Closing The Loop

 When I signed up for this mentorship, I was surprised that they included content creators. It's daunting sometimes to see the level of work, creativity, and iterative process that goes into designing and creating a game. What's become more and more apparent over the last couple of months, however, is that good good content creators have a really big role to play in the development cycle.

Really? You think so?

When you take the bigger players out of the picture, the massive studios and publishers, there's a real dogfight going on for the space that's left, and all those smaller voices can easily drown one another out. Through groups and channels that I'm now a member of, I see how many requests for coverage go out to reviewers and content creators. A good review on a channel with thousands, or even just hundreds of viewers gives these folks a voice.

It's made me realise there are two really important jobs that any reviewer or content creator (like me) should be focusing on, if they want to work hard and take it somewhere.

Firstly, fostering good relationships. Build up a network of contacts, but remember, they're human beings just like you.  This isn't about getting free games, it's about sharing your love for a good game and making sure as many people as possible know about it. Get to know the designers, publishers. Be polite and respectful, and for heaven's sake don't get an over-inflated sense of worth. Humility is something a lot of people could do with a little more of.

Secondly, make good content! If you like a game, take the time to tell people about. Articulate why it's good. If you don't like it, explain why. Something like "lolz, this game is hot garbage" doesn't help anyone, but something like "this game wasn't for me, I don't like the theme of this mechanism, but if you do, this could be for you".

Game exploded in my face - C+

Both of those points above are exactly the things I chose as my aims for this mentorship, and I'm already starting to see progress in both areas. I hope the rest of the mentees are embracing this three months and making the most of the positivity and advice available to us all.

(The images are from Black Books. If the show is streaming where you live, give it a watch. British comedy at its best, in my opinion)