Fuck this place

[sack]

Although this being black listed from Future stuff I assumed was common knowledge, cause I've certainly seen it on other websites.

Yeah, it is, and the whole lot* about Stuart not being paid by them. http://invisionfree.com/forums/worldofs ... c=752&st=0

Future well and truly fucked him over.

*Apart from the specific recent legal difficulties.

Now that is bloody harsh... I always just assumed it was down to his demeanour and attitude to be honest.

[Governmentyard]

There should be space aplenty in mags for all demeanours and attitudes. None of the best writers I know personally are remotely likeable people.

[Rod_S]

There should be space aplenty in mags for all demeanours and attitudes. None of the best writers I know personally are remotely likeable people.

Exactamundo, comrade. Stu is the only videogame writer and commentator worth reading, totally untouchable as a writer and crucially always on the gamer's side. He even campaigned to get the prices of games reduced on our behalf and is never anything less than 100% honest in his articles. For me he's up there with Nick Kent and Lester Bangs as one of the great journalists of our time. No shit.

That Future have blacklisted him is a fucking tragedy for gaming journalism and gaming as a whole. He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

[Michael_]

Exactamundo, comrade. Stu is the only videogame writer and commentator worth reading, totally untouchable as a writer and crucially always on the gamer's side. He even campaigned to get the prices of games reduced on our behalf and is never anything less than 100% honest in his articles. For me he's up there with Nick Kent and Lester Bangs as one of the great journalists of our time. No shit.

That Future have blacklisted him is a fucking tragedy for gaming journalism and gaming as a whole. He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Couldn´t have said it better myself. I wholeheartedly agree. This place is somewhat poorer without him.

[Samus]

That Future have blacklisted him is a fucking tragedy for gaming journalism and gaming as a whole. He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Yes.

[Snakey]

the latest Lara Croft review was dead on.

I can't be bothered with the rest of this thread anymore, but... No. Fucking hell, no. He's even more wrong about that than he is about Outrun.

[Governmentyard]

There should be space aplenty in mags for all demeanours and attitudes. None of the best writers I know personally are remotely likeable people.

Exactamundo, comrade. Stu is the only videogame writer and commentator worth reading, totally untouchable as a writer and crucially always on the gamer's side. He even campaigned to get the prices of games reduced on our behalf and is never anything less than 100% honest in his articles. For me he's up there with Nick Kent and Lester Bangs as one of the great journalists of our time. No shit.

That Future have blacklisted him is a fucking tragedy for gaming journalism and gaming as a whole. He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Kent and Bangs are fair comparisons, as am I. Critics and 'writers' who keep their ego and morals front and centre are the best kind - anything less allows the personality of the publication to dominate and that homogenity is a palsy on the industry today. Meek attempts to caricature the staff writers of the modern era don't cut it, I'm afraid... look at the new Nintendo Official mag for evidence - it isn't working for them really, likeable as I'm sure they all are.

Homogenous publications are something that I'm happy to have comprising the majority of the market - if there's a formula you like, you never get a shit magazine until they change the formula, and you can get used to the values relative to your own when considering reporting style and opinion in them. But the most important thing about journalism is the writers and the best mags should be the ones with the writers people read because of who they are, not what they are writing about. That's when you learn stuff, as we tend to gravitate towards that which is at least vaguely familiar and that keeps us narrow minded.

That's why I consider Campbell, Minter, Liddon and a whole lot of others to be so important to something I love as much as gaming itself - reading about good games. Yak didn't just write games I grew up with - a Neon session earlier this year with him and Giles involved the music of a couple of bands selected by my based on my love for them, only to realise that I was in no small part in debt to Yak for turning me on to them in the first place. Just one small and relevant example of why writers with a personality are needed not only in the gaming press for the gaming culture/industry, but also for bridging gaps between our cultural niche and others. We're all into loads of stuff, but I'm more likely to check something out if Rev. Stu or Sickboy recommends it in print or a web article than if some random chap on here says he likes this or that in 'Dancing...'

In our society, those with the charisma to lead should be afforded the ability to do so, with fair competition and an open minded public with freedom of choice.

The reality is far more insidious. I'll argue the case for anyone willing to stamp their personality on journalism, the biggest stab in the back I ever took was from one such person who shall remain nameless and I'll still talk him up because he had a gift and he is just so fucking important.

Dancing about Architecture is a trite fallacy. If you can't communicate with others about a cultural artefact or piece of art it becomes a drug that switches you off from everything except itself. The antedote is charismatic journalism. I'm sure Stu could come up with a nice insult for anyone that might disagree with me. And he be right to.

*edit when I say 'Dancing about Architecture' and insult it, I speak of the Zappa quote, not the section of YakYak, which I enjoy very much. Some people just can't take criticism.

[Yak]

Having been on the receiving end of some pretty mediocre, ill-informed, lazy bits of tosh from Mr. Stu, I think I can safely say that I don't think he's "all that" as a journo, myself.

I don't wish any ill on the man, and his unfortunate circumstances are, well, unfortunate; but I for one will appreciate a bit more peace and a bit less bickering round here.

[biggestjim]

There should be space aplenty in mags for all demeanours and attitudes. None of the best writers I know personally are remotely likeable people.

Exactamundo, comrade. Stu is the only videogame writer and commentator worth reading, totally untouchable as a writer and crucially always on the gamer's side. He even campaigned to get the prices of games reduced on our behalf and is never anything less than 100% honest in his articles. For me he's up there with Nick Kent and Lester Bangs as one of the great journalists of our time. No shit.

That Future have blacklisted him is a fucking tragedy for gaming journalism and gaming as a whole. He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Spot on!

[Governmentyard]

Having been on the receiving end of some pretty mediocre, ill-informed, lazy bits of tosh from Mr. Stu, I think I can safely say that I don't think he's "all that" as a journo, myself.

I don't wish any ill on the man, and his unfortunate circumstances are, well, unfortunate; but I for one will appreciate a bit more peace and a bit less bickering round here.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of bickering from other sources.

Opinions on a charismatic writer don't need to be positive, they just need to be there. Two I enjoy reading not liking each other is fine - I bought the Blur album and the Oasis one just like everyone else and we had a couple of good years of pop as a result.

[teamonkey]

He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Not reviews editor, I hope. No point reading reviews if they're going to be completely wrong.

[Snakey]

He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Not reviews editor, I hope. No point reading reviews if they're going to be completely wrong.

If that Tomb Raider review is any indication of the stuff he's been writing lately, full of pointless tosh, and outright deception, too. For fucks sake if you're not going to be impartial about it, you shouldn't be reviewing.

And people think he's a good journalist? Jesus.

For the record I have no problem with Stu myself. Am I glad to see him go? No, can't say I am. Can't say I'm too upset about it either, though.

[PaulCunningham]

Every pantomime needs a villian.

[Rod_S]

He should be editing Edge as far as I'm concerned.

Not reviews editor, I hope. No point reading reviews if they're going to be completely wrong.

If that Tomb Raider review is any indication of the stuff he's been writing lately, full of pointless tosh, and outright deception, too. For fucks sake if you're not going to be impartial about it, you shouldn't be reviewing.

And people think he's a good journalist? Jesus.

So you disagree with his opinion on Tomb Raider, fair play. Does that make him any less of a journalist? Of course not. I was kicking the shit out of that game on here, deservedly, way before the Rev's review and was absolutely delighted to read that he held it in equal contempt as I did. But still, even if he'd gone overboard and declared his love for it my appreciation for him as a journalist wouldn't be diminished as he'd doubtless have backed his opinion up with well researched and presented facts. Like Goatboy said, you gravitate towards certain journalists because they write with such clarity and style, not because you agree with them. Nobody likes a yes man, unless you happen to be very insecure about your own opinion.

[Rod_S]

Having been on the receiving end of some pretty mediocre, ill-informed, lazy bits of tosh from Mr. Stu, I think I can safely say that I don't think he's "all that" as a journo, myself.

I don't wish any ill on the man, and his unfortunate circumstances are, well, unfortunate; but I for one will appreciate a bit more peace and a bit less bickering round here.

Divorcing yourself from your own artistic endeavors and offering them up for criticism is difficult, especially your/Llamasoft games in particular as they're such an extension of your own vision and personal ethos. I can understand that. Have you ever strongly disagreed with Stu's opinion about other games though? I'm not trying to be a cunt for the sake of it here, just wondering how much your self defense mechanism is kicking in, as the Rev has been very vocal about the Llamasoft games he's loved as much as the ones he's been critical of. To me he's a fan of games, bottom line.