Hey Fediverse -
Iāve been seeing a lot of discussion around the lack of game outlets that people like to follow nowadays. I used to follow a decent amount, but with how many of them have changed - Giant Bomb, PC Gamer, RockPaperShotgun, Game Informer - I also have been looking for a new outlet/community.
Iāve been working towards starting an outlet myself, and Iām wondering what folks would like to see out of one. My list:
- Independent, or more so. Referral links make it hard to trust an outlet being unbiased if they have a financial incentive to promote things.
- Discourse focused: Modern coverage, especially from influencers, is a lot of a singular person speaking. Giant Bomb especially had great dynamics between the various perspectives when covering a game.
- Diverse Coverage: By this I mean, not just focused on AAA titles and the yearly release calendar. Covering mods, older titles, different communities (speedrunners, small multiplayer communities, etc.)
Other questions:
- Would you be interested in supporting an outlet financially? Would you even if all content was available freely, eg. public media as opposed to āpremium access.ā
- Do you have any preferred platforms? Would you be interested in an outlet that prioritizes the Fediverse over Twitch, Youtube, etc.?
- Do you have a preference between written content, video, audio?
Your list of ideas meshes pretty well with what Iād like to see: something thatās independent and not just shilling whatever their sponsors are selling; something that presents various perspectives to give an overall view of a game, rather than one influencerās opinion; and coverage of a wide variety of games beyond the AAA titles. Loving the idea of covering mods and older titles, and donāt forget the indie games.
Iād definitely be more inclined to follow such an outlet if it was in a written format on the fediverse. Maybe Iām just really old, but following influencers and streamers on Twitch and YouTube has never clicked with me. Too much self-aggrandisement, not enough on-topic discussion. For that matter, the other thing I really miss is written guides to games. Thatās probably beyond the scope of what you have in mind, but itās another area of games coverage where too much is on YouTube and Twitch.
Justā¦ more games, less capitalism please?
(Personal finances permitting, Iāll happily support an outlet with good quality content, especially if itās freely available and not put behind a paywall. Iām so much more amenable to ādonate if you like my contentā over āyou canāt see this until you cough up some cashā.)
