Reviews: A Great New Way to Write for The Escapist

Have you been looking for a way to contribute to The Escapist, but the editorial calendar has either been full or hasn't struck a chord? Looking for a way to break into gaming journalism (and get some free games, to boot)? Look no further than The Escapist's reviews!

We're looking for new writers to review the growing stable of games that find their way to Team Humidor HQ. The games range from hand-held to next-gen console to PC, and they're really beginning to clutter up my desk. Please help before the mountain crumbles and takes me with it.

What we need from you:

• An email to (cut - we're no longer accepting new applications, but thanks for your interest!) with your geographic location, the consoles you own and number of games per month you can commit to reviewing.
• Your favorite and least favorite game - and why. Please don't write a book here; bonus points for brevity!
• Links to writing samples if applicable.
• A mention of any other writing experience.

Special note: At this time, your only compensation will be the game we send to review and a sneak peek at our editorial process, just in case you're interested in contributing any more to the mag.
Second special note: Typical to our editorial style, reviews won't be the typical "graphics/sound/gameplay/overall" variety. They'll demand more thought and insight from you, which is a good thing!
Third special note: Pirates are way better than ninjas.

If we're interested, we'll get back to you sometime in the next week or two with more information.

Special addendum: Please do not submit an application twice. Trust me, we got your email.

Permalink

Penny-Arcade made me think recently. http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/29
GameSpot and many games magazines with strong advertising presence are often cagey about negatively reviewing games made by their sponsors. EVE-Online and Second Life have always had a strong presence advertising alongside The Escapist, in addition to other games. What is The Escapist's policies regarding these would-be 'conflicts of interest'?

This sounds fantastic! I'll make sure to send an e-mail post haste. I do have a specific question though that may help out others. When you say "thought and insight", do you mean talking about the player's experience with the game instead of about the game itself? Try to be like Yahtzee?

Oh, and with writing experience, does it have to pertain to reviews or is it just any writing experience?

Bob, our policy is that sales are not allowed to influence editorial. We've said this repeatedly. Given the nature of the game industry, it probably bears repeating, so I just did.

JR "Razor" Sutich, on our sister site WarCry, actually blogged about this topic. We had a game publisher stop advertising with us & demand that Razor be fired because of a negative review he issued. Obviously, we didn't cave, as Razor blogs on.

See http://razorwire.warcry.com/news/view/79467-Jeff-Gerstmann-Martyr-or-Moron

On a tangent, from where does this meme come that Second Life and Eve are the Escapist's major advertisers? It is completely untrue (by 2 orders of magnitude!), so the persistence is puzzling. Hell, I've personally spent more on Linden Dollars decking out my sexy hot avatar than Linden Labs has in total ever spent sponsoring the Escapist....

wow guys talk about an perfect opportunity. I hope yall get my e-mail.

Capitalizing on that good reputation you've picked up, eh? The only other writing that I've got around that's handy to show a person is my boring old pseudo-political blog that even I don't read any more.

I think this could be fun.

Archon:
On a tangent, from where does this meme come that Second Life and Eve are the Escapist's major advertisers? It is completely untrue (by 2 orders of magnitude!), so the persistence is puzzling. Hell, I've personally spent more on Linden Dollars decking out my sexy hot avatar than Linden Labs has in total ever spent sponsoring the Escapist....

I think it comes from the fact that they're the two big non-WoW MMOs, they're both excellent, and during the Escapist's first year or so, they had their whole-page adverts. EVE tends to end up grabbing both the top and right adverts on the homepage simultaneously in my experience, and the pair definitely stand out from other games like... well, "Age of Conan" is up there right now... Guild Wars also turns up a lot, though, and I suppose people blank that because it's "just another fantasy MMO" (not my opinion, just a common sentiment). I suppose people are far more likely to remember games than various developer conferences and network (WarCry etc.) sites.

"Writing experience"....ok, will giving a link to my blog THIS time give me a red card?
(kidding)

I've heard that Gerstmann is free atm...

There, application sent. *Crosses fingers*

I have an editorial disagreement with Special Note 3, but have sent in an application anyway.

I would apply, but sadly I do not believe I am good enough. I mean... I just played World of Warcraft and found it vastly uninteresting. I just couldn't get over the conversational skills of the undead...

Edit: "And lastly, what MMORPG have you played that wasn't essentially like every other MMORPG? I don't get what is so great about WoW ("oh, the game gets really fun when you're max level!", well why not develop the game to be fun during the whole freaking experience?!). There just needs to be more than "kill x monsters" and "deliver x to y" quests. :/"

Oh lol, nevermind. WoW does suck.

njsykora:
I have an editorial disagreement with Special Note 3, but have sent in an application anyway.

And lo, we agreed.

Is this something that will likely stay open (as games need reviewing)? This is an opportunity that I'd like to pursue in the future, but not at this moment.

I think it is demand and supply here, but it might be likely, hawk. Let's just hope not everyone and their dog will be reviewing, cause then the reviews will be rather bland and not likely to be read.

Me, i don't have the confidence in my reviewing skills(if i ever will review), but that's because i have almost no experience in it, and don't know how to write like you guys want me to write.

Maybe it's because i think it's kind of hard not to get laughed at for stupid reviews. But i think that's in the experience. anyway, i am looking forward to seeing the escapist reviewing games, so good luck finding good writers.

Well i've thrown my e-mail with my info in, no harm in trying eh :P

And yes this piece of news is why I decided to register!

There, I've just sent in an application. Once I've found the editor's home addresses I'll also be sending a small gift of flowers and Godiva chocolates. And have I mentioned you look fantastic this evening?

What precisely do you mean by 'any other writing experience'? This certainly seems like something I would enjoy doing, but, without inflating my ego anymore than it already is, I'm young and the New Yorker has yet to recognize my genius. What little there is I consider polished enough for a portfolio is all academic; evidence of competence, but not personality.

This sounds like a good opportunity. I'm into writing and games, and I could do this fairly well, I believe.

Mango, that means any articles you have written before. I think it is that.

hickwarrior:
Mango, that means any articles you have written before. I think it is that.

It means any published work (blogs count), academic work, internships, or hobby writing. Anything that shows you can apply a certain style of writing (from hard news to literary fiction) to a body of information and present the latter in a logical and concise manner.

Jesus Christ that was a lot of email.

How much was there may I ask?

1. of course there was a lot of emails.
2. im still waiting for a reply to my email about the article that i wrote about gaming stereotypes, i sent the final email 2-3 weeks ago, and i think i've just been deleted and blocked or something, you people from the escapist must hate me or something. Either way, im gonna send you an email for this as well.

So when will the 'winners' be decided, exactly? I have not entered yet.
I am most likely going to throw my hat into the ring though, unless I've got no chance anyway because everyone's already picked out.

Edit: Okay, application sent in. Now to play the waiting game...
...
...
...
The waiting game is boring, who's up for monopoly?

I just threw my hat into the ring, hoping that it's not too late or the ring isn't already piled full of hats. (If so, I'd like my hat back; it's snowing here.)

-- Steve

Kronopticon:
2. im still waiting for a reply to my email about the article that i wrote about gaming stereotypes, i sent the final email 2-3 weeks ago, and i think i've just been deleted and blocked or something, you people from the escapist must hate me or something. Either way, im gonna send you an email for this as well.

There are two principles at work here. I call them The Two Truths.

Truth 1: There are a lot of people and things demanding our attention.
Truth 2: Those who make repeated, public demands for our attention will generally get less than they desire.

Russ Pitts:

Kronopticon:
2. im still waiting for a reply to my email about the article that i wrote about gaming stereotypes, i sent the final email 2-3 weeks ago, and i think i've just been deleted and blocked or something, you people from the escapist must hate me or something. Either way, im gonna send you an email for this as well.

There are two principles at work here. I call them The Two Truths.

Truth 1: There are a lot of people and things demanding our attention.
Truth 2: Those who make repeated, public demands for our attention will generally get less than they desire.

im sorry, but at first, i didnt know there was a large wait, as i was misinformed at the time, but even then, the emails i sent seemed to go unheeded after 2+ weeks. i've just been a bit disillusioned over the escapist, thats all, sorry.

Alright, I sent in an email too, hope I get a response.

On a side note 'just curious' I'm thinking of getting a TV tuner to play my PS2 on my PC and I was wondering, would the Escapist host the video if I put together some game play footage that pertains to a review?

An example of some thing that would require a video reference like that would be the frame slow down in Odin Sphere. I'm playing though it now and it's pretty bad on some bosses. If I wrote a review for it, which I intend to do, I believe the best way to convey some of the aspects of such a visual game would be though a preview movie.

Thanks for your time.

Karl

Am I a reviewer yet?

Is there an age restriction for this application? I am only fourteen, but frequently recieve compliments on my writing skills from my teachers. Would I be eligible for this?

Zera:
Am I a reviewer yet?

Hehe. Check out Truth number 2. *wink wink nudge nudge*

damn my bad...

If you feel we're not fit for the job, will somebody respond telling us so?
Or will we not receive any notice of this?