Invalid characterset or character set not supported Games to review and my plans for after...





Games to review and my plans for after...
April 19, 2009

I have around 5 or 6 games that I'm planning on reviewing in the near future, which is down from 8 or so that the number was at a few days back. I'm making--and plan to continue making--good progress.

What comes after that, though? Well, the site should continue to provide you with a nice selection of staff reviews, but the number that come from me personally might not be as high. That's because I'm trying to work myself into a position where I can increase the site's output by helping other people develop their craft and become dependable, skilled freelancers. The site is eventually going to fold if we try to rely on just a few writers--like the current handful of staff members--so I'm trying to think in the long term and to avoid letting any more of us get completely burnt out.

That doesn't mean that I'm announcing any sort of melodramatic retirement, by the way. I do plan to continue reviewing, at least until I hit the 500 reviews mark and probably for a long time after that (though who knows?). I'll just be sending more games out to other people, something I've already been doing for a few months, and I'll probably be reviewing more games from my personal collection that I just never had time to get around to playing.

I also plan to do more work on other content, both behind the scenes (database work) and with stuff like videos, screenshot submissions and maybe cheats. This is stuff that needs to get done but hasn't been at the level that I would like. I hope that some of you will see fit to continue contributing screenshots of your own along the way.

I also will be making more efforts to spread the word about the site and to personally recruit more talent when I see opportunities to do so. Again, this is something that I hope some of you will choose to do along with me.

HonestGamers is an exciting online destination, I feel. A lot of that is on a personal level, because obviously I created the site and I love to see it succeeding, but I'm encouraged when I hear the same from the rest of you and I know that even without the rose-colored glasses, there's a lot of great stuff that the site does. Thanks for any support you can manage, and for your contributions throughout the years. I hope you'll all be around for years to come and that the site will continue to evolve.

Most recent blog posts from Jason Venter...

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randxian randxian - April 19, 2009 (04:25 PM)
I really hope you don't retire and that you don't shut down the site man.

I like how people here take reviews seriously and seem to appreciate the effort people put into writing them.

I used to contribute to GameFAQs, but I got tired of the flippant attitude 90% of the people there have toward reviews. There were even accusations that people were just giving game high scores to bump up the average.

I got fed up with it and decided to come back here. This is a great place. No bull. No fights. No stupidity. Just a place where people actually care about reviews and take it seriously.

Even if the staffers slow down a bit, you still have a lot of users that are going to submit stuff. Myself, I don't own any of the new consoles, but I'm pretty darn well versed on old school consoles like the NES and SNES. I know I'm not done writing, not by a long shot.
Halon Halon - April 19, 2009 (05:11 PM)
I don't think he was trying to say that he will shut down the site but rather that he hopes to have a wide selection of freelancers so that if the current staff gets burnt out and steps down the site will still have tons of great content coming in.
aschultz aschultz - April 19, 2009 (06:32 PM)
I think this place has definitely evolved past what I worried would be just "gamefaqs expats." I mean, it's been there, people have critiques, and people do interesting stuff. It's even brought me back to a few games I wanted to write for and will do so beyond HGWars.

Online ventures do have to evolve, and you are right, you can't just rely on people continuing to write til they run out of games. This sort of thinking ahead is foreign to me but it is interesting to see the solutions you have. They definitely pass the smell test. I was glad to see some new writers when I stopped by for the first time in a while and hope you can recruit a few more.

The lack of overt competition is nice, too--I think the RotW is important, but on the other hand, there isn't the literary sparring that happened near the end of the GameFAQs review days.
zippdementia zippdementia - April 19, 2009 (08:10 PM)
Yeah, don't retire, Jason! I may have had to give some harsh criticism on HGWars, but I love you, man (to coin a popular movie title)!

Seriously, you are THE honest gamer, the life and soul of this place. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you giving me the chance to be a serious reviewer, and spending the time to help me do it, has launched my writing career. If ever I receive one of those giant checks they send awesome writers, I'll be passing some of it on to you.

Not only that, but HG is the ONLY site I go to for video game reviews. There's no better place.

That said, I think your plan is sound. Good to know the site is in good hands.
True True - April 20, 2009 (02:18 AM)
Jason won't retire until he and I have a Death Match, after he insults me and I take it way too seriously...

sashanan sashanan - April 20, 2009 (03:15 AM)
It's too early for promises, but I should point out that since switching jobs at the beginning of April, much of the turmoil has left my life and a lot of time and energy has returned for other pursuits. Some of this may well be channeled toward reviewing, and anything I write from here on out gets a copy on HG.
wolfqueen001 wolfqueen001 - April 20, 2009 (02:50 PM)
Well, I can assure you that I'm not going anywhere and so will continue contributing to the site. Maybe I'll eventually even find time to join staff at some point, too, but that still probably won't be for a while...

In the meantime, i'll still contribute whenever I can. Haven't done as much lately because of how busy and such I've been.

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