Bay Blogger, Erm, Friday
Special 'F**king flu shot shortage! F**k you, Chiron!' edition.
We're worried about Kat Hunter. Oh, we think she'll be fine. What we're worried about is the legions of lonely gamers out there who dream about meeting a smart, sexy woman who they can get drunk and play Katamari Damacy for the rest of their lives with. A woman who not only gets paid to play video games, but gets copies of the games before they even hit store shelves and then gets to offer her opinions on those games to the public. Of course, this in no way happens to be SFist's fantasy (um, yeah, not at all). To the legions of the lonely out there, you may not be able to marry Kat, but you can at least read her blog, and she probably wouldn't mind too much if you bought her expensive gifts.
When she's not lusting after Elijah Wood (uh, Kat, been reading Gawker lately?), she's staying up 'til the break of dawn playing the latest titles. Since there's been quite the bit of buzz about Kat and friends lately, we figured we'd sit down with this superstar over bourbon and AOL IM and get to the core of what it means to be a female game journo living in our fair city. Her answers to our tepid questions after the jump.
What do you like best about being a game writer? Is it the writing or the gaming?
If the question was, “What do you like better, writing or gaming”, I would answer writing, because that is my first love (well if you discount the fact I want to be a lounge singer, then it would be my first love). If the question was simply “What do you like best about being a game writer?”, the answer would be all the awesome crazy people I get to work with. They are insane and genius and sexy all at once. However, if the question is. “What do you like better, game journalism or gaming” then gaming will win hands down. Writing game reviews is not super creative work most of the time, and it is easy to fall into the rut formula of talking about the music, the back-story, the graphics, you know the pattern. I am putting myself to sleep even talking about it. But having that freshly wrapped free copy of Half Life 2 arrive at your door for free is one of the greatest job perks in the world.
We've been following some unrest at Electronic Arts lately. Do you think the game industry can change its workaholic habits?
No. I am sorry, I wish I could answer the question differently, but that is just how it is. Ask most application programmers regardless of the industry, and they go through the same thing. It is simply the nature of the technical/creative projects where ship dates are determined by quarterly revenue rather than when the title could actually be finished. If you add to that the growing number of mega-budget titles on the shelves, being the hot new game out there will only mean bigger staffs and shorter deadlines.
Do you see yourself sitting down with kids and playing the latest shooter in twenty years, or do you think you'll still be playing the games from your youth?
First, I use to write for a Family Guide (link: http://familyguide.gamedaily.com/family/), so I strongly feel parents should pay attention to the ESRB and choose the titles their children play carefully. But specifically to the question, I would encourage them to play the more recently games. Tekken 23 will be the Blaster Master of their time. I am sure every console will have emulators by then anyway. As far as shooters go, when they are teenagers, I can’t wait to see what the FPS market is creating. It is not many kids who get to frag their mom these days. It may be my only chance to be cool.
Do you think there's more male gamers because of the themes in the games, the themes in the marketing efforts, or something deeper than that entirely?
It is a combination of issues, but to me the most prominent one is the social aspect of gaming. When we were in Junior High and High School gaming was a social outlet for boys. It gave them something in common, like golf or football for men. These younger gamers grew up to adult gamers. For younger girls, that was not necessarily true. We went to the mall or something. Heck, who remembers those years anyway. However, I see this changing in the next generation. With the advent of online console gaming, it will become a social sport for both girls and boys bringing a more diverse crowd into the mix. Similar to how AIM is for kids now. Can you imagine if we had instant messenger when we were 10? I would have never left my room!
Do you choose to live in the Bay Area for personal or professional reasons? Does your proximity to major game studios give you an advantage in the industry?
You act as if there were another city in the United States that was worth moving to. That is just crazy talk. Seriously though, I moved to the Bay Area during the boom to open an advertising agency. While we did not weather the storm, I was introduced to a game company, GameDaily.com where I became their web master for 4 years. During that time I met all of these amazing people in the industry. Last year I quit and became a freelance journalist as well as a member of a sponsored girl game clan and loving life. It would be very hard to do what I do in another city since the Game Press is basically all here. But I stay in the Bay Areabecause there is no better place on earth.
Finally, what's your favorite all-time game and why?
I hate this question! When you play 3 consoles, PC Games, and 2 handheld platforms there is no way to answer with one game. My current obsession is Halo 2, but my all time favorite game is not a video game at all. I will take a night of Texas Hold’emover gaming any night of the week.