Writing & Playing The Game

Writing is obviously a very important part of the review process; you can't share your opinion about a game if nobody understands you! We take writing skills very seriously here at Old Skool Games, and since we are published in the English language, we require that all writers who submit content have excellent English skills. It doesn't have to be picture perfect spelling and grammar every time, all we ask is that your work be comprehensive, makes sense, and doesn't look like a confusing mass of sentences and words jumbled together. Unfortunately this means that if English is your second language, and you are not well polished, we may have to reject your work. All writers foreign or domestic to the USA are encouraged to submit content, but we simply ask that you have good English writing skills to save us all the headache.

It is expected that you will proof read your work before you submit it. This cuts down on editing time and speeds up the production process directly. The less time we spend editing poorly written reviews, the more time we have to concentrate and getting more content put into the magazine. DO NOT ever submit any piece of work that looks like it came out of an AOL/IRC chatroom. Writers who do this will quickly find themselves being ignored by OSG staff. Be sure and spell out all words, and don't use shortcuts or abbreviations unless they are appropriate. We also ask that when talking about numbers and percentages, they be spelled out properly instead of inserting the actual numbers. There are times where numerical representation may be appropriate, but it is at the editor's discretion.

Playing the game you are reviewing is important. Obviously you will have played some of the game, since you are writing a review, but we ask that you play as much of the game as possible. Most games are good for two or three hours, with the exception of RPG's. We ask that you play as far as you possibly can when playing RPG's, and that you do your best to NOT include game / plot spoilers in your review. Generally six hours or more is acceptable for an RPG review, however we encourage you to try and play at least ten hours. You may ask why it is so important to play a game for hours at a time, especially if you think it is just a simple game. You have to know what you are talking about, regardless! Playing the game for long periods of time increases your knowledge of how it works, and allows you the chance to master certain mechanics that may be challenging, thus providing a more impartial review. The only exception to this rule is when playing a game that totally, absolutely stinks. You will of course be expected to provide a thurough review explaining why you think a particular game sucks so bad.

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