So you’ve decided to break a video game embargo. You were wined and dined by a big game publisher and just got word that the NDA you endorsed wasn’t signed by everyone in your field. You’ve spent hours, days even, writing in the best active voice your weary body would allow. Unfortunately, the plethora of articles you’ve proofread stand a good chance of being glossed over by your site’s readership.
The valuable information that you swore to never reveal is spreading across the Twitterverse and blogosphere like a Bangkok venereal disease. Making matters worse, you could give two pieces of crap about the game you are reporting on.
Ready to break that embargo? Be sure to heed the following 10 tips.
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Make sure that this is a bridge worth burning. Some sources in the game industry are hard to come by. But if you didn’t like how this company’s spokesperson bent you over and violated your most sacred of entrances (or exits), by all means, wake up early. Take their wallet. Maybe take a picture of how un-endowed they are and send said pictures to a young, plucky blogger.
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Phone a friend. Let's be honest: A lot of us are writing these articles wasted out of our minds. I know I am. Right now, actually. You may want to run this through a filter before you vent your frustrations with possible legal ramifications.
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Speaking of legal…sober up for a second. Ask yourself one question: Was that NDA you signed bound by any monetary clause? Sometimes, breaking embargoes means lawsuits in the thousands or millions. Meaning…you may have to kill someone prior to posting that article on your fancy video-game website. This brings me to my next point.
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Establish a fall-guy. When the chips are down, are you willing to kill for your cushy job as a games journalist? Probably not. Find some do-gooder with a YouTube page and an eagerness to break any story related to the game you're reporting on.
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Can’t find a fall guy? Plead ignorance! Hey, it worked for hiphopgamer.
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Think about your integrity. What would mom think of you publishing an article on a game franchise in which millions of 12-year-olds shout racial slurs that dad hasn’t muttered since the '70s? Are you ready for that Thanksgiving conversation?
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Think about the site's integrity. You are but a small wheel in this professional games enthusiast culture. Sure, you just hammered out an article about how cancer patients play games to cope with chemo treatments. And yes, only eight people read it. Okay, three people…five of them were bots. But when you write, you represent one of the many diverse voices on your site. A site that had no problem with you being wined and dined by that attractive game publisher rep. Remember how they bent you over? Remember what they whispered in your ear? “It’ll be good exposure” and “you’ll get plenty of clicks.”
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When in doubt, wait for the competition to do it. Nobody likes to get scooped on a story. This whole games journalism thing is a big rat race, and no one knows what lies on the other end of the finish line. Seriously, who can tell the difference between integrity and a money hat, when your integrity is a money hat? You've got fictional kids to feed, and who cares who posted what first? What matters is that someone else did it before you, and second place still results in a fat paycheck.
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Future embargoes mean future journalistic f**k ups. You drank to forget how a certain game company tricked you and made you its little journalistic bondage plaything. You're still scarred and angry. Every one of your coworkers is a victim, too, but you consider them weak for not lashing out. “Business as usual,” they coldly retort. You’re the smart one in this situation. Why? Because there is a tomorrow…filled with embargoes that someone, somewhere, will screw up way worse than you have.
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Finally, it’s just a video game. Never mind the obvious fact that it’s your job and you get paid (peanuts) to do it. Or how about the moral point that any job worth doing, is worth doing right? Nah, these are video games, and no one expects video games to inspire artistic movements and change the world. And since we’re in the age where good writing in video games is just as rare as good writing about video games…go ahead. Break that embargo.
Via The Brog