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MCV 10/09/10 59 GAMES MEDIA AWARDS: THE FINALISTS SPECIALIST WRITER, ONLINE


Christian Donlan (Freelance/Eurogamer)


Christian Donlan was born in Los Angeles, and writes about video games for websites and magazines. A regular contributor to Eurogamerand Edge, his work has appeared in numerous other publications, including Design Weekand Computer Arts Projects. He has also written for children’s television in Europe and the US.


Neon Kelly (VideoGamer.com)


Neon lives in South London and is the deputy editor of VideoGamer.com. Before joining the site he spent several years writing about films, music videos and caravans – although people only ever seemed to be interested in the latter. He asked for an Atari Lynx II for his tenth birthday and now accepts that this was probably a poor decision, even if Batman Returnsdid look quite nice.


Dan Howdle (NowGamer)


Flamboyant, feisty, frisky, mesmerisng, educated; these are all words which have no business anywhere near Dan Howdle. A self-righteous know-it- all, he shouldn’t be winning awards of any kind and is always surprised when anyone even reads anything he’s written, let alone nominates him. Dan’s ambition is to consume digestive biscuits and drink tea. He also has a Twitter following variously described as ‘inexplicable’, and ‘otherworldly’.


Simon Parkin (Freelance)


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Simon is a freelance video games journalist who has contributed extensively to Edge, Eurogamer, Yahoo and Boing Boing, amongst others. He currently works on retainer with Eurogamerand was appointed European editor of the US-based industry site Gamasutrathis month. He is a contributor to the forthcoming book 1001 Videogames to Play Before You Dieand is currently writing his first book on games.


gamesmediaawards COVERAGE BY A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER BRAND The Guardian


The Guardian’s brand stands fundamentally for taking a fresh approach, touting itself as modern, individual and sometimes unconventional. The Guardianhas some of the most comprehensive gaming editorial, delivered via Saturday’s The Guide, and online throughout the week on theguardian.co.uk’s Games Blog.


The Telegraph


Curated by Nick Cowen and Tom Hoggins since 2007 and contributed to by some of the industry’s top specialist writers, Telegraph Video Gamesprides itself on providing the most in- depth coverage of the industry in mainstream media today. Specialising in long-form reviews, previews and comment, the games section at Telegraph.co.uk is an ever-growing hub, committed to encapsulating all areas of gaming culture. As well as publishing features in Thursday and Saturday technology pages, Telegraph’s ‘Review’ supplement, which covers all aspects of the Arts, has begun to feature articles on the craft of gaming. This, combined with plans for further expansion into TV and Podcasts, proves the team determined to promote video games as an important entertainment medium.


The Observer


Reflecting gaming’s importance to the paper, The Observer’s coverage occupies a prominent position in its new Review section, placing two-thirds of a broadsheet, page-lead alongside films, music and books – uniquely recognising the medium as an equal. The writing reflects this: knowledgeable, detailed but importantly (essentially for mainstream acceptance) accessible to all. A team of ten aficionados ensures every genre goes to a suitable writer as well as breadth of coverage. It’s not all reviews, either, this year saw coverage of retro, DLC, hardware, conferences, mobile, apps and online, previews, obscurities, the fan- boy phenomenon, interviews, books on DS, and even gaming music.


The Sun


The team at The Sunare extremely proud of its games column, not least because it is produced in their spare time, fitting it around their normal roles. Derek Brown is head of features and Nick Francis is a full time feature writer (and acting games editor) – together, with a small group of willing reviewers, they turn out a slick, informative and entertaining spread every Friday. The pair have a genuine love and passion for games on all platforms, and despite writing a mass market tabloid they strive to include all games, from the big hitters to the niche, cult releases.


Tim Ingham (CVG)


MCValumnus Ingham has enjoyed a stellar year as CVGeditor, steering the site towards record traffic levels whilst maintaining pernickety editorial standards (no doubt instilled by his former employers). Ingham’s extra curricular writing saw a profile piece of Miyamoto hit the front page of The Independent– not bad for a man best known for rowing with green- fingered muppet Alan Titchmarsh in front of displeased grannies.


Ellie Gibson (Eurogamer)


Ellie worked at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Live Publishing before joining Eurogamer in March 2005. She became deputy editor of the site in January 2008. Her specialist subjects include platform games, puzzlers and asking top industry executives stupid questions. She also works as a reporter for BBC Technology, presenting monthly internet show Tech Know.


David Houghton (GamesRadar)


After years as a gamer and amateur word- tamer, David chipped his way into the industry in early 2007 when he joined Destructoidas the site’s first British writer. A joyously anarchic few months and a physical and mental assault by the Leipzig GC later, and a comfy seat at GamesRadaropened up. He reckons his work proves “highfalutin critical theory and sexy fan art can sit happily alongside each other on the internet”.


News of the World


The News of the Worldhas expanded its games coverage over the year by engaging with titles at the earliest stages of development, bagging numerous first looks and first plays, as well as providing highly quotable reviews. Going forward the team say they intend to build on their success by expanding even further as gaming becomes more and more mainstream thanks to the diversity of products and inspiring new adventures like 3D, PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect.


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