Due to various circumstances, changes are going to be made as to what posts will be written on Cyberjack. As I continue to prepare for a career in game development in addition to other things, my commitment to blogging has diminished over the years. Recently, I have started writing posts for IndieWatch.net, a website that seeks to connect independent (aka indie) game developers and gamers by gaming culture. As of this writing, I currently have two articles posted on the site: one that covers how possessing a college degree would not necessarily lead to a job in the video game industry and one that discusses ways in which to manage the stress of a college senior game project. Given that my writing tends to be one of my greatest strengths, I have been recently making plans to write more posts related to game development for the site as well as sponsored posts as a means of generating income. As part of those developing plans, I had thoughts about taking Cyberjack in a new direction without abandoning its roots, which is my passion for video games. But rather than merely sharing that passion by posting about random video game related topics as I had done in the past, I'm considering using Cyberjack as a way to connect with the gaming community at large and also to bridge gaps between that community and the society outside of it. To that end, the following key points illustrate the new direction I have in mind for Cyberjack:
1) There will no longer be posts regarding the histories of specific video game franchises.
As of this writing, my Video Game Chronicles post series is officially cancelled. For one thing, it never gained much traction beyond a handful of unfinished drafts. Various circumstances, some of which I have no control over, have rendered my abilities to conduct even basic research next to impossible. In addition, the only published post that I have for this sadly stillborn series is the most widely viewed post out of all the others published before or since counting at around 2,700. I cannot ascertain as to why that is the case or even if anyone actually read the post despite the view numbers. There are various online documentaries, articles, and books that cover histories of various video game franchises. In fact, the authors of those works have conducted the kind of research I could have done myself but could not take the time to do so. Such works include but are not limited to:
GameTrailers GT Retrospective series - This video series was uploaded by the video game journalism site GameTrailers as part of their online show lineup before being disolved in early 2016. It covered the stories of some of the most famous game franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Castlevania, Mortal Kombat, and Metroid.
G4 Icons - Hosted by G4 aka G4TV From 2002 to 2007, this documentary TV series largely covered various franchises, companies, key industry figures, significant events, and products related to video games for 4 seasons. Season 5 suddenly focused on general pop culture subjects (apparently called "The Emperors of Cool") that were not related to video games. This shift is partially due to the various factors that have affected G4 as a TV channel. In fact, I wrote a blog post 5 years ago about the circumstances that led to the downfall of G4 as a TV channel originally marketed to gamers.
GVMERS - A YouTube channel "that specializes in videogame-related content such as documentaries, analyses and other types of videos." The videos themselves are organized into three series: Rise and Fall (covering acclaimed franchises that have met unfortunate demises), Investigating (promising video games that were inexplicitly cancelled), and Evolution of (summarizing some popular franchises in regards to how they changed for better or for worse).
The Ultimate History of Video Games - Written by Steven L. Kent in late 2001, this book traced the history of the video game industry and the evolution of gaming concepts from the very first pinball games in the early 20th century to the dawn of the 21st century when the PlayStation 2, the Nintendo GameCube, and the Xbox had launched.
The Golden Age of Video Games - Written by Roberto Dillon in 2011, it's basically a shorter version of The Ultimate History of Video Games but with more focus on the technology involved in building computers and home consoles, starting with the development of the Electronic and Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) in 1947.
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation - Written by Blake Harris in 2014, this book largely focuses on Nintendo and SEGA, two of the most recognizable video game companies in the world. As the title implies, it covers how the competition between the two giants had shaped the video game industry.
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life - Written by Chris Kohler in 2004, this book covers how Japanese video game companies had played a crucial part in the video game industry up to that point starting with their debut shortly after the demise of Atari in the early 1980s.
2) Future posts will mostly be opinion pieces discussing various issues facing the video game community and industry.
Since the Atari 2600 days, there have been misconceptions of video games and gamers in one form or another with the most common among them being that playing violent video games lead to real-life violence. Time and time again, scientific studies have debunked that myth. But that has not stopped some people from promoting the myth by blaming violent video games for a tragic event like a shooting. What's even worse is that other people are deliberately advancing their own interests misrepresenting video games, gamers, gaming culture, and the video game industry. Some such people are attempting to turn all forms of escapist entertainment, including video games, as what can best be described as loudspeakers to promote their identity politics. As anyone who reads a book, listens to a piece of music, watches a movie or TV show, or plays a video game can attest, they just want to enjoy an escape from the real world. They have no desire to have any dogmatic brand of political, social, cultural, and moral ideology shoved down their throats.
Then there are business and ethical issues on part of game companies as well, including the use of microtransactions, the tendency of some well-received AAA titles to diminish in quality due to poor business decisions, the problem of some game companies, or a few people who were supposed to represent those companies, insulting customers who have made legitimate complaints with their products, the public falling out between well-received developers and companies, and the vanishing of well-received digital games from digital storefronts. While these are legitimate issues to be addressed, there are plenty of people who bring up those issues for not-so legitimate reasons.
I am of course talking about YouTubers who claim to represent the gaming community but seek to profit off of controversies surrounding the above issues by way of clickbait. Some people may not at first notice the flaws in the arguments that these YouTubers make. Once examined closely, it becomes apparent that they have done little to no research, distort/twist data and facts in order to support their confirmation biases, and even promote ideas that would do more harm to video games than good. One such idea is like saying "if a game doesn't sell well, then it's not worth anything no matter how much time, effort, and passion was invested into making it." In other words, these YouTubers are just espousing rants that contribute nothing to otherwise legitimate issues facing the industry and community. Instead of seeking open-ended discussions, they just seek views.
As a game developer who is a gamer at heart, I intend to write posts that cover the various issues facing the video game industry and community once I do the proper research. Rather than ranting and focusing on view numbers with such posts, I hope to engage with gamers and industry professionals alike in open-minded discussions about how, for example, video games can be profitable without resorting to predatory business practices as some companies tend to do.
3) Other posts may end up consisting of video game fan fiction.
While I intend to write serious posts on this blog, I also intend to do a things for it in a way no different than what I play video games for: have fun. Simply speaking, I was thinking about writing some video game fan fiction as a means of broadening my writing skills in addition to improving them. Given the tendency of some big video game franchises to have convoluted and sometimes incoherent storylines like Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mortal Kombat, I had thoughts about using my writing abilities to make better ones without abandoning their roots. If I manage to play around with the source material, cut out all the irrelevant fat, give the characters more development in some areas, and expand on their worlds, I should produce high quality stories that fans can enjoy; some may find them to be better than some big budget Hollywood adaptations. Once I manage to write enough fan fiction, I should be able to have solid original stories in my games when the time comes.
I should make note, however, that I would obviously not seek to make profit off of this. The fan fiction I would write will NOT be childish and pornographic as some fan fiction tends to be. And I will be writing it out of respect for the video games I enjoy; the ones that deserve better respect and treatment that that was received by some people such as big company executives and Hollywood.
So, there you have it. I may not have invested much of my time into blogging as I used. But I'm not by no means abandoning my blogs even as things get more complicated for me in my pursuit of a video game career. In fact, I aim to get better at everything during that pursuit, including writing on a more regular basis. Whether I post an opinion piece or work of fan fiction on Cyberjack or help someone promote their games on IndieWatch, I sincerely hope to contribute to the video game industry and the gaming community through the best possible work I can produce, be it blog posts or video games.
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