Lets Start Here

"Not all information is created equal, which means kids need to learn how to recognize quality journalism that meets certain standards, such as having multiple sources and verified facts, being balanced, being fair, avoiding bias and putting information in context."

-Alisyn Camerota

Journalism can be a very fulfilling and important task. It is not easy, it takes time, effort and a love for the search of an objective truth. Something that in our current day and age is almost impossible to find. We live in a world where the internet is flooded by conspiracy and extremism in an attempt to draw more eyes to more ads and make more money. This is something that goes against the core tenants of journalism. When you see sites piling conspiracy onto X you need to know that it is not journalism. It is money. We are the product to them. We are all entitled to our opinions on the world around us. I wouldn't want to live in a world where even if you disagree with me on everything, you couldn't share your opinion. I think, even for the more heinous and vile opinions that exist, we need to lay it out bare. To show the absurdity and danger in conspiracy and extremism, we must face it head on. The more we fall down the hole of blaming journalists for a drop in integrity the more we play into the hands of bad actors. Journalist's who search for an objective truth will almost always do so under good intentions and its only through empowering those voices we can truly see a change in the current media landscape.

What does all this have to do with video games? Quite a bit actually. The current landscape of videogame journalism is deeply flawed and endangered. It has become a battleground for extreme opinions and conspiracy. Not a day goes by where you can scroll past news of a new game on some site you've never heard of and wonder if it was even written by a human. Yet we all know the latest article on Sweet Baby Inc. or Marias Face in Silent Hill 2 (2024), are undoubtedly touched and wrote* by a human. No matter where you stand on those controversial issues, you can see a problem. The only companies that are spending the resources and time to invest in journalists are also the ones most criticized. IGN, Kotaku. Reviews and News Pieces that we can be sure beyond almost any doubt are created by journalists. These companies have their issues there is absolutely no doubt about that but the trend of headline chasing is difficult to nail down. Controversy makes money and as we are burgeoned into a new age of information, people read less and less. Making the headline worth more than the body.

I talk about all this in order to paint a picture of my personal beliefs when it comes to journalism and games journalism specifically. As with all humans, I have my own opinions and biases. I will always try my best to put those aside or in the very least to make them clear from the get go. I love games. I have played them since I was a kid and worked around online writing articles about games for a decade now. This site will be a place for me to put my thoughts and opinions down on paper. I don't expect in my life to change the landscape of gaming journalism but I hope that for a handful of us, this site can be a relief in a sea of uncertainty. I will always aim for an objective and informative review or breakdown of whatever news I see worth it to talk about. Sometimes that may lean into controversy but I

promise to always respect your time and knowledge when approaching these matters and stick to the issues that are important and impactful. Ill have a bio available so you can see my credentials and interests.

Life is short, I believe it important to spend our time in ways we enjoy and to use our eyes and brains to engage in worthwhile content and discourse and I hope to be able to provide that for you.

Thank you and Happy Reading,

Ben