Video game journalism is an essential part of the video game industry. But who are the gaming editors you are trying to reach to promote your video game?
This series of interviews presents passionate human beings and experienced professionals in the video game press.
Today, it is a pleasure to introduce you to Jupiter Hadley, Owner of IndieGamesPlus and BigBossBattle.
Jupiter Hadley, Co-owner of IndieGamesPlus and B3.
She is a prolific indie gems journalist seen in various media such as Metro UK, AlphaBetaGamer, and more. Jupiter is also a game jams addict and runs indiegamejams.com. In addition, she also reviews a lot of indie games on Youtube.
Hello Jupiter, could you please introduce yourself to those who don’t know about you yet?
I am a games journalist and Youtuber who has a specific focus on game jam games and smaller indie gems. I spend most of my time covering and bringing light to these tiny games that often get buried in bigger releases or in the number of releases that happen. I also am a games judge for game jams and events alike – as well as give talks from time to time. I just try to keep active within the indie games community, covering as much as I can.
You are an owner of IndieGamePlus and BigBossBattle, could tell us more about those 2 media and their specificities?
IndieGamesPlus came from IndieGames.com – we wanted to continue the work of IndieGames.com and do so on our own once the site was gone. This website focuses on shorter articles about more artsy and hidden games.
We feature a lot of games each week despite being a small team. Our articles are very streamlined here, as there are only a few of us.
BigBossBattle on the other hand has a larger team that we manage – built around helping individuals create a portfolio. We tend to create bigger reviews and features, with an individual choosing from our games library of keys and then working on that article for a bit longer. As we have a large variety of contributors, there is a larger variety of games covered from small indie games to the occasional AAA game.
You also are a freelance gaming editor, how do you organize your work?
When it comes to freelancing, I have a few sites that I work for on a monthly, rolling basis as I have columns there. Otherwise, I spend some time each month pitching article ideas in hopes for them get selected to be on the sites. This is a good revenue of income and helps me branch out to a wider audience.
You recently gave a talk about “Contacting English Press” at VLC Indie Summit. Would have 1 or 2 tips for indie studios to share here with us?
Yes, I was! The Valencia Indie Summit was a really lovely experience, as was giving a talk and being on so many panels. My biggest tip would be to research who you are emailing. Bulk emailing the same thing out to a bunch of different members of the press will likely not result in a bunch of replies. If you target individuals that have covered games similar to yours – and you mention that – then they are more likely to connect with you and cover your game.
Let’s talk about your passion for Indie Game Jams, shall we? Tell us about it 😉
I always have loved game jams – that’s why I started www.IndieGameJams.com – I find it amazing that individuals are able to create a game in such short amounts of time. I love the tiny prototypes or clever ideas that seem to only come out of the inspiration of game jams. It’s my passion and what I really love covering – the community and games paired together are just simply wonderful.
Your Youtube channel is full of indie game tests, how would you qualify the editorial line of your video productions?
I would say my video production is scrappy and rough. As my goal is to release a lot of videos on game jams and indie games, I spend more time covering games and editing. When it comes to my Let’s Plays, I just sit down and play the game then upload it with no editing really. For Game Jam compilations, I record little 1 or 2-minutes segments, edit them to the same size and string them together before upload. With events videos, I leave the editing to Gary King (https://twitter.com/GaryJKings).
Do you remember what makes you fall for Indie Games in the first place?
I fell in love with the community around Indie Games before I fell in love with the games themselves. The community is amazing – everyone is making games they truly care about and that they love. It’s seeing people’s passion projects and the things they are most proud of.
Everyone is so helpful to each other and kind – the community is wonderful in indie games.
When reviewing a game, what are the first things you look for to make an opinion?
I guess the first thing I look for is if it’s unique – what factor lets it stand out from other games. I also tend to cover cooking games because I love cooking games and games that are cute because it’s 2020 and I need more cuteness in my life. I do like finding unique factors within games though and find it very important.
A difficult question now… if you had to choose 1 Game Jam and 2 Indie Games, which would they be?
I guess I would choose game jams, as they still are indie games! I love game jams and many of them are completed and become full games, so it’s a bit of a cheat to pick, but works.
Finally, can you tell us more about your personal desires in life and especially your Adventure Bucket List ?!
Haha, I have a blog on my website, where I and my partner Dann write up our life adventures. As part of a challenge, I got to write up an adventure bucket list of all of the things I’d like to do that are a bit wild and out there. I’d love to take a hot air balloon ride soon!
Dann and I have a really adventurous life, as you can see on the blog – we like going out each weekend really, seeing something new, and cooking new dishes. Working from home can be a challenge when it comes to actually get out of the house and seeing other people. As we both work from home, we like spending our spare time going on adventures together.
Many thanks to Jupiter for her passion and dedication to indie games and indie game jams. It was a real honor to do this interview with you!
