I decided it was a good time to sort through some questions I’ve received from folks who are interested in the site. No point in wasting time, I’ll jump right in. However, I’d like to warn you beforehand that I may have answered some of these questions in the past within my content, if so I apologize.
Why do you have ads on your site? It seems shady.
Since I pay for hosting and designed the entire site from top to bottom myself — minus the theme — and I also produce all the content for it, I need something of a break. The ads exist merely to help pay for hosting. I am not swimming in cash or making much from publishing content on this site.
Any ads you see in the sidebar or elsewhere are not because I’ve been paid off by a particular developer or publisher. As sad as it is, that’s very important to talk about these days. I may host more ads on the site in the future, maybe even some from prominent gaming companies but I will never take money to produce a review or opinion piece in someone’s favor.
Have you been paid to publish a positive review?
You may notice that a lot of my reviews are positive. This is because unlike many other reviewers in the field, I love video games and so I do my best to find something good or redeemable about each title. That said, if something is complete and utter shit I will say so. I’m not fishing for good things to say just so I can publish a great review about a game.
If I take the time to play through a game and I don’t enjoy my experience you can bet your ass that will be included in the review.
To add to that, I have never been paid in any shape or form — whether that be cash, or affiliate products — to write and publish the content I do.
Why are your posts so fucking sporadic?
A freelance writing career is certainly not glamorous, and a lot of times I’m not paid nearly enough for the time I invest. I still love writing and that’s why I’ve stuck with it for so long. In order to make a reasonable income for myself and my family, I have to work several different jobs all of which are combined to equal a single day job. Not only does that mean I’m working several jobs at a time, on a daily basis. It also means I’m constantly writing. Since I spend so much time writing, I find myself burnt out at the end of the day and it’s difficult to sit down and produce content in my free time for Vulgamer.
While that’s not necessarily the best excuse, it is the truth. My posting schedule is very sporadic, because I will publish content whenever I find my muse.
What are your qualifications?
I don’t have a journalism degree if that’s what you’re asking but I do have a lot of experience in the field. Please don’t take that to mean I’m perfect, far from it. While everyone should be forced to uphold standards integral to the field, we all make mistakes. A poor decision or two is necessary, before you learn from your mistakes and become a better, stronger person.
I have yet to make any egregious errors in this regard, but I can only hope that if that day comes my audience will forgive me. Otherwise, you can just fuck off because this is my site, after all.
I love video games and I play them as often as I can. I’ve been doing this for years now, ever since I was just a little munchkin. I started playing DOS based games wayyy back when, and my first console was the Nintendo NES. From there, I’ve graduated over the years and have never stopped playing. I’d say that experience alone makes me pretty damn qualified to write and talk about the hobby I love.
What do you think of the industry and other reviewers?
I refuse to get too in-depth here, because I could drone on for days. Like many of you, I believe that lots of game reviewers out there in the games press have overstepped their boundaries lately. However, I understand that the world is a shitty place and there are dozens — if not hundreds — of reasons why it would happen.
The only thing I will say is this: reviews are subjective. They will always be that way, just like games will be that way. Something that I play and enjoy, may not be quite as much fun for you and vice versa. We all have different tastes, gameplay mechanics we love and more. The reason you pick up a controller, portable console, mouse and keyboard or tablet and play games is not the same reason I do.
I do my best to play and judge games based on what they actually are, instead of based on predispositions about what they “could” have been. Hype is a crock of shit. Half the time it isn’t even being spouted by the developers who invested their blood, sweat and tears into the game. A lot of times that’s handled by a separate group of marketers in suits and ties, that have absolutely no fucking clue about the world of gaming. Instead, they just want to maximize their audience and profits. It sucks, but that’s the world we live in.
In summation, I play a game for what it is and not what I want it to be. Sometimes I make mistakes, and I’m sure I’ll falter here and there but I can only promise to do my best. When it comes to the rest of the industry and other reviewers, I feel like they should promise the same. Most of them will not, however.
Too many in the industry feel that their opinion, is god. That’s why platforms like Metacritic exist. They may not work correctly, but the idea is to get an aggregated score of a game instead of a direct one.
Why don’t you remain focused on one topic?
I don’t fucking know, to be honest. I probably have ADD or something, but I like to jump around and cover new things. I will always have the traditional reviews, news pieces and editorial/opinion articles, but I like to mix things up too.
What are your goals for this site?
To build a great audience and an even better community. I mean, my main goal is just to write about video games that I love. That’s about it.
Are you trying to get rich quick?
Fuck click bait and get rich quick schemes. I may publish content every once in a while that I think is going to bring in more traffic. That’s because I want an audience. Why fucking spend time writing if no one is going to read your shit? That said, I’m not looking to get rich at all or even make much money from this.
If it happens, great! If not, that was never my intention to begin with.
Why do you write instead of creating Let’s Play content or videos?
I may produce more video content in the future, who knows? There’s just something about writing that I love. I’ve never been that great at communicating, so instead I write to get my point across. Fewer people seem to be reading blogs, or websites like this these days but I’m not concerned with that. I enjoy video games, and I love writing. Naturally, I merged my two favorite things to create this site.
Why are you the only writer?
Because I’ve learned that I’m the only reliable writer I know, for the most part. Everyone that I’ve introduced to the site in the past was less than serious about producing content. They give it a go for a couple days and then eventually abandon the cause. Because I don’t make money for the site, I don’t have any money to devote to writers. Hence, why I haven’t bothered to hire any.
If someone comes along that wants to write for Vulgamer that can appreciate my style and stick to it, then I’ll get them all setup. Otherwise, it’s just me fighting the good fight until then.
Wait, why would you pay for writers?
Because believe it or not, writing is hard work. Whether you love it or not it takes a great deal of time to invest in writing something, and I personally feel that everyone should be compensated for their work. Since this site does not generate a revenue there’s absolutely no way I could compensate anyone for their hard work. That’s exactly why — once again — I have not hired any additional writers.
Why have you been posting status updates lately?
That’s just a feature added by the new theme I installed and I happened to like it. Plus, it works out great since my posting schedule is so sporadic. I can throw up a status update or two, informing everyone what I’m doing, what I’m playing or how I feel about a particular topic. I’m not pretentious enough to think that the entire world wants to hear all of my gaming status updates. I just want to keep the content on this site as regular as I can, and the new updates allow me to do that when I can’t create something substantial.
What are your gamertags, accounts and profiles? I want to play with you.
I’ve mentioned them multiple times here on the site. If you’d like to know all my profiles, check out this post. I’d be glad to add you and play with you from time to time. Keep in mind, I’m mostly a singleplayer kind of guy so don’t be upset if I keep to myself a lot more than you expected.
Why do you curse like a fucking sailor?
I dunno, it’s just one way I like to express myself. Even if I may seem over the top at times, I’m usually writing naturally. I’m not just swearing for the sake of throwing in a cuss word, if you know what I mean. The site is called “Vulgamer,” after all. I understand that not everyone will agree with that, and many will take offense to some of the things I say. That’s fine, you don’t have to visit the site or spend time reading my shit. I don’t say that with a volatile attitude, I’m just saying I’m not going to change who I am to conform to you or anyone else. You can bet your ass I’m going to exercise my right to free speech.
Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to steer clear of hot issues like all that feminist bullshit.
I have a suggestion for an article, review or news piece? What should I do?
There’s a fucking contact page for a reason. Find it and then send me the deets.
Why aren’t there many comments on the site yet?
Believe it or not, I actually get decent traffic from all over. I can monitor this on the backend of the site. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like most of those visitors are willing to start a discussion, leave a comment or even just reach out. Maybe that will change eventually, but we’ll see.
What is your favorite color?
Now you’re just getting fucking personal, and a bit weird. My favorite color is red.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re all alone in bed?
Fuck off.
No, that’s not a play on words. Seriously, fuck off with that shit.
