A Working Introduction

Welcome to my new blog: game industry guides! Here, I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions I get about video game journalism and content creation to the best of my abilities and post advice on things I’m rarely directly asked about (such as leveraging social media) but that are equally – if not more – important. So here’s a bit about who I am, why I’m doing this, and why you should follow along.

About Me

My name is Janet Garcia and I’ve been a video game journalist and content creator since 2015. But, like many people in the industry, I’ve been playing video games long before that (1996). Over the course of my ongoing career I’ve written features, reviews, previews, guides, listicles, collaborative articles, recorded/edited videos, conducted interviews, recorded podcasts, done live streams, attended conventions, and so on. Currently, I’m an associate guides editor at IGN. Before that, I was freelancing (with 8 of those months being full-time).

While I don’t consider myself the end all be all expert (no one is!), I absolutely have expertise that continues to grow over time. And nothing happens in a vacuum. I’ve learned (and continue to learn) from coworkers, freelancers, developers, blogs, podcasts, books, and people in completely different fields.

Here, I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned and the resources I’ve used to learn it.

Why I’m Doing This

There’s no clear roadmap into the video game journalism and content creation industry but there are plenty of steps and paths we can all use to build our own, personal roadmaps. So, in short, I want to help others. I was also inspired by people who do the same, specifically Katie Chironis (a narrative designer whose website provides insightful, refreshingly blunt career advice).

I get a lot of messages from people asking me questions about the industry and while I’m often able to respond I’m never able to go into as much detail as I’d like to. This blog will let me do just that! Plus, the more we share expertise, swap stories, and offer our perspectives, the more we learn from one another.

Why You Should Follow Along

In addition to sharing my own viewpoints, I’d love for these posts to create discussions and lead to other people offering their insight. While this is specifically geared towards the video game journalism and content creation industry I think some of these things can be applied to other fields as well. So be sure to check back often. You can follow along via WordPress or my social media accounts (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn).

Note: These guides are provided for free because I want everyone to get their industry questions answered. However, if you’d like to support me continuing to create content drop a tip anywhere below:

• Paypal
• Ko-fi
• Venmo: @JanetG94

This question was asked to me via DMs. But you can send your questions to gameindustryguides@gmail.com. Questions are always kept anonymous.