Be Consistent

Whatever your posting schedule – hourly, daily, weekly – be consistent. Don’t leave your site barren for long periods of time and never, ever post to apologise for not posting more.

Be Realistic

Know what you’re capable of: don’t think you can create a Eurogamer-beater with two guys and a Blogspot account. Start small but know what you want out of it – there’s no shame in doing it just for fun.

Be Ambitious

Two guys and a Blogspot account can be all you need to get noticed. Aim high, hit high.

Be an Authority

Whatever your site is about, aim to be the best resource you can be. Nintendo Life reviews everything you can download for Nintendo consoles – WiiWare, DSiWare, Virtual Console and eShop games. We’ve launched other successful sites that review 100% of PlayStation Move or Kinect games. Know your chosen genre or console inside-out.

Be a Hard Worker

Growing your site takes a lot of time and patience, and there’ll be unthinkable setbacks. Get through them by working hard and maintaining your commitment.

Be Polite

PRs love it when you say please and thank you. Remember that.

Be Outgoing

Talk to other writers and editors online. Meet them at events – E3, Eurogamer Expo, GAMEfest. Learn as much as you can from them. At the very least you might make a few friends.

Be Respectful of Your Readers

A site is nothing without the readers who will come to trust you and your views. Listen to them, talk to them, serve them as best you can.

Be Excellent

Whatever your site’s about, make it entertaining or informative – hey, even both.

How Japanese Folklore Inspired Mario’s Tanooki Suit – This year saw Mario’s betailed suit hit the headlines again, so it’s good to learn more about where it came from, courtesy of Chris Ingram.

The Development Process of Go! Go! Kokopolo – An in-depth take on one of DSiWare’s best games; full of character and quality, Zach’s article was a great look at how it all came together.

Nintendo Life Book Club: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – Nobody slates awful games and books like Philip J. Reed. One of the most entertaining reads we’ve ever published.

A Peek Behind the BIT.TRIP Curtain – BIT.TRIP is the best series on WiiWare, and Jon’s feature on its development was superb.

The History of BIT.TRIP Part 1, The History of BIT.TRIP Part 2 and Wii Controllers – What Could Have Been – There are some fascinating Wii Remote patents out there, so Tom Whitehead took a look at what the now-iconic controller could have become. Really interesting read.

10 Life Lessons Learned from Mega Man – Phil loves his Mega Man series and this list of important life lessons was even picked up by Capcom. Includes gems like “However Much You May Fight, Your Family Loves You”.

Re-Examining Zelda: Twilight Princess – Jacob Crites took a long, hard look at one of Link’s most divisive adventures and came up with one of my favourite lines of the year: “The dorky clowns in Lake Hylia didn’t have to transform into muscle-bound hunks for Midna to see their true personalities. Why did she have to transform into a big blue hottie for us to see hers?”

My Best Stuff

I’ve written quite a lot of news, features and reviews in 2011 – probably close to 1,500 I think – but here are some of my favourites.

The Sonic Games That Never Were – Beta and cancelled Sonic games that never saw the light of day.

Celebrating 10 Years of Animal Crossing – A look back at a decade of Bells and talking animals. I love this series and it’s good to say so.

Preview: Super Mario 3DS and a later Preview: Super Mario 3D Land – The latter preview is probably the hardest I’ve had to write, and now I look back at it it isn’t as good as I remember. Still, it’s a good sign of just how far we’ve come as a site.

A huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone who takes the time to contribute to Nintendo Life. I genuinely appreciate all your hard work and believe we have one of the best teams out there.

Here’s to an even more exciting and successful 2012.

My good friend and colleague Corbie Dillard wrote up a mammoth Nintendo 3DS FAQ that covers everything – colours, games, hardware, the lot. It’s probably the most comprehensive piece I’ve seen on the console and will only get more useful as we get more hands-on time with the machine.

Go read it. It’s good.

3DS FAQ

As you know I write for three gaming websites, and recently the official Microsoft France blog asked me to write something to be posted on their blog. Yesterday it went up, and here it is!

http://xbox.frogz.fr/post/2010/11/29/Le-lancement-britannique-de-Kinect-vu-par-KINECTakucom.aspx

If your French is as good as mine, there’s an English version at the bottom, or reprinted below. The website itself also has a photo from my wife so double bonus!

Gamers up and down the UK braved the cold to get their hands on Kinect first, but customers in London were treated to a touch of glamour at Kinect’s official launch party.

Above a glowing ice rink at the Natural History Museum, popstar Leona Lewis took to the stage to perform several of her biggest hits whilst staff from Kinect developers Frontier, Rare and Lionhead were on hand to discuss the new technology.

Following the party, the countdown to Kinect was on at Game’s flagship Oxford Street store, where boyband The Wanted were on hand to try out the games and serve the first customers at the tills, even taking part in a Video Kinect call with gamers attending the midnight launch at Game’s Leeds store.

They weren’t the only special guests, however: Kinect’s creative director Kudo Tsunoda was on hand to check out proceedings, snapping photos and chatting to customers about the sensor, its games and the future of Kinect.

Of the launch titles, by far the most asked-for was Rare’s Kinect Sports, without a doubt one of the most impressive applications of the technology out there, and MTV’s Dance Central flew off the shelves too. Both titles seem to have captured the imagination of gamers and non-gamers alike, although many customers spoke of their excitement at playing pack-in game Kinect Adventures.

The readers and staff at KINECTaku joined in with the excitement on their forums and via Twitter gamers counting down to the launch of the sensor and sharing their hopes for the future.

Whilst the UK launch didn’t quite match the sensor’s global debut at Times Square for spectacle and impact, it still carried the same kind of atmosphere normally reserved for new console launches. The excitement surrounding the product was unbelievable, with all ages and levels of gaming experience eager to become the controller.

Kinect got off to a flying start in the UK, and once word of mouth begins to kick in Kinect looks like being a huge success for Microsoft.

James Newton, KINECTaku

Let accusations of bias commence now!

I read a lot of press releases. Actually, that’s not true: I delete a lot of press releases without reading them, usually because they’re not relevant to my (very niche) websites. But this press release… this is what I’m talking about.

Taking sideswipes at everything from game chains to rival franchises, it’s funny enough to be worth a read regardless of whether or not you care about Superstars V8 Racing, the game in question.

Reverb Games News: I like your style. More of this please.

GameGasm Issues Apology Regarding Superstars V8 Racing Availability

Midwestern Retailer Mistakenly Throws Launch Event for Digital PlayStation®Network Release

Ivanhoe, MN—November 2, 2010—Midwestern video game retail giant GameGasm confirmed today that Superstars V8 Racing was never actually stocked in their stores after throngs of customers showed up for their midnight launch last Tuesday morning at 12:01 a.m.

“We had people waiting in line outside in the cold from the minute we closed at 8 p.m., right up until the clock struck midnight and we reopened for the Superstars V8 Racing launch event,” said Hugh Harding, District Manager for the Ivanhoe-area GameGasm chain. “Little did we realize, despite the fact that we had filled our quota for pointless, high-pressure pre-order sales, the fans were in for a huge shock. Apparently this game wasn’t actually shipped to our stores, and instead went live exclusively on PlayStation Network across North America.”

GameGasm Assistant Sales Associate Ryan Bullet added, “Consumers were just as confused as we were. The game is apparently packed with features and is only $19.99. I mean, sure, it’s no Gran Turismo 5, but is that game actually ever going to come out? We’ve had pre-orders for GT5 since before the PlayStation 3 even launched! Superstars V8 Racing is at least good enough to fill the gap until Polyphony Digital’s game hits– however much longer that may be.”

After the midnight launch incident, GameGasm corporate officials issued an official apology to all of the customers that pre-ordered Superstars V8 Racing at its stores, and instead directed them to PlayStation Network. Even still, all customers asking for a refund on their $5.00 pre-order deposit were met with grief, as per corporate policy. Other customers instead opted to move their pre-orders to Call You Names: Banned Ops or Just Pants 4.

Developed by veteran racing studio Milestone s.r.l., makers of premiere European racing franchise titles like the SBK: Superbike World Championship series and WRC: FIA World Rally Championship, Superstars V8 Racing puts you behind the wheel of world-class cars in five single-player modes and supports up to 12-player online racing across 10 official tracks.  The game also offers pick up and play mechanics and adjustable realism settings that drive home the experience for hardcore racing fans and casual enthusiasts alike.

For more information about GameGasm and the availability of Superstars V8 Racing please visit: www.gamegasm.biz

###

About GameGasm Stores, Inc

Aside from being completely fake, Midwestern retail giant GameGasm operates nearly 400 video game store locations across the middle of the country in the CST time zone, which may or may not also be a complete and total myth. The company has consistently won the annual “Consumers Approval of Performance” award for the last nine years, and continually remains profitable each fiscal quarter thanks to its “Sixty-Dollar Game Is Worth Forty Cents” trade-in program.  For more information please visit: www.gamegasm.biz.

I was busy preparing content before the site went live, so I’ve got around 7,500 words on there already. In total for October I’ve so far written 62,829 words, or thereabouts.

Last month I wrote the equivalent of The Great Gatsby; this month I’ve even surpassed that. Next year, when I’m writing for four websites, I’ll probably be churning out Great Expectations every month or so.

On the whole I’m rather pleased with how my writing’s going. Movemodo perhaps hasn’t had the huge impact I was expecting but it’s very early days yet, and looking to the future it’s a very real possibility I could be writing for three big sites, or even just one massive one.

Sometime next month I’ll hit a milestone: 500,000 words written across Twitter, my blog and all three gaming sites since I opened this place about five years ago. At this rate I’ll likely hit 1,000,000 in about a year’s time, which is simultaneously cheering and frightening. I’m writing at a pretty fast pace these days, and I’m obviously proud that I’m actually writing, just like I always wanted to.

I hope you enjoy reading KINECTaku (or you can call it Kinectaku, I’m easy!) and the rest of my work too.

At the start of this month, we launched Movemodo, a website run by the same team to the same editorial standards for PlayStation Move. It’s had a slow start but is picking up considerably now, and you’ll see I’ve been a huge contributor to the site’s bank of news and reviews, something I’m proud of.

Now, Move obviously shares some similarities to Wii, so there’s a very fine line to tread between celebrating Move’s accuracy – it is far more than a Wii – and acknowledging the entire system’s debt to Nintendo’s motion-controlled risk. Move’s been in development for years, but it’s certainly possible that Sony held off on it until Nintendo proved it was a potentially huge success. Now Wii software sales are down and the console itself seems to be suffering, could Sony steal some of its audience?

The key to writing for fansites is being able to speak to fans of as one of them: you build up credibility not by being a fantastic writer (a bonus in my case) but by understanding the company, its ethos and its fanbase. I’ve got about three years under my belt as a Nintendo writer, and another two years writing about whatever I want; my Sony credibility is close to zero.

It’s really all about being careful what you write: you don’t want to say “Move is a Wii Killer” on one site and then say “Wii’s Line-Up Points to Years of Great Gaming”. Sensationalism is something my esteemed colleague Jon Wahlgren continually rails against, and it serves me well – some may object to me being “more neutral than Switzerland”, but it’s important to be reliable and sensible when reporting, lest you create even more fanboys. I think the Internet’s approaching maximum occupancy there anyway, actually.

Next month the neutrality tightrope gets a little thinner, as we prepare to launch Kinectaku, a site based on – you guessed it – Microsoft Kinect. Then all hopes of neutrality go out the window next year when I finally begin work on my life’s dream: Sega Fusion.

It’s a great time to be a multi-format writer, however closely you have to watch your words. I’d recommend it to anybody.

Normally in a game everything’s mapped out for you along the way, and you learn about the character that someone else created. Not so in Fable II, which has given me the only example I can remember of learning about a character that I created.

In dozens of interactions in the Fable II world you have a choice of how to react, generally in cardinal terms of good or evil: you can kill bandits to protect the village or join up with them to pillage in numbers. You can marry, settle down and have kids, or get drunk, sleep with prostitutes and catch an STD.

It’s telling that Microsoft is including a coin in the Fable III collector’s edition to help you make decisions on whether to be good or evil. It’s not always that clear cut, though.

My character, James, is generally well-behaved in public: he takes jobs, rarely belches and tries his best not to ram into people, though sometimes in a hurry it’s unavoidable. In private, however, it’s a different matter: those who accept his proposal often find themselves taken to a secluded corner and killed. He is a textbook Coronation Street killer, even down to the leather gloves. It’s not that accurate a portrayal of me, truth be told.

What I learnt about James, however, is that he’s not a character driven maniacal by greed or a bubbling bloodlust. He doesn’t just make it up as he goes along either: he knows why he does the things he does, and now so do I.

Taken into the Spire and forced to work as a slave, James was offered the opportunity to cut short his suffering by obeying the evil Commandant. Wearing a collar of obedience that drained his experience every time he failed to follow orders, the straightforward “evil” option would be to accept every order and proceed further down the path of darkness. Countless men and women have already died by James’s blade: why not a few more?

And yet he didn’t take the evil option: he gave food to the starving, refused to kill an innocent man and attacked the Commandant, despite the physical pain and loss of experience he’d spent the best part of his life gathering.

The strangeness of this isn’t lost on me: why would James kill his fiancee in Albion yet refuse to hurt a slave in the Spire? The reason, I learnt, is that James is about defiance: refusing to do what’s expected, rather than following a certain path of good or evil.

This oppositional nature isn’t easily crafted in a game – my alpha male Commander Shephard in Mass Effect 2 is often charming his way into the pants of any living creature in the universe whilst simultaneously being Mr Gung-Ho with his squad – so the subtler aspects of Fable II’s system are all the more impressive.

Fable is notorious amongst gamers for failing to deliver on many of its lofty promises – yes, trees that grow, I mean you – but by giving me a real insight into my own character it created something more important to Peter Molyneux than all the money and promises in the world: it gave me a memorable character I created all by myself. For that, it’s only right I say “thank you”.

Sadly, I haven’t had the time to give the Carnival proper attention in the past year or so: I’ve been writing more and more for Nintendo Life as it continues to grow and devour the world of independent Nintendo reporting, but I don’t want the Carnival to die, so it’s moving hands.

Eclipse from the excellent Gaming My Way has stepped in to give the Carnival a good home, and I wanted to say a public thank you to him for taking it on permanently. I’m sure it’ll be a huge success under his guidance and I wish him all the best.

Thanks to all my regular contributors to the Carnival over the years – Jordan Bieber, Alvaro Fernandez, David Herbert, jigsaw hc, old-wizard, Eric Gargiulo, Apocalypso, Eclipse (of course!) and everyone else who sent in articles, hosted the Carnival and helped out in any way. You have my gratitude.

I’m listening to No Use Crying by Embrace, from This New Day [UK]

Eric Gargiulo presents Guitar Hero Needs A Tune Up posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “One of my favourite video games of the last five years has turned into one of my least favourites. Apparently I am not alone in thinking that the Guitar Hero video game series has jumped the shark.”

Meg presents Silkroad Society posted at Simpson’s Paradox

Eric Gargiulo presents Tonight’s Forecast: Heavy Rain – Video Game Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “To begin, I am only going to say this once. the Heavy Rain video game contains scenes of Explicit Language, Violence, Nudity, as well as Very Strong Dramatic Scenes that are inappropriate to anyone under the recommended age of 17+. I, John Yomtov Jr., Eric Gargiulo, Sony, Quantic Dream, as well as everyone else here at The Camel Clutch Blog are NOT to be held accountable if anybody’s children get a hand on this game and are playing it.”

redmongoose presents Mistwalker releases concept art for new Wii RPG posted at Red Mongoose.

Apocalypso presents 7 Top Irish Characters from Video Games [St. Patrick’s Day] posted at Apocalypso’s Atomic Arcade.

Matt Willard presents Today’s Really Kickass Moment – Excalibur Sonic posted at Giant Robot Invasion!, saying, “I may bitch on the Internet about a Sonic game I’ve never played, but is there something in Sonic and the Black Knight that can change my opinion? Find out in Today’s Really Kickass Moment!”

Emily Pritchard presents 9 Ways To Save Money on Video Games posted at SciFabulous!, saying, “Ever gone broke pursuing our admirable hobby? This is my latest blog post on how to save money and keep from going into the negatives while still feeding the habit.”

Danny presents Joanas Horde Levelling Guide – The Benefits Of This Levelling Guide posted at horde levelling guide.

Eric Gargiulo presents New Wide Receiver Technology In Madden 11 posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “It may be a several months away, but EA Sports is beginning to reveal tidbits about improvements and enhancements to the Madden 11 video game. Every year EA tends to spend more time with a specific aspect of Madden than another. This year, Madden 11 will see big improvements in wide receiver play with the implementation of the Catch Debugging Tool.”

networkandy presents Cheap Gaming computer- Cyber power PC | Good Cheap Gaming Computers posted at Good Cheap Gaming Computers, saying, “I hope you enjoy this article good day”

Eric Gargiulo presents Dana White Lifts the UFC Ban on EA MMA Fighters posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “It has been over six months since UFC president Dana White announced his war with EA Sports over their EA MMA video game. As part of his battle call, Dana White announced that he would ban any fighter who appeared in the EA MMA video game from fighting in the UFC. Cooler heads and reality have prevailed and Dana White has lifted the EA MMA fighters ban.”

DIYGamer presents Puzzle Bloom [Review] | DIYgamer posted at DIY Gamer.

Simpsonsparadox presents Passionfruit Hutong posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

Simpsonsparadox presents My Tribe For Facebook posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

Troy Pearce presents Pacman: The Movie Trailer posted at TWISTIE-TIE.

Natasha Rucker presents I Swear I’m a Girl! posted at The Girlie Geek Blog.

Eric Gargiulo presents This! Is! Kratos! God Of War 3 Video Game Review posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The God Of War video game is hands down one of the most recognizable Playstation franchises with its fast paced game play. It is also known for being one of the most graphic games on the market with its over the top violence and scenes of very suggestive themes and interactions. Above that, God Of War is one of the most addicting games on the market with a fan base that is enormous in stature. Based on famous mythological characters from the Greek variety, Kratos is a character developed by the Santa Monica Studios of Sony Computer.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Drew Brees Gets the Madden Cover & the Curse posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The Madden 2011 cover will feature Drew Brees. The New Orleans Saints quarterback was voted by fans to be the new Madden 11 cover. Beware of the Madden Curse New Orleans Saints fans. Did most of those votes come from Minneapolis?”

swollenpickles presents The quick and dirty guide to gearing up a Hunter posted at Arcane Shots.

Eric Gargiulo presents First Official Madden 11 Video Game Trailer posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “Watch the first Madden 11 Game Trailer from EA Sports. The attention to detail may the best yet in the Madden franchise. The Madden 11 trailer features Madden cover player Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. Some highlights in the video include locomotion and deeper online innovation.”

Bobfredpo presents Best Online Flash Gaming Sites posted at Top Game Of The Day, saying, “A review of the best flash video game websites”

Eric Gargiulo presents UFC 2010 Undisputed Full Roster & Demo Release Date posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The long awaited list of the UFC Undisputed 2010 full roster has been released. The video game will feature new UFC Undisputed 2010 fighters, game store exclusives, and exclusive PS3 legends. You won’t have to wait long to start playing UFC Undisputed 2010. The UFC Undisputed 2010 demo will be released this Thursday.”

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 11 Dual Stick Control Preview ? Video posted at CamelClutchBlog.com, saying, “The Madden 11 countdown officially began when Drew Brees announced that he would grace the Madden 11 cover. From now until August or as we like to call it, “Maddenoliday” EA will tease us with Madden 11 videos, previews, tips, and news. The newest Madden 11 video features Dual Stick Controls, something new to this year’s Madden video game.”

Michael Kotson presents What Brand of PC to Buy? posted at Test My Geek Stuff, saying, “Thought this might be interesting to your readers”

aiwendel presents Long List of MMORPGs posted at TubeBlogger, saying, “Check out this complete list of MMORpG’s with gaming videos. Some are even free to play and still made it on this list of best mmos.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of video game bloggers using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of video game bloggers, blog carnival.