Press-tige

Switching Sides

Betraying my instincts, I skipped to the score: 8.5. Hot damn, that's not bad! I read the review aloud, finally coming to the part about my contribution: "Shining in the spotlight is the new Road to Wrestlemania mode ..." The writer sprinkled words like "brilliant" and "great" to describe the new addition to the series. He even said it was "awesome" in the little plus/minus section by the score! I felt that goose-bumpy tingling usually reserved for the sappy moments in movies. My wife said she wanted to cry. It may have been the proudest moment of my life.

After the pride subsided, I told myself that I could not let reviews affect me this much. Since this was my first one, I allowed myself a pass. More positive assessments would come, as would negative ones. I needed to keep an even keel and retain confidence in what I had produced.

More reviews poured in over the following month. The game scored well, amassing a Metacritic score of 80 - pretty darn good for the ninth sequel to a game about dudes throwing each other around. A respected outlet proclaimed, "I've never been so compelled to play through the story mode in a SmackDown game." A smaller, wrestling-focused site wrote, "This is perhaps the best wrestling game story mode yet." They liked me! They really liked me!

Okay, not everyone liked me. Some called my mode "bland," "unoriginal" and "dull." I was prepared for the complaint that not every character had his/her own story. But I relished the constructive criticism. I preferred a seven rating that made great points to a nine where it was evident the writer didn't bother playing the thing. Of course, that put me in the minority among my cohorts. I didn't have to endure any epic zingers comparing the game to flaming dog doo, but there's always my next year-long opus. And that's a fear that will aid me in future endeavors.

Journalists and developers aren't all that different in the grand scheme of things - my story is proof of that. Both have what others would consider "dream jobs." In the social pecking order, the majority of them are seated at the slightly geeky, above average cleverness table. Their goal is the same: to get great games into the hands of gamers. It's just that one side has the power of judgment and the other the power of creation. If both sides respect each other's powers, maybe peace has a chance.

Justin Leeper is a designer for THQ's WWE games. He has experience in game journalism, pro-wrestling and stunt-fighting. He will chop you if you ask nicely.