Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Austin Walker

    Person » credited in 2 games

    Host of Waypoint Radio & Friends at the Table, former Editor-in-Chief of Waypoint, former editor at Giant Bomb, PhD Candidate in Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario. Austin Walker writes about games, culture, and relationships between play and labor.

    Austin Walker Appreciation Thread

    Avatar image for saddlebrown
    saddlebrown

    1578

    Forum Posts

    81

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 1

    #1  Edited By saddlebrown

    I know we're in the throes of E3, but I just wanted to take a minute to say that I'm super impressed by @austin_walker so far. He's only been here a few weeks, but he fits into the group dynamic so naturally that he feels like he's always been there. There was no awkward period at all. He's really funny on the Beastcast, has great comedic timing, and he's been killing it on the news side; seriously, just doing simple stuff like getting follow-up quotes and quick interviews has done wonders to make his news stories fantastic.

    And holy crap, guys, did you read his "Why We Write" piece? Because if you haven't, you need to. This is my favorite passage from it:

    I write about all of these things because...

    Well, because besides wanting to engage with my readers and help them work through their own opinions, besides hoping to “influence” game makers with my critique, there is a rumbling something, an emotional drive that fuels my desire to write. I write because I cannot but write. Because when I wake up and see that someone asked me what I thought about game X, the cogs start moving all on their own. Pieces like this one drill themselves itself into my head, dragging themselves into existence through broad ideas and little phrases. I write not (only) because I want to change the world, but because I am compelled to get words on the page.

    That's a really---dare I say it---inspirational quote for me personally, and it's written impeccably. Austin has already proven himself to be intelligent, thoughtful and extremely personable, and I'm elated that he's a part of Giant Bomb.

    Avatar image for amyggen
    AMyggen

    7738

    Forum Posts

    7669

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Austin feels like he's been with them for years, which is the best compliment I can make.

    Avatar image for thatpinguino
    thatpinguino

    2988

    Forum Posts

    602

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #3 thatpinguino  Moderator

    He has done so much in such a short time. I'm so glad to have a scholarly opinion on this site. Woot!

    Avatar image for rabincrabmink
    rabincrabmink

    48

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #4  Edited By rabincrabmink

    Austin is the best. I think his piece on Watch Dogs might be the best games writing I've ever read.

    The best line from his Why We Write piece, for me, was this:

    And sometimes, we want to take the things we love seriously enough to offer analysis and critique that goes beyond "I like this" or "I don't like that." We want to figure out how a game might fit in a larger cultural context or try to communicate how it fit just so into our lives.

    I honestly don't really care anymore if someone else likes a game or not. I want more writing like Austin's. I want more things like Boss Fight Books. More things like Leigh Alexander's Breathing Machine.

    Avatar image for notnert427
    notnert427

    2389

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 1

    The "Why we write" piece was indeed terrific. Austin continually manages to discuss some touchy issues with great aplomb. I'm sure I'm not always going to agree with him, but it's clear he comes from a place of simply wanting good-natured discussion rather than trying to act as if he's always right or telling people how they should feel. I'm genuinely interested in his perspective and remain excited to read his stuff, in addition to his contributions on QLs and other GB content. He's a great hire for sure.

    Avatar image for conmulligan
    conmulligan

    2292

    Forum Posts

    11722

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 11

    #7  Edited By conmulligan

    @amyggen said:

    Austin feels like he's been with them for years, which is the best compliment I can make.

    Yeah. He gels so naturally with the crew that I keep forgetting he only started like two weeks ago.

    Avatar image for bradbrains
    BradBrains

    2277

    Forum Posts

    583

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    a man who actually enjoys JRPGS. much needed here

    Avatar image for planetfunksquad
    planetfunksquad

    1560

    Forum Posts

    71

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    It's great to have him here and I hope he encourages some deeper conversations about games at GB. Austin, yr a badman.

    Avatar image for topcat88
    TopCat88

    434

    Forum Posts

    16

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 4

    #10  Edited By TopCat88

    He's a good fit with the team for sure, I enjoy his video company. He's clearly a very smart guy and I look forward to many great contributions from him. I certainly don't agree with everything he says, and I'm glad because life would be pretty dull otherwise. But as this is an appreciation thread, I'll just say: keep it up Austin.

    Avatar image for ssully
    SSully

    5753

    Forum Posts

    315

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 3

    @amyggen said:

    Austin feels like he's been with them for years, which is the best compliment I can make.

    100%

    The Giant BeastCast is so great because it's like they have all known each other for years. Also Austin has already written some fantastic stuff for the site. They couldn't have picked a better hire.

    Avatar image for xhaktmtjdnf
    xhaktmtjdnf

    70

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Just to say, what's been said already I'm enjoying Austin on the Beastcast and on GB. Also his twitter name is "it was me, Austin" which is pretty great.

    Avatar image for csl316
    csl316

    17001

    Forum Posts

    765

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 10

    "Now full disclosure, I'm in Rise of the Tomb Raider."

    Ok, Austin's alright.

    Avatar image for otogi
    Otogi

    372

    Forum Posts

    1

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Dude's dope, and I said before, but I really look forward to more of his mech coverage.

    Avatar image for mortuss_zero
    Mortuss_Zero

    744

    Forum Posts

    12

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 7

    I like his writing, haven't seen him in a video yet. I also like that he actually reports on stuff occasionally, since no one else around here does (except Alex occasionally).

    Avatar image for tn04
    TN04

    74

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    He fits in well. Love the rap references and like everybody on the team, likes different things to everyone else.

    Avatar image for personandstuff
    personandstuff

    662

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    If Giant Bomb East is the Buffy spinoff Angel then Austin is Wesley Wyndam Pryce. Sure, before it still had Angel(Vinny) and Cordelia(Alex) but it took Wesley to complete the show and get everything really rolling.

    P.S. Dan is Anya.

    Avatar image for ry_ry
    Ry_Ry

    1929

    Forum Posts

    153

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    All I can say is that I am anxiously awaiting more content from our PhD of Games.

    Seriously, he's awesome.

    Avatar image for bigmess
    bigmess

    459

    Forum Posts

    1

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    The first article I read from Austin was a segment from Kotaku's "Video Games' Blackness Problem" and I've been constantly impressed with him since then.

    Plus, he's the only one on staff who lamented the death of my favorite jazz artist last week, Ornette Coleman. Austin is awesome.

    Avatar image for shagge
    ShaggE

    9562

    Forum Posts

    15

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Austin Walker? More like Awesome... Writer...!

    P.S. Dan is Anya.

    My kingdom for Photoshop skills.

    (Anya's hatred of bunnies and Dan's hatred of crabs make me think you're really on to something there, by the way)

    Avatar image for qrdl
    qrdl

    479

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    @bigmess: I haven't even heard about this! Maaaan. Ornette Coleman might actually be my favorite as well, along with (strangely) Bill Evans. I've really been cut off during the last couple of weeks.

    Avatar image for arbitrarywater
    ArbitraryWater

    16103

    Forum Posts

    5585

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 8

    User Lists: 66

    #22  Edited By ArbitraryWater

    What I've listened to, seen and read of Austin thus far makes me think we have nothing to worry about. Dude already fits in with the rest of the crew really well and seems really smart and articulate.

    Avatar image for pweidman
    pweidman

    2891

    Forum Posts

    15

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 4

    He seems super knowledgeable and super cool, so yeah, huge welcome Austin.

    Avatar image for ben_h
    Ben_H

    4812

    Forum Posts

    1628

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 5

    #24  Edited By Ben_H

    It's almost scary how perfectly he fits in with everyone else. It's like they went all Dr. Frankenstein and built the perfect new staff member for the site. He's only been here a few weeks and he not only fits in with the East guys perfectly, but EVERYONE perfectly. If a person didn't know he was new I would bet they would think he'd been a longtime staff member who'd been here for years.

    Avatar image for saddlebrown
    saddlebrown

    1578

    Forum Posts

    81

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 1

    @csl316 said:

    "Now full disclosure, I'm in Rise of the Tomb Raider."

    Ok, Austin's alright.

    Yep, that was an awesome moment.

    Avatar image for personandstuff
    personandstuff

    662

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #26  Edited By personandstuff
    Avatar image for shagge
    ShaggE

    9562

    Forum Posts

    15

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    @personandstuff: Ha! That works scarily well. So well that I'm starting to wonder if Dan isn't secretly Joss Whedon's latest project.

    Avatar image for crithon
    crithon

    3979

    Forum Posts

    1823

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 11

    sooooo.... right now Luke Smith is on the live show... there are times Austin reminds me too much like Luke Smith right down to the way he looks and talk. It's surreal.

    Avatar image for geirr
    geirr

    4166

    Forum Posts

    717

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 5

    @csl316 said:

    "Now full disclosure, I'm in Rise of the Tomb Raider."

    Ok, Austin's alright.

    Yep, that was an awesome moment.

    I enjoyed that moment too because I was thinking it tiny seconds before Austin mentioned it. But how would he handle 3-4 hours of Mario Party? And since he's with GB East, will we ever know? These are the questions that matter! Then again judging by Austin's saintly patience with the tanning in Animal Crossing, he'd probably outlast them all.

    Avatar image for zecks23
    Zecks23

    204

    Forum Posts

    333

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 6

    Such a fantastic add to the site!

    Avatar image for imsh_pl
    imsh_pl

    4208

    Forum Posts

    51

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 4

    I love Giant Bomb, but I'd always felt like it was missing the person who is willing to regularly address the 'tough issues' like race, representation, culture in games, and games in reference to social angsts. The closest we had to that was Patrick but I still feel like he was too passionate and too rarely willing to hear the other side out.

    I feel like Austin has filled the role perfectly. He is one of the rare cases of a person who writes about these issues without feeling preachy or condescending, and he has a genuine desire for a dialogue with the community, as evidenced by him addressing other people's comments.

    I'm thrilled to have him on board!

    Avatar image for civid
    civid

    872

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    It feels like he has been here from the start. I didn't even get he was the new news editor on the first Beastcast, but everything he has been on and contributed to has been awesome. He also seems like he has some very different, very interesting opinions on games, which will be refreshing on the GOTY podcasts later this year.

    Avatar image for whur
    whur

    220

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I'll join the Austin praise group..

    He fits well with the humor and knowledge.

    I was going to write more but I don't even think it's necessary, he just belongs. GOTY 2015 podcasts let's go, i can't wait to hear what he has to say.

    Avatar image for monotreme
    monotreme

    89

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Austin is great, I look forward to more long form writing from him in the future. Particularly about games as culture and the way in which it is constructed. I'd also like to add my +1 to the idea that he fits in so well on the Beastcast that it seems like he's been there for ages.

    Avatar image for themanwithnoplan
    TheManWithNoPlan

    7843

    Forum Posts

    103

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 14

    #35  Edited By TheManWithNoPlan

    Yep, I've seen enough of him to officially say I'm a fan. He fits in very well among the staff and in video, audio and written content. Glad he's aboard! :)

    Avatar image for johntunoku
    JohnTunoku

    418

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Agree with the people saying it feels like he's already been here for years. Couldn't have chosen better.

    Avatar image for nonesun
    NoneSun

    805

    Forum Posts

    109

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I like Austin, I like the way he writes, his style, how he fits in so well already, I like how he is open minded and how he isn't petty or rude with people who disagree with him, I like how he does his news pieces and I like his taste in games. Now I'm just looking forward to him writing some stuff I might be more interested in, some stuff that appeals to be a bit more.

    Avatar image for shindig
    Shindig

    7011

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I like how he talks about PES vs FIFA like someone who has actually played those games.

    Avatar image for schrodngrsfalco
    SchrodngrsFalco

    4616

    Forum Posts

    454

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 7

    Avatar image for damodar
    damodar

    2252

    Forum Posts

    1248

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    #40  Edited By damodar

    Austin is great! Really good mix of having a rapport with everyone else, being on the same wavelength etc, but has also very much already brought his own thing to the table. He also writes really well and communicates his ideas eloquently.

    But if he's going to write news and opinion pieces for Giant Bomb, he should probably change his name to Austin Sibly, right?

    Avatar image for gatehouse
    gatehouse

    933

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 0

    Have to admit, I hadn't read any of Austin's stuff before, but he seems pretty damn awesome and a smashing addition to the crew.

    Avatar image for emfromthesea
    emfromthesea

    2161

    Forum Posts

    70

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 10

    @imsh_pl said:

    I feel like Austin has filled the role perfectly. He is one of the rare cases of a person who writes about these issues without feeling preachy or condescending, and he has a genuine desire for a dialogue with the community, as evidenced by him addressing other people's comments.

    Exactly how I feel as well. I try to be understanding and interested in the issues in games surrounding race, gender and representation, but even I can find myself rolling my eyes when someone writing about these issues comes off as a little strong or hostile. I really appreciate how Austin tries to engage with his readers when discussing these issues, helping them relay any thoughts they might have, whilst also helping them understand his opinion on the matters.

    And outside of his writing, his on-screen persona fits nicely amongst the rest of the crew. A cool guy all-around.

    Avatar image for joe423
    Joe423

    278

    Forum Posts

    107

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 4

    #44  Edited By Joe423

    He's been great on all the E3 stuff, fitted in really well with the west coast guys and the stuff he's done on the east coast has already been great. Can't wait to see more Austin quick looks after E3 as well.

    Avatar image for bigsocrates
    bigsocrates

    6150

    Forum Posts

    162

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #46 bigsocrates  Online

    I like Austin a lot, he seems like a great fit.

    But has anyone noticed how excited Alex seems to be to be working with him? I think Alex linked to his articles in the past and I just think The ol' Wolf seems very happy (which is unusual for the Wolf) to have Austin as a coworker.

    Avatar image for alwaysbebombing
    alwaysbebombing

    2785

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #47  Edited By alwaysbebombing

    The Canadian Beast

    (I'm sorry, that isn't meant to be porn star name)

    Avatar image for giantlizardking
    GiantLizardKing

    1144

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    The dude is a great get. I've really enjoyed listening to him and reading his work. He is a Doctor of video games, what else do you want?

    Avatar image for extintor
    extintor

    1142

    Forum Posts

    1302

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 16

    User Lists: 23

    Austin feels like the right kind of fit, he's got the enthusiasm and knowledge of a Ryan or a Jeff, the scholarly analytical interest of a Brad or an Alex, he vibes well with Vinny and is clearly an excellent writer in addition to having a really likeable on-screen personality.

    For very different reasons, both Austin and Dan have been really excellent additions to the roster.

    Avatar image for zlimness
    Zlimness

    649

    Forum Posts

    25

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 4

    Yep, liking Austin a lot so far. He isn't afraid to stick his head out there and speak his mind.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.