" Because i am struggling with school and becoming a game reviewer is my dream job "
If you work up a decent portfolio and succeed in getting some articles published, then there's no stopping you. Your writing would need improvement, though.
" Because i am struggling with school and becoming a game reviewer is my dream job "
Maybe, but you might want to bone up on your grammar if you want to write for a living. Don't be a retard. Everyone hates school. Suck it up, pull through, and get serious about doing what you want to do.
Without high school level you mean? Nah not really. Even with that you'd have to do freelance and unpaid work for a while I'd assume. The best route would be to get a degree in journalism probably. Also a lot of people have the same idea so getting a job in games media would be highly competitive.
I am not a professional game reviewer of any sort, but I'd say that if you want to succeed, you should stay in school. Work on your writing and critical thinking skills. Anyone can create a blog, throw some slapdash reviews up on the internet and call themselves game reviewers. Professional reviewers go the extra mile by being skilled at writing, organizing their thoughts, and expressing how and why a game succeeds or fails in a clear and concise manner.
Even Jeff, who didn't finish high school if I'm not mistaken, said in a podcast that it's a different time now than when he became a reviewer (the crazy 90s when websites were hiring left and right) and a degree is an absolute must for getting into the industry. So it's tough, but suck it up and work your ass off. It's the dream job of a LOT of people, which means it's also super-competitive.
No, it is not absolutely necessary, but it certainly helps. I would assume IGN, GameSpot, etc. don't just higher someone who has written some user reviews.
I'm not saying this to be mean, but your current reviews aren't good. If you want to seriously be a reviewer then you need to start putting in time on writing good, well thought-out, and well executed reviews. How many professional reviews do you see that are one paragraph long and have poor grammar? None.
If you're serious and want to give it a shot, you'll have to put in the time and work on your reviews. It seems almost laughable because there are so many of them, but if you want to make a name for yourself you should post reviews on multiple sites and keep a central blog where you post all of your writing. Creative work of any kind is all about your portfolio, so if you're serious, you should get yourself organized.
If this sounds like too much work, then maybe you don't want it that bad. Don't think for a second that the GB crew don't work their damn asses off. Also, do well in school. I'm not going to say you have no chance of becoming a game reviewer, but an education is always important and aspirations can always change. Don't dig yourself into a hole.
Maybe, but any aspiring games journalist only has a slim chance of actually getting to do what they love at a professional level, you'll make that chance much slimmer if you can't get your school work up to scratch. This probably sounds harsh but I mean this as a friendly piece of advice; if you can't put in the work required to finish school properly then you're a long way from being able to put in the kind of work it takes to become a professional games journalist. When you're going after a job that so many people are fighting for there's no room for laziness, you have to put in as much effort as you can at every turn because if you don't someone else will, and they could very well rob you of that job.
A lot of people seem to have dropped out of school and still did great, like Steve Jobs for example. But I'm sure even more people have dropped out of school and did not do so great.
" A lot of people seem to have dropped out of school and still did great, like Steve Jobs for example. But I'm sure even more people have dropped out of school and did not do so great. "
Yeah, but Steve Jobs is also a colossal asshole.
Drop out of school and you could end up being an asshole like Steve Jobs. Stay in school, kid.
@stoodspoon: I realize it may seem like a lot of people are bashing on you here, so let me be the one to at least ask: is English your first language? If not, do you plan on reviewing for English-speaking websites? If yes, then you definitely need to work on your spelling and grammar.
If you are in high school then stick it out. no matter what just focus on writing. If its college and you are not feeling it then bail for a while and pick it up again. education is very important, but never feel like you are on a time table to get it done. I think its a massive mistake when people jump from high school to college the very next year.
Write your ass off. This goes for anyone no matter what skill, write at least a thousand words a day, just write something. I'd imagine an education isn't mandatory, but it sure does help.
If you are naturally gifted and can write well then sure. Still tougher as some places may require it, but it's like any skill/art based jobs. If you have an amazing portfolio they don't care what kind of training you have.
some harsh replies here, and they are not unfounded. stick it out through high school and go beyond, if you can't handle that, you won't be able to handle a job.
sometimes you need to work hard, come to terms with your problems and work harder to overcome them.
@stoodspoon: Too many people think they don't need any preparation to get their dream jobs (or a job at all). If you happen to be good at something you like it's great, but you also have to work hard to achieve your goals.
Stay at school, learn as much as you can and "maybe" one day you will be able to write game reviews to make a living.
@Burns098356GX: Money is important, but it is not everything.
Things are lot different now than they were 10 years ago, getting a job in the industry whether it be development or journalism will be incredibly hard and competitive. If you want a job in the industry right now I'd say just write write write, get yourself out there and build up a portfolio. There are plenty of sites out there now which require writers, you won't be paid of course but it's a good way to build up a portfolio.
Maybe if you do purposefully terrible reviews you'll gain attention and can make some money, but other than that at least go to college and consider your options.
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