This post has not been edited by the GamesBeat staff. Opinions by GamesBeat community writers do not necessarily reflect those of the staff.
Greetings, Programs. I'm Rus McLaughlin, and this is where the trouble starts.
Some say I'm the living embodiment of evil and can only be killed by a liberal application of fire, silver, and Pat Robertson videos. As I don't have a legal degree and was never elected to a government office, I dispute those claims. Besides, it's my job as Bitmob's staff raconteur to pick a fight with humanity twice a week — currently Tuesdays and Thursdays. You might know me from such columns as 3 Reasons you won't buy a Wii U or Battlefield 3 might put a bullet in Call of Duty, and it so happens this is my 100th article for Bitmob.
A few people claim my writing changed their lives for the better. NeoGAF has burned me in effigy as a waste of oxygen. I've kept all the "You shouldn't have rejected my story and here's why!" letters from my Senior Fiction Editor days at a SF/Fantasy magazine, because they're hysterical. At least one community writer whose work I promoted is now on staff. I'm Scots, Irish, and German, born in San Francisco to Texan parents, which gives me a socio-genetic excuse for anything I do.
But the really important thing is this: Everything you've ever heard about me is true. Especially the lies.
I'm one of the lucky few who's never worked in retail or the food service industry. I did spend a summer as a "landscape manager," but only because I took a lazy approach to finding a job that year and my amigos already worked there. Otherwise, I'm a writer, and I'm paid to write. Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Square Enix are all on my resume, along with a bunch of other tech companies that aren't in the gaming sphere. Marketing brings in the big money, but content's the fun stuff.
I broke into game journalism when IGN hired me to replace outgoing op-ed writer Chris Kohler (now at Wired). I did two twice-monthly editorial columns for them — AutoLockon behind the pay wall, State of Play on the main site — before segueing into other features (like the "The History of…" series, co-created with then-EiC Jeremy Dunham). Went to my first E3 that year, road-tripping down and back with cranky Craig Harris. Good times.
I also have a pet.
About a year ago, I met Shoe and Demian Linn, and they asked me to join the Bitmob crew. They had evidence on me I'd been trying to destroy for weeks, and you've got to respect that dedication to the craft. It's a shame we don't get to just hang out more.
So I'm the guy who jumps on every controversy that shows up (unless someone else jumps on it first), and sometimes I start one of my own. I also do those ROUNDTABLE'D! pieces, which should get me in even more trouble (but don't), previews, and event coverage. Reviews I generally save for elsewhere.
(Side Note: Some people think of game coverage as the "fan press," but if you buy into that mode of thinking, don't ever ask me for a job. I talked my way into the last Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary presentation at E3 2011, the room's full of game journalists and guys from developer 343 Industries, and after the demo they ask for questions. Granted, we're talking about the last meeting anybody's taking on the final day of E3, but nobody in the room but me raised their hand — "Did you fix The Library?" was my opening shot — or asked any follow-ups. I made a note of every face in that crowd. You're all on my list, punks.)
When I’m not making a living, playing video games (or doing both simultaneously), I write TV and movie scripts about shit blowing up (in space!) and supernatural kung-fu love stories, among other things. My first date with my beautiful wife-to-be was a San Francisco pub called The Bitter End; we eloped and got married in Edinburgh, Scotland, three years and two weeks later. Oddly enough, we're still married, but now we've got two young hell-children; El Jefe and Knives the Merciless. They've already expressed interest in being (respectively) a ninja assassin and a viking warrior when they grow up. Neither my wife nor I have any Japanese or Norwegian blood.
A few fun facts:
I'm a political junkie, a news hound, a movie snob, and a music aficionado. I like my sake and my commentary unfiltered. I collect toys…specifically, toy spaceships, Japanese robots, and such. I know how to fence, I own my own bow, and unless I'm tired or sick, I almost never get cold. Drove my mother nuts. I've pitched "Star Trek" episodes to "Start Trek" producers in the "Star Trek" production offices. I just bought a house in Oakland, because that's how I roll. It's unfortunate, but I never run out of ideas…unfortunate, because articles, stories, characters, and even specific scenes (with dialogue) have existed in my head for years or even decades. It annoys to know I'll never get to them all.
You can follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook.
But what have I actually written? Stuff! And More Stuff!
Want to learn The History of Super Mario Bros? It's fairly interesting.
I am interviewed!
My take on console flame wars, guaranteed to make you hate/love/hate me.
One of my favorite articles I've done for Bitmob. Here's another. And one more, on Portal 2.