This here’s an outlet for the words, thoughts and musings of Jamin Smith – a games journalist currently based in and around London. Jamin currently writes for VideoGamer.com; in exchange for money, Jamin pens news, reviews and features, as well as conducting interviews with key figures in the industry.
If his portfolio site isn’t enough for you, you can also find him on Twitter, LinkedIn, and- social networking site of the moment – Google +.
Sample writing
Here’s a sample from his recent Child of Eden review:
“It’s unavoidable; talking about Child of Eden with any kind of enthusiasm makes you sound like a pretentious twat. Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s sensory spectacular is an ambassador for the age-old ‘games as art’ debate, an experience that panders to the highbrow with an interactive kaleidoscope of colour, shape and sound. And yet at its core, it’s little more than a (very well disguised) on-rails shooter. Through rhythm, thought-provoking imagery and the lucid melodies of Genki Rockets, however, it manages to transcend the perception of what a game actually is.
See? One paragraph in and I’m already spouting a load of bombastic drivel.”
Jamin is a graduate of the University of Portsmouth with a degree in Computer Game Technology. Having travelled the world a bit of the world before settling down, Jamin now organises words into a vague sense of order for VideoGamer.com.
His history with videogames began in the 8-bit era, where countless hours were lost to his Sega Master System and a certain blue hedgehog. After progressing to the Mega Drive the following year, and a PSone soon after that — Jamin quickly discoverd that games had taken a firm hold of his life. Today, Jamin owns a total of 26 consoles and around 600 games — pictures of this collection can be found here.
Below is a summary of Jamin’s journalistic journey to date.
Hide and Geek.com
Jamin first dipped his toes into the icy waters of games journalism with a site he set up off his own back. Hide and Geek was a small blog that quickly earned itself a loyal following. After the site became too much to manage on his lonesome, he enlisted the help of two other aspiring journalists, and together they ran the site for a good year. Jamin still owns the domain name, and is waiting for the right time to drag it kicking and screaming back onto the web.
AppGamer.net
Noticing a serious gap in the market for a professional site dedicated to iPhone gaming, Jamin worked alongside Chris Thomas to bring AppGamer to fruition. Jamin assumed the role of senior editor at the site, writing not only news and reviews, but also in depth features and interviews related to the increasingly popular sector of the games industry. It was this that lead to Jamin’s first major gig at VideoGamer.com
Sample writing: