Meet the Team

Posted on 07. Feb, 2010 by Mark Cullinane in Site News

Rather than make a doomed-to-fail effort to compete with the big boys of online games journalism and mimic their often anodyne, cut-and-paste approach to games writing, No Added Sugar has an alternative vision for videogame criticism: instead of trying to comprehensively cover news, previews and reviews of all upcoming titles, we only write on the videogames that interest us. Just as well, then, that between us, our tastes cover a broad range, from the most casual titles to the most hardcore, and quite a lot in between- from the newest indie game to mainstream mega-publisher blockbusters.

We’re less concerned about meeting arbitrary deadlines for articles and more interested in ensuring that we’ve put enough time into the game in order to write intelligently on it. We try to keep No Added Sugar a cliché and hype-free zone. That’s not to say we don’t get excited- the No Added Sugar team are all dedicated gamers, doing this not for personal gain but for the love of the game, and a belief that games and gamers deserve quality discussion of videogames.

We believe in transparency, too: whilst members of the No Added Sugar team often accept review copies from publishers and developers, we never enter into commitments to offer coverage to particular titles. We also believe our readers have the right to know when we’ve received any kind of benefits- games, trips, etc- from companies in the industry. That’s why we always mention this within our articles. More on this here.

We believe that with the emergence of the first generation of adults proud to call themselves gamers, there’s an appetite for intelligent videogames writing that isn’t afraid to explore deeper issues within videogames that go beyond the interminable top ten lists that so many other sites are fond of.

Our name, No Added Sugar, arose from our desire for saccharine-free games coverage. Games journalism is still in its infancy, just as the medium of videogames. If No Added Sugar can play a small part in progressing videogames criticism towards something more reflective, adult, and inclusive, we’ll be satisfied that we’ve done our job.  We hope you stick around and become part of the debate.

From beautiful Co. Meath in Ireland, I’m the founder of the site your browser is currently parked on. I feel there is a serious need for a videogames site that strives not to be a jack of all trades (and ends up being a master of none) but one that focuses on quality writing and quality analysis of both games and the games industry. My academic background is sociology, but I’ve been a student of videogames a lot longer. I’ve no time or interest in the platform wars- I enjoy quality games, regardless of which megacorporation built the box that I play them on.  No Added Sugar is all about getting down to the serious work of playing them, writing about them- and most importantly of all, enjoying them.

I’m James. I recently graduated with an English degree and failed
miserably to hold down a full time job. Blame the recession, blame my
choice of subject, just don’t blame me. I had always wanted to go into
journalism, so I asked myself ‘what’s hot? What’s new? What’s
exciting?’ The answer was, of course, the internet. And I was told it
was the best place to get a start in the profession. I had written,
and section-edited, for the University of Birmingham’s student
newspaper, Redbrick, while I studied there, and now I hope to use that
experience to turn to a subject that I think deserves a lot more
respect, videogames. I completely echo Mark’s philosophy for the site,
and hope to contribute the kind of entertaining, thoughtful writing
that we both feel is missing from other parts of the gaming press. I
currently live in London, and as well as writing for No Added Sugar, I
work two half-jobs.

I’m Chris Evans (no, not that one) from sunny Birmingham. I’ve been writing about games for a few years now, but it didn’t take long for me to become somewhat disillusioned with the way the way most websites approach things.  After being involved with a staff discussion (on a website which shall remain nameless) that begun with “what can we write a top ten list of this week?”, I felt it was time to move on. Which is where No Added Sugar came in. Videogames deserve to be taken seriously, and there’s space for intelligent and thoughtful discussion, but lets not forget that all we’re really looking for is a bit of entertainment.

I’m Tarnya and I currently study Art History at Kingston University in London.  I’ve always been interested in video games- despite gentle persuasion against it. I even remember trading in my (very small, honest!) collection of Barbie dolls for a Sega Game Gear.  I may be a ‘girl gamer’ but that doesn’t mean I just sit around playing Nintendogs- I enjoy smashing a Zombie in the face with an axe as much as the next person. I’ve always taken videogames reviews with a pinch of salt, which is why I’m so glad to be part of a site with a fresh and exciting approach to games journalism.

Bret here, ethically diverse journalism graduate with a passion for gaming. Everything I know about fashion and politics can be written on the back of a beer mat, but when it comes to pixels killing each other, I’m your man. Games were my third parent and they raised me with a love for all things interactive, innovative and inspirational.
So, armed with said journalism degree but no foot on the career ladder, I decided that I would start myself a website and blog in order to keep my writing skills sharp while I plug away at the day job (which is a strange and soul destroying job but it pays for the games).
Then along comes No Added Sugar, a great way to look at my favorite media without the pollution that comes with many of the big games media outlets. So, it’s time to scrap so-called games journalism and start writing about games, which is far more productive, honest and entertaining.