Hey All,

Thanks for the feedback on my latest video, that kind of positive reaction has only made me want to shoot another one ASAP. Since I'm not doing much this weekend bar playing (London League) and watching (FA Cup) football (soccer), I thought why not do one sooner rather than later. Usually I wait untill some news or game sparks my interest and create a video around that, but this time I'd love to get some feedback on what you guys would like to see.

Maybe something you wish was on Gamespot, maybe something you though of doing yourself, anything as long as it ties into video games in some way. It could be another feature, a video review, a demo walkthough or news roundup. The more imaginative the better. If I use it, I'll give you credit and maybe some sort of prize thing (im sure I have a few promo codes lying around).

If you're interested in seeing any more of the stuff I produce, check out the site, listen to our latest podcast, or check out some of the videos we've produced in the past on the links below.
- This week's Citizen Gamecast
- Citizen Game Video Page

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions folks :P

If you found this post boring I'm sorry. Just go download the Just Cause 2 demo and you'll feel better.

[video=cHUwlzL95bMMuD7W]

Video Editorial: Loading Screen Evolution!
It's been a while since I whipped up a video-editorial, but I had some spare time this weekend to dust off the camera and capture random game footage. I figured I try to shoot a piece about the most boring part of gaming; Loading Screens. It was a sort of challange I guess, and I'm pretty happy with the results. More importantly, once you've watched the video be sure to post your ideas for loading screens in the future. This video contains profanity and is therefore age-gated as per Gamespot rules.

User Feedback:
Q1: What's your favourite loading screen?
Q2: What ideas for future loading screens do you have?

Ever since I can remember I've had a terrible memory.

Sometimes I wonder if this is the result of blunt force trauma or a by-product of a superbly boring young life; neither is particularly good. In any case one of the few memories I hold dear to me is playing a certain Amiga football game with my brother on cold Winter evenings in our family home in southern Ireland.

The youngest of three kids, my closet sibling in terms of age and inspiration was my brother Alan, 6 years my senior. Brotherly love can be tough and common ground rare, especially with an age gap as wide as ours. When he was tumbling around our mucky garden with his pals, I had just learned to stop to stop crapping my pants. By the time I was finished my multiplication tables he was trying to get into girls underwear.

But this great divide disappeared altogether when, sitting in front of a 14 inch true-colour TV, we'd load up a chunky floppy disk labelled 'Sensible Soccer'. For years 'Sensi' was the common ground we delighted in stamping around in for hours. We bought every version of the game (usually with his money), created our own custom teams, smashed each other with Zipsticks and sometimes argued over who's turn it was to play. It sounds silly, but that simple Commodore Amiga game was the platform atop much of our childhood relationship blossomed, something I am eternally grateful for.

Years later the Amiga would give way to the SNES and Mega Drive, neither of which really grabbed my brothers attention. By the time the Playstation arrived Alan had left for college. Over the coming years his enjoyment of video games quietly shuffled away behind new and exciting social & sporting endeavours. Myself and my brother are different in small but measurable ways, and though over the years we could often enjoy a night in watching films, or a few pints in a pub none of these engaged us actively the way those tiny pixelated players did.

This past December my brother turned 30, a milestone that resonates inside this little brother how long its been since we heard that Amiga disk-drive clunk into action. His generous girlfriend celebrated the occasion by buying him a Playstation 3, the first console my brother has owned in nearly a decade. Rabid football fan he is, FIFA10 was immediately acquired and practised on for the weeks running up to Christmas. When the 25th came we all returned to the homestead and much to my surprise, Alan arrived with his brand new console.

On Christmas night, as our stomachs struggled to digest a broth of turkey, stuffing and mince pies, myself and my brother played FIFA into the early hours of the morning. The phrase "Just one more game" lost all credibility as we screamed and laughed through competitive and co-operative matches between teams from across the globe. It was a great night. Last week my brother flew over to London to stay with my girlfriend and I for a couple of days and it all happened again. We had planned to visit a few Museums and generally act like the cultured adults we should be by now, but inevitably that singular morning game of FIFA soon became an afternoons worth. Before we knew it, it was time for him to catch a tube to the airport.

Children use play to bond with each other from a very early age and the older we get, it seems, the less time we have for play. Alan and I would sometimes play with toy cars or kick a football beneath the apple trees of our back garden, but those battles in Sensi were special. Nowadays the age gap is less relevant, replaced by distance and free time. But I'm happy with the knowledge that when we do have the time, we can sit down in front of FIFA and, for a short while, transport ourselves back 15 years in front of that tiny TV with joysticks in hand.

C'mon bro, Just one more game.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Sensible World of Soccer is available on Xbox Live Arcade for 800MS Points

Reader Questions:
Q: What games did you play with your brothers/sisters when you were young?
Q: Do you still play with your siblings?
Q: Have games ever helped you bond with somebody?

Oh Hai,

I've been a busy boy of late. Whats that? I should compartmentalize these events into a list? Sure!

Raised over £600 for children in Need.
The great Citizen Game community banded together to play games throughout the night of Children in Need, raising over £600 for somthing they probably would have been doing anyway. Horah!

Wrote a Modern Warfare 2 Review
9.0, still loving the multiplayer.

Started a Forum on CitizenGame
Eventually I got around to it. Already saves some cash from the deals in our "Bargain Hunter" section, so it was worth the dev time already.

Recorded a few Podcasts
We have the formula down to a tea now. 45 minutes every week. The first every week too, available from 9:30 Monday Morning.

Bought a new TV!
My projecter exploded the day after the gameathon. Perfect excuse to buy a 42 inch 1080p HDTV.

Other Games I've been playing:
DJ Hero - fun, but got it for free.
AssCreed2 - fun, but stupid story
Left4Dead2 - Far better than the first. Refined.
CrossFingers, Beneath a Steel Sky, Minigore, Doodlejump (all on iPhone)

Everything else is cool. Work is going great, going home for 2 weeks at Christmas and recording some fantastic CitizenGame content in the run up to Christmas. I might post somthing here in the lead up to Jesus day, but for now, thats what Dannys doing.

Charitable Gamespotters,

As part of Children in Need, Citizen Game staffers (and some close friends) will be playing a video games marathon on November 20th in aid of Children In Need (and because we'd probably be doing it anyway!). We'll be taking over a film studio in central London for the night, and invite you guys to join us online.

Alternatively, get involved here as we're going to broadcast the event LIVE on my website with photos and articles available in the days following.

In case you're not aware, Children in Need is a UK charity that has been running since 1980. In that time it has raised £500,000,000 for disadvantaged, disabled and abused children in the UK. We hope, in some small way, to contribute to their worthy cause this year.

We also encourage you guys to get involved and raise awareness by playing with us that night via Xbox Live or the Playstation Network. If you're interested, check out the details here.

Please don't worry if you cannot afford to spare anything, these are hardly the most affluent of times, but anything you can spare to give will go towards a great charity.

Thank you for your charity and support.

Now lets raise some money!

FURTHER INFORMATION HERE

Hello and welcome to my new blog thing where I post links to stuff I've been doing. Cool eh? Well probably not, but I hate people thinking I'm being lazy. Over the past few weeks I've been populating Gamespot and my own site with videos, reviews and undefinables, so here are a choice selection of content I've produced this month across the internets!

Canabalt Review: (Gamespot User Review)
Cheap & Cheerfull iPhone Game

EDGE Review: (Cant Find it on Gamespots Database)
Great Little iPhone game.

GTA4: Ballad of Gay Tony Playtests (Video)
- Multiplayer Playtest
- Singleplayer Playtest

Operation Flashpoint Playtest (Video)
- Part #1
- Part #2

Newspaper Advertisment (The Times)
My first mass-media graphic design is going in the Times on November 14th.

Trailer Watch (only the best and worse make it)
- Jailbait Hero

Citizen Soapbox (our weekly user discussion groups)
- Mobile-Phone Games
- Spooky Games

Citizen Gamecast (Eurogamer Episode)
With brand new music, and in keeping with CG on-location podcasts, we were pretty hammered.

We also covered the Golden Joystick Awards and the Eurogamer Expo in central London last weekend (thats me interviewing Gamespotter Joseph Barron). Expect video for that in 'Whats Danny Doing #2".

In terms of games I've been playing the awesome Brutal Legend, Fifa 10, Operation Flashpoint 2, some great iPhone and Indy games (pick up Osmos on Steam if you have a few quid lying around).

Hope you guys are all keeping well in the run up to Jesus Day. What have you guys been up to? What you been playing?

My labour of love went live a few hours ago. www.citizengame.co.uk

I've spent the past 4 months developing the site in our new location in London with a fantastic group of guys. I spent a long time brainstorming about the aspects of games websites, and games journalism that I feel are odds with the common gamer. The PR/Newswire cycle that ends when the game hits shelves, the lack of entertainment in an entertainment medium, and a lot more.

This is my attempt at what games websites should be, or at least what I can get away with, with a team of freelance contributers with fulltime jobs. Weekly videos, the return our weekly podcast (new format), articles from some of the best games writers in the UK and loads more.

Apparently I'm one of the most visited and followed users on all of Gamespot. In the 3 years on this site I've written articles, shot videos and covered foreign events from this humble blog. If you think my content was worth your time on Gamespot, I'd love for you to see whats coming up on on CG. It's a geniune attempt at creating a better type of games media.

Join the revolution :)

Danny

Quick update, Im not dead.

- Still no internet in flat in London (so havent been gaming online in nearly 2 months).
- Got a job in London making websites and graphics for an online video production company. Unreal job, Im working on top level web design, running projects and organising sizable contracts. Its 110% awesome.
- Sort of decided I dont want to work outright in games journalism. My design work is better split between the creative and business sides, and I'm being much better paid. I dont want to be in my thirties earning a crap wage. Even better, I feel more personally free to explore the areas of games culture I find interesting, rather than having to bend over to the money machine and cover stories that drive more traffic. Interested in doing more freelance work like i do now in radio. I have a plan, we'll see what happens over the next few months....

- My 360 RROD'ed AGAIN yesterday, so playing my Ps3 more (ratchet and clank TOD is fantastic!). Its the DVD drive again. Out of Warranty, boo!
- Still building the new CitizenGame. So exciting since the company i work for is local over a film studio and the guys have unreal amounts of knowledge in online video. Its nearly done!
- Went on the London Eye, its really high!
- London is bloody hot again, everyone has swine flu (like 5 people I know so far).

- Ate Ghanain food for the first time. Analysis: Delicious
- Goin to see Deftones next week (love London!).
- Watched the Arsenal match in a pub in Highbury last week (love London!).
- Playing loads of Unreal Tournament 3 with bots, feel like im 13 again ;)
- Haven't bought a game since I moved here. I miss my HMV staff discount.....

How you boys and girls doin?
Very well I hope. Do share......

See, very much alive.

...hmmm..pets and animals? yea that'll do...

Hi yea, so. The site myself and my friend Denis set up last year was fairly successful, we landed 35,000 unique visitors since January 1st, were mentioned several times on Kotaku, Steam, N4D and hundreds of other sites, and had a great time reporting from Leipzig and Blizzards Invitational. But we've learned a lot, but to cut to the point, a reboot is in order.

Before moving to London i spent a few weeks programming and designing the new site, and organising a change of focus. Im aiming high with CitizenGame v2, very high. High enough that Its probably not right to post it on Gamespot, but in honesty this is where many of the CG contributors came from, so it makes sence to go fishing here before anywhere else.

To cut to the chase if you're interested on colaborating with the launch of the UK's most exciting video games website, reply here or email me at dannyodwyer@gmail.com - Areas needed include:
- Writers
- Reviewers
- Video Presenters
- Tech (audio / video)
- Web (programmers / graphics)

Please have some version of your work available to see/read and its a big advantage if your based in London.
If your driven, passionate about games and willing to put in the work, get in contact.

I have a vision of whats missing in the games press, and what can be done to unite the core and casual into 1 portal. Managing the PR influence thats polluting the mainstream games press, getting out of the boardrooms and into the sitting rooms. More importantly, im no longer stuck in Ireland on my own trying to do it. This is no pipe dream, I have the ability and drive to get this done, I just need a strong team of people to help me pull it off.

If you can help, get in contact.

Im off to play more Burnout :)

It's been one calander week since myself and my lady friend made the final move to London and well over a month since I posted on my beloved Gamespot, so what better time than now to write an exaustive list of the better and worst points of live in Europe's largest city. LETS DO THIS!

Green = Good Times
Red = Bad Times

The Tube - Though I'm sure (like rollercoaster testers) the novelty wears off, the underground is simply superb. Excellently well run, fairly priced (with an Oyster) and at least in my experience so far, puntual and fast. Buses aren't bad either. I've never seen public transport like it.

Groceries - Oh man is stuff cheap here. Economies of scale is the winner over here with Basic fruit & veg, milk, meat, beer (shops and bars) and medicine being almost half the price in some shops. Even when you factor in the Euro-Sterling thing. Speaking of which...

Sterling - A minor gripe. It just feels silly that I can go to Italy or Eastern Europe with my Euro, but have to exchange it for Queen-moneys when take a 1 hour plane trip.

iPlayer, 4OD & Spotify - As a *cough* TV licence holder, I've access to all the free on demand and live broadcasts from national broadcasters. Watched Wimbledon live on my PC this week. No internet in my flat yet though, I'm posting this with my dongle hanging out my window, 150feet in the air. Spotify is genuis too.

No Car - *sniffle*, I miss being able to drive to the local beach or mountains for a day with nature. At least the views here are amazing....

Views from Apartment - (see below) I wake up in the morning and see south London glistening in the morning hue. Its glorious up here. Im a sucker for views, we can see hills 20 miles away from my old house in Ireland, so getting an appartment this high was fantastic. We're right beside the 2012 Olympic village site, which is facinating to watch being built. Free residents gym too, so bye bye love handles!

No Tayo Crisps or Decent Cider - Im Irish, I love Tayto crisps and miss them dearly. Most Irish children are raised on a diet of Tayto, its in our genes! Also I know understand why Bulmers is called 'Magners' overe here, its because another 'Bulmers' cider exists overe here, which tastes better actually. Not that it matter, im not really drinking as Im going to the gym.

Entering Gamespot UK Competitions - The main reason I moved over actually. No more will I be denied access to sweet-ass-prizes because of the xenaphobic policies of Gamespot Uk :P (i jest!)

Stuff to do - Its Endless. Theater, music, arcades, museums... you could never get bored here. And if you are, try living in Cork for a year....

Price of Games - Though my 30% staff discount in HMV is now lost to me, the price of games in the UK are so insanely cheaper it makes me wonder why we pay so much back home. In fact Im now convinced the reason HMV Ireland were the cheapest back home was because they were using the UK pricing schema. Note to anybody in Ireland, buy your games in HMV!

Thats all I can think of right now. I'll probably follow up with another next week, but for now its back to the problem at hand, job hunting! Im living in Stratford, East London for those of you who want to know. If you guys have any tips or comments about life in the capitol, let me know.

Danny