Clipping Through: One Mad Week In Video Games

by Leigh Alexander, Liz Ryerson (Afterword by)

Get up close with suits, madmen, dear friends, industry heroes (and gnawing personal terror), in some of Leigh Alexander's boldest and most intimate writing yet. The veteran game journalist takes you inside the curious experience of life and work in video games -- through the lens of one week spent at the incredible Game Developers Conference.

Available in epub, mobi (kindle compatible), microsoft word, and pdf formats.

Genres: Video Games, Nonfiction, Gaming, Games

74 pages, ebook

First published August 7, 2014

Reviews

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Come for the perceptive analysis of video game culture and the great writing style; stay for the revelations about the subtext of Symphony of the Night and Metal Gear Solid.

[CHAD W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leigh does a good job painting the broad strokes of a week at GDC from the perspective of journalist from that the late 2000 time period. Unfortunately I found her writing dwelled too much on how she felt about topics and didn't go into enough detail of the whys. I would read another book from her if it was fleshed out a little more. As it is, this felt more like an extended magazine article then a true book. Her writing does definitely have potential and she certainly has enough career experience to write another book.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book didn't do much for me. But I did like her description of those free-but-monetized-type games (e.g. FarmVille, et al.):
"tactile, visual tantalizing plenitude hooks you into the joy-loops of getting, having, building, clicking. And then slowly, the friction. It comes on slowly, like something you don't immediately realize is hot enough to burn you. Until you're noosed, and $10 would make such a difference in bringing back that sense of plenitude, of bright, jingly bouncing doobers, of advancement and attainment, that you used to love.
And you're like, well, $10 is not that much, I've spent hours upon hours on this game for free already, and that's worth $10. I really, you say to yourself, feel I am getting the value for my engagement. And that's how it starts. It's like drugs, really."

[Ninakix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put off reading this because I didn't think I would enjoy it. But I was wrong. This is a really interesting personal reflection on a trip to GDC, but also just a reflection on working and making in general. If you're a fan of video games you should definitely read this, but even if you're not, there are parts you will enjoy and learn from. I particularly enjoyed her description of why she's starting her new consulting company, Agency, discussion of tools, and finally, weirdly, discussion of monetization and how it doesn't have to be icky.

[Mark Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced gonzoesque travelogue of Leigh's most recent visit to GDC, which provides a fascinating view of the games industry, both big and small. It manages to capture the feel of a vast community that only congregates once a year and the pressure to fit it all in. It also deals with the challenges of growing into adulthood and accepting where you find yourself. A particular highlight is how she discusses San Francisco's poverty in the style of a text based adventure game.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really interesting to read about my first GDC but from a different perspective. I love Leigh's writing and I think she really captured the madness of GDC along with the elation of being with so many like-minded, intelligent people. I hope she writes about this year! I thought reading this would help me get over the blues of not going this year, but it has strengthened my need to go next year!

[Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't quite describe why I loved the book so much. A big part of it was Leigh's honesty and frank way of writing. There were so many parts of the book that actually moved me, the last two sentences of the book being a great example. Leigh's personality aside, this was also a great look at the GDC. There was lots of interesting trivia about developers that I happen to really care about, and through Alexander's writing I felt as if I was there too. Really great book!

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Clipping Through" is easily the most important book about the games industry one can think of. A visceral, short read, it gives us the opportunity to see the industry from one strata close to the developers and Money Men then we can normally - we're still outsiders looking in, but Leigh Alexander can show us a hell of a lot more than we're supposed to see. Her honesty and excellent word-smithing make this a must-read for anyone thinking about joining the crazy, crazy video games industry.

[Ryan Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug this book. Leigh's got a beautiful style, and much of this book is about people and events I've bounced into before, so it felt personal in a pleasant way. Fast read, totally worth the hour or so it takes to plow through it. Definitely read if you're a game developer or critic that's done GDC.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intensely personal, stream-of-conscious-type travelogue covering the inner thoughts of a game journalist during GDC. I enjoyed her insights into the video game industry, developers, and human nature in relation to gaming.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very specific, personal book. I like Leigh Alexander's writing a lot - hope to read more long-form stuff from her.

[Sophie Lagacé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leigh Alexander's writing style is excellent, and made this book interesting even to someone like me, at the periphery of the digital gaming culture.

[Alex Camilleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice book, easy to read and follow (even more if you were part of the GDC in the past years). Quite personal at times, I wish it explored more the subtext of Metal Gear Solid :)

[Ango Bango · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly one of the most fascinating, revealing, and compelling things I have read in years. I ended up reading it in a single sitting, much to the detriment of my sleep.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered Ms. Leigh Alexander when she appeared on one of the E3 podcasts at Giant Bomb. I found her perspective fascinating in a sea of men. I was still too new to this world to understand why this led to so much hate and abuse that she hasn't been back on. (At least that's how I understand what happened) Since then I've followed her on twitter (and even made an ass of myself with a tweet to her) and I generally enjoy her reading of the industry and games. From her pieces, she seems to be slightly older than me, but we're roughly from the same era in video games and so it's a voice that speaks with the same cultural background and that's always neat.

This book is in the gonzo style of journalism. If you haven't heard of that term, perhaps you've heard of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? It was supposed to be a newspaper article about a race in the desert; it ended up a tale of Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer doing drugs in Las Vegas. Essentially, gonzo journalism is using an event as a jumping off point to learn more about the author. Tim Rogers, who makes an appearance in this book, is famous for this style. He has a review of Super Mario Brothers 3 that is more about creating the perfect video game and living in Japan than it really is about SMB3. You either tend to love or hate this style - at least based on the types of comments his articles tend to get.

So this book is ostensibly about GDC, the Games Developer Conference, but it's really about Ms. Leigh Alexander and the industry and her place in it. I think if you know that going in, you'll be more likely to appreciate it (subject to how much you like her writing). Having interviewed some of my favorite creators at Comic-Con (Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice creators John Layman ( https://youtu.be/yjO7J3MY4wk ) and Rob Guillory ( https://youtu.be/UpI6DgmYgFw ) ) I can definitely sympathize with her nervousness at interviewing the Castlevania creator. There's this need to keep the fan(boying|girling) to minimum while also making it something different than everyone else has asked this person.

Recommended if you enjoy the new games journalism.