Ryan sent me this when CBSi Games staff were informed I was coming to the states for a while. Made me smile then, as it does now.
As a distant fan, I feel privileged to have met him. He really was as hard edged and soft centred as you'd imagine. I have nothing but thanks for him, for being so kind and supportive to me over the years. I mourn the fact that I didn't get to know him well, but really it's a testament to the man that so many feel the loss, when so few had the pleasure of meeting him.
King of the summerjams, best friend to thousands of strangers, may he rest in peace.
Porn, communist toilets and booze - some deleted scenes from our frankly bizarre World of Tanks episode of EFMS from last year. Martin wasn't actually working at GameSpot when we shot this, but I'm pretty sure these two deleted scenes are what got him the job.
Right now I'm sitting in a rented apartment in San Francisco. It's sunny outside, there's baseball on the TV and I'm on a laptop trying my best to sum up what fucked up set of events landed me here. I'm also reminding myself of how bad I am at creative writing.
I arrived in San Francisco yesterday where I'm staying for about a month to work alongside the US video team in the run-up to E3. Back in 2005 when I used to stay up until midnight to watch On The Spot, I dreamed of another life where I could work in the GameSpot HQ, and be as good at talking about games as the people inside that 640 x 480 frame. I'm not sure if ever really thought it was a possibility. In fact, I'm sure it was just a pipe dream.
I'm sitting here, thinking about the past five years of work to get here, and the only emotion I have to describe this situation is bafflement. I am fucking baffled that I am sitting here.
But the most baffling part is that I'm not even the least bit anxious about tomorrow. I've been waiting years to work with the people inside that building, and sitting here with the baseball on, and the sun outside - it's like some strange version of Christmas Eve. Where on Christmas Day you work like a horse to collaborate with talented people to create amazing videos about fucking video games. I cannot wait.
Before posting this, I just spent a few minutes reading my old blogs and I spotted something. Tomorrow, the first day I walk into that office, is 3 hours shy of being exactly 7 years from my first blog post on GameSpot.
I've been chipping away on this video for about two months, and now I've spent the past 24 hours whoring it out to people. But it's worth it considering the subject matter.
I've suffered from depression and OCD at various points throughout my life, and have often used games as a coping mechanism. When I played Depression Quest on a GameSpot livestream a few months ago, we got like, almost a hundred emails and twitter messages from people who wanted more discussion around the topic. So together with the help of random internet people I put together this mini-doc about the links between games and mental health issues. It's sad that we still feel weird about talking about this stuff, but I'm hoping this will encourage a handful of people into opening up, and eventually looking for help.
Have any of you guys ever used games as a crutch to get through depression?
[ I work for GameSpot - no I'm not evil - but yes I want all your money]
Ladies, gentlemen, and duders,
Playing video games for a day is the only way I know how to contribute to society and the lives of others. So on October 20th GameSpot will live-stream a 24 hour gaming marathon in support of gaming charity Extra Life. Extra Life is an annual event that raises funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals around the world, and this year myself and some of my most handsome friends will live-stream 24 of the best games ever made - each chosen from 24 years of gaming history. One per hour starting with the 1989 classic Prince of Persia. The entire event will be live-streamed on GameSpot and Twitch.TV with community interaction, online gaming sessions, prizes and special guests galore!
Last year, Extra Life raised more than 1.2 million dollars to save kids, but in 2012 our goals, just like the needs of the children, are much, much higher. Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin treats thousands of children each year, regardless of their family's ability to pay. These kids are facing scary things like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.
So if you have anything to spare, your donations would be greatly appreciated. You can donate by visiting the link below. To receive updates on when the event goes live you can use the event's Facebook Page, or follow me on twitter.
Thank you.
EDIT: Apologies if this comes across as advertising or spamming, I've been a member of this community for years before I started work at GameSpot, so in my heart I don't see it as such. In any case, the Giant Bomb community has bunches of other livesteams that are worth getting behind also. Extra Life has passed over $1,000,000 already this year, so whoever you donate money to, be sure to donate. If you can!
[ I work for GameSpot - no I'm not evil - but yes I want all your money]
Ladies, gentlemen, and duders,
Playing video games for a day is the only way I know how to contribute to society and the lives of others. So on October 20th GameSpot will live-stream a 24 hour gaming marathon in support of gaming charity Extra Life. Extra Life is an annual event that raises funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals around the world, and this year myself and some of my most handsome friends will live-stream 24 of the best games ever made - each chosen from 24 years of gaming history. One per hour starting with the 1989 classic Prince of Persia. The entire event will be live-streamed on GameSpot and Twitch.TV with community interaction, online gaming sessions, prizes and special guests galore!
Last year, Extra Life raised more than 1.2 million dollars to save kids, but in 2012 our goals, just like the needs of the children, are much, much higher. Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin treats thousands of children each year, regardless of their family's ability to pay. These kids are facing scary things like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents to name just a few.
So if you have anything to spare, your donations would be greatly appreciated. You can donate by visiting the link below. To receive updates on when the event goes live you can use the event's Facebook Page, or follow me on twitter.
Log in to comment