Paid to play for 3D Gamers !!

[Gaim Mastr]

3D Gamers is looking for someone to write reviews of the latest games as they come out. And if you're good enough, they might pay you for your game reviews !! :D:

I know that for some of us, being paid to play games (which you'd get for free) is like a dream job. Or at least a sweet way to put a little extra cash into your pockets. However, being good at playing games and being good at writing professional-style reviews isn't the same thing. So the first step is to show some proof that you've got what it takes to have your work displayed on one of the busiest gaming websites in the world.

Here is how we'll get the ball rolling for those of you who are interested. Pick a game, any game that you own, preferably a recently released game, and write a review of it. Then, submit your review to 3D Gamers by using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom-right of the forum pages. If for some reason your email doesn't go through, such as your review is too long, then simply send it to me in a PM (Private Message) and I'll be certain to rush it to the great guys of 3D Gamers.

Since there isn't any great hurry on this, we'll put the time limit for submitting your review at the last day of this November. So, get your review in by the 1st of December to be considered.

A few extra notes:
If accepted, you must be willing to submit new reviews in a day or two (maybe three days for a massive RPG) upon receiving the games.
If you feel like submitting more than one review for consideration before December, go for it.
At this time, the position is for computer games only, though console games may or may not be included at some time in the future.
How much the position will ultimately pay is a private discussion between the winner and 3D Gamers, so don't bother asking until after you've been selected.
The person who writes the best review is NOT guaranteed to be selected for a paying position with 3D Gamers. As was stated previously, 3D Gamers is looking for professional-quality reviews.
No plagiarizing. Stealing lines from other reviewers to bolster the review that you submit will of course render you immediately disqualified.

Without stating the obvious, getting started as a paid reviewer of games can always lead to other things that put money into your pockets. There are more than one highly-respected reviewers out there who enjoy a bit of fame and get a lot of free stuff given to them so that they might mention it in a review. Not to mention the behind-the-scenes access that companies almost always give to people who can influence the sale of their products with a good or bad review. :yes:

And lastly, before you set about writing your review, you might want to do just a pinch of research to see what really goes into a professional review.

You could start with some type of search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=write+good+game+review&btnG=Search). You could read several reviews from the more popular websites. There is a great deal of information to draw upon from the Internet. And if you're serious enough, I have no doubt that you could spend the first several weeks honing your reviewing skills and then take your time to carefully write your own review and submit it before the deadline.


Good Luck !!
:D:

[Rafal Dudek]

are we still limited to 3D games? Because I remember long time ago I had a chat with Frans... it was going all good untill this whole 3D Games only thing so this eliminated like most of my reviews I was planning to write :p:

[Nova]

I think this is a good idea. I'd definitely like to write video game reviews. I have the next week off so I'll try this out :):

Is there a specific scoring system or can we come up with our own?

[Mr. Natural]

This is an amazing opportunity people. If you've ever dreamed of writing and being recognized worldwide for your penmanship ability, this is it.
This could truly lead to an "opening of doors" to your future and no telling where it could lead. Imagine being able say that you write game reviews for one of the top 5 gaming sites in the world.

[Frans]

are we still limited to 3D games? Because I remember long time ago I had a chat with Frans... it was going all good untill this whole 3D Games only thing so this eliminated like most of my reviews I was planning to write :p: Yes, you best check our catalog first: if the game you plan on writing about isn't listed, we probably won't be able to use a review of it either. :no:

[Frans]

Is there a specific scoring system or can we come up with our own? Good question. Our rating system consists of:

- an overall rating of 1-100 %
- a one-sentence verdict (i.e. a punchline)
- round-ups of one or more Pros and Cons (e.g. great sound - bad camera controls)

I'd point you to previous reviews we've posted, but our article management subsystem is still being ported over (and rewritten in the process) to the new site, so no examples are online for the time being. Feel free to ask if you need further clarification.

[Nova]

Thanks. :thumbup:

[Feuerwizard]

Wow this is a great opportunity people! GO FOR IT!

I heard a guy named A....x is going to participate :no:

[Rafal Dudek]

Yes, you best check our catalog first: if the game you plan on writing about isn't listed, we probably won't be able to use a review of it either. :no:


meh, you're a false gamer. Admit it :p:

[Nova]

Wow this is a great opportunity people! GO FOR IT!

I heard a guy named A....x is going to participate :no:

Argx?

He's got pretty good chances, I know. :yes:

[MarkN]

If accepted, you must be willing to submit new reviews in a day or two (maybe three days for a massive RPG) upon receiving the games.

So, if I was accepted and was sent a game today to review I'd have to play it for perhaps a full day or two, and then write and email/PM the review immediately afterward? That quickly?

Besides an RPG, what if it's a game that takes like 20-30 hours or so? I'd love to give it a try but I've got another job with varying hours, in that one day I might start at 4pm to close (up to midnight) and then have to work the next day at 8 or 9am, plus I might get 2 or 3 days off and often (but not always, darn the luck) called in, which would of course cut down on my gaming and review writing time as well. If I had enough money that I didn't need a job to go to then I'd most definitely give this one a shot since I could just do it at home, and most especially if I had a majorly kickass surround sound system to experience the fullest immersion from the game.

Also, though I'm sure it'd help, would we also have to know at least some basic HTML skills?

[Gaim Mastr]

Unfortunately, reviewing a game professionally generally isn't the same experience as just kicking back and playing a game leisurely.

Normally, many people will take their time, allowing themselves to become immersed in the game's atmosphere while they slowly make their way through, trying not to miss anything. That is not a luxury always available to someone playing a game for the first time to write a review. You're there to take a critical look at a number of different aspects of the game.

Often times reviewers will quickly play through a game one time, then by using cheat codes (provided by the developer) will play through a second time trying only to check out certain aspects that they'd missed the first time through. All this while periodically pausing the game to take notes and such (I use a digital voice recorder).

And yes, this almost certainly means getting the game, loading it and pulling an all-nighter the first day at least.

With games like "Call of Duty", I'd finished the game the first time in exactly 6 hours. So I could have played the game multiple times and still submitted a complete review inside of the first 24-hours.

And with games like "Morrowind", it's not necessary for a reviewer to play every race & character combination, or to play every faction and guild combination, or to find every piece of armor, weapons or spells, to provide a very complete, good and comprehensive review.

Of course, if you did want to play through slowly and check out every little bit of the game, you could always do that after you've submitted your review. :yes:

Oh, and no, it's probably best if you didn't mess with any HTML code in your reviews. Such things are likely to be done by whoever updates and maintains the website. So they'll have all their own code to insert.

[Rattlesnake8]

Sounds great, pity i havn't got a clue how to write a professional review, i don't think id be able to. And on top of that i work and have a very active social life so i wouldn't get the time.

The idea of rushing through newly released games doesn't appeal to me. I love playing games, i love being put into another world and enjoying being in another universe in whatever game im playing. Having to rush through it and miss out of all of the finer details would make gaming less fun.

Good luck to all those that submit reviews though! :)

[Gaim Mastr]

Well, it would require some 'rushing' through when you play it to review it. But after that, you can take your time and crawl through as slowly as you want.

If you find yourself constantly critiquing a new game when you play it, mentally listing what's good about it and what could have been done better, then you may already be more of a reviewer than you think.

Like any job though, you can't sit on your hands and get around to it whenever you feel like. I'm sure that 3D Gamers would only be interested in people who would take the position seriously and complete the work in a timely manner.

[Rattlesnake8]

Any update on how it's going? Have many people submitted reviews?

[Gaim Mastr]

No word yet, though I imagine the 3DG guys are pretty busy with the new website and all as well as this contest.

All I can say is that I do know of at least several people who've submitted entries for the contest. It's possible that we may not hear anything until after the contest is over and they've had a chance to review all of the reviews.

[myrddin]

are there any limitations on country of origin??

im interested, but i live down under (australia)...

if u r posting games internationally it would be expensive...

should i bother applying?????

:wink:

[Gaim Mastr]

Well, Frans of 3D Gamers (the guy who populates the website) lives in the Netherlands. So I doubt if living in Australia is a problem. If you're interested, you should send in a sample review.

[myrddin]

ahhh well, handed my homework in :)

/crosses fingers :P

[Gaim Mastr]

This contest has officially ended.

Good luck to all who've entered a sample game review !! :thumbup:

Those who are administering this contest are very busy with other pending projects at the moment; and they will announce any winners or such when time permits them to carefully review all enteries.

So please be patient.

[takahashi]

thats awsome im gana try this out :D:

[Yuneek]

are we still limited to 3D games? Because I remember long time ago I had a chat with Frans... it was going all good untill this whole 3D Games only thing so this eliminated like most of my reviews I was planning to write :p:
I would have submitted a review but I'm 13 days late.

[Circlebreaker]

thats awsome im gana try this out

Good luck! (with spelling like that, you're going to need it. :p:)

[Nova]

Holy crap, I totally forgot about this.

:scared2:

[Frans]

Just a quick update, we didn't forget about this, but we're still reviewing the submissions and discussing how to proceed once decisions have been made.

[Yuneek]

Just a quick update, we didn't forget about this, but we're still reviewing the submissions and discussing how to proceed once decisions have been made.
Is it not possible to make a late submission?

[Happy Chris†man]

I've done reviews professionally.

Sure wish I'd seen this ad before today. I just found these forums this week. :(:

[CodeZero]

I know I'm going to come across like a refugee trying to change the world... but I'd like to insert a little bit advice into this thread.

As a hardware reviewer (which isn't that much different than a game reviewer), two to three days to play and write a review isn't much time at all. Unless we're talking about a full-time job of course. While AVault seems to be a little more on the lengthy side in giving reviewers a few weeks, I think 3DGamers could benefit from adopting a similar style in terms of time needed to review. Giving someone even like... a week to play the game and 2-3 days extra for the article to be written.

Oftentimes, as AVault has shown, some things get better or worse in time. Most games have great story arcs but they don't all become apparent within the first 5-10 hours. Especially if it's a RPG... When you are balancing life with work and everything else it can become extremely detrimental to the site and the writer's quality when they are mindlessly running through games to meet a deadline of 3 days or even 4-5 days considering they have to write a good article as well.

Just a little friendly advice, I'd hate to see your writers become criticized because of a hapless review that could have been saved by an extra day or two of game time or writing.

[Gaim Mastr]

That only depends on the game, CodeZero. If someone were to review Morrowind for the first time, it'd take a few days of playing just to get a grip on what all is offered in the game.

However, if someone were to review Call of Duty for the first time, that's a 2 to 3-day job at the most. I'd finished the game my first time through, on the Veteran setting, in 6 hours. That's less than a single 8-hour work day. Factor in a few more hours to run through certain parts again, plus several more hours for testing all multiplayer maps, and you've got a game that can be fully reviewed from start to final draft in less than 3 full 8-hour days.

Also, professional game reviewers usually receive cheat codes from the devs so that they can move through the game faster, or reach certain areas more quickly. Many professional reviewers, such as the ones hired by GameSpot, rush through the game one time, then play a little in certain areas for a second time. They'll tell you that they simply aren't given the luxury of kicking back and slowly playing through every aspect of the game.


When you are balancing life with work and everything else it can become extremely detrimental to the site and the writer's quality when they are mindlessly running through games to meet a deadline of 3 days or even 4-5 days considering they have to write a good article as well.

Hence the difference between a paid professional and someone who merely reviews games as a hobby. Professionals don't run through games 'mindlessly'. They're mindful of a great myriad of aspects of the game as they move along.

No different from countless other professions, professional game reviewers are fully expected to provide a quality service, in a timely manner, in exchange for payment.

The best house in the world is one where the construction workers are given plenty of time to be as thorough as they'd like to be, with little or no time constraints. But that sure isn't how the professional builders operate in the real world. You've got a set amount of time to complete a set number of tasks at a minimum level of quality. That's it. You get in, get it done, and move on to the next one.


How much time 3D Gamers is willing to allot for their game reviews is entirely between them and the reviewers. IF 3DG wanted to compete on the same level as GameSpy or GameSpot in terms of how quickly a professional-quality game review is posted on their website from the time that the reviewer receives it in the mail, then the notion of waiting a week per review pretty much flies out the window.



EDIT: Also, professional reviewers tend to base their reviews on their impressions from playing the games once, maybe twice. And this is a good thing. I'd hate to rely on the reviews from someone who only publishes their reviews after they've played the games several times over.

Why?

Because, I'm not interested in a review after the game has 'grown' on the reviewer. Like a bad song or movie grows on you after you've sat through it enough times. First impressions are very important. When a customer spends their money and loads that game up for the first time, they ONLY have their first impressions to base their likes and dislikes on.

Add to that the fact that a fair number of people only play most of their titles one time through. Thereby making reviews from those who've played it several times over even more out of touch.