Let’s try this again. I’m Garrett, I’ve edited Paste Media’s games coverage since 2011—first at Paste itself, then at Endless Mode—and now here at The A.V. Club. If you read and enjoyed the work we did at those two other URLs, you know what to expect: insightful criticism that firmly places games within a larger cultural context, written with passion and experience, and that’s deep enough for the diehard game intelligentsia while cutting through the jargon and insider speak to be understandable and entertaining for everyone. We cover the full range of play, including video games, board games, tabletop RPGs, pinball, and even occasionally sports, and we’ll also toss in some anime, theme park, and immersive entertainment coverage, too. I’ll be joined once again by Associate Editor Elijah Gonzalez, who runs our anime coverage, and a stable of regular contributors composed of some of the best games writers in the business. If you were a regular reader of Paste’s games section or Endless Mode, all of your favorites will be joining us here at The A.V. Club Games; and if you haven’t seen our work, I’m pretty sure you’ll have lots to say about it in the comments.
The A.V. Club is no stranger to games, of course, with a long history of the kind of thoughtful, culturally astute games criticism that has always been Paste’s focus. It just made sense to finally put the two under the same roof, and this influx of daily news and criticism will bolster this site’s already excellent games coverage. William Hughes has been doing fantastic work here for years, and will continue to do so, through his weekly Game Theory column and beyond. And real heads will remember John Teti and The Gamelogical Society, which carved out its own niche within A.V. Club in the early 2010s, and whose influence has been felt long after its closure. That’s the tradition we’ll uphold and add to in the years to come, while taking The A.V. Club’s games section to new heights.
One of The A.V. Club’s signature facets, of course, is the passion of its readers. This is the one website where the old “don’t read the comments” axiom never held water. It’s hard to imagine The A.V. Club without comments (although, hey, people have tried), and any writer would be excited about engaging with such an audience. Whether you’re a longstanding reader of what we’ve been doing over at the Paste sites, or totally unfamiliar with us, I look forward to where this new direction takes us.
Games are big business. More importantly, though, they’re as vital to the culture and to people’s lives today as movies, TV, music, or any of the other mediums and art forms covered by The A.V. Club. Anime has also become a major cultural juggernaut throughout the world. There’s never been a better time for The A.V. Club to write about them both with greater depth and frequency, and that starts today.
