Ever since I started in games, I’ve sometimes had the feeling that the East Coast writers have been given shorter shrift when compared to folks on the West Coast.

That shouldn’t be the case.

We need a group to advocate for game writers, those who are freelance and those who are on staff. That means this organization would act like the National Writer’s Union in one respect. We will try to make sure that writers are paid and that writers receive answers from editors to their well-thought-out queries. We will also communicate with publicists who won’t answer game critics’ queries in a timely manner.

The New York Videogame Critics’ Circle will also eventually hold events like a Critic’s Symposium and dinners/drinks with game developers and those in the game industry who are in town — without publicists around – if they dare.

We will have special guests at our meetings as well.  So far, we’ve had long-time industry analyst Billy Pidgeon and equally long-time game maker and consultant, Bernie Yee.

And next year, will have an awards night, something perhaps more mature than what’s out there now.

We are looking at various ways to do some very creative things as writers. We’ll have more on that soon.

-Harold Goldberg