Game Journalism: in-house style guides?

[Ryan A]

I'm hoping some of the writers and editors around here will be able to enlighten me on this one. Specifically, do game publications tend to have their own style guides for game reviews? If so, I'd be really interested to see some if they're available for public viewing.

I'm not looking to break into the game review biz or anything - - I'm creating a writing project for some kids who are into gaming, and I want to make it as realistic as possible, rather than the typical generic crap they're used to.

PM me if you have something but don't want to post it here.

Thanks!

[Sachant]

Hrm, I think we all sort of have our styles but I've never really used any sort of template for it or formulae. I think perhaps a better example would be to look at one of the print gaming magazines since they do have a visible style to their reviews.

For mine I start out with just a basic intro to let people know what I'm reviewing and include a little about the company itself to ground it. I go into the heart of the game with features and comparisons to other games depending on if it can be compared. I end with more distinctive thoughts as far as what I liked/didn't like and if I think it's worth people taking a further look at.

Think of it like an essay really. The layout is the same. Intro, substance, ending.

Of course some reviewers put in a rating as well so that could be decided if it needs included at the top (to let readers know whether they should read or not) or the bottom, thus luring readers in to read the article first.

That's just me though. These things generally take on their own cadence and flow.

[Angie Gallant]

I know that some online publications do have style guides, I believe Gamespot has a pretty lengthy one. Most appear not to. I have no familiarity with the print side of things, so I don't know about their style guides.

[Troy S Goodfellow]

Yeah, you can deduce the style guide usually by just looking at reviews from different writers. Whatever is constant in form and format is generally the style guide.

Two places I have written for have sent me extensive style guides and one just used a template with instructions. Since they, obviously, do not belong to me, I cannot send them to you.

But it's not hard to figure out. In fact, there is a lot more overlap than difference, though a lot of sites have different ideas about what a 6/10 means.

Troy

[Ryan A]

Thanks for the responses.

I may not be the smartest man in the universe (last I checked that was Koontz or HRose or Jose Liz...) but I *am* smart enough to figure out that a review is basically an essay and that most publications probably have standard expectations that could be applied to any article/review/essay/etc. :wink:

I'm really looking for an actual factual style guide so I can say "Hey look! This is *actually* what the pros use!" Kind of like I used to be able to do with my George Brett signature model baseball glove that I slathered way too much Neat's Foot Oil on before strapping a baseball into the pocket and baking it in the oven.

[Mark Crump]

I know the EIC's to Computer Games Mag and PC Gamer frequent this forum, so maybe one of them will forward the guides to you.

Both of their guides are excellent, but pretty much fall into the "don't use passive voice, strike up a conversational tone, etc."

[Alan Dunkin]

GS does have a style guide, frequently however in grammar/word usage many follow AP/Chicago guides and you extrapolate from there. Many refer to the Wired guide but few officially reference it.

--- Alan

[Naked]

I was never given a specific style guide, but at Daily Radar/Next Gen there were some "guidelines" we had to follow...always use "we" instead of "I", refer to the PlayStation as a "PSOne" etc.

[Peter Olafson]

I wrote one about six years ago for PCGamePro.com. I don't have it, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Peter

[Kristen Salvatore]

The Ziff Davis Game Group style guide is really aimed at usage consistency rather than actual writing mechanics--stuff like PSOne instead of PS1. While CGW (and, I assume, EGM and OPM) have general guidelines for what a review should cover, I don't think there are any specific rules for how you cover it, other than those that govern good journalism in general.

As previously mentioned in this thread, the style guide is mostly stuff you'd find in the Chicago Manual of Style or Strunk & White.

[Peter Olafson]

... or, generally (i.e. not specific to Z-D) the AP Stylebook.

Peter