Portfolio

(P.S. I don’t actually read The Sun)

Oh hey, this is my old portfolio. I used to write about video games, but now I work for video game publisher tinyBuild. You can find out about that here. Below is what I used to do.

Hello! My name’s Mike Rose, and I’m currently UK editor at Gamasutra. I also write for Kotaku and IndieGames.com, and I’ve previously held positions at Pocket Gamer and Gamezebo.

Where can you find my writing?

You can find my latest Gamasutra work here, and my Kotaku stuff here. For my prior shenanigans, you can find my Pocket Gamer work here, and my Gamezebo stuff here. If you want some of my favourite Gamasutra writing, here’s a selection of recent ones that spring to mind:

Chasing the Whale: Examining the ethics of free-to-play games
Video games and gun violence: A year after Sandy Hook
Lords of War: The gunrunners of Counter Strike: Global Offensive
Dwarf Fortress in 2013
Ridiculous Fishing: The Game that Nearly Ended Vlambeer
Who’s buying all these niche simulation games, anyway? We found out
Using SimCity to diagnose my home town’s traffic problem
How Octodad turned a group of strangers into best friends
Supercell’s Secret Sauce

In 2014, I ran a series of articles looking into the video game YouTuber scene, and the nature of relationships between YouTubers and developers. Notably, I was one of the first video game writers to do so — high-profile articles in the series include:

Is YouTube killing the traditional games press?
Pay for Play: The ethics of paying for YouTuber coverage
Are developers actually paying for YouTuber and press coverage?
How to get your game covered by YouTubers

I also occasionally freelance for other outlets. For example, here’s a CS:GO review at CVG, and here’s “Sim Paulo” over at Foreign Policy. I’ve covered numerous hardware launches, including the PS Move, Kinect, the Nintendo 3DS, the PS Vita, and the Wii U. My LinkedIn profile showcases all my work, and features recommendations from people I have worked with in the past. I’ve also written for various print, including Game Developer Magazine, What Mobile, the Guinness Book of World Records and my own book, 250 Indie Games You Must Play.

If you’d like to commission me to write anything for you, contact me at michaelrose86@gmail.com.

Quotes and awards

I’ve been quoted, cited and sourced in numerous places, including the likes of:

Mashable
Wired
The BBC
Yahoo Finance
AllThingsDigital
Metro
The Atlantic Wire
FutureZone
RockPaperShotgun (numerous times)
We Ask Indies

I was one of MCV’s 30 Under 30 in 2011, and I received three nominations for the Games Journalism Prize 2013.

Talks and judging

I’ve been known to give the odd talk or two, including:

Getting Your Independent Game Noticed in 2013
Games Don’t Sell Themselves: How to Get the Press and Players Talking About Your Game
Indies’ Got PR Talent
Vienna Games Marketing Workshop
It’s Time For an Indie Uprising in Lithuania (with follow-up interview)

Not to mention I’ve been a judge on numerous panels and competitions, including the Independent Games Festival, the Gamescom Awards, ModDB’s Game of the Year awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, the Meffys, and more.

Here’s a more visual idea of who I’ve written for – because everybody loves pretty pictures, right?

Currently:

Past work: