UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE SELF-PERCEPTION OF VIDEO GAME JOURNALISM: INTERVIEWS WITH GAMES WRITERS REGARDING THE STATE OF THE PROFESSION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Severin Justin Poirot Norman, Oklahoma 2019 THE SELF-PERCEPTION OF VIDEO GAME JOURNALISM: INTERVIEWS WITH GAMES WRITERS REGARDING THE STATE OF THE PROFESSION A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE GAYLORD COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION BY Dr. David Craig, Chair Dr. Eric Kramer Dr. Jill Edy Dr. Ralph Beliveau Dr. Julie Jones © Copyright by SEVERIN JUSTIN POIROT 2019 All Rights Reserved. iv Acknowledgments I’ve spent a lot of time and hand wringing wondering what I was going to say here and whom I was going to thank. First of all I’d like to thank my committee chair Dr. David Craig. Without his guidance, patience and prayers for my well-being I don’t know where I would be today. I’d like to also thank my other committee members: Dr. Eric Kramer, Dr. Julie Jones, Dr. Jill Edy, and Dr. Ralph Beliveau. I would also like to thank former member Dr. Namkee Park for making me feel normal for researching video games. Second I’d like to thank my colleagues at the University of Oklahoma who were there in the trenches with me for years: Phil Todd, David Ferman, Kenna Griffin, Anna Klueva, Christal Johnson, Jared Schroeder, Chad Nye, Katie Eaves, Erich Sommerfeldt, Aimei Yang, Josh Bentley, Tara Buehner, Yousuf Mohammad and Nur Uysal. I also want to extend a special thanks to Bryan Carr, who possibly is a bigger nerd than me and a great help to me in finishing this study. I’d like to thank Steve Watts, Bob Mackey, and Justin McElroy in helping me figure out who I needed to talk to and helping me make contact. Finally I’d like to thank my family. For those that passed since I started this academic journey, I’d like to thank my step-brother Lathan Glaser, my grandparents Severin and Annetta Poirot, and my mother Pam Goodall. Mom was my number one supporter and I can’t describe how sad it feels that she isn’t here today. For the rest of my family, I’d like to thank my father Severin “Butch” Poirot. He has always been there to help and to speak to in times of need. I thank my grandparents v Ray and Betty Goodall, who have always been proud of me. I send thanks to my aunts and uncles and cousins who have supported me along the way. I want thank my children Allysun and Alex. They may not have understood why I’ve spent most of their life working on this, but they have supported me all the way. I want to thank my newborn son Adonis, for making every day seem a little bit brighter. Last of all I want to thank the love of my life Deidre. She has been my number one fan and my biggest critic. She is someone who has pushed me to be a better person. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her. Recent years have been hard, but one way or another, we have found each other again. I am glad you are here to share in this accomplishment. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. I love you. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………….iv Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..ix Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter 2: Video Game Journalism History ………………………………………….5 Chapter 3: Literature Review ………………………………………………………….9 The Gamer as Journalist ……………………………………………………….9 Film Criticism Studies …………………………………………………………10 Sports Journalism Studies ……………………………………………………..13 Product Review Studies ………………………………………………………..14 Blogging Studies ………………………………………………………………..15 Citizen Journalism Studies ……………………………………………………16 New Games Journalism ………………………………………………………..17 The Journalist as a Gamer …………………………………………………….18 The problem of defining games writers as journalists ………………………21 Chapter 4: Theory ……………………………………………………………………...24 Social Responsibility Theory …………………………………………………..24 Play Theory ……………………………………………………………………..28 The role of theory in the gamer/journalist relationship ……………………..30 Expertise, professionalism, and the changes in game writing ………………30 Research questions ……………………………………………………………..38 Chapter 5: Method ……………………………………………………………………..40 Chapter 6: Findings ……………………………………………………………………51 vii Is games writing journalism? ………………………………………………...51 I’m not a games journalist, but ………………………………………………..55 Social responsibility in games writing ………………………………………...57 The importance of the audience ……………………………………………….58 Honesty above all else ………………………………………………………….60 Creating a public discussion …………………………………………………..61 Relating and communicating to the audience ………………………………..62 Gaming for work vs. gaming for fun ………………………………………….64 Enjoying a game ………………………………………………………………..64 Playing a game the way it’s meant to be played ……………………………...67 How the sausage is made ………………………………………………………68 What distinguishes games journalists from games players? ………………..69 Experience and education ……………………………………………..70 Ethics and Integrity ……………………………………………………………72 Changes in games writing ……………………………………………..73 Outlook towards the industry …………………………………………………76 The negative …………………………………………………………….76 Leaving journalism for marketing ……………………………77 The positive ……………………………………………………………..78 The uncertain …………………………………………………………..79 GamerGate controversy …………...…………………………………………..82 Results summary ……………………………………………………………….86 Chapter 6: Discussion ………………………………………………………………….89 viii Is it journalism or is it not? ……………………………………………………89 Social responsibility in Games Writing ………………………………………90 Honesty and Transparency ……………………………………………91 Playing games and gaming as work …………………………………………..93 What sets a games writer apart from a gamer? ……………………………...95 What has changed ……………………………………………………………...97 A Shift in Focus ………………………………………………………...97 Relation to existing studies …………………………………………………….98 The Gamer as Journalist ………………………………………………98 Film Critic Studies ……………………………………………………..99 Sports Journalism …………………………………………………….100 Product Reviews ………………………………………………………101 Study Limitations ……………………………………………………………..101 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………….102 Appendix A: Interview Guide ………………………………………………………..108 References ……………………………………………………………………………..110 ix Abstract Video game journalism is a contentious area of examination. At its heart is the question as to whether it is even journalism. This study explores that question by conducting interviews with 15 writers for various video game websites and publications. Through qualitative interviews, the respondents describe their work environment and how they self identify in the industry of games writing. The responses were analyzed through the framework of the social responsibility of the press, play theory, and existing ideas of professionalism and expertise in journalism. Keywords: journalism, video games, product reviews, social responsibility, play theory 1 Chapter 1 Video Game Journalism Video game development has a history of over fifty years. The first video game, Spacewar, was designed to be a technical demo for the PDP-1 computer system (Graetz, 1981). This video game featured two players flying two space ships around a black hole. While an entertaining game, it was designed merely to show the computer’s processing capabilities. The developers likely had no idea that their creation was going to plant the seeds for the creation of video games as a popular source of entertainment. Computer Space was the first commercially sold video game. Computer Space was the first of a long line of coin operated stand-alone arcade systems (Edwards, 2011). These arcade machines were widely distributed to bars, restaurants, and college campuses and allowed for owners to profit by requiring players to pay coins each time they played. With the creation of Pong, arcade machines reached a height of popularity throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s (Kent, 2001). Video game developers then sought out ways to bring the arcade experience home. This led to the development of home video game systems, such as the Magnavox Odyseey and the immensely popular Atari 2600. Home gaming all but disappeared for a period in the mid-80’s due to poor business decisions on the part of industry leader Atari (Katz, 1985; Ramsay, 2012). However, home gaming would return with a vengeance with the American release of the Nintendo Entertainment System (Sheff, 1994). This boom would lead to the release of several other console gaming systems such as the Sega Genesis and the Turbografx-16 (Kent, 2001). Future console development and improving technology would see not only a disappearing gap between 2 arcade gaming and home gaming, but also the development of portable gaming systems. These improvements in technology have caused a downturn in business for the formerly popular arcade business. This has led to many arcades being forced to close their doors due to the lack of business. The current generation of gaming systems is comprised of home systems, portable systems, and personal computers. Documenting this history and developing alongside gaming has been the industry of video game journalism. Video game journalism has acted as a source of information for consumers of video game media. Gaming journalism first came into being with the writing of video game articles in newspapers and magazines followed by the creation of gaming magazines designed to preview and review upcoming game releases, both in the arcade and at home. As the industry progressed so did the development of game journalism. Game journalism has since expanded to online videos and podcasts. Why