Rock, Paper, Shotgun

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Rock, Paper, Shotgun
Web address http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/
Slogan PC Gaming since 1873
Commercial? Yes
Type of site PC gaming news
Registration Optional, required to comment.
Available language(s) English
Owner Kieron Gillen, Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol, John Walker
Launched July 13, 2007 (2007-07-13)
Current status Online

Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a UK-based PC gaming blog written by Nathan Grayson, Alec Meer, Jim Rossignol, Adam Smith, John Walker, and previously Kieron Gillen and Quintin Smith.[1] It was launched in July 2007.[2] In 2010 the website partnered with Eurogamer.[3] Rock, Paper, Shotgun reports on upcoming major releases and independent esoterica, and includes reviews, previews, features and interviews related to PC gaming and the PC gaming industry.

Contributors

The site has five main contributors:

  • Nathan Grayson is an American video game journalist.[1]
  • Alec Meer is a video games journalist who has been published in The Independent.[4]
  • Jim Rossignol is an author and video games journalist.[1]
  • Adam Smith is a video games journalist, and has contributed to the site since September 2011.[5]
  • John Walker is a video games journalist.[1]

Kieron Gillen, a co-founder of the site, was a regular contributor until 30 September 2010, when he announced that he would no longer be involved in posting the day-to-day content of Rock, Paper, Shotgun, focusing more on his work with Marvel Comics, but would continue to act as a director and occasionally write essay pieces for the site.[6] Quintin Smith replaced Gillen as a writer on the site in October 2010,[6] before also resigning in July 2011.[7]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun also features less frequent contributions from several other writers, including Tim Stone, Phill Cameron, Lewie Procter, Robert Florence, Richard Cobbett, Brendan Caldwell, Craig Pearson, Duncan Harris, Lewis Denby, Porpentine and Cara Ellison.

Content

Rock, Paper, Shotgun reports on upcoming major releases and independent esoterica, and includes reviews, previews, features and interviews related to PC gaming and the PC gaming industry.

Some of the frequent categories of stories posted on RPS include:

  • Diary: Impressions of a game presented in 'diary' form, often from the perspectives of many writers, and over the course of many parts or updates, such as Solium Infernum: The Complete Battle for Hell,[8] or Diary Of A Nobutoki: Sengoku.[9] These articles are differentiated from reviews as they do not seek to objectively evaluate a game, only to present the experiences of the writers playing.
  • The Fixer: A column featuring guides on tinkering and fixing games.
  • The Flare Path: Weekly news and impressions of simulation and war games written by Tim Stone.[10]
  • Kickstarter Katchup: A weekly round up of PC game Kickstarter projects.[11]
  • RPS Bargain Bucket: A weekly round up of discounted gaming downloads available from third party gaming websites.
  • The Sunday Papers: A weekly round up of gaming related news.
  • Wot I Think: Review of a particular game including what the reviewer thought of the game based on their first hand experience.
  • Live Free, Play Hard: A weekly round up of free indie games written by Porpentine.[12]
  • Hard Choices: A column on PC hardware releases and purchasing recommendations written by Jeremy Laird.[13]
  • Cardboard Children: News and reviews of tabletop boardgames written by Robert Florence.[14]

Bulletstorm/Fox News controversy

On February 8, 2011, the game Bulletstorm came under scrutiny by Fox News through an article[15] by John Brandon and later on February 20, 2011 through their televised broadcast and another article.[16] The game was targeted because of its profanity, crude behaviour (examples of which including the game's skill-shot system, which has a move that rewards players for shooting at an enemy's genitals), and sexual innuendo. Alongside the panel of Fox News anchors was a psychiatrist by the name of Carole Lieberman, who remarked: "Video games have increasingly, and more brazenly, connected sex and violence in images, actions and words. This has the psychological impact of doubling the excitement, stimulation and incitement to copycat acts. The increase in rapes can be attributed, in large part, to the playing out of such scenes in video games." Other claims included that the game could reach audiences as young as nine years old, and that the gore and profanity could seriously traumatise a child of that age group. These claims were largely ridiculed among gaming websites including Rock Paper Shotgun who ran a series of articles discrediting the reports by Fox News[17] and analysed Lieberman's claims, and found only one of eight sources she provided had anything to do with the subject at hand.[18] Fox News acknowledged that they had been contacted by Rock Paper Shotgun and responded to the claims by Rock Paper Shotgun through its article on February 20, 2011 by stating that the game still remained a threat to children.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Staff. "About Rock, Paper, Shotgun". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 30, 2009. 
  2. ↑ Staff (July 13, 2007). "The Website That Saved The World". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 30, 2009. 
  3. ↑ Jim Rossignol. "RPS Announces Partnership With Eurogamer". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved February 12, 2012. 
  4. ↑ Meer, Alec (March 27, 2002). "Fix your life in a few short hours. And forget about showering". London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved March 3, 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Hivemind Restored: Welcome Adam Smith". Retrieved January 21, 2012. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kieron Gillen (30 September 2010). "Half-Life: On Turning 35 And Leaving RPS". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2011. "As such, we’ve had plenty of time to bring Quinns in as the new regular writer." 
  7. ↑ Quintin Smith (4 July 2011). "Announcing: Quindependence Day". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2011. "(...) I’m announcing that today, the fourth of July, or Quindependance day, will be my last day on the site." 
  8. ↑ "Solium Infernum: The Complete Battle for Hell". Retrieved January 21, 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Diary Of A Nobutoki: Sengoku". Retrieved January 21, 2012. 
  10. ↑ "The Flare Path". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Kickstarter Katchup". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  12. ↑ "Live Free, Play Hard". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved May 24, 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Hard Choices". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved Sep 22, 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Cardboard Children". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved Sep 22, 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Is Bulletstorm the Worst Video Game in the World?". Fox News. February 8, 2011. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Bulletstorm: Censored in Germany, Coming to America". Fox News. February 20, 2011. 
  17. ↑ Walker, John (February 2011). "Posts Tagged ‘Fox News’". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  18. ↑ Walker, John (15 February 2011). "Bulletstormgate: Analysing The "Evidence"". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2011. "Of her eight examples, only one had anything to do with the claimed subject, and even then it was hidden in a couple of papers mentioned in the article’s references." 

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