About

About Our Site

“For overlooked video games, attention. For mainstream games, viewpoints not often heard and angles not often explored.”

That sums up my hope for GamingFringe: both for my own writing and that of others who are writing here. It may sound overly noble – but even so, if we can highlight games that others have missed or speak to audiences who are being passed over, that’s all I could ask.

About Our Writers

Jiggy (Ultra Editor: editorials, planning, reviews, site design)

After hundreds of games and thousands of experiences, I can say without hesitation that my heart rests mostly with 2D games and, by proxy, portable and digitally-distributed games. I’m also in love with the old-school design of gaming, namely all fun all the time – who needs that atmosphere and emotion stuff? Look for anything I write to fall in step with all of these values, whether I’m covering gameplay, level design, replay value, music, or any related subject.

I have a degree in creative writing, so occasionally I may turn out highly offbeat posts; I’m all for experimentation and finding out what people like and dislike on the strength of trial and error. And as for my serious posts, let’s just say you never know when my training might creep in with subconscious influences that I in no way claim to understand. At all.

Favorite games:
Tales of Vesperia, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, Tales of Symphonia, Final Fantasy VI, WWF No Mercy, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Super Metroid, Yoshi’s Island, Star Ocean: The Second Story

Favorite genres:
Action RPGs, turn-based RPGs, 2D platformers, 2D action-adventure, space shooters, strategy RPGs

Love:
2D gameplay, 2D sprites, accessibility, catchy or otherwise memorable music, co-op, emphasis on charm and fun and colorful fantasy, innocent or pure settings, low learning curves with high skill ceilings, offbeat and quirky worlds, portability, replayability, respectable female characters, speedy gameplay

Hate:
Backtracking, dark or washed-out color schemes, emphasis on emotion and realism and power fantasy, gritty or mature settings, licensed music (except in rhythm games), loading times, overly straightforward level or dungeon design, oversexed female characters, repetitive music, sandbox worlds, story-heavy games, unskippable cutscenes

Shrug:
Admirability of characters from a real-world lens, believability of game logic and physics from a real-world lens, intentional nostalgia, level of graphical details

Prax (SSS General: Super-Savvy-Scribbles & Seventeen-Second-Summaries!)

I like drawing, writing, anthroplogy, psychology, astrology, philosophy, dinosaurs, outer space, cats, rainbows, and videogames. I also like the idea of raising awareness for the lesser known, for the interesting, and for the fame and fortune! To summarize why I am here: I am all about indulging cool ideas, eclectic interests, and conflicting ambitions!

These days, I don’t have much time to enjoy my much-loved genres of RPGs, SRPGs, strategy games, etc. (other genres that do not require quickness & coordination of mind + hands!), but I wanted to somehow give back to the industry that has provided me with so much entertainment. Plus, I get to indulge myself in drawing different things and in different styles that I usually wouldn’t attempt to otherwise – it’s win-win!

Winning isn’t everything, but it’s pretty good!

Favourite games:
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (4), Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword (7), Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (9), Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (10), Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, Civilization IV, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, Final Fantasy VI, Earthbound, Tales of Symphonia, Starfox 64, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Favourite genres:
Strategy RPGs, action RPGs, turn-based RPGs, strategy

Love:
Co-op gameplay, varied female-inclusive casts, respectable female leads, ability to rename characters, multiple endings, customization, fantasy settings, accessibility, memorable music (plus points if it includes memorable lyrics), cool or fun character designs

Hate:
Apocalyptic or sci-fi settings with emphasis on guns, “ugly” character designs/styles, over-sexualized characters, annoying visual elements, load times, unskippable cutscenes, bad voice-acting, overwrought story-heavy games, pop-culture references, complicated UIs, emphasis on “realism”

Shrug:
Graphical fidelity, innovation, simplicity or complexity of plot

[Jiggy's note: If someone asked me who's our heart and soul, I wouldn't hesitate with my answer. Prax's thoughts on gaming have such a catchy brand of uncloaked and unchecked enthusiasm that when I read them, I usually feel ashamed of every time I've spent talking about games in cold technical or harsh critical language. And behind the scenes, Prax is encouraging like you wouldn't believe; among all the Internet's console warriors and fanboys ready to enter attack dog mode over any little thing, it's great to have someone who's in it all for the fun - and who reminds me (purely by example!) that I should be too.]

Iam Canadian (contributing writer: news, editorials, features, reviews)

2D platformers, Japanese RPGs, scrolling shooters, fighting games. These are genres I’ve loved ever since I began gaming, and as time has marched on I’ve watched these types of games fall by the wayside: to the fringe of gaming, as it were. As we proceed through an era dominated by 3D, realism, colossal budgets, sandboxes, and cinematic gaming, I hope that by writing for this site I can spread some awareness of these marginalized genres. Well, there’s that and the fact that writing has always been something I’ve enjoyed; therefore, writing about my favourite hobby is even more fun!

I’m pretty opinionated about games, so expect to see me delve into quite a bit of detail outlining what I like and dislike, both about specific games and the industry as a whole. I also like to inform, so I’ll do my best to disseminate news that fits the theme of the site, introduce you to games you might not have heard of, and provide little-known information about games that you probably have heard of.

Favourite games:
Mother 2, Mother 3, Super Metroid, Mega Man 3, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Vesperia, Cave Story, Tales of Symphonia, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Favourite genres:
Action RPGs, turn-based RPGs, 2D platformers, 2D action-adventure, fighting, rail shooters, space shooters

Love:
2D gameplay, 2D sprites, catchy and/or memorable music, colourful environments, co-op, customization, multiple playable characters, score/time attack, speedy gameplay

Hate:
Apocalyptic settings, licensed music, load times, low difficulty, realism, sandbox gaming, unskippable cutscenes

Shrug:
Graphics, HD, innovation, the concept of “rehash”, the notion of games as art, political or social messages

Reviewer methodology notes

Because we want readers to be clear about what angles we’re coming from.

Jiggy: A game is never weaker than its strongest component part. In a compilation, I’ll never grade an overall package lower than I’d grade its best individual game unless it forces players to go through lesser games first. For example, if some sick-minded publisher paired Tetris with E.T. for the Atari 2600, I’d grade as if it was Tetris alone instead of averaging them – unless that publisher was so sick-minded as to make Tetris an unlockable for finishing E.T. Likewise, I’ll grade a game with weak single-player but strong multiplayer, or vice versa, according to its best side. In any cases like these, I’ll be sure to make notes in the text of my reviews.

Jiggy: Ports and remakes are as good as new. Whether a game has been released before, how recently, how many times, at what price in the past, at what price in the present, how much exclusive material has been added, and what type – none of these things consciously influence my grade. I’m reviewing a game and its entertainment value, not a game company and its marketing policies, and that applies to re-releases and new games alike. That said, with re-releases I’ll address these questions in the review text. In the “Recommendation?” section, specifically, I’ll list out any important reason I find that various types of gamers might want to lean toward one release or another, whether that’s exclusive material or pricing. Just be assured that that has no bearing on my end score.

Canadian: Only note that which warrants a note. If an element of a game has no particular bearing on one’s enjoyment of the game as a whole, or if I have nothing to say about it, I won’t even waste time bringing it up. Don’t expect me to bring up the stories of platform games (unless they start interfering with the gameplay!) or the graphics in a rhythm game; there’s no point in wasting your time with them.

Canadian: Just because something’s been done before, doesn’t mean it’s bad. There’s nothing wrong with fleshing out an already established concept in another game. In the same way, a game doing something new doesn’t inherently make it good, either. So I won’t mark down a Mega Man game for reusing the same old formula as long as the gameplay remains solid, and I also won’t give brownie points to a game just because it does something that hasn’t been done before. The quality of the end result is what matters.

Credits

Banner art, design, layout, and spritework: Our own wonderful Prax!
Banner and video fonts: Ray Larabie’s “Quadrangle” and Unauthorized Type’s “Another,” both available at 1001 Fonts. We’re certainly grateful such great fonts were available as freeware.
Content planning: All three of us think about this, but Canadian and I moreso.
Editing and proofreading: I do this most often and most extensively. It’s my thing.
Fanart: All Prax right now on the main page, though be sure to check out our forums for more artists.
Moral support: Prax is our backbone without question.
Site administration, design, and planning: All me for the most part. In regards to design specifically, though, I’d be remiss and irresponsible not to give credit to my inspiration: I drew heavily upon my favorite elements of the CognoBlue theme by blogsDNA, the old theme of GoNintendo (no longer visible), and WordPress’ default theme.
Writing: Our names are listed under our posts as applicable.

Miscellaneous: Other material needing to be credited, such as links to or quotes from another site’s article, are mentioned on the spot as each case comes up. We are not affiliated with any game company, and we do not claim ownership of any video game worlds, video game characters, video game stories, video game music, video game art, or other related intellectual properties referenced on this website unless otherwise stated.