It's Declan here. As we near the end of another year, but also the beginning of 2010, its time for a look at how we, at GameSponge, have changed personally and professionally in the year that was 2009.
Changing ideals
The GameSponge Podcast has always had a very rocky life. I clearly remember writing an update about the NSW School Spectacular a year ago two days previously, and reading it again today I realised, with a shock, that I had been extremely extremely harsh.
"You can tell that, although some of the performers have, admittedly, a tiny, small, diminutive amount of some form of talent, the songs they play are chosen by the teachers, and the teachers are trying to live some sort of double life by pretending to be the student’s they’re forcing to play the only songs they can remember from the late 70s." - Original Nov. 2008 post
I ended the article with a plea for ABC Television to stop telecasting the show.
While at the time it may have seemed like a playful clip over the ears for the NSW Department of Education, albeit a very hard clip over the ears, a year later I have to say that I wouldn't write the same thing. Instead, I would write that although the choice of music could be better, the acts were entertaining and the effort involved in presenting the show is commendable and the kids involved certainly do have talent.
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, including those who live overseas and feel alienated by these Australian references, keep reading.
This time last year, and for the most part of this year, I wrote a number of articles on Nintendo's Wii. While raising a number of important points, these articles were written from a blatantly ignorant and 'casual gamer' viewpoint, and I am proud to say that these articles would never have a home on GameSponge a year later. My outspokenness came from the fact that I had spent two years out of the loop - in fact I hadn't even been in the loop until that point. When I owned the original Xbox console from 2003 onwards, I was largely ignorant of the industry and was what you could call a 'softcore' - between casual and hardcore - player. I bought the core games but had no clue about anything other than the fun I had while playing them. When I started to gain an interest I had no idea about where I stood in relation to the industry itself, and wrote a bunch of Nintendo-oriented articles that attempted to give me a firm footing. They didn't.
I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote those articles, but I certainly didn't see myself in a year's time criticising them and regretting I even wrote them. But as I said earlier, I believe my opinion and viewpoint has changed for the better, to the extent that I wouldn't consider publishing an article solely praising Nintendo in the current circumstances.
All that I just wrote then was largely a way of explaining what's changed here. We no longer try and appeal to an audience using witty language and exaggerated criticisms, partly because that conveys an immature and undeveloped image, and partly because we have changed ourselves. Instead, we aim to gain an audience by providing factual, information based content and hopefully some more intelligent essays, rather than the "pirate games" and "casual is good" rubbish that I, personally, have been responsible for in the past.
If you're interested, this is an article I wrote a year ago today, and demonstrates exactly what I'm talking about: http://gamesponge.podbean.com/2008/12/23/wii-its-almost-christmas/
Changing expectations
No-one can be entirely accurate when talking about the future. We, at GameSponge, are no different - we're no more prophetic than similar sites. Let's take a look at some of the things we expected to happen in 2009.
Eddy wrote an article entitled "2009: Looking Ahead" written in January this year. In it, he listed a number of games to look forward to in the coming year, and there were a number of games that failed to materialise. Heavy Rain, Diablo III, Starcraft II, and God of War III were all game that we predicted for this year, but have not been released. Heavy Rain and God of War III are due in March 2010, whereas Diablo III and Starcraft II are subject to Blizzard's we'll-release-them-whenever-we-damn-well-want mantra. Starcraft II even made his Top 5 of 2009 list. My list comprised of one game - The Sims 3 - which was released this year, and ironically I wasn't all that impressed by it.
Our 2008 Game Of The Year last year was Metal Gear Solid 4. Our 2008 GOTY awards were done largely without my involvement, as I had demonstrated my lack of capacity for intelligent thought with the rubbish I had been writing up 'til then. This year's GOTY awards - won by Uncharted 2, but closely followed by many others - were equally prepared by both Eddy and myself, and this time around I had the knowledge and the judgement to choose the games that I honestly thought were best.
What will our game of the year be next year? Heavy Rain, God of War III, Gran Turismo 5, Yakuza 3 or 4, Final Fantasy 13 are all contenders, and are all due in March. Then there's Starcraft II and Diablo III, which we may or may not catch a glimpse of next year. On top of those, there are the plethora of games that we do not even know exist yet, many of which are probably of a high enough calibre to be nominated for our 2010 list.
Changing motivations
Ironically, the time during which I most enjoyed creating content for the GameSponge Podcast was the year I spend inadvertently destroying it. Even then I showed contempt for the podcast itself, and dreaded writing the several pages of notes to take to the recording room. However since then, it's been largely in decline. I know I'm probably not meant to say this on the website but we've lost a lot of motivation for updating the website, let alone recording the podcast. A number of times this year the quality and regularity of the podcast has slipped dramatically and we've revived it a few times - first with a series of new segments, which for the most part worked, and second with a dramatic culling of podcast attendees. Michael Laetsch and Tom Jackson have since been given the opportunity to re-join the podcast, so hopefully we'll see them again next year.
Overcoming this lack of motivation requires a new direction for GameSponge. We're working to see what we can do to re-invigorate the podcast and the website, and we know we've shovelled about 4 or 5 versions of GameSponge on you in the last year and a half. But there's something we've got to do to get GameSponge back on it's feet. In this vein we'd also like to apologise for the lack of episodes recently. We realise it is unacceptable, and as this paragraph has hopefully made clear, we intend to do something about it. You've given us so many chances before so another one is all we ask.
Changing efforts
I think it's safe to say that in our first year-and-a-half of operation, GameSponge would have collapsed without Eddy at the helm. I think its also probably true to say that about GameSponge currently. Without the constant, applied effort he has made to create quality content and push the site and podcast in the right direction, GameSponge would be dead in the water.
If he had been dented by my stupid opinions and the abhorrent way in which I contributed to the podcast (I'll leave it at that) then we would never have got past episode 10. So everything you're reading now, is, in effect, only here because Eddy persisted. It's thanks to him that we got this far.
Because of this, I'm going to try and make as valuable a contribution as I can, and although I won't be able to match the dedication with which he has established the podcast and site, I will work as hard as I can to ensure the quality and content are stepped up.
Changing predictions
Now that 2009 is almost complete, where will 2010 take us? In terms of games, March looks to be the most amazing and fully packed month for gaming in years. In terms of GameSponge, if we can change this much in 2009, we surely can change for the better in 2010 and gain a wider audience.
If you're reading this now, stop. What do you expect from GameSponge? Please tell us using the links near the top of the page. We need your input to survive, otherwise we have to keep trialing new versions to see how you respond. We don't want to screw you around, and we know that doing that constantly, does.
Consider this article an apology of sorts, on my half. An apology for not only the rubbish I wrote and the way I behaved in the podcast, but an apology for actually having to change - I should have been this way in the first place.
Consider this article also a reminder that although we try and do our best, there's always better we can do, and next time we miss an episode or leave the site empty for a while, just remember that we DO try as hard as we can, on most occasions, to bring you quality content.
With all that said, 2010 should be a good year, with great games. We'll be hard at work getting the 'latest' news and information as well as intelligent articles and reviews across the Internet to you, and remember to check back often.
With all that said, on behalf of GameSponge and everyone else we know, have a very merry Christmas, a happy New Year, and take care.
GameSponge
