10 Essential (Mostly) Videogame-Themed Twitter Accounts

I use Twitter and so should you. The “free social networking and micro-blogging service” (thanks for the definition, Wikipedia) emerged just three years ago and is now “the third most used social network” in the world. But it’s not like the others. The 140 character entry limit imposed by the service still suffocates bloggers who believe more copy is invariably more, and essentially communicates to the world what every guy wants to tell his girlfriend: “get to the [expletive deleted] point.”

Lame self-indulgent status updates are present, but discouraged by the vast community. Time’s precious, and Twitter users want value from “tweets,” or individual entries. For those who follow dozens, or even hundreds of other users, individual tweet value becomes exponentially more important.

From what I’ve observed, gamers tweet a lot. Too much, in fact. Now that some titles tweet your in-game status and updates for you, it’s armageddon in Twitter game land. But I stick to my original claim. If you’re a gamer, you should use Twitter. You just need to follow the right people.

Here’s a list of ten (mostly) videogame-industry related accounts I believe everyone should follow. If you’re already in the industry, or plan on one day becoming a part of it, consider this essential following.

Note: If you’re middle-aged or older and not really down on this social networking stuff, don’t worry. This doesn’t require a predefined “digital nativity” to understand, although, I have a problem with the whole “digital native” idea but that’s another story for another time. Twitter’s easy to use. And unlike Facebook and Myspace, you won’t feel old and creepy for joining if you’re over the age of 16. According to online research from the web monitoring company comScore, the average age of a Twitter user is over 35.

John Davison

Former editor for a plethora of sites and publications. After leaving his editor-in-chief position at 1UP.com, John founded Whattheyplay.com, a site dedicated to informing parents about the videogame industry. He recently sold What They Play to IGN and now runs the long-running videogame magazine and site Gamepro – overseeing the site and editorial overhaul.

Included because: Lifelong gamer and not-so-recent parent with the right mindset to communicate both to all audiences. John’s a nerd aging gracefully.

Example tweets:  Tonight? Curry and Uncharted 2. Tomorrow, dinner with @peerign & family, and no doubt talk of Uncharted 2 that will bore our wives silly

http://twitter.com/jwhdavison/status/4931802770

Mrs D and youngest boy playing Top Gear Top Trumps. I’m a proud husband/dad right now http://tinyurl.com/yz6ejq4
http://twitter.com/jwhdavison/status/4976881357

Shawn Elliott

Former editor at 1UP.com and Games for Windows Magazine who transitioned to a position at  2K Boston (a.k.a. the Bioshock team) as an associate producer. Shawn’s an intelligent, funny, and extremely observant person with a laser-like focus on all-things relating to videogame culture.

Included because: His “artifacts from the internet” (often hilarious pictures, articles or clilps) aside, Shawn’s tweets reflect his deep care for the industry – often inciting deep discussions on narrative, journalism, and the hazy line between the latter and PR groups. I don’t say this often, but Shawn’s an industry asset.

Example tweets: Amazing representation of video games on TV. http://bit.ly/4ocDwy RT@Sliver14

http://twitter.com/ShawnElliott/status/5441023013

Was IGN in any way compensated for the creation and maintenance of MusicHub and/or any articles featured on http://music.ign.com/ ?
http://twitter.com/ShawnElliott/status/4668950506

Natural Selection 2

What began as a mod for the original Half-life will become a full-blown retail title in the near future. Natural Selection 2 blends real-time strategy and first-person shooter elements in an aliens vs. marines narrative. Even after the original’s debut in 2002, there’s still nothing like it.

Included because: Developer Unknown Worlds generated $220,000 from pre-sales alone, “completely changing [their] financial picture.” Each day, via a series of tweets, fans can read how much closer the game is to release. This not only strengthens the link between community and developer, but it provides an excellent inside look at how a game is made.

Example tweets: One of our Decoda customers gave this talk about using Lua in game engines. A good primer for Spark modding: http://bit.ly/2XLrUl

http://twitter.com/NS2/status/5425164792

Working on pistol alt-fire. Some kind of phosphorous marker that draws a trail behind tagged aliens? It has a laser sight too. Ideas? #fb
http://twitter.com/NS2/status/5106198098

Adam Sessler

The current editor-in-chief of the G4 Network’s game content.

Included because: Sessler deserves a spot on this list if only for his perseverance and determination – creating the videogame program Extended Play in 1998 and carrying it through two massive network transitions. His tweets, and the links included, often demonstrate exactly why he holds his current position.

Example tweets: hey new soapbox…I’m a little angry. http://tinyurl.com/yc5yp8x

http://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/5431269589

look, can someone give Lieberman back his foreskin so I can disown him.
http://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/5250392641

Robert Ashley

Videogame journalist, food critic(?), musician, and proprietor of the coolest podcast in gaming.

Included because: Like Shawn Elliott, Ashley’s a highly intelligent individual who cares deeply for the videogame industry, but is rightfully concerned with its direction. His tweets communicate all that, of course, but they also give us an inside look at the development, marketing, and growth of his excellent “internet radio show about videogames and the people who love them.” Business-minded individuals without the slightest interest in gaming should still follow this account.

Example tweets: You guys are now officially my PR rep.

http://twitter.com/robertashley/status/5104407156

Uncharted 2 opens big. How many different animations for a dude getting hurt can a game have? It’s like the stages of the cross.
http://twitter.com/robertashley/status/4904808537

Dave Perry

David Perry might be a genius. At the age of 15, he began his development career. Two years later, he began making games for Elite Systems, Mirrorsoft, and Virgin Games. 10 years later, he formed Shiny Entertainment. 10 more years later, he sold the company for $47 million. Since then he’s formed videogame industry consulting agencies, spoken at dozens of universities and conferences, and co-hosted the 2006 Game Developer’s Choice Awards.

Included because: See above.

Example tweets: Students from USC pitched me a cool MMO idea tonight. Thanks AJK for inviting me!

http://twitter.com/dperry/status/5414422643

Good day today! With OnLive valued over $500M, it’s helping fuel Gaikai! Our focus is the lowest cost to the player, to a WIDER audience.
http://twitter.com/dperry/status/4503501899

Q Entertainment

“Synesthesia: It’s what’s for breakfast.” reads the bio for Q Entertainment’s twitter page. It’s a fitting description for a company specializing in developing videogames that tickle your audio and visual senses in new ways.

Included because: If you’re an audio nut, and a gamer, Q Entertainment might already be one of your favorite developers. Following the team on Twitter’s the next logical step, right?

Example tweets: The Rez on PS3 feedback is useful. But the IP is Sega’s. Can we sell enough to make it worth the effort? Will our new games suffer? Etc.

http://twitter.com/Q_Entertainment/status/5358837044

Game design inspires research. Research inspires game design. Can we make something so fresh and so clean clean?
http://twitter.com/Q_Entertainment/status/4123893580

Gamasutra Jobs

Gamasutra’s not only an excellent site for videogame news, analysis, and editorials, but it also compiles the most industry-related jobs into one massive network. There,  users can upload personal information and resumes to better land that dream job.

Included because: Whoever runs the Gama_jobs account posts new employment opportunities nearly on a daily basis. If you want a job in the industry, you need to follow this account.

Example tweets: Are you a great mentor looking to bestow knowledge on the next generation of game devs? The younglings need you! http://tinyurl.com/gamaEDU

http://twitter.com/Gama_Jobs/status/5428128946

End of Day Position Highlight: Community Developer – Ubisoft – San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/UbiCM
http://twitter.com/Gama_Jobs/status/5406277099

OCRemix

According to the site, “Founded in 1999, OverClocked ReMix is an organization dedicated to the appreciation, preservation, and interpretation of video game music. Its primary focus is www.ocremix.org, a website featuring hundreds of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.”

Included because: Anyone looking to make a career in audio needs to follow OCRemix. The community’s friendly, the submissions cover every genre imaginable, and there’s real potential to use the site as a stepping stone towards paid gigs.

Example tweets: Today’s random YouTube! OCR01671: Final Fantasy VII “Suco de Melancia” by Red Tailed Fox! http://bit.ly/1RFXik #SquareEnix #PlayStation

http://twitter.com/ocremix/status/5426378647

News! OverClocked ReMix Releases Castlevania: Sonata of the Damned! http://bit.ly/44V6Tj
http://twitter.com/ocremix/status/5329376548

Valve

The house that built Half-life also owns and operates Steam, the premier digital distribution service in gaming

Included because: Valve’s twitter feed mainly includes announcements of varying kinds, i.e. title updates, release dates, deals, etc. Sometimes, it also doubles as a way of communicating directly with individual fans.

Example tweets: Trick or Treat! Team Fortress 2 Halloween Sale – 2 Hours Only! http://tinyurl.com/ygpmn85

http://twitter.com/ValveNews/status/5302466913

Enhanced Security for your Steam Account http://tinyurl.com/yj8h36e
http://twitter.com/ValveNews/status/5237442131

Tags: twitter, video games

This entry was posted by Kyle Stallock on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Gaming, Multimedia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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