If you had pre ordered an area5 shirt when do they come in the mail?!!!!!

Long time follower, first time commenter. In regards to game reviews, the evaluation of games by the enthusiast media is so surface level that they basically act as mouth pieces for extended PR. It's a joke, and I very much agree with you. All the enthusiast media do is talk about "what's in a game" rather than considering the how and why. Personally, I run a small-time blog in which I always pose the how and why (or at the very least try to say something not covered elsewhere), and yet when I talk to other Australian writers and editors, those who write for the big publications/are part of the "games criticism" blogging crowd, I feel so misunderstood. As though they've been warmed into a train of thought which avoids all critical judgment.

I think that you're on to something Ryan, honestly, you've been refining your eye for this thing for a while, you're certainly much better than I am and am in a pretty significant position to keep things going too. Keep thinking about the how and why when evaluating games, because as you know, the answer lies in the design and construction, it's all just about seeing and making the subconscious visible.

Daniel

PS. Was originally sour on CO-OP Live but you guys have picked up massively, I prefer the new format now. Hope to tweet you some questions sometime.

I think we all agree, but when it comes to copy editing / grammar, while some of the onus falls on the writers, I think it's mostly a statement of the publication's editing staff itself. I have a friend who got a degree in creative writing, and one of the classes she took was on copy editing. Her professor essentially gave a test when they first arrived, and you either passed the class or dropped it then and there. She said, and I fully ascribe to this, that copy editing is a gift, and you can either do it or you can't. I, for one, know I can't do it, and I still miss mistakes I've made in my writing (you'll probably find a few in this comment).

I've personally found the best way to improve my writing is to read it out loud. That usually improves the quality of both the grammar and content. That said, I think I struggle with the same problem as many aspiring game/entertainment writers. How do you avoid being an echo chamber and still write about content that people care about?

I haven't figured out the answer to that question yet. Let me know if anyone has ;)

Co-op is the only source of game news/reviews that I really trust to tell it like it is without any of the bias or ego that you get elsewhere. You've also helped me discover at least half a dozen games that I probably wouldn't have heard about anywhere else :)

Keep up the good work!