Gadgets and Gaming

My name’s Michael, I’m a 20-year-old student from Northern Ireland. I currently live in Leeds, in the UK, where I’m studying journalism at Leeds Metropolitan University.

I’ve set up this blog for a number of reasons, primarily of which is the fact that my course heavily encourages the use of digital media in journalism. I’ve wanted to take part in a blog for quite some time, however, but I now find myself with the time, inclination and motivation to do so.

Two things that have always been passions of mine have been writing and video games. Since a young age I’ve had a flair for creative writing, and for most of my life I wanted to become a famous author before the cynicism of age settled in and I realised that journalism would be a slightly more viable career path. But and unexpected upturn to this is that I discovered that I could combine my two lifelong interests in a way I never thought of before – games journalism. The industry of video games has become gargantuan in modern times, and I realised – being the strongly opinionated person I am on gaming matters – that submersing myself in the field of games journalism could be an immensely rich and satisfying experience.

And honestly, who wouldn’t love to play video games for a living?

So I’ve set about making a place for myself in the industry. My previous forays have been met with varying success – I’ve guest-written for several small-time games websites, and used to write articles on a regular basis for the now-defunct GamesInAction.com. I’ll admit that the rigours of schooltime life meant that my attempts to immerse myself in the business were always hampered, but now that I’m a university student I find that my time is much more flexible and I’m able to get myself out there and try to make a name for myself.

And… that’s about it, really. That’s the basics that I’m setting out with on this blog. I’d like to say that my aims are to educate, inform and entertain, but I don’t think the BBC would like me cramping their style. But that’s about the gist of it – it’s a little bit funny, a little bit informative, a little bit educational. And that’s just about me.

Enjoy!

-Michael

This blog is a part of the Pastiche Project.

(05/11/2009)