Luke Smith (writer)
Encyclopedia
Luke Michael Smith is an American writer. He is currently a staff member at Bungie
, a video game development company, and is a former video games journalist. Smith wrote for a college newspaper and weekly papers in Michigan
before being hired as one of the first new freelance writers for Kotaku
. At Kotaku, Smith developed his writing style but soon left the site for a staff position as 1UP.com
's news editor. Smith made a name for himself at 1Up, particularly through an article he wrote focusing on problems with the game Halo 2
.
Smith was known for his direct approach to game journalism and scathing criticism of the video game industry. During his time at 1UP the site developed a greater profile and stepped out of its sister publication's shadow, but Smith grew frustrated with the contemporary state of gaming news and what he considered manipulation of journalists and readers into accepting promotional material as news. In April 2007 he left 1UP to become a Bungie writer and co-host of the developer's podcast
.
, writing about media in the college newspaper. After graduation, he worked for weekly papers in Dearborn
and Detroit
, Michigan
, including Real Detroit Weekly
. Clive Thompson, a games writer with Slate
, interacted with Smith over AOL Instant Messenger
and the two began to bounce ideas off of each other for their respective writing projects; when games blog Kotaku
started to expand from one writer (founder Brian Crecente), Thompson recommended Smith. Smith credits his time at Kotaku for helping him come into his own, develop his style and learn about attribution and citing sources, but he left after a short period of time. "At the time stories (on Kotaku) were unsigned. Kotaku was like the Brian Crecente vision. If I posted something or [fellow writer Brian Ashcraft] did people thought [Crecente] did. Also, there was no health insurance, it was just full-time freelance."
Smith then served as the news editor for 1UP.com
, the sister site to the now-defunct magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly
. During his tenure at 1UP, Smith wrote extensively about the Halo video game franchise
, as was considered a leading fan voice; in one article, he declared Halo was the only game series he cared about. Smith wrote a feature story for 1UP in 2005 called "Broken Halo", in which he explained how developer Bungie
could fix problems he perceived with the game; Crecente said the article put Smith "on the map". Smith also became one of the panelists of the 1UP Yours show, a weekly video games podcast featuring gaming editors and experts.
Play.d magazine credited Smith with inspiring gamers to learn more about the game industry and not accept company promotion, as well as turning 1UP from "the bastard child of EGM
" to an important part of the Ziff Davis
Internet company's gaming network. His style has been described as a "robust, direct approach" to journalism and is known for his scathing attacks on the industry. Smith, however, felt disheartened by the state of game journalism. "Video game journalism is just weird. You have guys married to women in marketing for the games they cover. Video game journalism is still very young, very early, still trying to find out what it is," he said. In an interview with Michael Zenke of The Escapist
, Smith said he felt game journalists were treated by developers as another part of the PR plan, with developers sending out information and the journalists "regurgitating" it. Worse, Smith felt that gamers had become used to this sort of information; "We have to be responsible for our actions and held accountable when we manipulate the expectations of gamers," he told Zenke. While he was becoming more frustrated with the field at 1UP, game developer Bungie
contacted him about employment. After sending the company his resume, Smith stopped writing about Bungie and Microsoft to avoid a conflict of interest. Smith accepted a job offer a month later.
, and former Gamespot
chief Greg Kasavin, who became an associate producer for Electronic Arts
.
Bungie staff hinted in a weekly update that Smith might play a role in the developer's podcast. Smith officially began work on May 7, 2007, as content editor, providing fans and the Bungie readership with information about Bungie's game and staff. Smith believed that there was a special opportunity for game developers, "for someone to come in and tell the stories that people want to know [...] Right now you have four bridges between developer and reader: Developer to PR, to journalist to reader. [This position] could get rid of those middle two bridges."
Writer Andy Robertson of Gamasutra
said that while Bungie had historically been good at letting fans interact via forums and provided updates and artwork via their site, Bungie.net, the company's releases had a "corporate and muted tone to it," and made less effort and been less successful historically at providing access to the inner workings of the game studio. As part of a change to become more transparent, Bungie took steps repeated throughout the industry to allow fans more say and recruiting respected voices from the community—namely, Smith. Robertson credited Smith's tenure as aiding Bungie's greater focus on, "building, supporting and learning from the Halo 3 community." Smith also hosted Bungie's podcast show along with co-host Brian Jarrard; in an interview with his former coworkers at 1UP, Smith said of the Bungie podcast, "we [Bungie] are focusing on getting our listeners and fans familiar with a bunch of the different faces at Bungie studios." Brought back after close to a year-long hiatus, the podcast now features Bungie news and interviews with staff members about their jobs and working at the studio. Smith had the title of "Bungie Community Manager" at Bungie, and has given interviews with the press about the company's recent products, including Halo 3: ODST. Smith was among other writers-turned-game developers who held a discussion on the topic at the 2009 Game Developers Conference
. He is currently working on player investment in Halo: Reach
.
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
, a video game development company, and is a former video games journalist. Smith wrote for a college newspaper and weekly papers in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
before being hired as one of the first new freelance writers for Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
. At Kotaku, Smith developed his writing style but soon left the site for a staff position as 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's news editor. Smith made a name for himself at 1Up, particularly through an article he wrote focusing on problems with the game Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
.
Smith was known for his direct approach to game journalism and scathing criticism of the video game industry. During his time at 1UP the site developed a greater profile and stepped out of its sister publication's shadow, but Smith grew frustrated with the contemporary state of gaming news and what he considered manipulation of journalists and readers into accepting promotional material as news. In April 2007 he left 1UP to become a Bungie writer and co-host of the developer's podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
.
Early career
Smith gradually entered into game journalism while working on an English Literature degree at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, writing about media in the college newspaper. After graduation, he worked for weekly papers in Dearborn
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
and Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, including Real Detroit Weekly
Real Detroit Weekly
Real Detroit Weekly is a weekly newspaper distributed free of charge every Wednesday, that focuses mainly on entertainment news from Hollywood and the metro Detroit nightclub scene...
. Clive Thompson, a games writer with Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, interacted with Smith over AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
and the two began to bounce ideas off of each other for their respective writing projects; when games blog Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
started to expand from one writer (founder Brian Crecente), Thompson recommended Smith. Smith credits his time at Kotaku for helping him come into his own, develop his style and learn about attribution and citing sources, but he left after a short period of time. "At the time stories (on Kotaku) were unsigned. Kotaku was like the Brian Crecente vision. If I posted something or [fellow writer Brian Ashcraft] did people thought [Crecente] did. Also, there was no health insurance, it was just full-time freelance."
Smith then served as the news editor for 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, the sister site to the now-defunct magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
. During his tenure at 1UP, Smith wrote extensively about the Halo video game franchise
Halo (series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
, as was considered a leading fan voice; in one article, he declared Halo was the only game series he cared about. Smith wrote a feature story for 1UP in 2005 called "Broken Halo", in which he explained how developer Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
could fix problems he perceived with the game; Crecente said the article put Smith "on the map". Smith also became one of the panelists of the 1UP Yours show, a weekly video games podcast featuring gaming editors and experts.
Play.d magazine credited Smith with inspiring gamers to learn more about the game industry and not accept company promotion, as well as turning 1UP from "the bastard child of EGM
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
" to an important part of the Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis Inc. is an American publisher and Internet company. It was founded in 1927 in Chicago by William B. Ziff, Sr. and Bernard G. Davis. Throughout most of its history, it was a publisher of hobbyist magazines, often ones devoted to expensive, advertiser-rich hobbies such as cars,...
Internet company's gaming network. His style has been described as a "robust, direct approach" to journalism and is known for his scathing attacks on the industry. Smith, however, felt disheartened by the state of game journalism. "Video game journalism is just weird. You have guys married to women in marketing for the games they cover. Video game journalism is still very young, very early, still trying to find out what it is," he said. In an interview with Michael Zenke of The Escapist
The Escapist (magazine)
The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...
, Smith said he felt game journalists were treated by developers as another part of the PR plan, with developers sending out information and the journalists "regurgitating" it. Worse, Smith felt that gamers had become used to this sort of information; "We have to be responsible for our actions and held accountable when we manipulate the expectations of gamers," he told Zenke. While he was becoming more frustrated with the field at 1UP, game developer Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
contacted him about employment. After sending the company his resume, Smith stopped writing about Bungie and Microsoft to avoid a conflict of interest. Smith accepted a job offer a month later.
Bungie
In April 2007, Smith announced on a 1UP podcast he was leaving the site to work for Bungie. Reaction to Smith's announcement varied; some were happy or sad to see him leave, while others felt he had "sold out." Smith joined the ranks of other former game journalists who left to work for game companies, including 1UP expatriate Che Chou, who joined Microsoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
, and former Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
chief Greg Kasavin, who became an associate producer for Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
.
Writer Andy Robertson of Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
said that while Bungie had historically been good at letting fans interact via forums and provided updates and artwork via their site, Bungie.net, the company's releases had a "corporate and muted tone to it," and made less effort and been less successful historically at providing access to the inner workings of the game studio. As part of a change to become more transparent, Bungie took steps repeated throughout the industry to allow fans more say and recruiting respected voices from the community—namely, Smith. Robertson credited Smith's tenure as aiding Bungie's greater focus on, "building, supporting and learning from the Halo 3 community." Smith also hosted Bungie's podcast show along with co-host Brian Jarrard; in an interview with his former coworkers at 1UP, Smith said of the Bungie podcast, "we [Bungie] are focusing on getting our listeners and fans familiar with a bunch of the different faces at Bungie studios." Brought back after close to a year-long hiatus, the podcast now features Bungie news and interviews with staff members about their jobs and working at the studio. Smith had the title of "Bungie Community Manager" at Bungie, and has given interviews with the press about the company's recent products, including Halo 3: ODST. Smith was among other writers-turned-game developers who held a discussion on the topic at the 2009 Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
. He is currently working on player investment in Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...
.
External links
- Luke Smith blog on 1UP.com1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
- Meet the Team on Bungie.net