Gaming Reviews: The Importance of Honesty

November 21, 2016

As we look toward an uncertain future, integrity is of greater value than ever.

I've actually little more to say than that. Major media outlets in the US regard a hostile future on many fronts, and with the neutrality of the internet at risk, what we do here matters more than ever.

We're doing more than correcting the past wrongs of customer cheating embargoes, because as HonestGamer point out in a recent blog post, we don't have time for all the new stuff coming out. We've banded together to give our sincere opinions about the games we have experienced and what they've meant to us.

I'm going to say it now ... if HG decides that donations, such as Patreon, are needed to keep the site alive and thriving, count me in. We don't know what will happen next, but I do know we are stronger as a team.

And yes, I deliberately avoided her campaign slogan.

Let's keep our ears pricked and eyes darting.

Patreon

Most recent blog posts from Simon Woodington...

Everything Matters

I won't stop until I do

Bonehealing and other stuff

Most recent blog posts from Simon Woodington...
Everything Matters I won't stop until I do Bonehealing and other stuff

Feedback

honestgamer - November 22, 2016 (04:37 PM)
Thanks for the show of support! HonestGamers does have a Patreon campaign, linked from the top of most pages on the site, but that campaign is a long way from making the sort of difference that could have an impact on the site's editorial capabilities. It doesn't even pay for the site's hosting costs.

At least for now, then, the goal is to keep the site online, and to do what we all can to encourage our current contributors to keep contributing, and to encourage visitors and newcomers to also get involved in the process. I believe that a site like this one gets a little bit better with every new review, and I like that we're able to keep the focus squarely on games. To me, that feels rather distinctive in 2016, and I hope that our focus and passion will continue to inspire more people to get involved in the manner that feels natural to them.

hastypixels - November 22, 2016 (06:55 PM)
One of the reasons I play games is because they, like other creative ventures, represent the atmosphere of our civilization and its various interpersonal climes. Oh ... that was a good line. It's a great way to keep tabs on what people are focused on and the ideas they're trying to share.

I'll poke my nose into the Patreon campaign and get a little more social media about my involvement with HG. TotalBiscuit has repeatedly said that gaming, as a medium, has a uniquely interactive and compelling dimension. I agree with that.

Every part of our relationship with games, from developers, players and reviewers, has "tells", if we're willing to pay attention.

hastypixels - November 22, 2016 (09:40 PM)
So I became the first $2 supporter of HG, and then gushed about it on Twitter. Then I became a Creator on Patreon.

So yeah. Busy evening.

Might I suggest that it is difficult to secure supporters for HG when the reviews are literally posted at the whim of its writers? It would be a monumental task to ask us all to contribute on a schedule, but perhaps a Patreon reward could be to request a review by a certain reviewer, but let the the reviewer decide the game.

Another one could let the supporter choose the game but leave it to a pool of Patreon-associated writers. That way it could be handled as usual, but at request.

To get supporters, they've gotta get perks!

honestgamer - November 22, 2016 (10:40 PM)
Thank you for becoming a backer, and for sharing your thoughts.

I like your idea of letting supporters point to writers that they would like to see produce new content, in exchange for support on Patreon. However, since HonestGamers content is produced by volunteers, that would be difficult or impossible to facilitate.

An issue with letting supporters choose the game is that we already are offered free games by game developers and such, games that we often have to simply not cover because we don't have the manpower. Trying to find someone to cover a game that backers have paid $5 or whatever to see covered doesn't seem like it would work out for long, and I don't want to take money from anyone if I'm not confident that I can deliver what I have to promise in order to do it.

If the site is able to attract hundreds or thousands of backers, then your ideas and others like them become considerably more feasible, but it's difficult to imagine getting to that point as things stand.

Huge successes on Patreon, such as Kinda Funny Vids, only got their start because the people involved already had huge followings. HonestGamers doesn't have that luxury.

One idea I did just have is letting people link to individual Patreon accounts from their exclusive HonestGamers reviews, so that they can seek out individual backers who like their work and want to see more of that content here. The badge at the top of each page could link to a page that lists accounts with a Patreon page tied to it. That would perhaps split up backers a bit, but also do more to reward individual writers for their efforts on this site. Is that something you would be interested in supporting, in place of the current campaign? And is that something that other writers on the site would be excited to get involved with? I do wonder.

hastypixels - November 23, 2016 (05:49 PM)
I mention HonestGamers on my Patreon page, and I'd be happy to do my bit to encourage the readership above and beyond writing reviews. People who visit my Patreon will see I support HG, so your idea follows a similar approach. I'm down with it. :)

I agree, though, that Patreon works for existing fanbases as an extension of existing work. In point of fact, a large part of my Patreon focus is the fanbase of the ACME Resource Pack, which is several millions over the course of five years. It was the only reason Patreon seemed feasable to me; my writing could become a sidenote, and I have to be prepared for that possibility.

I'll keep tabs on things and look for openings, so to speak.

hastypixels - November 23, 2016 (05:56 PM)
Another, perhaps random thought: I've wanted to view the reviews of a single author on numerous occasions, but there's no way to do that at the moment. It would make to implement a list like that alongside any Patreon advancements.

Perhaps you're trying to give everyone a fair shot, but if I can't find more of the writing in which I'm interested, I'll do something else, and I know I'm not alone in that. I'm sure your webstat would give you a good idea of what's going with visitor retention.

Something to consider. :)

honestgamer - November 24, 2016 (09:58 AM)
Do you mean on this site? If so, know that there are multiple ways to view the available reviews from a single author.

The easiest way is to click on the author's username to go to his or her blog, and then click "Reviews" at the top. That will list all active reviews, and you can sort them a number of ways.

If you want to see the reviews from an author elsewhere, you can click "+" next to the list of reviews on a front page, and refine the results by author. For example, here is a list of the reviews you have contributed to the site, from that page:

http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/archives/reader/0/hastypixels/date/1.html

There is a lot of content on the site, and a way to refine your search to limit what content displays by almost any criteria you might like. I hope that helps!

hastypixels - November 24, 2016 (06:31 PM)
See, that's exactly what I expected to see from a CMS. I've spent some time with them, and I know it's all pretty much up to your whim ... what I was referring to was the inability to click usernames in reviews:

"Community review by hastypixels", sans link. I see our names are linked in on this page, but it wasn't apparent where I could do that. It's logical to search for reviews, so why not authors? Why that doesn't work has puzzled me, and I haven't put the time in to figure out what features the Reviews page has, even though I've read a lot of them.

It does help, but I'm working from the Google paradigm, and adapting that mentality will improve access to reviews and authors for casual readers.

Thank you. :)

honestgamer - November 24, 2016 (08:10 PM)
At the end of reviews, the username wasn't clickable but the avatar was. I've now updated the text so that the username is clickable and leads to the same place that the avatar image already did (and still does).

In addition, I've updated the list of recent reviews so that it also includes a '+' that you can click on to view all reviews from that contributor, without taking extra steps.

hastypixels - November 25, 2016 (09:31 AM)
Sheesh, man, you rock. Thanks for adding that! As I said, I'll keep an eye out for improvements we can make to entice readers to the site. I don't know any other site like this one, and I'd like for it to become a mainstream reference tool.

Which in my mind makes me wonder if it's ready for that to happen. "There's no such thing as luck, only preparation."

bwv_639 - December 16, 2016 (09:29 AM)
"We've banded together to give our sincere opinions about the games we have experienced and what they've meant to us."

"Major media outlets in the US regard a hostile future on many fronts, and with the neutrality of the internet at risk, what we do here matters more than ever."

Politics and censorship aside, major video game media outlets have become ad-blurb dealers and PR communication channels.
Only niche sites can afford what I call decency and quality, in every sense, from not pushing big business products prferentially to not dumbing-down their writing to appeal to the average following the advice of marketing and communication experts.

Final purposes are singular in nature. You don't have a pair of them, because one lives excluding the other.

This is why I don't wish this site to become a Patreon big star, or have the number of hits go up by a factor of ten ot fifty.
Because it would have to change to get that, and it would change still more afterwards.

After 1UP was shut down, well, there were very few sites talking of video games I could read without feeling ill.

And this one has been for a long time one of them.

Feedback
	honestgamer - November 22, 2016 (04:37 PM) Thanks for the show of support! HonestGamers does have a Patreon campaign, linked from the top of most pages on the site, but that campaign is a long way from making the sort of difference that could have an impact on the site's editorial capabilities. It doesn't even pay for the site's hosting costs. At least for now, then, the goal is to keep the site online, and to do what we all can to encourage our current contributors to keep contributing, and to encourage visitors and newcomers to also get involved in the process. I believe that a site like this one gets a little bit better with every new review, and I like that we're able to keep the focus squarely on games. To me, that feels rather distinctive in 2016, and I hope that our focus and passion will continue to inspire more people to get involved in the manner that feels natural to them.
	hastypixels - November 22, 2016 (06:55 PM) One of the reasons I play games is because they, like other creative ventures, represent the atmosphere of our civilization and its various interpersonal climes. Oh ... that was a good line. It's a great way to keep tabs on what people are focused on and the ideas they're trying to share. I'll poke my nose into the Patreon campaign and get a little more social media about my involvement with HG. TotalBiscuit has repeatedly said that gaming, as a medium, has a uniquely interactive and compelling dimension. I agree with that. Every part of our relationship with games, from developers, players and reviewers, has "tells", if we're willing to pay attention.
	hastypixels - November 22, 2016 (09:40 PM) So I became the first $2 supporter of HG, and then gushed about it on Twitter. Then I became a Creator on Patreon. So yeah. Busy evening. Might I suggest that it is difficult to secure supporters for HG when the reviews are literally posted at the whim of its writers? It would be a monumental task to ask us all to contribute on a schedule, but perhaps a Patreon reward could be to request a review by a certain reviewer, but let the the reviewer decide the game. Another one could let the supporter choose the game but leave it to a pool of Patreon-associated writers. That way it could be handled as usual, but at request. To get supporters, they've gotta get perks!
	honestgamer - November 22, 2016 (10:40 PM) Thank you for becoming a backer, and for sharing your thoughts. I like your idea of letting supporters point to writers that they would like to see produce new content, in exchange for support on Patreon. However, since HonestGamers content is produced by volunteers, that would be difficult or impossible to facilitate. An issue with letting supporters choose the game is that we already are offered free games by game developers and such, games that we often have to simply not cover because we don't have the manpower. Trying to find someone to cover a game that backers have paid $5 or whatever to see covered doesn't seem like it would work out for long, and I don't want to take money from anyone if I'm not confident that I can deliver what I have to promise in order to do it. If the site is able to attract hundreds or thousands of backers, then your ideas and others like them become considerably more feasible, but it's difficult to imagine getting to that point as things stand. Huge successes on Patreon, such as Kinda Funny Vids, only got their start because the people involved already had huge followings. HonestGamers doesn't have that luxury. One idea I did just have is letting people link to individual Patreon accounts from their exclusive HonestGamers reviews, so that they can seek out individual backers who like their work and want to see more of that content here. The badge at the top of each page could link to a page that lists accounts with a Patreon page tied to it. That would perhaps split up backers a bit, but also do more to reward individual writers for their efforts on this site. Is that something you would be interested in supporting, in place of the current campaign? And is that something that other writers on the site would be excited to get involved with? I do wonder.
	hastypixels - November 23, 2016 (05:49 PM) I mention HonestGamers on my Patreon page, and I'd be happy to do my bit to encourage the readership above and beyond writing reviews. People who visit my Patreon will see I support HG, so your idea follows a similar approach. I'm down with it. :) I agree, though, that Patreon works for existing fanbases as an extension of existing work. In point of fact, a large part of my Patreon focus is the fanbase of the ACME Resource Pack, which is several millions over the course of five years. It was the only reason Patreon seemed feasable to me; my writing could become a sidenote, and I have to be prepared for that possibility. I'll keep tabs on things and look for openings, so to speak.
	hastypixels - November 23, 2016 (05:56 PM) Another, perhaps random thought: I've wanted to view the reviews of a single author on numerous occasions, but there's no way to do that at the moment. It would make to implement a list like that alongside any Patreon advancements. Perhaps you're trying to give everyone a fair shot, but if I can't find more of the writing in which I'm interested, I'll do something else, and I know I'm not alone in that. I'm sure your webstat would give you a good idea of what's going with visitor retention. Something to consider. :)
	honestgamer - November 24, 2016 (09:58 AM) Do you mean on this site? If so, know that there are multiple ways to view the available reviews from a single author. The easiest way is to click on the author's username to go to his or her blog, and then click "Reviews" at the top. That will list all active reviews, and you can sort them a number of ways. If you want to see the reviews from an author elsewhere, you can click "+" next to the list of reviews on a front page, and refine the results by author. For example, here is a list of the reviews you have contributed to the site, from that page: http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/archives/reader/0/hastypixels/date/1.html There is a lot of content on the site, and a way to refine your search to limit what content displays by almost any criteria you might like. I hope that helps!
	hastypixels - November 24, 2016 (06:31 PM) See, that's exactly what I expected to see from a CMS. I've spent some time with them, and I know it's all pretty much up to your whim ... what I was referring to was the inability to click usernames in reviews: "Community review by hastypixels", sans link. I see our names are linked in on this page, but it wasn't apparent where I could do that. It's logical to search for reviews, so why not authors? Why that doesn't work has puzzled me, and I haven't put the time in to figure out what features the Reviews page has, even though I've read a lot of them. It does help, but I'm working from the Google paradigm, and adapting that mentality will improve access to reviews and authors for casual readers. Thank you. :)
	honestgamer - November 24, 2016 (08:10 PM) At the end of reviews, the username wasn't clickable but the avatar was. I've now updated the text so that the username is clickable and leads to the same place that the avatar image already did (and still does). In addition, I've updated the list of recent reviews so that it also includes a '+' that you can click on to view all reviews from that contributor, without taking extra steps.
	hastypixels - November 25, 2016 (09:31 AM) Sheesh, man, you rock. Thanks for adding that! As I said, I'll keep an eye out for improvements we can make to entice readers to the site. I don't know any other site like this one, and I'd like for it to become a mainstream reference tool. Which in my mind makes me wonder if it's ready for that to happen. "There's no such thing as luck, only preparation."
	bwv_639 - December 16, 2016 (09:29 AM) "We've banded together to give our sincere opinions about the games we have experienced and what they've meant to us." "Major media outlets in the US regard a hostile future on many fronts, and with the neutrality of the internet at risk, what we do here matters more than ever." Politics and censorship aside, major video game media outlets have become ad-blurb dealers and PR communication channels. Only niche sites can afford what I call decency and quality, in every sense, from not pushing big business products prferentially to not dumbing-down their writing to appeal to the average following the advice of marketing and communication experts. Final purposes are singular in nature. You don't have a pair of them, because one lives excluding the other. This is why I don't wish this site to become a Patreon big star, or have the number of hits go up by a factor of ten ot fifty. Because it would have to change to get that, and it would change still more afterwards. After 1UP was shut down, well, there were very few sites talking of video games I could read without feeling ill. And this one has been for a long time one of them.

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