Critical Gaming Network

Obviously such judgement is circumstantial, but in this scenario, we judge via quality of output, and with regards to a more behind-the-scenes perspective, the general ideologies and/or business strategies of those associated with this ever-changing industry. What we initially aimed for when conceptualising and drafting up this project was a website which very much called it like it is. It was originally intended as a satirical, destructive, damning amalgamation of thoughts and ideas from lifelong gamers who are fed up with certain tendencies and traits that have become or are becoming a staple part of one of our most cherished pastimes. Whilst the core values remain the same, some way through development the shift in balance changed. Instead of focusing almost unanimously on criticism, what we decided to do was dedicate a large segment to both optimism and pessimism. After all, its unlikely that anyone who has even a semblance of interest in this hobby could or would argue that the positives don't vastly outmatch the negatives when it comes to gaming on the whole. The industry has contributed to an exponential amount of sleepless nights, it has tested the boundaries of friendship (at least online), and it is constantly encouraging us to challenge, and by direct extension, better ourselves in order to stay on top of our game. The beauty, and in many respects, geekiness of this activity is that for the most part it is achieved through pushing buttons. To an insider, it's natural, and it is this inherent social seperation that only serves to highlight just how much of a unique property we have on our hands. There is nothing like it and this is exactly the reason we love it. Honestly, try explaining exactly why you want to maintain your K/D ratio in any number of online games, why you are spending dozens of hours searching high and low for agility orbs in Crackdown or why you want just one more attempt at beating your friends scores in Trials HD to someone who knows nothing of the industry and you'll almost undoubtedly be greeted with a look of bewilderment or a patronising smile. I've lost count of the amount of debates I've had concerning the artistic and entertainment merit of gaming. In all likelihood, you will have been unaware of our presence online because before now we have had limited exposure to the big bad world of the internet. Although some of us have created and written for websites, made videos and even helmed a music blog (R.I.P.), we have remained very much a niche band of creative outcasts. We've somewhat grand plans for this blog and while this may seem like a sudden thing, you'll just have to trust us that it couldn't be more opposite. We've been deliberating over this website for the best part of a decade but due to various commitments, obligations and general laziness, we've been unable to gain a foothold in this department. Originally envisioned as the general gaming network AEN (Artificial Entertainment Network), in spite of falling just short of completion, it went on to inspire the AEN Outrunners clan. The Critical Gaming Network, on the other hand, came about like many things come about; as an inner joke, a borderline self-indulgent idea ingrained in controversy. We originally intended it to be a sister site of the more objective and news-based AEN and the founding principle focused upon its implementation as a vehicle to demonstrate our more critical, or as I like to put it, PR-less opinions and interpretations. Despite some ideas becoming redundant due to the amount of time we've spent sitting on our laurels, in many ways its a blessing in disguise. As silly as it may sound, we're all very creative and opinionated people with a lot to say and it is these ideas we intend to share with the world, ideas that we have been stewing over for longer than we'd like to admit. This simply means that there is a backlog of articles, videos and concepts waiting to be unleashed onto the world which, let's face it, can only be a good thing. Expect semi-regular content. The reason for this is because half the reason our music blog has been laying dormant for a over a year is because we put too much pressure onto ourselves into delivering content on a weekly basis. It got to the point where we were writing a solid three or four dedicated articles per week before we could even begin to start writing other individual articles and it put a strain on us creatively. In order to avoid a similar disaster, we've decided to adopt a contrasting approach with this website, preferring less regular articles that contain a higher standard of output. Ideally, we want to create something that is both professional and laidback, objective and subjective, with an injection of seriousness and humour, appealing to both masses and critics alike, and most importantly putting gamers at the forefront and knocking the corporations whose arrogance and unscrupulous agendas are having an adverse effect on a pastime most of us were born into.