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Jake

PC Gamer UK to Earth: Please save us

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Emma of Mojo and TSB community fame passed along this letter to everyone ever from the editor of UK PC Gamer:

Tim Edwards of PC Gamer UK asked if I could pass this on to Mojo. It's an open invitation to gamers to write for the magazine from Mark Donald the editor:

"Hello,

This is an open letter to anyone who?s interested in video games writing or having the unique achievements of their gaming community aired to a wider audience.

My simple view is that news-stand games magazines and large sections of the gaming community have gradually drifted apart.

As editor of PC Gamer in the UK, it is painfully apparent to me that while the magazine does a reasonable job of fulfilling its review/preview functions, it does not adequately reflect the incredible diversity of culture and invention that now characterises the PC community online.

I?d like you to help us put that to rights. Games mags are constructed by small, tight-knit teams. In-house expertise is broad enough to cope with retail gaming, but the available resources are unable to cover the far-flung corners of gaming that now exist. That?s partly why magazines have failed to keep pace with their communities.

In order to cover these communities properly, PC Gamer needs their representatives to help us out. I regularly read web-published articles which I think are easily good enough to appear in a magazine. But the writer may never have considered that opportunity. Perhaps they didn?t think a games mag was an appropriate place for such an article. Perhaps they didn?t think it was good enough. Whatever the reason, I?d like you to consider submitting your articles to PC Gamer.

What kind of articles are we looking for? Anything. Anything that you could imagine yourself, as a gamer, opening a magazine and being interested in. I?m trying to create a magazine that communicates the incredible experiences gamers have. A magazine that reports on the amazing transformations that dedicated communities have wrought upon the games they love. I think such a magazine would print articles about the destruction of Kerafyrm The Sleeper in Everquest. It would report on the morphing of games like Grand Prix Legends and Interstate 82. It could relate the tale of a dramatic duel in Jedi Knight 2 or cover the phenomenon of swoop bike races in Star Wars Galaxies. Anything at all. Single-player gaming, multi-player gaming, modding, MUDs, indy games. The building of the Space Station in There, the development of unique in-game body language. A well-argued opinion piece on the state of Video game interfaces. Crazy antics on stunt servers or a simple essay on how a game stirred an individuals emotions. Anything which says something fascinating about game culture. The only rules are it?s got to be about games, and, if it?s not about PC?s then the article has to be applicable to the universal gamer. PC Gamer is not a console mag.

Articles can be of any length. And PC Gamer will pay for articles published. I can?t promise to say yes to everything, but I am open to all ideas. And if you don?t want to write but know of a vibrant gaming community we should cover then tip us off. We?ve recently been mailed by people involved with Trespasser, Grand Prix Legends and Interstate 82.

I hope this letter is not seen as a threat to some of the excellent websites that I regularly visit. Publication of an article in PC Gamer does not prevent its subsequent use elsewhere. Moreover, PC Gamer is not big enough to absorb the entire community?s output. But if you have an article at your fingertips that deserves a wider audience then let us know.

Best regards,

Mark Donald

Editor, PC Gamer (UK edition)

Britain?s Best-Selling PC Games Magazine

[email protected]"

It sounds a bit like a massive call for help since they're neither as popular nor as, er, Edgey as they'd like to be, but haven't got the staff to do it or something. But its definitely a noble idea, and I think its a cool that they've put it out there. Does anyone expect to see any major changes in PCG UK over the next few months? Probably not, but I like that they're giving it a thought.

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I think that most writers who have already produced an article falling into the required catagory will submit them as a chance of getting a bit more cash for their trouble.

As for a stable and constant flow of games reporting? Who can tell.

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The magazine don't have problems at all they've consistently been Britain's best selling PC games mag for a few years running.

I think what Mark is trying to do is bring fresh talent to computer games journalism as well as modernise the magazine, which is something every magazine needs to do now and then.

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Yes yes hi Emma :) I was just being a twit. Why is this thread still active? :)

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