Game Editor

Standing outside Cameron Shea’s office, it’s hard to work out what he actually does. Explosions and gunfire shake the adjoining walls, and the floor reverberates to the beat of pumping rock music.

Cameron, the editor of IGN Australia, spends his working week playing and reviewing video games.

“I’ve been doing this for almost nine years. It’s a dream job,” he says.

The 29-year-old realised from a young age that hours spent playing video games could be turned into a career, so he tested the job market by writing a games review.

“It was a PlayStation 2 dancing/fighting game available only in Japan, and I sent it off to my favourite games magazine,” he says.

Within a week, the magazine editor had called to offer him freelance work. Three years later, Cameron was deputy editor.

“It was easier to get work with them because I really understood the culture of the magazine and the people they were writing for – I was one of them,” he says.
“In hindsight, it was that first article that got me a foot through the door.

“I knew the editor would be looking for something with a cutting edge – something that demonstrated a wide knowledge of the games industry, not something that had been done before.”

IGN touts itself as the world’s number-one online destination for video-game enthusiasts.

Its Australian arm consists of Cameron and three other editorial staff who bring local insight to a vast global network.

“The advantage of working for one of the largest games companies in the world is that we get to look at the big picture and aren’t tied down to doing any one thing,” Cameron says.

“I interview developers about games, do previews and games reviews, and write news for the site about things that are happening in the world of games, right through to doing bigger features on old games, genres or systems.

“We also have an online game-users’ forum, so our goal is to build up the Australian community of forum users and also the blog.”
 

No formal qualifications are required to review games, but aspiring reviewers need to have some specific strengths.

“You rely on the standard of your writing and the quality of your personality,” Cameron says.

“You also need to understand why people play games, and have a good knowledge of playing games.”

Cameron made the move from print to online publishing 12 months ago, and says it’s his most exciting career challenge yet.

“There are many avenues you can explore online that you could never do in print.As long as I’m enjoying it, I see no reason for a radical career shift.”