As you can obviously see, I let her win at Mario Kart. Right? It’s obvious, just like this feature filmed for Channel 7 for Mana Bar Brisbane the year before, where I let the cute reporter girl win at Wii Sports.

Am I going to have to keep losing casual Wii games to pretty reporters every time we open up a new Mana Bar?

To simplify, here are the DO’s and DON’T’s of creating your own videogame website.

DON’T …

… expect to get rich. You won’t. You will lose money. Here are some examples of better financial investments:

- Going to the casino and playing roulette. At the blackjack table. While drunk.
- Lending money to a friend who swears his investment is a sure thing ‘this time’.
- Buying the girl behind the bar drinks in the hope she’ll get drunk enough to sleep with you. She won’t. She can drink more than you. Trust me.

If you can accept this as a truth, you’ve got a much higher chance of succeeding. Don’t get me completely wrong, down the track when you have enough traffic you might be in a position to get a media aggregator to include you in their network, or convince someone to sponsor your site for a while.

Just keep in mind that sometimes advertising can hurt more than help you, especially if your community respond negatively to it.

DON’T …

… expect that if you build it, they will come. Surprised as you may be, worldwide celebration will not break out once your shiny new gaming mecca is online, unless you already have a dedicated fan base or following.

You might write the be all and end all article that shatters the ‘Call of Duty vs Battlefield’ debate, just don’t expect anyone to actually read it. Not yet. And more importantly, once that article has been published, it’s already irrelevant. Do you think people will sift through your back catalogue of articles just for kicks?

DON’T …

… go it alone. You’ll need help. Whether that be friends with technical skills, graphic design expertise, editors, journalists … it doesn’t matter, just don’t do this on your own.

Most importantly though, even if your site doesn’t become the next IGN killer, you’ll at least have friends who you can share the journey with, people who are reading what you write and giving you the exact kind of feedback you need.

DON’T …

… make the website if you’re not a website developer. Seriously. Get some help from experienced people, because if you want your site to be taken even semi-seriously, it needs to look the part.

The only exception to this is if you’re just looking to create a bit of a blog for yourself as opposed to an actual gaming community. Go nuts, get wordpress, vent to the world, just don’t expect anyone to actually take what you say seriously.

DON’T …

… expect freebies just because you have a site. Getting review copies and attending preview events is a privilege, not a right. As much as possible, put yourself in the position of the gaming publishers and realise that they need to justify all their actions to international publisher HQ. They need to show that sending a free copy of this game to your site to review was a good investment, in terms of quality, content, and traffic (Traffic. Traffic. Traffic.).

Give them a reason to support you, without compromising your editorial integrity. It can be tough starting out with (especially when you don’t have much to leverage), but building solid relationships is the key to succeeding.

DO …

… have a point of difference. What’s going to set your site apart from ALL the others? Because I gotta be honest with you, if you simply assume that your content will simply be ‘better’ than anything else out there, that’s not going to be enough. Not only that, but taking the Australian element into consideration, you need to realise that you will rarely be the first to preview or review a game.

Not only will the larger sites take preference, but they can also leverage content from their international counterparts. Game Informer can feature a studio tour, interview, and preview on Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us because the US arm is bigger and has better access. Australia is less than 2% of the global market, you can’t compete.

So look for something else. SneakyBastards by PC Powerplay deputy editor Dan Hindes is a site that completely focuses on stealth based gaming elements. Tsumea is entirely about the local Australian/New Zealand game development industry. Even AustralianGamer started out as a localised version of Penny Arcade, then expanded to focus on the personalities behind the content.

DO …

… update constantly and consistently. It’s about longevity and consistency, realise today’s article is tomorrow’s archive. If you can’t regularly post content on the front of your site, you won’t convince people to keep coming back to see what’s new.

DO …

… use social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Flickr, Youtube, Digg, everything and anything. Keep them consistently updated along with your main website content, interlinking them all together. You may only get 10 people following your Google Plus page, but that’s 10 people you wouldn’t have had to engage with otherwise.

Also take note, publishers DO consider social media when looking at the reach of your publication and deciding on whether they will support you or not.

DO …

… promote your site at every opportunity. Not to the point of being annoying, keep it relevant and topical to any conversations you might be having. When AustralianGamer first started out, I would take every opportunity I could to post a link to stories that were appropriate in the relevant threads. I offered to create graphical sigs for popular gaming forum members as long as they referenced AustralianGamer in them. I would get guests on our podcast and make sure they posted their involvement on their website/blog/facebook.

You don’t necessarily need to outline a full on marketing campaign, just always look for new opportunities to grow your sites reputation and readership.

DO …

… live in Sydney. Australian specific again, but frankly if you want to be taken seriously quickly you need to be based in Sydney. It’s where all the gaming publishers (with the exception of Nintendo and THQ) are based, and where the majority of videogame specialist media are. Everyone knows everyone; it’s a massive social network of friends and colleagues and if you want to be taken seriously and get your review/preview content, your life will be a hellofalot easier being based here.

Although AustralianGamer was created by myself and Matt being based in Brisbane, it took many years and many interstate flights to cultivate the kind of relationships (and friendships) to make our presence felt amongst the gaming sectors.

So there you have it, I know the tone of this article might sound a bit harsh, but if you’re going to give this a shot you need to make sure you’re aware of the reality of the situation. Keep in mind of course, these are all just my personal opinions, I’d be interested to hear what other gaming community operators would have to say.

And if you need any help, feel free to contact me – I’ll happy put you in contact with the Publisher PR people, local developers, or website developers if you’re serious.

And remember, if someone like me can wrangle my way into this industry to the point where I’m being paid to drink and play videogames for a living – you’re in with a good chance too

It seems here in Melbourne the Oxford Art Factory is a hot spot for gaming, hosting a THQ/Capcom competition the week prior, and the Insert Coin(s) event prior to that, and until Mana Bar Sydney opens up I think it’s probably the best spot as well!

I’d heard of the IGN Black Beta events before, though had never had a chance to attend one due to the whole living-in-a-different-state issue. The space wasn’t too cramped, the promo staff were dressed appropriately, and there were plenty of TV’s and consoles about to let everyone have a try of the game! In a nice nod to the series, they even had the original Twisted Metal (Playstation) and Twisted Metal: Black (Playstation 2) playable alongside the new series entry.

The new Twisted Metal game was always on my radar, and after playing it I can definitely say it’s sitting on my ‘must have’ list for March. Without getting into a full blown preview (I’d imagine most of you already downloaded the beta) I’m a huge fan of the unapologetic carnival nature of the presentation. I just imagine the developers in a room asking each other how to combine the most evil images in the most ridiculous situations (Demonic clowns driving round in a Ghostbuster Ecto-1 vehicle?).

The event culminated in a networked tournament that looked like it was difficult to pull off, however IGN Producer Beau Ushay handled the MC duties nicely. Finally I need to pay tribute to IGN’s very own Cam Shea who played DJ for the evening, I wasn’t aware of this extra-curricular talent and was well impressed.

Not turning up too late for once along with Leigh Harris (Editor of MCV Pacific) the event was located in a small warehouse setting off a side street in Waterloo, which gave the event a nice low key and intimate feel. A set of consoles and TV’s sat in the middle of the room, while a projector on the far side featured Grand Slam utilising the Playstation Move controllers.

Ok, I have to come clean here – I was only there for about half an hour, making it through one round of the tournament before my hangover from the night before started to get the better of me. I thought Champaign and mini-quiches would fix things, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Which was annoying, since I really wanted to stick round for Mr Pat Cash, who rocked up later on to challenge the winner of the aforementioned tournament I’d bowed out of. As it was the highlight of the event for me was seeing EA community coordinator Jess Hodgson (@EA_Jiggsy) in a tennis skirt.

For more photos of the event, check out the MCV Pacific facebook page.

My attitude towards HD remakes has been mixed, as it’s very easy to see it as a cheap way for a publisher to milk a franchise through as many different mediums as possible. After playing through Stranger’s Wrath and Earthworm Jim though I can honestly say I’m warming to the idea – especially when they go out of their way to add a little bit extra without detracting from the original.

Which is why I had such a rad time playing through Earthworm Jim again! The upped resolution showcases the spectacularly wacky environments, there are new additional levels that sit comfortably alongside the originals, and the game now has a multiplayer component. While there are not many people playing it online, the few rounds I joined were ridiculous flawed fun.

And that’s the thing I suppose – Earthworm Jim was ALWAYS a flawed platformer with floaty movements and inaccurate gun control. That’s ok though, I knew what I was getting, and it turns out it’s exactly what I wanted.

I’ve gone on a bit of a nostalgia trip the last few days, looking up all the shows I used to love as a kid, and it strikes me as strange why I have fonder memories of some rather than others.

I used to watch He-Man, Transformers, and eventually Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles religiously. The Saturday Morning Disney cartoons – Duck Tales, Chip’n'Dale, Darkwing Duck. Loved them, loved them all.

Yet the ones that resonate most are the 9 listed above, which in retrospect had less budgets, often low animation quality, and most episodes only ran for 5 to 10 minutes as opposed to a full half hour.

Could it be because they were NOT part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup? For me these shows featured during the 3pm to 6pm timeslot when I came home from school.

Could it be because they were NOT created just to sell toys? Maybe that was their plan, but I never felt the craving for a ‘Spotty’ toy like I did for a ‘Dinobot’.

Could it be because they were NOT American cartoons? Most were created in the UK, with some imported from Japan.

Hell, even the theme songs bring a massive smile to my face. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and I’d be interested to know anyone else that feels the same way, and if they’re able to articule why better than I. Now excuse me, I have a strange craving to eat a banana …

I used to email James Gay, the founder and original CEO of the site, when AustralianGamer was just getting off the ground. He was hugely supportive, and over the years we ran many cross promotional events and often cross linked stories. A few of the AustralianGamer writers wouldn’t be a part of the site if it wasn’t for PALGN in fact.

It takes a lot of committment to keep a community website going, often with little to no reward, so the latest chain of events does indeed make me sad – not just for all involved, but what it means to PALGN’s reputation as well.

Leigh and I worked to get the facts straight in an article that was posted on MCV Pacific early this morning, including quotes from Jeremy Jastrzab (Executive editor) and Adam Ghiggino (Managing editor). The gist of it is a leaked internal forum conversation between the writers and Roland Kulen, the current owner of the site. The staff cite a lack of communication as well as issues with server loading times making it difficult to contribute and frustrating for users to read, with Roland being distanced and vague in his responses. The result of this coming to light is that all the editorial staff have now made it public that they will no longer be contributing to PALGN, with some of them even collaborating on starting up their own seperate games website.

I’ll be honest, this isn’t news to me – I know some of the writers, and I know they’ve been unhappy for awhile. I just thought, you know, Roland would have done something by now. It’s a website where the contributors are volenteers, all they want is to have fun writing about what they’re passionate about and get a little bit of industry recognition.

Rocking up with my partners in crime – Leigh Harris (Editor of MCV Pacific) and James Cullinane (Editor of GamePlanet.co.nz), we got our priorities straight and headed straight to the bar. The venue was an awesome beatnik style brick room with a narrow balcony, chilled and packed with snow to get us in the mood.

A bunch of Xbox 360 consoles were setup with SSX playable, though all the TV’s were turned down while a live DJ played some tunes in the corner. A shame, as much as it’s important to have live music at an event like this, I was really looking forward to to hearing some Run DMC when playing the game. Seriously.

A pool table in the middle of the room occupied a bunch of journalists, but the massive snowboard simulator (complete with a bouncing castle style setup to cushion the inevitable falls) was going unused until I’d reached my 3 beer minimum requirement to make a fool of myself.

It felt more like standing on a mechanical bull than actual snowboarding, but hey, it was still fun! More of the crowd had a go after this, the most entertaining being Joaby from GameArena who predictably fell in the most spectacular fashion.

As for the game itself, head over to AustralianGamer.com to read my preview.

Sure, the game isn’t perfect, but it’s just the fix I needed. Just having all the original actors voicing the characters brought a smile to my face, and the mechanics used to capture the ghosts was authentic to the movies and quite satisfying.

Interestingly, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis did a bit of work on the script, which seems like it was lifted from an original outline for a proposed Ghostbusters 3 movie.

And heck, if this is what Bill Murray needed to convince him to do Ghostbusters 3, then I’m all for it.

Abe’s Oddysee had been released, and I was captivated by the charming characters and the world they inhabited. The developer publicised it as the first of the ‘Oddworld Quintology’, and after completing Oddysee I was super keen for the next exciting instalment.

A follow up Abe’s Exoddus was released, that felt more like version 1.5 as opposed to a true sequel. Years later would see the first true continuation of the Quintology - Munch’s Oddysee, a launch title on the original Xbox that lived up to only the most mediocre of expectations.

So when Stranger’s Wrath was turned loose towards the tail end of the original Xbox life cycle, most people’s eyes were too fixated on the imminent Playstation 2 release to pay much attention to another Oddworld title.

What. A. Mistake.

Quite simply it was one of the most ingenious, inventive, avant-garde games I’d ever played.

And it’s now available as a HD remake for the Playstation 3. I bought it with the intention of reliving half an hour of nostalgia but instead finishing the entire game, so I’m happy to report that it still holds up to any contemporary standards you might throw at it.

It’s still the only game I know that seamlessly amalgamates a third-person and first-person gameplay style, features cute and carnivorous live ammunition that you hunt to replenish, and offers a Shyamalan twist halfway through the story that changes the entire structure of the game.

Any other Stranger fans out there?