Indie developers: How to get your game in the press

One of the more common troubles I run into during my career as a games journalist is that, sometimes, its seems as though developers don’t want me to write about their titles. Every now and then, when I’m looking for something to pitch to an editor, I browse indie sites to see if I can catch a glimpse of something exciting that I might like to big up. Often, I come across one such games, decide I want to write about it, but then run into a thousand barriers that mean I just… can’t.

To begin with, I was baffled by some of these common mistakes. Surely it’s obvious? But after talking with a few people on Twitter, it turns out that maybe it isn’t. Developers: I assume you want people to know about your game, so here are a few suggestions of what you might like to consider doing in the future.

Absolutely mental

It was encouraging, the other day, to be shown a page in the Metro campaigning against mental health stigma. The admittedly fantastic mental health reforms that have occurred over the past few decades worry me, because there’s a danger that people now think the transition is complete. It is not. Mental health is still a taboo. It is still astonishingly underfunded. And those in need of help are now caught in a tricky, well-meaning middle-ground that aims to reduce stigma, but could actually be doing more harm than good for some people.

On the internet today, news broke of a man in Leeds who, after discussing his depression with his employer, was told that the company would have to let him go. The reason? That his difficulties would be likely to lead to prolonged poor performance at work.

B.C. police refuse to reveal which drugs are deadly

A tweet from Ben Goldacre pointed me in the direction of something considerably alarming. In an absolutely extraordinary example of disregard for public health, the British Columbia police have refused to disclose important information about potentially lethal adulterated ecstasy tablets, on the grounds that they feel it would make taking other ecstasy tablets seem more acceptable.

Despite a series of deaths linked with PMMA – a highly dangerous chemical that’s been infrequently used to adulterate ecstasy tablets for a while now – police in Vancouver say that they are reluctant to reveal what the seized and tested adulterated tablets look like, because they don’t want users to think they are sanctioning other pills.

Now now, NowGamer

Today, videogames website NowGamer caused a bit of a stir by launching a new competition. That might sound innocent enough, but this competition wasn’t to win a free copy of a game, or a trip to see an upcoming title in action. No, this competition carried a slightly more dubious prize: column inches on NowGamer.

A lucky winner will be selected by the NowGamer team to write a new regular blog on the popular games website, whose other writers are all professional and paid. Games journalism might sound like the best job in the world, but whether that’s accurate or not it is still a job. NowGamer is turning it into something you win, not something you earn.

The plan

The plan is to start using this blog far more often. Don’t worry, I’m not crazy enough to commit to One-A-Day again – I enjoy being able to say ‘no’ to blogging, should I choose – but if all goes well you should see this page updated a little more than once every seventy-five years. Also: look! A new design. Bye.

Ecstasy, or hysteria? Part 3: Of course, the tabloids

It was today, when searching the Internet for any reports of what actually killed two men in Ayrshire earlier this year, that I instead discovered some new reports of ecstasy deaths. (Incidentally, those toxicology reports remain elusive, which – pure speculation, of course – would suggest to me that there was no evidence that ecstasy killed them at all.)

This time the stories – which I somehow hadn’t picked up on over the past few days – relate to two deaths at London’s Alexandra Palace, which has recently played host to a series of dance events. As well as the two fatalities, 20 further people were alleged to have been admitted to hospital, one of whom was critically ill.

It is ecstasy that takes the blame. And yet there is no evidence, it seems, that ecstasy was taken.

A poignant thing

‘The Alot is Better Than You at Everything’ is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on the internet. In fact, Allie Brosh’s entire blog, Hyperbole and a Half, is exceptional. She makes astute observations about life, often extremely amusing ones, and narrates them with the help of crudely drawn images. And her latest post… well, it is just remarkable.

Independently stupid: The ‘Mano 10′ nonsense continues

I may have jumped the gun yesterday when I accused The Metro of making up a drug. It would seem, having browsed the ‘net a little more, that it was in fact Humberside Police’s PR department that drew up this alarmist story. The papers should get better at verifying their sources, obviously, but various rags from the local news to The Independent seem to be in on the act.

In fact, it’s The Independent that wins the award for the most ludicrous coverage of “Mano 10″, supposedly a dangerous new drug that’s hit the streets, but in fact simply a brand of diazepam that’s been imported from India. Diazepam is, of course, more widely known as Valium, and is an anti-anxiety medication commonly prescribed to patients who suffer from panic attacks or insomnia.

In low doses, it calms your nerves and relaxes your muscles (which is why it’s also prescribed to people whose muscular problems are causing them a lot of pain). In higher doses, it’s a sedative. To The Independent, it’s actually heroin, which came as a surprise to me when I read their take on the matter earlier today.

The Metro invents new killer drug

Perhaps The Metro would like to explain this article, which purports to expose a “new danger drug” that’s brutally murdering our kids as we speak.

The article reports that “teenagers are risking death by taking a new drug that is sold for as little as 50p a pill.” It’s called Mano 10, says the piece, and it has effects that are – quite bizarrely and contradictorily - similar to both heroin and amphetamines.

However, the drug is in fact not new. The pills marked ‘Mano 10′ are a brand of diazepam – more commonly known by its most prominent brand name, Valium.

‘Doing it for the hits’ – a bizarre criticism of games journalism

Every writer who’s ever published a vaguely controversial games-related article – be it a review, preview, editorial or news story – will have seen the same old comment. “Oh,” they say, “they’re only doing it for the hits.”

It’s a strange criticism, not least because – well – yes, that’s how online editorial works.