E3 may have come and gone, but the next dates have been set, and what better chance to celebrate that notion than to join the team? That’s right, everyone, GBAtemp is now seeking talented writers who can seize the initiative to be able to cover the latest information in the video gaming entertainment industry. There are many benefits in becoming a writer for our site, and in order to become one, you must fulfill the following requirements. The following terms are non-negotiable:

-Must be 16 years or older (17+ for convention level writing)
-Must have a strong proficiency in the English language, write at professional level with maturity
-Can work cohesively with a team
-Must be independent enough to be able to find information and report on it
-Must present writing samples covering video gaming industry material at time of application submission
-Until further notice, the positions are non-paid positions

If you have the following traits, great! You are looking solid already. GBAtemp is looking for the following roles to be fulfilled: Editorial Writer, News Writer, and possibly, someone that can work with media to cover events.

Each position is expected to be able to do the following, in addition to the requirements held above:

Editorial Writer – Be able to post one editorial biweekly. Highly needed position. Can post and cover for a News Writer in case of emergency, or to assist website in times of slow news periods. You will be able to edit and correct mistakes that other writers may present in their articles. You must have a strong background in writing for this.

News Writer – You are expected to write one or two news articles a week. You will essentially be the pillar that keeps the site’s portal going. Content is what drives the site! Your role is important, too! Your community is expecting material to be covered, and you’re required to be able to go out on your own to other sites and find material that interests you! You, too, must have a good grasp of the English language. You are representing the most important aspect of the website!

Media – At the E3 conference this year, it became quickly apparent that a lot of teams are now using multimedia in order to cover material. It is a great platform to get material across, and if you are skilled in this field (video, interviews, etc.) then this is a great position for you! You are expected to post one or two media pieces every two weeks.

These positions carry their fair share of incentives. The positions and the quantity of submissions are negotiable with GBAtemp, but by being a no show you are subject to being dismissed unless you have an explanation. And don’t worry, we completely understand that sometimes, things happen in life! This is why we would like to hire multiple people so that we are able to cover material in a timely manner! However, anything longer than a month without prior notice is subject to dismissal. No excuses there!

As far as incentives go, you can possibly earn the following:

· Access to the GBAtemp Magazine Staff forum, where you can chat with your fellow writers and moderators, and discuss possible news scoops
· Access to play titles that GBAtemp acquires, and review them. Sometimes, these titles come out early for us! Any position is eligible to participate in the review program!
· Have the possibility to attend conventions and conferences, such as E3

GBAtemp wants you to be able to succeed and learn from your experiences here. We also want you to be independent and go out there to make us proud. If you think that you fit the criterion for these positions, you are highly encouraged to apply! To apply, please do the following:

Please send an email to BOTH [email protected] and [email protected] with the following information:

· Your first and last name
· Your forum user name
· Location
· The position(s) you desire
· Your Skype username (if possible!)
· Two samples of your writing, covering gaming industry material
· A brief description of your writing experience
· Your strengths and your weaknesses – this is highly important for a step because being able to identify where your weaknesses are allows you to be able to self-critique yourself and improve! It also allows us on the team to focus on developing and honing that trait so that it no longer becomes a weakness and instead becomes a strength!
· Consoles that you own, if any
· Miscellaneous facts about yourself – this is where you advertise yourself and tell us why you really want this position! Tell us something about yourself that you think is unique!

Your application is graded more heavily (in fact, mostly) on the writing samples you provide, the self-evaluation, and special facts about yourself. In some cases, your location information that you provide us will be considered in terms of coverage positions and on where we need coverage the most. If you are an applicant of intrigue for the team, you will be invited to a texted chat interview on Skype. All of the details you mentioned are going to be kept strictly confidential, and if you succeed in the Skype interview, consider yourself a part of the team! Due to the popularity and quantity of submissions, response time may be delayed, but rest assured we will work as fast as we can to get a response back to you in time!

Best of luck, applicants, and hope to see you on the other side of the closed door! If you have any questions about this application, please feel free to send a private message here on the forums to @T-hug or @Ryukouki.

 

[Ryukouki]

Like, what's the point of finishing a game as quickly as possible? To get a review out there in a rush?

Doing so won't allow the reviewer to enjoy the game's pros and cons but only as an overall perspective. :-/

It's mainly due to reaching deadlines and getting the word out there first. While sometimes it's a race for SEO other times it's to meet deadlines and continue onto the next title. GBAtemp gets access to a decent cache of games, and we need people who can cover the game quickly. Nathan nailed most of the points on the head.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Like, what's the point of finishing a game as quickly as possible? To get a review out there in a rush?

Doing so won't allow the reviewer to enjoy the game's pros and cons but only as an overall perspective. :-/

It doesn't necessarily mean to rush through the game and skip everything important, just that we have to dedicate enough time to the game to finish it in a timely manner

 

[Foxi4]

Like, what's the point of finishing a game as quickly as possible? To get a review out there in a rush?

Doing so won't allow the reviewer to enjoy the game's pros and cons but only as an overall perspective. :-/

It's like the difference between baking an apple pie because you like baking versus working at a bakery and baking them everyday for customers - one activity is strictly for pleasure, the other is creating a specific product.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Reviewing something isn't about taking a leisurely stroll through the experience. You're just there to judge the gameplay, story, and other elements important to whatever game you may be playing. If you have fun, that's cool. If you feel like you got a full experience on your review run, stellar. In the end though, if you want traffic, you want to get reviews out as soon as possible to direct traffic to your site, your review section. The rest of the internet doesn't care if you're a completionist with a full schedule that only has a couple hours a day to game and wants to 100% the game for a full impression.

That's true.

I'm still waiting for Joe Vargas to upload his Arkham Knight review as I prefer full-on detailed reviews (and rants) and hearing him it's always cool. Oh yeah, there'll definitely be a huge complain about how AK doesn't work properly on PC.

 

[Black-Ice]

I already do weekly eSports writing, I may give this some thought.
Its down to how committed I think I can be I guess. Especially if its unpaid

 

[Foxi4]

I already do weekly eSports writing, I may give this some thought.
Its down to how committed I think I can be I guess. Especially if its unpaid

inb4 Pokemon and Final Fantasy reviews. 11/10. ;O;

I kid, I kid.

 

[LittleFlame]

Eh another guy in my family already does it *ShinyLatios* and i'm already doing other game related stuff hope we'll get some cool new people though!

 

[Steena]

I'd also like to add that you need to be a pretty hardcore gamer, and sometimes finish games as quickly as possible.

Could you (or any other reviewer) go a little more in-depth about this point? How much difference is there, in general, between a game you review and one you don't? Just curious

 

[Nathan Drake]

Could you (or any other reviewer) go a little more in-depth about this point? How much difference is there, in general, between a game you review and one you don't? Just curious

I have reviewed exactly one thing in my entire life to a full extent, but let me give you my personal inexperienced answer lol

How I see reviewing versus playing for enjoyment:
When playing for enjoyment, you can take the game at a leisurely pace. If you want to play only a few hours a day, you can. If you don't like the game, you can put it down and not finish it. You can do all the side quests you want or none at all. You can interact with all the NPCs or none of them. You can fully understand the gameplay, or just grasp the basics. The experience is entirely your own and can last as long as you want it to.

When playing for a review, you're goal oriented. You need to understand what you're doing and why you're doing it to properly assess the game. You need to push your biases aside the best you possibly can even if its a genre you don't like all that much, and whether or not you like the game, if you decide to review it, you're in it for the long haul. You are going to beat the game if it can be beaten. You don't have to do all of the side material that may be available, but you ultimately have to explore all of the content in the game to a satisfactory level, whether that means trying various modes, doing a few side quests in each area as you go, fighting extra bosses, exploring post game content, online features, etc., as long as its part of the basic game package (ie: DLC doesn't matter). Ultimately, whether or not you enjoy the experience is entirely unimportant as long as you can tell others how well put together the overall experience is and meet whatever deadline there is (ideally by the time the game comes out, or as close to release date as possible).

Like Foxi said, it's business versus pleasure. You're not playing the game for yourself, but for other people. You have to adjust how you play the game to accommodate that while creating something that will answer the basic questions anybody would have.

 

[Chary]

@Ryukouki For the writing samples, would previously written reviews on GBAtemp work, if I were to apply for being a news writer?

 

[VashTS]

i wish i had time to devote to writing, i do enjoy writing but always want to do other stuff instead!

good luck finding the best of the best!

 

[Foxi4]

I have reviewed exactly one thing in my entire life to a full extent, but let me give you my personal inexperienced answer lol

How I see reviewing versus playing for enjoyment:
When playing for enjoyment, you can take the game at a leisurely pace. If you want to play only a few hours a day, you can. If you don't like the game, you can put it down and not finish it. You can do all the side quests you want or none at all. You can interact with all the NPCs or none of them. You can fully understand the gameplay, or just grasp the basics. The experience is entirely your own and can last as long as you want it to.

When playing for a review, you're goal oriented. You need to understand what you're doing and why you're doing it to properly assess the game. You need to push your biases aside the best you possibly can even if its a genre you don't like all that much, and whether or not you like the game, if you decide to review it, you're in it for the long haul. You are going to beat the game if it can be beaten. You don't have to do all of the side material that may be available, but you ultimately have to explore all of the content in the game to a satisfactory level, whether that means trying various modes, doing a few side quests in each area as you go, fighting extra bosses, exploring post game content, online features, etc., as long as its part of the basic game package (ie: DLC doesn't matter). Ultimately, whether or not you enjoy the experience is entirely unimportant as long as you can tell others how well put together the overall experience is and meet whatever deadline there is (ideally by the time the game comes out, or as close to release date as possible).

Like Foxi said, it's business versus pleasure. You're not playing the game for yourself, but for other people. You have to adjust how you play the game to accommodate that while creating something that will answer the basic questions anybody would have.

This is very true - if you want to write good reviews, you have to learn two things: how to abstract your own preferences to put yourself in the mind of an average gamer and how to poke holes in the whole. Reviews are critical by nature, so you need to keep your eyes and ears open for flaws.

 

[GreatCrippler]

Very intriguing. I have submitted an application.

 

[ShinyLatios]

Could you (or any other reviewer) go a little more in-depth about this point? How much difference is there, in general, between a game you review and one you don't? Just curious

I've been generally somewhat busy atm with internship and I don't have much free time during the day. A game I don't review, I'll take slow, probably 2-3 hours a day and tend to switch it up a bit with other games.

For my recent Hyperdimension Neptunia review on the other hand, I reached 30 hours playtime in 5 days. Considering I'm unable to play any game for the duration of the day (6 AM to 7-8 PM), I roughed myself up quite a bit lately.
Definitely worth it, though. It's also a bit tough sometimes. You have to throw all bias out of the window, and if you enjoy a game a lot and would normally not stop talking about the good points, you'll still have to watch the game closely to point out any shortcomings, flaws or w/e you can find.

 

[DAZA]

i would love to write articles but not on what your looking for, i would rather do random reports on older, nostalgic items and times. At least then it could be done in my own time, allow me to edit and research as needed and would fit in with my schedule....

 

[Ryukouki]

Very intriguing. I have submitted an application.

Hey! I did not receive anything from you. Did you send it to both emails or just one of them?

@Chary: Attach whatever you feel will demonstrate your writing talents. We can talk about the finer points later if we select you.

 

[GreatCrippler]

From my gmail to "[email protected]"

Edit: and "[email protected]: for reference.

 

[RevPokemon]

Submitted my application just now.
Feel free to reply via email or pm

 

[Ryukouki]

From my gmail to "[email protected]"

Email server was just being a bit slow. There we go.

 

[Vengenceonu]

Can I do the "Apple method" and copy something that was already good but make it better?