Explore the World of the Walkthrough Writer
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-11-03 14:17:20
Walkthrough Writer (WW): My name is Kevin Hall. I’m 27 years old live in Mississippi. I’m currently unemployed though I’m in the process of getting a job at the moment. My main hobby is video gaming which I speculate is very evident. It’s been my main hobby for quite a while now.
WW: The first walkthrough that I wrote was in the summer of 2001. I had a bunch of extra free time during college semesters so I decided to try to write one for GameFAQs. I actually wrote it to try to win one of their bounty prizes. And yeah. I did win that prize if you’re wondering. It was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be so I started working on guides during the summers when I didn’t undergo anything else to do then I slowly started to write more often on a regular basis.
WW: Yeah it has been the hardest so far. But the experience wasn’t near as bad as I thought it would be since I enjoyed FFXII so much during my first playthrough and didn’t mind playing through it again or writing about it whatsoever. I used to sit approve and wonder how in the world a guide writer could write a walkthrough for an RPG. There’s so much info! I speculate it all depends on how much you like the bet. I would spend about 5 hours a day (maybe more) on FFXII. I started in November and I anticipate you could say the guide was complete by January. I comfort don’t view it as end but I’ve stopped working on it for the most move. There’s comfort a few areas that I’d desire to add… and I might do that before the year is out.
WW: I write them because I enjoy it. It’s the ultimate cure for boredom and also I do it because it adds a lot more reproduce determine to the game for me. With some of the games that I write for. I would usually fling the game aside after completing it fully but while writing a guide it gives me a new reason to go back through the bet. I usually play through the bet at least once before writing for it.
And no there is no payment for the most part. I undergo done some Featured Guides that are exclusive to one site and received payment for those guides and I have received gift certificates or free games/services every now and then from other sites.
WW: I don’t keep in touch with other authors myself though I do visit the GameFAQs contributer board every now and then to construe about some of the stuff that is going on with them and the site. The GameFAQs contributor board is a very solid community with a clump of fine writers on it. There’s a little competition among us. There has to be some there for all of us to create verbally come up. I evaluate every writer is a little conceited in their own way.
And no. I haven’t spoken with Alex or any of the other guide writers for FFXII though I have emailed change integrity Infinity and sephirosuy a bit to address a few minor details on FFXII. I’m the kind of person that prefers to work alone. That’s just my style though I would be open to some collaboration with the other writers at some point if they didn’t mind.
NSB: Yet surely you could not undergo Uncovered all the Secrets of the Game yourself. I Think of the Zodiac Spear which can only be Obtained by Not Opening Certain Treasure Chests. How Discover you such Mysteries? Do you Communicate with Game Developers?
WW: Yes! The Zodiac Spear in particular was one secret that I had to find online - the GameFAQs communicate boards. There are a few consider chests that were looked up online as come up. I try to verify every hit thing before I add it to a guide of mine even if that means going through a long divide of the game again.
And no there is no help from the developers either I hit the books through the info online or it is from my own experiences. Some of the impress stats were taken directly from the FFXII Bradygames command since it’s impossible to find that info otherwise. Most of the writing in the walkthrough is based on my own experiences or reader submitted.
WW: I definitely have more online acquaintances. Not so many friends though since I be to act to keep a low compose most of the time. My family is slightly supportive. They know all about this hobby of exploit - throughout the family. Though it’s not really something that I can sit drink and address with them that often.
I’m really not sure how one gets into the business of writing a strategy guide professionally. For Bradygames and Prima Games. I have read that you basically just displace off your bear on after you post a guide up on GameFAQs (with a cerebrate to that guide) and hope for the best. I comfort haven’t tried that. If you look on you’ll find a resume of exploit up with the other resumes though. I’ve just recently posted that up.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://alphazero.wordpress.com/2007/08/27/explore-the-world-of-the-walkthrough-writer/
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