From: ross@kaos.ingr.com (Ross Erickson)
Subject: GB Writers Guidelines (Repost)
Keywords: game bytes magazine
Reply-To: ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com
Organization: Intergraph Corporation
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 14:04:01 GMT

--
We're very pleased with the initial response to Game Bytes, "the
definitive electronic guide to gaming".  We welcome submissions of
reviews, gaming-related articles, walkthrus, previews, or any other
type of information that is related to this hobby (?) we love to
participate in.  If you have an idea for an article, please send an
email to me at:

ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com

to confirm what you'll be able to do.  This will help to avoid
duplication.  Once we've agreed upon what you can submit, please
follow the following guidelines for writing:

1.  Set your margins to 0 and 75.  This makes the article fit nicely
into the Game Bytes viewer.  Make sure that you use (or convert to)
straight ASCII format.  There should be no embedded word processing
characters.  Line feeds and carriage returns should be at the end of
every line.  Don't use the TAB character either, if you are arranging
columns of information.

2.  Please indent all titles, headers, and paragraphs with a couple of
spaces only.

3.  Follow standard punctuation rules; ie. one space after commas, two
spaces after periods, question marks, exclamation points, etc.

4.  The title line should read like the following:

WHAMMA WHAMMA ZOOM AND THE BALL BUSTERS by Hunky Dory Game Co.
(P)Reviewed by Ima Twit

5.  Be sure to break the article into intelligent paragraphs.  It
makes for much easier reading.

6.  Use _underlines_ for emphasis instead of all caps or other
characters.

7.  When referring to the game title use ALL CAPS for the reference to
the title.

8.  Take it easy on the exclamation points, smileys, parentheses, etc.
It only clutters up your writing.

9.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE proof-read and spellcheck your article once
you are complete.

10. Include your copyright notice at the bottom of the review.

11. Write in the first person.  "_I_ enjoyed this game because of..."

12. Include the hardware/system requirements of the game as they are
listed on the packaging of the game.

13. The purpose of a review is to describe in detail the premise of
the game and to give an opinion.  Therefore, it's important to state
clearly in the review what the game purports to be, how it operates
(controls), what type of graphics, sound, copy protection are
employed, and a general overview of how the game operates.  Then,
probably most important, we want you to state your opinion.  Tell us
why the game is good or bad, but make sure to state WHY, in your
opinion.  Ultimately, you're recommending to others to spend money or
not.  If this isn't clear, please let me know.  Reviews are generally
in the 5-10K in length (ASCII).  This is less important, however,
than being comprehensive and thorough.  If the game has bugs, say so;
if the game is boring, say so (and why); if the game is a 'must-have',
say so (and why).  

14. Enjoy the magazine.

--
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  Ross Erickson             |                                     |
|  ross@kaos.b11.ingr.com    | "No individual raindrop considers   |
|  205-730-4019 - voice      |  itself responsible for the flood." |
|  205-730-6445 - fax        |                                     |
|  Internet: 129.135.200.245 |                                     |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|

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