I think this could be an interesting question to ask ourselves.

So what have we got already?  We're very much presentist/futurist at the moment (think it was Troy that coined that term, and I adopted it via Kieron Gillen) - as in, we do months of preview-based hype, then review a game that's either coming out soon or just released, then we shut up about it.  Sometimes we do retros, but they're rarely of enormous substance.  And, with the increasing blogosphere, we're doing a lot of news.

Obviously we do more than that. There's plenty of fantastic, leftfield games writing both in print and online. (As a brief aside, I'd say the majority of the most interesting games writing is actually online at the moment, which marks a major shift since a few years ago.)  But it still seems to fall into a few distinct categories.

Where would everyone like to see games journalism go?  Do we need more serious reporting?  How about Kieron's New Games Journalism stuff: experiential games writing, exploring our idiosynchratic reactions to virtual worlds?  Something else entirely?

Discuss, in lovely length should you have the time and inclination!

I think we need to write more articles about games in the way of background information. More interviews with game related companies, finding a way to bring art and gaming together and more coöperation with the companies.

What Sylvano says, we are now focused on games and who produces them, but there is a lot more into it. For example: we had an interview with Loek van Kooten, he translates foreign games to Dutch. Almost nobody thinks about it, but that has to be done too and it's a big and responsible job.

I would like to see more writing dedicated to videogame music and sound design in general. Some music such as the scores to Uncharted: Drake's Fortune are brilliantly composed and instantly recognizable. I'd like to know the major players behind that, where they get inspiration and just how the whole process works.

I guess I meant more theoretical approaches to game journalism, rather than specific topics we'd like to see covered. Different *types* of features, rather than the subject matter of those articles.

This is interesting stuff, though - sound design is something I've enjoyed touching upon myself, though I'd not really considered translation stuff.

I would personally be happy if I could be a features writer at a website and not have that mean, "Go and write a bunch of Top 10s."

We need more in depth, analytical pieces. In short, we need REAL features.

Good topic.

I think the amount of writing we can do on a game is largely dependent: A) on what kind of game it is, B) the post-launch support it gets, and C) how strong the community is.

A: Let's face it- most games don't lend themselves to particularly stirring journalism. Games like Matt Hazard, Lost Odyssey, and other formulaic pieces of work are tough to write on in length, past the reviewing stage. Nobody's still discussing Lost Odyssey, because pretty much everyone who wanted to play it has. I think Open world or non-linear games have the best longevity, but highly customizable games are good, too. But whe games like FFXI or Boom Blox come out, you can see some extended writing - one because it's so damn huge and has a myriad of communities within the game, and the other because we can all compare custom levels. These games have a certain edge. So, a weekly feature of either of those games would be far more interesting to read than what's new with Team Fortress on the 360 (and lord knows that'd be a short fucking article).

B: Games that keep getting more content are great because they keep getting press. Look at fallout 3. Not only did the initial release do well, but with the steady stream of added content, it keeps getting more and more press and consequentially, buyers. Canned games with no extras get about as much press as they deserve - one smattering of reviews, in an equivalent exchange for one spurt of game. It's basic alchemy. The more the game companies put in, the more the writers have to work with.

C: MMORPGS have this cornered. WoW is such a ridiculously widely played game that if a person was dedicated enough, you could EASILY do a weekly feature on the game - detailing festivals, instances, notable raids, funny online occurences, and a basic spiel on the news in the WoW world. Tons of people playing one class after a patch? Tell people why - tell them exactly what changed about the talent trees, and how that made a bunch of people re-roll. The same goes for FFXI. Any MMORPG lends itself well to extended press. And I'll grant you that it's a niche audience, but there it is.

Also, I agree with Stew: the new in general needs REAL features. A list is not a feature. It's a list. It takes five fucking minutes to write a list, but a feature goes through DRAFTS, and editors. And it's engaging and unique. Giving a top ten list of the best games of the first half of a year might be a bit interesting, but all it takes is to look at the games with the highest scores from the past 6 months. A real feature taks about a game in a way that makes people not only want to read the feature, but play the game. Because if we draw the readers and sell the game, then we get fat stacks of cash. And I don't know about YOU fine fellows, but I'm PRO fat stacks of cash.


Finally, I think we need to start writing not just about games - but the gamers themselves. Get out on the street. Get in chatrooms. Talk to other gamers, and find out what exactly is happening in this community of ours. Are we pissed at a developer? If so, why? Are ecstatic about the fall release schedule? Why is that?

Personally, I'd like to see an article that does research, investigation, and interviews with gamers to talk about specific issues within the community. Let's talk about GAMERS, not just games.

I feel that gaming journalism as a whole needs to look outside of our little world to see how to do features again. Investigative journalism aside (as it's going to be incredibly hard to do it in the gaming world), there are daily features in the national papers written daily. The gaming world moves so fast that a daily feature really isn't that hard to achieve with the right people and time, heck, even a weekly feature when you just cover one platform (say Sony, or PC games in general) as there are so many press releases, complaints, Japanese news etc. etc.

Something I'm trying to do is bring in a part of the gaming industry that is often ignored until they make a mod that explodes in popularity (something that is quite rare now)... the gamers, specifically the culture around games. The little bits of art they create, the hackjob game peripherals, etc.

I'm also trying to give exposure to student and random peoples pet projects, since I don't think the industry and the people who want to get into it talk with each other much.

The problem with covering gamers is that they are too broad in this day and age to truly give a unified voice. How would you cover people that go to the movies? Are you going to target specific sorts of people, or try and get as many widespread opinions as possible? The games industry is at a point where everyone wants everyone to play games, but they also hate the concept of going mainstream and hate the notion of "sycophants" joining in on their little hobby. To go into the world of gamers would be a lot of obnoxious noise without a single opinion. Part of my feelings on being a games journalist is that they should be able to sit back and consider what a wide range of people are going to want, but so many things are getting in the way because we can't even tell who our audience is.

As a sort of bridge between that topic and this topic itself, one of the things I wanted to do with my own site originally was provide pieces that could regularly assist parents and non-gamers in learning more about the games industry and even find games for themselves to play. Unfortunately a combination of time and budget became a negative factor and I had to focus on some of the more usual stuff, but I still keep an eye open for games that would fit this mentality. I called the feature Gaming 101, and the first game I went into was Super Paper Mario. I still like the idea, and one day I hope to continue with it.

In addition I occasionally write a feature called "Media Mayhem" whenever something big impacts the games industry that gets everyone's feathers ruffled. I haven't been able to cover anything as significant as "Mass Effect as porn" or "Hot Coffee", but the general idea is to try and explain in a calm manner what the current accusations are, and the truth to them, to counter the sensationalist media and the angry insulting response of gamers. There aren't any gaming sites that really speak the language of non-gamers, after all.

Generally what I try and do these days is keep analyzing and paying attention to small details when I play games, seeing if there's an article out of it. I have an Under-Rated feature on my site that will cover good games too old for a review, such as Scurge: Hive for the DS and GameBoy Advance, by highlighting their good points. In a more professional setting, having someone check out lesser known games that fly past the radar once they hit budget price could make for a decent feature. You could call it "bargain bin" or something. In fact, I may use that title for my Examiner page.

There are plenty of ways to keep looking back at games, but a games journalist may reach a point in their day when they are simply sick of even looking at games. It all depends on time available and how many employees you can afford to keep around, really.