Last week I talked about aspects of being a games journalist such as passion vs. skill and what to do if you want to become a games journalist. I also talked about why games journalist’s aren’t always thought of as ‘real’ journalists. This week I’ll discuss the finer points of working towards becoming a games journalist.

The personal journey

Obviously, my personal journey isn’t going to be some miraculous guide on how to be a games journalist. I’ll be completely frank with you and say that there are times when I really don’t know what it is that I’m doing. Times when I truly feel like well, a dummy! Like anything, if you love what you do, it’s always going to be a journey frought with ups and downs but hopefully, you’ll come out feeling like you’ve learned something. And that’s where a ‘job’ and a ‘career’ are two different things. In a way, I didn’t really pick this career. In a round-about way this career kinda picked me. It took me several years and a trip to E3 in LA to finally realise what I wanted to do but it was kind of always there. Writing was something I had been doing in one form or another most of my life so it was really only a natural progression for me to take my love of writing and combine it with my love of everything relating to video games.

Are you experienced?

Most of my writing experience started online writing for Gameplanet, a fairly prominent online gaming community website in New Zealand. That’s where I learned the in’s and out’s of online video game reviewing. I didn’t really have a ‘teacher’ per se but I learned alot from the people around me. If you can get your foot in the door at a place like this, you’re off to a good start. There are literally hundreds of websites out there looking for volunteer writers who love video games. Don’t believe me? Do a search on google for ‘video game journalist jobs’ and see what you find. Everyone wants writers, unfortunately, if you’re looking for more than a free game or two, getting a paid journalism gig is an entirely different story. That’s when you’ll be faced with the decision to either turn your hobby and love for gaming into something tangible or continue treating what you do as a past time. It might not sound like a tough decision, but it can be if you’re serious enough about making a career out of games journalism.

Games journalist vs. journalist

Games journalist’s are a specialist group indeed. You’ll probably find that you’re better off looking at journalism jobs in general to begin with rather than focusing solely on being a games journalist. Just remember that holding onto your goal of becoming a games journalist is the most important thing to do. You should never give up writing about video games, even if you have to do it for yourself. In fact, I urge you to start writing for yourself as soon as you can. Start a blog or a website, or even a journal but make sure you continue to write about the thing you love the most. It will prove extremely motivational and will help you through the more psychologically challenging moments you’re bound to experience when you doubt yourself. Particularly if you find yourself not getting hired straight away.

Next week I’ll talk about the differences between print and online games journalism. Until then, keep writing and thanks for reading