don’t put them down just because the topic is in their wheelhouse and you don’t think they’ll mind, that’s a pretty big faux pas.

5. Recruit More Panelists If Necessary

Maybe you’re lucky and have 3-4 friends all willing to speak on a topic immediately.  That’s probably the case if you’re a game journalist and have a good network, but if you’re just an average joe who wants to do a panel, you may have to cast your net wider.  When I built my recurring panel “Borders, Bigotry, and Body Dumps: International Videogame Controversies” I only knew one person who I wanted as a panelist who was able to show.  The next panelist that I added I knew only from his articles, and the final one was through a recommendation.  That particular panel came together so nicely we reunited twice, but I only got those last panelists because I cold emailed a lot of people, some of whom said no.  If you have to do that, look for like-minded people that you think can handle their own in front of a crowd.  If they’re already coming to an event, that’s better than having to convince them to travel.  Just make sure you’re polite and clear in your dealings with them – remember, you’re soliciting their participation, not the other way around.  Don’t treat them like a job candidate, you’re courting them.  Be nice, be helpful, and respect their boundaries, especially if you’ve never met them in person.

6.  Herd the Cats

Two to three weeks before the submissions window closes, start making people give you a concrete “yes” or “no.”  If someone’s waffling, start researching replacements in case they drop out on you.  Get the vital information for each panelist, which usually includes their name, their work title (if necessary), where they work (if necessary) and their email address.  You’ll have to enter this on the panel submission.

7. Keep an Eye On the Deadline

(ZZZZZzzzznuzzle, snort.)  Gaaah! Wait, what? What do you mean the submission deadline was yesterday?  Damn it!  I should’ve put it in my calendar or something.  Also I should buy a calendar.

8. Choose a Title

I’m going to be honest here: I hate titles and I’m bad at them.  Titles are hard.  The first panel I pitched was called, as I mentioned, “Borders, Bigotry and Body Dumps: International Videogame Controversies.”  The eye-grabbing language definitely roped in some audience members, but it was too long to print on the banner or in the schedule, where it just appeared as “International Videogame Controversies.”  Try for something punchy that gets the point across, or put the punchy name upfront and a subtitle after the colon.  If your panel is, “Demons in Your Pocket: How Japanese Folktales Became Pokémon,” it’ll probably show up in the program as the catchier first half.

9. Official Description

This will take you the longest because it’s what goes in the program and there’s usually a character or word limit.  Start by writing your panel description in a word processor – not the submission field – and just see where it takes you.  Write down the big idea of the panel first, whether it’s a statement or a question you plan to answer.  Next go onto the smaller topics you’ll cover, then list your panelists with their titles in parentheses   Now run a word count and cut down.  Then cut down again.  Then leave it for awhile, come back, read it, add what you need and cut it again.  Most submission forms give examples of successful panel pitches, so look at those and steal their structure if you want.

Here’s an example of one I did recently:

Borders and Bullets: Global Game Controversies

As videogames become an international hobby, games increasingly run into problems of representation and localization.  Military shooters often use international conflicts or real locations as their backdrop, igniting controversy in the countries they portray as well as raising questions about the portrayal of foreign people and the impact of violence in digital space.  This panel will explore the more worrisome aspects of this trend and discuss possible solutions the industry can use going forward.

 

What’s the favorite game of Hezbollah militants?  What are the ethical questions we need to consider when designing violent media? How’d Castro feel about getting shot in Black Ops?  This sequel to PAX East’s “Borders, Bigotry, and Body Dumps” will take on Oliver North, The Red Cross, and whether Spec Ops: The Line represents a new breed of ethically-centered shooter.

This is actually pretty long for a panel description.  If I had to do it again, I’d probably cut out the Castro line.  Note that this is a more academically-centered panel as well – don’t use so much jargon if you’re pitching, “Warhammer Conversions 101.”  Keep it light and bouncy.

10. Additional Information and Technical Information

The “Additional Information” field is where you make your case if you’re not sure of yourself.  For example, if you’re not a game developer or writer and feel like you need to justify why you belong up there, you can list achievements that would make you a good panelist (speech and debate club, for example, teaching experience) or drop links to your blog or podcast.  Get creative if you want – upload a video of you and your panelists to YouTube showing that you’re fun to listen to.  Another great use of this space is to list alternate panelists if one of your primaries wasn’t able to give you a solid answer by the submission deadline.

“Technical Information” on the other hand is what you need from the con.  Microphones, chairs and water are always provided, but if you’re going to use a PowerPoint you need to request a screen and projector.  Also, if you have any panelists with special requirements – wheelchair access to the stage, for instance, it’s best to enter that now.

11. Submit the Panel and Wait for a Response

If it gets accepted, congratulations!  If not, well, everyone tends to fail at this sort of thing before they succeed at it, so don’t get discouraged.  Resubmit next year.

That about sums it up for pitching.  If you have any questions, be sure to ask them below.

10 Tricks to Balance Game Journalism With Your Day Job

Posted: May 14, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Ever since I started writing a weekly column, I’ve gotten one question over and over from aspiring game journos:  How do I balance a full-time job and a weekly column?

Well now that I’ve left the full-time job I can reveal my secret.

I didn’t balance them.  Not nearly.  For the last six months I’ve been harried, under-slept and feeling three steps behind on everything.

There’s no such thing as Work/Life Balance.  Hell, I had a hard enough time with Work/Work Balance.

But despite all that, I survived.  Critical Intel has done well, gained an audience, and kept a high level of quality.  I got good reviews at my day job and was considered a don’t-know-what-we’ll-do-without-you asset when I left.  Despite burning every drop of midnight oil I had, I was at least functioning at a pretty high level.

So can I tell you how maintain Work/Live Balance?  Hahahahahaha no.  Yeah, nope.

What I can do, though, is tell you what makes putting out that much work  possible and a whole lot less painful.

1. Plan Your Content

Do you know what you’re writing about this week?  Sure!  No problem, right?  So ok – what about next week?  What about the week after that?  If you’re putting out content weekly, you need to develop a plan.  I never approach a deadline not knowing what to write about, because that’s suicide.  While it’s true that I’ve sometimes found myself a few days out not knowing which article’s going to go out that week, it’s always a question of which of these three articles am I going to write? rather than what am I going to write?  Ideally, I schedule content three weeks out.  I know what I’m writing this week, I have one or two possibilities I’m developing for next week, and a treasure trove of ideas I can use for week three.

2. Plan Your Week

For any article that requires an interview, I’m sending out emails two weeks out.  For anything that needs extensive research, I start reading sources and marking paragraphs at least a week before the deadline.  First draft starts several days beforehand, finishes the day before the deadline, and then a series of 3-4 edited drafts before it’s due.  And honestly, this is way too close to the wire for my liking, but I’m trying to be realistic about what actually happens when you’re carrying a full-time job and a weekly deadline.  Once you’ve hit that deadline give yourself a night off to recoup sleep and do it all again.

3. Get at Least A Week Ahead

If you don’t do anything else, do this.  I started Critical Intel with the first and second weeks of content already filed, kept an article in reserve as long as I could, and I was waaaaay saner.  Then Christmas happened and I basically lost a week – just couldn’t get anything written – and I was back to scrambling like a quarterback with no linemen.  Don’t do this.  When you’re starting a new weekly endeavor, be kind to yourself and have some extra articles in  your back pocket.  Less pressure, more chance to redraft and your writing will be better for it.  Think like a gunfighter – always have a backup in your waistband.

4. It’s Okay to Softball (Sometimes)

When I tell you the shit’s gonna hit the fan, buddy, I’m not kidding.  One week the shit will hit the fan, and it will get thrown everywhere and make everything shitty.  Also, presumably, your fan will stop working because it’s gears are caked with shit.  Maybe you’re fighting with your spouse and writing isn’t the uppermost thing on your mind.  Maybe your computer crashed.  Maybe it’s Christmas Eve and you’re spending time with family or, alternately, wandering drunk around Downtown Disney, reevaluating your life choices.  At times like this you can either use one of your backups, or you can write a softball article.  Now don’t misunderstand what I mean by “softball” – its not a bad article, or a rushed article.  It’s just an article that’s easy.  Something that’s been in the back of your mind, or draws on your own knowledge, something you don’t have to read forty pages of source material to write.  Strangely, in my experience these columns actually tend to become popular.  Desperate Housewives of Skyrim was one of these for me.  So was the recent The Perfect Non-Gamer Girl, which I wrote because my spare time was nothing but wedding errands.  Industry Secret Time: you know why there are so many top-ten lists at the end of the year?  Because game journos are tired and it’s Christmas and PR’s not returning emails.  Top ten lists are easy, that’s why content mills like Buzzfeed churn them out.  Have a few ideas in your notebook you can flee to in times of need.

5. Learn to Cook in a Crockpot

Or else learn to live off soup, sandwiches, and fast food.  If you’re writing as well as working, the writing is going to cut into your time, including mealtimes.  That often means shortening meals or, alternately, learning to cook dinners that require little attention.  I consider stews, roasts, curries, pulled pork, homemade soups, and the like writer food.  Chop some ingredients, dump them in a pot, and let it boil in the background while you write.  Also provides a good, mindless action if you need to think between paragraphs.

6. Insomnia is Not Your Friend, But it Can Be a Powerful Ally

Let’s me be straight about this one: you’re gonna lose some sleep.  You just will.  It’ll happen.  Best to come to terms with it.  I’m lucky to be one of those people who can drop off to sleep pretty quickly, so if I’m going to bed at 3:00 AM and waking up at 7:00 AM I’ve slept a half a night, but not everyone’s like this.  Frankly I could write a whole post on writing and insomnia and strategies to get enough sleep, but let’s just leave it like this: you’re going to end up pulling late nights, sometimes multiple times a week.  This will literally let you add more hours of work to your day, but if you push it too far you’ll have a breakdown or a car accident.  Be very, very careful about how much sleep you get.  Consider getting up early instead of staying up late, or starting your articles earlier in the week.

7. Limit Your TV and Videogame Time

Yeah, I know this one sounds counterintuitive, especially coming from a videogame journalist.  Here’s the thing though: you’ve got a limited amount of time in your day and can’t afford to burn daylight.  So instead of watching six TV shows a week, pick three.  Instead of playing the game you’re writing about and also ten hours of another game, maybe cut that extraneous game down to a couple hours.  Personally, I like to watch a TV episode while I’m eating dinner, since I can justify the time by multitasking.  Also, just bite the bullet and get TiVo or some form of digital cable, or else just work on Netflix and Hulu.  Watch TV when you have time, not when the TV tells you to.

8. Schedule Writing Time

My fiancée knows not to schedule anything on certain nights of the week.  Those nights are writing nights.  Figure out your own time and lock your environment down.  Shut off Twitter and Facebook.  Get out of the house if you have to – retreat to a library or cafe or a bar.  Whatever you do, set a time when you need to put your ass in a chair and just write.   This time could be every week, every day, or every couple of days.  It can be as long or short as you want.  Get up early.  Stay up late.  Knock out a page during your lunch hour each day,  on the C Train, or stay at your desk an extra hour after punching out – if someone calls you, tell them you’re still at work and will call back.  The last one really works well.

9. Make a Little Progress Every Day

Even if you’re not actually writing your article, just keep moving the ball forward.  Bookmark some research, do some reading, play a game.  Waiting for your girlfriend at a restaurant?  Take out your notebook or cell phone and jot down ideas for articles or interview questions.  Outline something you haven’t started on – it’ll take five minutes and save you an hour.  Correspond with PR or interviewees.  Above all write everything down.  To put out content every week you need to become a wellspring of ideas.

10. Be Kind To Yourself

You’re going to do better some weeks than others.  That’s just the nature of writing on a weekly basis and, frankly, writing period.  One week you’re going to put something out you’re crazy enthusiastic about and the next it might just be alright.  Serviceable but not soaring. Good stuff, insightful stuff, but not a world-beater.  Inevitably, you’ll put a lot of work into something you think is really fantastic that practically no one reads, the bastards.  You might write something people hate.  That’s just going to happen and you can’t get too twisted up about it.  Try harder next week.  The fact you met a deadline and have shown the world you can publish on a regular basis – and get paid – is a form of success in itself.  Don’t beat yourself up.  Falling short of excellence isn’t the same thing as being comfortably mediocre.  It probably isn’t even as bad as you think (probably).  Just keep reaching higher each week and you’ll improve.

My Schedule for PAX East

Posted: March 21, 2013 in Controversy, Critical Intel, Escapist, International, PAX East
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There’s really nothing quite like PAX East.  Prime is great — many people prefer it — but it’s too spread out for my taste, too sprawling and diluted.  East is smaller, more concentrated.  At Prime you can get lost in the crowd, but at East you’re constantly running into people you know.

Which is as good a segue as any…

If you want to run into me at PAX East, you’ve got a couple of options.

If you’re a freelancer or an aspiring freelancer, I highly encourage you to attend the Freelancer Meetup described in the last post.  Yeah, it’s early in the morning, but it’s a really great opportunity to meet fellow game writers in a no-pressure environment.

Other than that, I’ll be on two panels:

The Escapist Movie Night: Saturday, 9:00 PM, Merman Theatre – Come see the stars of the Escapist!  Check out never-before-seen videos from the Escapist’s most talented content creators, plus a live Q&A from the likes of MovieBob, Loading Ready Run, No Right Answer, Susan Arendt, Shamus Young, Johnathan Grey Carter of Critical Miss, and of course myself!  If you have any questions about Critical Intel — how I do it, where I conduct my research, or how I got started in game journalism — this is the place to ask.

Borders and Bullets: Global Game Controversies: Sunday, 10:00 AM, Naga Theatre — If you’re a political animal as well as a gamer, don’t miss out on this panel.  It’s a roundtable discussion on a host of topics from violent media, to links between the game industry and the gun industry, and even whether games can be used as a diplomatic tool.  My fellow panelists Steve Watts, Elisa Melendez, and James Portnow of Extra Credits fame will help bring the Borders trilogy to a close — it’ll be one for the record books.

And hey, aren’t coming to PAX but want to watch Borders and Bullets anyway?  Not only will I be taping the panel as normal, but Twitch TV will be streaming it live!

See you out there in the big nowhere.

PAX East Freelancer Meetup

Posted: March 17, 2013 in Freelancing, Game Journalism, PAX East, Writing
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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day — and if you’re a freelancer at PAX East, it might be the only meal you get.

During PAX Prime last summer, a small gathering of freelancers met in the press room and headed out into the city for drinks.  It was a chance to connect with other writers and meet people we’d only known through bylines and Twitter handles.  There were only two problems: everyone had different parties to go to, and by the time we got together, PAX was nearly over!

To solve these issues, we’re kicking things off early this year — we’ll be meeting up on Friday morning right before the floor opens, buying up coffee and crumbly pastries from the Westin Starbucks and lounging around the lobby.  Be there bright and early to meet new people, connect with old friends, and get to know the fellow press badges you might run into on the expo floor.  PAX is a flood of humanity, so we might as well put some familiar faces in the crowd, right?

We’re holding it at 8:00 AM in the Westin, so everyone has time to get to the Expo Floor before it opens for press at 9:00.  (Though remember that the PAX shuttles don’t start until 8:00 AM, so get your T passes ready.)

WHAT: PAX East Freelancer Meetup

WHERE: Lobby of the Westin Waterfront, near Starbucks (the hotel connected to the Convention Center)

WHEN: Friday, March 22nd, at 8:00 AM sharp

DETAILS OR QUESTIONS: Follow event coordinator Rob Rath on Twitter @RobWritesPulp

See you at PAX!

My Five Favorite Critical Intel Columns of 2012

Posted: January 20, 2013 in Critical Intel, Escapist, Freelancing, Game Journalism, Games, History, International
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Critical Intel is off and running.  Originally, I’d thought the column would provide an interesting side note with niche appeal, but instead I’m seeing comments from regular readers and getting appreciative messages in my inbox.  (That’s always humbling, wonderful, and weird.)  It seems CritIntel‘s audience is larger than I anticipated.

Given that, I really want to thank everyone who’s read, commented, tweeted, and shared in support of the column. At the risk of sounding biased, CritIntel readers are my favorite audience on The Escapist.  You’re overwhelmingly positive and engaged, and when you disagree with me, that dissent is (with only a few exceptions) well-reasoned and polite.  Moreover, you’re all pretty kind to each other even when discussing controversial topics.  I think it says a lot that I wrote a column on the Mexican Cartel War the comments didn’t explode into xenophobic tirades. Despite writing about contentious political topics like conflict minerals, drone warfare, gay rights, and BioWare, I haven’t received a single piece of hate mail to date.  You guys are amazing.

So here’s to another year of thoughtful analysis and clean comment threads.  To celebrate, here’s my favorite columns of 2012:

1) King Washington the Wicked

This column was the essence of why I stared doing Critical Intel - I wanted to bring players smart, detailed analyses of the real-world content in games that include the perspectives of subject experts.  I’m still on pins and needles waiting to see if my predictions for The Tyranny of King Washington come to pass.

2) Desperate Housewives of Skyrim

Skyrim is one of my all-time favorite games.  That being said, Skyrim‘s stilted social relationships are an endless source of unintentional hilarity.  I love writing humor pieces, and I’d like to do more in the future.

3) Killer Robots and Collateral Damage

Articles that post on or near a holiday tend to get a lot less traffic – which is unfortunate, since this piece on the portral of drones in video games was one of the better things I’ve done this year.

4) Conflict Minerals in the Game Industry: A Two-Part Series

Yes, it’s cheating to post two as one.  Conflict minerals haven’t gotten a lot of traction in the games media, and it’s a topic I’ve wanted to address for years.  I still have a lot of unresolved feelings regarding Part II, since I’m honestly not sure where I stand on what we should do to address the problem.  Still, I’m proud that I took it on.

5) Cuddly Pokemon and the Demons That Spawned Them

Confession: I don’t like Pokemon.  I’ve never played it because I can’t stand turn-based games.  On the other hand, I love Japanese folklore, especially stories of violent spirits and creatures.  Originally, this was going to be a two part column, but it dragged so I cut it down to one.  There are lots more bizarre spirits that influenced Pokemon, and I highly suggest you check them out if you’re interested.

6 Reasons You Should Back Bit Parts on Kickstarter

Posted: December 5, 2012 in Blue Goggles, Films, Games, indie film
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The Binary Investigation Team, or BIT are responsible for keeping order in the world of videogames.  Woman floating in midair?  Invisible wall?  Glitch causing human/animal hybrid abominations?  Agents One and Zero insert in to patch it, eliminate any glitches, and restore normality.  Except something weird is happening–Agent Zero is hell-bent on investigating cases that don’t line up with normal glitch activity.  It’s almost like some higher power is messing with the virtual plain, something from… outside.

BIT Parts is like X-files for videogames, where the players are the aliens.  I’m on the writing team.  We have nine days to meet our $30,000 goal, and could really use your help.

Here are 6 reasons to back BIT Parts:

1)  We Pay Our Actors and Crew

We’re creative and passionate people at Blue Goggles Films, but we also believe that professional actors, crew, and designers shouldn’t work for free.  Things are tough enough for artistic types as it is, and though a lot of us have given time (and money–quite a bit actually) to produce the first six episodes we can’t keep that up without funding.  If you’ve ever been an artist, you know how hard it is to get paid for your work–in fact, you’ve probably been outright exploited for free work once or twice.  We hate that.  Change starts from the bottom, and our part of that change is giving creatives a paycheck.

2) We’re About More Than Jokes

BIT Parts is funny.  We bring the jokes.  But we also bring a story arch that will carry us through 24 episodes of Season 1, and even onto Season 2.  We want to tell a story with characters that develop over time rather than just going for easy gags.  Here’s a little industry secret we’ll let you in on: Some sites declined to host our videos because at four minutes, they were “too long,” and didn’t contain a punchline in the first 30 seconds.  We believe our audience has an attention span that lasts more than 30 seconds.

3) Ass-Kicking Action

Part of our mission to retain and develop top-tier talent is to get professional stuntmen and fight choreographers.  If you want to see what a difference this makes, see Blue Goggles’ Assassin’s Creed video below:

 

4) Shannon McCormick

That’s right, Agent Washington himself, of Red vs. Blue fame.  Shannon’s a classically trained actor and gets to stride around being sinister as Agent Debug.  (He, er… debugs things.)

5) It’s a Proven Team

Blue Goggles has been making videogame-themed shorts for years, including the insanely popular Skyrim Intervention and Twisted Metal: Be Mine.  This year they also partnered up with GameTrailers.com to produce a videogame short film every month–that’s twelve shorts in a single year.  If you know anything about shooting film on a budget, that’s seriously crazy.

6) Because This is What BIT Parts Looks Like Without Funding

 

On the upside, this is what it looks like with funding:

 

Please consider donating to our Kickstarter.  We have 9 days to go.

Service is the Spirit of Veterans Day

Posted: November 11, 2012 in Uncategorized
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We form a social contract when we send our men and women to war: in return for their their faithful service to the nation at great risk to themselves, we are supposed to assist them when they come home.

Somehow, this has been lost with this generation of vets.  They’re taking care of us, but we’re not taking care of them.  Congress keeps moving to slash budgets for veterans’ programs, vets have had to fight to get PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury taken seriously by military authorities, the military is now losing more troops to suicide than enemy fire, and for-profit schools are preying on vets to trade their New GI Bill benefits for worthless non-accredited degrees.  Some even face hiring prejudice because of worries about how combat has effected their ability to work (newsflash: it hasn’t).  Worse still, the VA–despite being run by distinguished former Army General Eric Shinseki–is completely overwhelmed at best and ineffective at worst.

On this Veterans Day, consider a donation that would serve our veterans as well as they’ve served us:

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — Provides support, resources, and legislative lobbying for the New Greatest Generation.  The IAVA is an exemplary organization that does everything from hosting job fairs to getting veterans suits for interviews.

The Wounded Warrior Project — Seeks to create a generation of healthy, well-adjusted veterans by assisting them to recover in mind and body, as well as empowering veterans to help each other.

Homes for Our Troops — Builds accessible homes for veterans who have experienced life-changing injuries.  This can also include modifying existing homes.  All this is done at no cost to the veteran.

Warrior Writers — Is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that creates a space where veterans can share their experiences through writing, provide a community based on artistic expression, and bear witness to the lived experiences of warriors.

Call of Duty Endowment — If you’re interested in supporting a video games-linked charity, the Call of Duty Endowment helps veterans find a clear path to employment after their return to civilian life.

The American Widow Project — In addition to the veterans, we must remember the families left behind.  AWP provides support for the new generation of military widows by creating a peer-to-peer network where women can share their stories and help each other heal.

And, of course, in a day that celebrates service we cannot forget that our emergency responders and National Guard are saving lives sas we speak in Staten Island and Rockaway, which are still powerless from Hurricane Sandy.  The American Red Cross has missions in the area bringing people food and water who are unable to leave their apartments.  In addition, Doctors Without Borders has dispatched a mission–their first ever to the United States–and they could really use our help.

A deep and sincere thank you to all our veterans.

One Month of Critical Intel

Posted: October 28, 2012 in Critical Intel, Escapist, Freelancing, Game Journalism, History, International, Military, Politics, Work Ethic, Writing
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As you probably know, I’ve been hard at work recently on Critical Intel, my new weekly column at The Escapist.  It’s been a great month packed end-to-end with work that makes me really proud.  Frankly, having a dedicated space each week has made me understand what it’s like when dogs go to a leash-free park.  First they stand there staring at their owners, blinking, as if to say: “What?  I can go anywhere I want now?”  Then they’re off like a shot, tearing over the scenery as quickly as possible, making giant leaps and running circles.

I’ve always had enough ideas about games to write an article every week, the two things I didn’t have were the time and the dedicated venue.  Of the two, the venue was the most difficult part (I can make time) and I can’t thank the good people at Escapist enough for giving me my own little corner of the web.

So what, exactly, is Critical Intel?  Broadly, it’s a column that examines the overlap between videogames and the real world.  That covers a lot of territory – one week I might be talking about an historical event or legend featured in a game, another week I might be discussing military or medical uses of game technology, while I finish up the month with an in-depth look at the trouble games get into overseas.  It will be always intelligent, always well-researched, and often international.  My goal is to take you a level deeper.

Just to give you a sampler, of the three articles that have come out so far, the first was about game censorship in China, the second discussed how games misrepresent the Mexican Cartel War, and the third addressed whether Assassin’s Creed III‘s DLC pack passes muster historically.  The fourth, out this Thursday, is about something entirely different.

Writing an article every week – while holding a full-time job – has been a real challenge, but the warm response all of you have given Critical Intel makes all the long nights and sacrificed weekends worthwhile.  Thanks to everyone for sharing this new journey with me, and I’m looking forward to showing you interesting new stuff every week – bringing need-to-know information to the people who need to know everything.

Beyond Borders: Global Game Controversies (Video)

Posted: October 10, 2012 in Controversy, FPS, Games, International, Military, Politics
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At PAX Prime 2012, James Portnow, Steve Watts, Elisa Melendez and I hosted a panel on the many issues games run into by portraying real events – especially in an age where games are played around the world.

Have a look:

Beyond Borders Reading List

Posted: August 31, 2012 in Controversy, FPS, Games, International, Military, Politics
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We are in the midst of a sea change in the way games are made, marketed, and consumed.  Previously a product that was made only by Western and Japanese studios, and consumed primarily in Japan and the West, videogames are now a worldwide form of media with a presence on every continent.

One of the results of game globalization has been a backlash against the countries and groups of people regularly depicted as “enemies,” as well as a greater — sometimes disturbingly greater — partnership between game development, the military, and arms manufacturers.

At this year’s PAX Prime, we’ll be exploring this in our panel Beyond Borders: Global Game Controversies.  Come see us on Saturday, September 1st, at 5:00 PM in the Unicorn Theater.

After our previous PAX East panel, Borders, Bigotry, and Body Dumps: International Videogame Controversies, enough people requested extra resources that I put together a supplemental reading list on this blog.  Now that Beyond Borders is going live, I’ve updated the list to reflect new developments such as the Oliver North/Black Ops controversy as well as the links between EA and arms companies.

If you have any questions, I will gladly answer them in the comments.

Increasing Crossover Between Games and Real Life

The Trouble with Call of Duty‘s Scary New War of the Future — An exploration of the problematic nature of Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II advertising.  It is especially critical of Oliver North’s role in the campaign.

Partners In Arms — The editorial which first pointed out that EA’s Medal of Honor: Warfighter is not only partnering with arms companies, but actively advertising their products on its website.

Hotel Oasis in Modern Warfare 3 – featured as Makarov’s hideout in the mission “Ashes to Ashes” — displays a striking resemblance to the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai:

 

Representing Foreign Conflicts in Games

Ghosts of Juarez – My own article exploring the Mexican government’s reaction to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and anticipating the fallout from Call of Juarez: The Cartel.

Extra Credits: Call of Juarez: The Cartel – The Extra Credits episode I essentially wheedled/nagged/coerced James Portnow into making on the subject.  A well-done video on what’s wrong with the game, filled with quiet rage.

Guardian Article on The Castro Assassination Mission in CoD: Black Ops – Contains quotes from the Cuban government, including the best quote in the history of videogame controversies: “What the United States government did not achieve in more than 50 years, it now tries to do virtually.”

Red Cross Report on War Crimes in Videogames

You’re a War Criminal – This article by Steve Watts not only won him a spot on “Borders, Bigotry and Body Dumps,” but is the most clear-eyed discussion of the topic I’ve found anywhere.

Representation of Foreign People in Games

Muslims in My Monitor – Writer Saladin Ahmed discusses representation of Muslims in games.  Saladin is also the author of Throne of the Crescent Moon, which is an example of someone taking active part in re-framing a problematic representation of a group of people (in this case, Middle Eastern people in Fantasy).

Dangerous games people play – an opinion piece from the UAE about Middle Eastern stereotypes in games and media.

The Ugly Paulistano — a Brazilian writer living in São Paulo feels that Max Payne 3 is a fair representation of the crime in his city.

(Also see the EC episodes on Race in Games and Call of Juarez, linked above and below.)

Game Development Outside of North America, Europe, and Japan

Is the Arab World the next hot spot for gaming? – Excellent article about gaming in Yemen, and references the development of Unearthed: The Trail of Ibn Battuta.  The Reuters article it was sourced from is worth a read, and can be found here.

Argentina’s video gamers take on the world – CNN article about game development in Argentina which quotes our own panelist, James Portnow.

Hezbollah video game: War with Israel – A good example of an unhelpful response to these issues, this CNN article is about the Hezbollah propaganda game Special Force 2: The Truthful Pledge.

Solutions

Extra Credits: Race in Games – The EC team tackles the difficult subject of how better to represent people in games.

A Renaissance Scholar Helps Build Virtual Rome – A profile of Italian historian Marcello Simonetta, who consulted on Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood.

Extra Credits: Spec Ops: The Line — SPOILERS, OH SO MANY SPOILERS… The EC team discusses a game that is itself a criticism of how games depict warfare.

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