Hey folks and welcome to Bel’s Blog Bonanza, a bi-weekly feature here on MMOGames where I attempt to highlight some of the more interesting topics currently cycling through the gaming blogosphere. One of my favorite aspects of writing about games, is the interactions I have with other bloggers. In this column, it is my goal to highlight some of the individuals in this community and present their interesting take on current issues. Let us dispense with the introduction and get to the awesome.
This week we continue onwards with our journey through the Newbie Blogger Initiative event happening currently during the month of may in the gaming blogosphere. The good folks at MMOGames have been so gracious as to allow me to do these special NBI focused versions of the “Bonanza”. If you love talking about games, this might be the perfect time to take that love and turn it into a blog, podcast, youtube channel or stream. At it’s core this is the mission of the “Initiative” to keep infusing the gaming blogosphere with new ideas and writers to share them. There has been some interesting discussion this week as to the nature of the initiative and if we are an “Event” or a “Cause”. I think personally it is largely a matter of perspective, but it provides some food for thought.
As with each year the purpose of the Newbie Blogger Initiative is to give brand new bloggers a head start into our community by giving them some active support. Last week had fifteen bloggers participating in the “Initiative” and this week we are up to nineteen, so in this second week we are still gathering momentum. The hope is that these posts spur some of our MMOGames readers out there into creating their own blogs and joining the conversation. I’ve personally been working on a series of posts talking about getting started in pod-casting as well in an attempt to hopefully inspire more to follow that path. Without further ado I present to you the updated Class of 2015.
During the course of the Newbie Blogger Initiative we often have a series of challenges and writing prompts that the community is encouraged to participate in. The Second Talkback Challenge centers around the concept of kickstarters and early access games. It asks bloggers to talk about their own feelings around supporting at least theoretically “unfinished” products. We got a pretty wide assortment of topics ranging from folks that are simply done with the concept, and others that actually enjoy feeling like they are helping to “fund” the development of the games they care about.
One of the more interesting events that has come out of past Newbie Blogger Initiatives is the “Poetry Slam”. This contest was originally proposed by Syl of the MMO Gypsy back in 2013, and has continued to be a favorite of many of the participants each year. This year Syl has been swamped with a big move, and as a result JVT Workshop has taken up the torch. Each year there is a theme that participants are asked to work into their prose, and this year that theme is “Gold” taken in any context that they want. If you are interested in participating check out the official thread on the forums.
Another tenet of the Newbie Blogger Initiative is that many of the already established bloggers devote a good amount of their time to creating posts intended to guide new bloggers through some of the hurdles. When you sit down and decide to start a blog, there are a lot of technical concerns, but even more important there are the fundamental issues of what you are going to post and how often you are going to post it. In these articles the established bloggers share some of their experiences after doing this for a significant amount of time. In this section I am going to post some of the more interesting advice posts.
Hearthstone: Unlocking the Arena Game Mode
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Guide: How To Recruit Quiet
E3 2015: Sword Coast Legends .
Brick-Force: Overview of the Game Modes
Star Stable: Top 5 Tips for Racing