@sweetz: I'd like to think that video games can expand a bit beyond the simple "is this game fun?" style of writing and I appreciate the medium enough that there are games out there that warrant and deserve to be looked at on a deeper level. It exists for movies and TV shows and pretty much every other form of entertainment. Why wouldn't it exist for video games? Yeah, it will probably never be the most popular thing you can run on your site but I know I'm not the only one out there who would like to see more of this in games writing.

That's a shame, good luck to her!

Many people were calling for her to be Patrick's replacement, so pretty out of it.

She's retiring.

BoingBoing backs them

I actually don't think that's the nature of this particular economic problem Josh, I think it has to do with the internet Ad market and to some extent how Google dictates it. Back in the print days, work in the style of Cara's was common place in magazines covering other media (like music, movies, books etc).

However the written word market in general has been destroyed by the internet. Everything from Books to Magazines to Newspapers have been crushed for over ten years now. Major US city daily newspapers can't figure it out, why should it be any surprise that nice gaming outfits can't either? Banner and Text Ads just aren't effective for the sites, the ad buyers or the readers.

Even mega enthusiast sites like Gamespot have had to turn away from writing in favor of video, because frankly that's the ad market that seems to somewhat functional. It's why CBSi wanted GiantBomb. And why premier Major US dailies like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have had to re-institute the paywall to stay afloat.

So it's got to be frustrating for talented writers and especially self motivated ones like Cara. While her work may not appeal to you, as recently as ten-fifteen years ago she likely would have a decent paying salaried position by now. She has enough skill and covers an area that should be marketable, it's just the ad business is broken and ruled by near a company that likely will soon have a monopoly on it.

This is an industry problem, not one related to her skillset.

As someone who has tried on-and-off to break into games writing, I can understand her wondering if it's worth it. The pay isn't great, and writing freelance is very stressful. A regular 9-5, even if it's something you have no interest in doing, can feel like a warm blanket when that paycheque lands reliably in your bank account every two weeks.

But her writing though.

Embed With is brilliant and maybe I just don't follow the right sites or writers but after reading through that series I was flabbergasted that we don't see more of that kind of writing.

Other people in this forum have already remarked on her unique autobiographical style, and the idea that we might be without that hurts. It hurts because her writing is good because it is so personal, because it is about immediacy and intimacy in a genre where those things are only now starting to get remarked upon. And it hurts because losing that voice makes the rest of the chorus of game journalism feel much weaker, and the future seem much dimmer.

For those wishing to show support in a way that will matter, she does have a patreon.

When I say an article tells me more about a game than a video, I'm not just talking about it telling me if I want to play a game or not. I'm talking about a game's themes, what it's actually about on a deeper level, which I can't see from a video of someone playing the second level for 20 minutes.

And I'm not saying that every game warrants that kind of writing because most of them definitely don't but I think both are important. You're absolutely right that The Point is a great example of a really good middle ground, though.

Honestly, I think I prefer that sort of stuff in podcast form. That Spec Ops Spoilercast on Gamespot immediately comes to mind. I suppose it's the conversational aspect of it that I appreciate, as opposed to one person just laying out their analysis.

Yeah, I have zero idea what BB is either, though I know I've read some good stuff there over the years and Offworld has already put out some good stuff!

I guess I can just hope that Leigh has the budget and inclination to change Cara's mind and give her a fulltime gig, cos she's been my favourite games writer for some time now. I'd be sad to see her go, though I'd be down for whatever she decides to do.

I seem to remember Jeff remarking on how cool Embed With was at one point and how he'd like to see more of that, but yeah, I can't see Jeff taking a chance on that. Dude likes to talk a big game about how he wants the site to grow, but I honestly can't see any of it. I get that they have budget concerns and whatnot, but thats just how I see it.

Weird, she was working at Kotaku for the weekend just last week. Best of luck to her.

Edit: I'm not seeing any hard proof that she's leaving though.

That's what reviews are for, and look at how many people actually read those.

Also, in regards to an earlier statement of yours, that stuff totally exists for movies and TV shows and stuff, but it's still a niche part of their respective audiences. You and many others may want to see more of that kind of writing about games, but it's obviously not a big enough audience to be profitable, or we would see way more of it. It will only be more viable when more people care about games enough to read that kind of stuff, not when the people in charge hire more people to write it.

And wow, some users are already trying to use this topic to make passive aggressive remarks about Giant Bomb staff or other writers. Some of you guys really need to re-familiarize yourselves with the rules and the whole concept of don't be a jerk.

Please don't turn this into yet another thread we have to babysit and eventually are forced to close because you can't just suffer in silence and keep your negativity and snide comments to yourself.

Why do you need someone to tell you a game's themes? Just play it and find out for yourself.

@slag: I'm not really seeing how what you're saying is different than my point.

Years ago, there was a place for Cara's kind of writing in print because magazines and newspapers had a wealth of ad money, as the ad space was limited so they could charge a premium. And they could host the articles that may be less broadly appealing, because the generalized content got more people to buy those periodicals in the first place.

The internet diluted that funding by just having exponentially more content. I'm not saying that internet ads have no role in the decline of print, but it's not something you could ever solely blame on ad serving companies themselves. When you have infinite space in a digital medium, it's much harder to sell your homepage of your site, rather than the front page of your paper.

And when there's less money to go around from ad revenue, and a publication may depend on getting as many page views as possible, niche content is the hardest to justify.

@mb Maybe you could edit the thread title? Cara hasn't even said anything close to "I'm retiring" and even just posted an essay about games today..

Not really out of the loop, I don't think many people would feel like it's a necessity to have a broad knowledge of people who write about / report on games just because you happen to enjoy video games as a hobby. I could count on one hand with fingers to spare the number of rock or movie critics I can name, and I consume plenty of both.

I've heard of her, remember her being on the AM show once or twice and she seemed pretty cool, so it's too bad she's bailing out. At the same time, it's not like there is any shortage of game "journalists" out there...it's just unfortunate that with some of the really pathetic/pandering/bait-y people out there, she winds up being one of the people to get out on her own volition. I'd definitely consider this a loss.

I've always enjoyed what I've read of her writing, especially the one about her interview with Rhianna Pratchett where half of it was about pea soup. It makes sense in context.

Hopefully Games Writing manages to establish a more stable niche for the kind of writing she does, I'm honestly more surprised some site hasn't scooped her up with how talented she is.

@bocam: Because sometimes writers have a different perspective than you or see things that you don't see. I can see the themes in a movie I watch, but reading Wesley Moris's columns always give me a perspective that I hadn't considered in a form that I couldn't produce.

I mean, someone asked her to clarify if she's retiring from games or just S.EXE and she said:

Along with tweeting a link Kieron Gillens blog post about leaving games writing and the lack of respect games writers get for their craft. Yeah, you could say it's just temporary until she comes out and says "I'm retiring from games forever", but I think it's pretty clear she isn't happy.

The OP edited in the tweets. She replies to someone asking if she's retiring from games writing or just the S.EXE column with "writing about games. Super tired"

Good luck to her! She seemed pretty cool going by the E3 and GBeast streams, as well as Bombin in the AM.

But that's still just an assumption on your part based on some tweets of all things. She's been a tornado of world travelling and constant content for like 2 years now. I think being tired of it is pretty natural.

Going from that to "she's never writing about games again" is a conclusion nobody could honestly make.

Dan was lucky enough to land his first job when games writing jobs still existed. His hard work definitely helped, but his a big part of his success is due to being around at the right time.

The same thing can be said for any creative industry. They are all constantly evolving and if you aren't evolving with it, you're going to get passed by.

@joshwent: Yeah, thats fair. All I know is she isn't writing about games right now, and thats enough to bum me out.

Embed With is so good. Man, just the idea that we won't get any more of that type of writing about games sucks.

Strange...I went to go check out her Twitter and she apparently has me blocked. I think the only time I ever tweeted her was to say she was great on Bombin' in the AM. Oh well!

I wish her the best. The number of people making a living writing/talking about games seems to be growing smaller by the month. It's extremely difficult to break in, especially so for people more centered around writing than video content. Hell, most of us probably remember Gamespot's writing staff getting absolutely gutted last year.

she actually did say explicitly in her column that she is at least taking a hiatus from games writing, if that's considered uncertain.

(btw her column is possibly NSFW depending on what your office culture is like)

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/04/24/s-exe-adult-entertainment-james-deen/

This is the last S.EXE! I am taking a break from writing about video games to do other things to video games. Thank you so much for all your intelligent discussion, pun runs, and pervy jokes throughout the series. Some of the issues I tackled were very difficult, some of them were about Skyrim dongs, and some of them were merely about Peter Molyneux hugging David Bowie without touching hips. But thank you for coming along with me. You can keep updated on my work here, if you’re interested. I’ve also asked RPS if we can issue an ebook of all the S.EXE columns, so we’ll keep you informed about that. Love to you, RPS. I will miss you.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/04/24/s-exe-adult-entertainment-james-deen/

@joshwent:

I do believe we are saying different things.

If I read you correctly, you seem to be arguing because Cara's work is niche is why she is having difficulties.

I'm saying the primary reason she and other games writers are having problems is because they are writers in an economy that doesn't compensate very many writers at all regardless of potential appeal to their work.

I'm guessing home girl is just running into some fatigue and natural frustration with being on the freelance tip for so long. Anyone would rightly think about alternatives or taking a break if you're in that position. Even if you love the shit to death, if it's not paying the bills then you start thinking twice. Yeah, I'm really starting to think this thread has stepped over the reality. At the very least this thread title needs a big fat question mark at the end.

It's still a worthy discussion concerning that fatigue and having second thoughts because if we were to lose Cara that would still suck, even in the hypothetical.

Right there with you on all accounts.

It's understandable, and I hope Cara will have a nicer time with a different focus.

There's every reason for women to not want anything to do with writing about games. There's plenty of passion there, but it's often not worth it. It pays poorly and you just get a lot of crap. It's no wonder so many people get burnt out or practically run on fumes just to get by in gaming.

If you're small, you're easily ignored, and if you're big, people assume you don't need much support. And the more you become a fixture, the bigger target you become. You've had months of a witchhunt against them and anyone supportive of them, and even when a mob isn't after you, there has been an audience often full of vocal whining and sexism for years.

Personally, I'm surprised there are as many women still writing about gaming as there are. I wish Cara well and will continue to follow her writing.

video killed the write-o star.

It's crazy if this dumb industry can't accommodate someone like Cara in some capacity. She's a great writer with a unique voice and perspective, very well-spoken and she's camera-ready. I just don't understand how the decision makers in this industry in development, press, whatever, don't know how to leverage talent like that. Even sadder that you probably wouldn't even have to pay her much money to give you 110% effort.

Seriously, Giant Bomb should have picked her up a long time ago.

I'm all about videos. Written previews became worthless when they all basically made every game sound like the second coming, and then they ended up flopping. I want to SEE the game and make my own judgement. It's why I love this site because so much of it is video based. I have no need or desire to read an article on something when I can watch a Quick Look or something similar and get everything I need to know out of that.

Sure, when it comes to the issue of should I or shouldn't I buy this piece of entertainment software?, almost always a video will better answer that question than an article or written (p)review. For people who expressly consume games media with the intent of knowing what they should or shouldn't play, perhaps video content is all they need. However, as the gaming medium matures so should the ways in which we talk about them, but by and large the majority of games writing still is all within the context of games being Products To Buy.

Cara is one of the topmost examples I can think of for people who helped fill the void of meaningful games writing. It will be sad to see her leave because games fucking need writing like hers.

@truthtellah: While women certainly get more flack than men, it's a bad scene for everyone involved. I would rather say that I'm surprised there are as many people specifically concentrating on games writing period. People just don't want to read lengthy articles tangentially related to gaming anymore, no matter who is writing them.

She's been referenced by the bombcast/bomb crew at various points, and was on Bombin the Am a couple of times. She's not hugely well known, but she's known.

I'm not overly fussed. I never read any of her stuff, and found her quite annoying on the morning GB shows, but it's a shame she's leaving things. Didn't know about any hand injury though.

While general games writing is in a difficult transitional spot at the moment, the specific level of crap and demands of women in games coverage is a distinction worth noting. It's not just a coincidence that many women targeted by this recent storm in gaming have either backed off from writing as much about games or have chosen to take a break from games writing altogether.

Considering the witchhunts against Cara and people that know her, it certainly made the already dismal conditions even worse, and fans of interesting writing about games are worse off from it. Though, her well being obviously must come first, and I'm sure Cara will still do plenty of great articles outside of gaming. I look forward to seeing what she does next.

Err, not sure a few Tweets constitutes retiring. I say a lot of stuff about my job and life; but I don't always mean it beyond venting frustration or fatigue.

This is sad. Games criticism has too much churn and it's never going to develop Roger Ebert types (people who have been doing it forever, have tons of credibility, and the ability to influence generations of game makers and players) if everyone is forced to bail after a few years of making no money doing it. Sadly I think this is a reflection of a lot of things, but primarily the devaluation of the written word. People don't like to read. I don't really get it. Video is fine for some things, but for conveying information it's a very slow medium compared to writing, and while I understand why people want to look at game footage when deciding whether to make a purchase, there's a subset of video that's just talking heads. Like the Kind of Funny guys who put their podcast up on Youtube without much editing in of gameplay footage or whatever, just a bunch of talking heads. Don't really understand why that format is popular but it is.

I think Ellison was good on video and could have done more of that, but it doesn't seem like a great medium to convey what she wanted to convey. And nobody wants to pay for writing anymore, so there you have it.

I've never been super into Cara's work (though the whole being embedded with various indie devs thing is a really cool idea) and the times I've seen her on Giant Bomb I haven't really enjoyed her personality, either (I'm sure she'd be super fun to hang out with in person, though) - so I'm not particularly bothered by this news. That said, I hope whatever she does next she's successful in and still gets to enjoy herself.

Well, she also said it in an article and has been hinting at the possibility for weeks; so, this certainly seems like a genuine thing. I hope it may just be an extended break from games writing, but that's up to her.

Ah nuts. As someone who likes what she puts out, I'm really bummed. As a person who doesn't like other people completely destroying themselves in the process, I hope she gets all the rest and recuperation she wants. If she ever wants to write again, I'll read it twice.

Let's not forget Cara Ellison has a brief history of being involved in making games (QA at Rockstar North and writing for Sweatshop HD that was pulled from the app store).

It'd be interesting to see her take the experience she's gained from being around so many developers for the last year and a bit and make something herself. Chanel the way she writes about and describes games into her own interactive experiences.

And if we're posting our favourite Cara Ellison articles, her short story about James Bond and Joanna Dark in a bar gave me a glimpse of what it was like to play the sequel to my favourite childhood game, but was too young to experience it.

Liquor, Bond, Dark: A Short Story

She's one of the few people writing about games who wrote consistently great and (more importantly) interesting pieces. Giant Bomb and a bunch of other sites could desperately use someone like her.

It's a shame that the old guard of games journalists (who leave a lot to be desired a lot of the time in terms of writing ability and interesting things to say) have made it so impossible for some really talented writers with unique perspectives to break in. The industry plays musical chairs with jobs instead of picking up new, exciting people. It couldn't be more risk-averse.

Bummer. I wish her well in whatever she chooses to do next. Perhaps I'm part of the problem, as I increasingly have less and less time to spend reading articles online, so I mostly consume video content. I do love a good, long, well-written article, but probably only read no more than 5 (and probably less) in any given year.

Its a shame GB doesn't have a freelance budget. They could do well with featuring stuff that even people in the community write. A lot of it is very good.

@thatpinguino said:

The job she's looking for just doesn't exist anymore. Every successful site that does written content has moved away from introspective articles and towards clickbait and video. We still see Dan's "work hard and you'll be rewarded" philosophy happen but it's in places like youtube and twitch where unknowns spend years putting out videos and become successful games media personalities from it.

I don't think it has anything to do with "The old guard holding back new names" as it is the reality that there are only so many jobs. Again, look at what just happened over at Gamespot last year. They completely gutted their writing staff and I don't think they really brought in many new names to replace them.

I didn't know her stuff too well, but it's always a shame when someone who seems nice/good at their job leaves due to just being burned out by the whole situation, not a great way to end a career.
But hopefully a rest will do her good or she'll do well in another field.