Games have the unique ability to connect and affect people in inherently profound ways. Virtual reality is the next evolution of that ability for genuine and intimate influence, and I’m beyond excited to be one of the folks gathered at the front lines, spear raised, leading the charge.
When it comes to gaming journalism, I’ll never forget the first time I cracked open an issue of Game Informer. Pikachu was plastered across the cover, back arched, seemingly ready to pounce, and details about the upcoming PlayStation 2 were revealed inside. To this end, It was like peeking into the future. I didn’t quite know it at the time, but gaming journalism would eventually become the thing that I wanted to do in life.
That revelation didn’t come until many years later after I realized that when I vomited words onto a computer screen, it actually formed relatively coherent and interesting sentences. After I graduated, I worked at a series of companies that had nothing to do with games but I was afforded the free time to pursue my game journalism passion as a side hobby and source of freelance income.
At first, I wrote for free at The Koalition for over 3 years. During that time I made some of my closest life-long friends and cultivated countless relationships with developers, publishers, PR, and more throughout the game industry. I received early copies of games for review, interviewed some of the biggest game industry figures in the entire world, and attended huge events around the country from E3 and GDC to QuakeCon and MLG tournaments. It was a great situation and opportunity for me. Over time, I eventually even broke into outlets like Playboy, Motherboard, IGN, Polygon, GameCrate, and more.
And as the wheels keep turning in the crazy and fast-paced worlds of tech and video games, so too do the trends and focuses. And as the site’s new Games Editor, I’m excited about the opportunity to bolster our gaming branch significantly. I’d be lying though if I said I’ve been an evangelist of VR for years and that I was an early backer of the Rift or that I’ve been preaching to people that the Virtual Boy was just ahead of its time and VR would be back again. To be frank, until only about a year or so ago, I wasn’t even sold on VR. Then GDC 2015 happened.
When I first tried out the Oculus Rift Crescent Bay, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR (then Project Morpheus), Perception Neuron, Sixense STEM System, and countless other VR devices, I became a believer. E3 rolled around and I got hands on time with EVE: Valkyrie and I called it “VR’s Killer App” without hesitation. Ever since, I’ve been doing all I can to pitch interesting stories about the world of VR and its applications.
You might have seen my list on IGN of some of the best VR games to keep an eye on in 2016, or an interview I did with a professor and former astronaut about using VR in space to cure deep-space isolation symptoms and mental health issues. I’ve written about the use of VR for education and even what it was like to play Dungeons & Dragons while in virtual reality.
Needless to say, I’m a firm believer, along with the overwhelming majority of investors and their pocket books, that virtual reality and augmented reality are not just the future of the game industry, but they’re also the future of our society as a whole. It’s going to be an incredibly fast-paced and exhilarating next 3+ years and I’m so excited to help take UploadVR to the top.
It’s been a long, bumpy, curvy, and wild ride to this point, but I’m finally making my dream come true and being presented with the opportunity to write about games, and the tech that enables them, on a full-time basis.
GDC and VRDC are happening in just a few short days – my first true test as the new Games Editor. We’re on the verge of experiencing one of the greatest advancements in technology in decades and I’m dying to see how everything develops.
Now, the real adventure begins for not only myself, but all of us as a community in VR.
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If you’re a game developer, publisher, and PR professional working on something awesome that involves VR, AR, or some other form of emergent technology, please get in touch with me – I’d love to speak with you and help you tell your story. Let’s all build something incredible together!
Email: david@uploadvr.com
Twitter: @David_Jagneaux
