Pretty terrible at playing games, pretty good at writing about 'em.

Hello, and thank you so much for taking a moment to visit my Patreon page.

I’m Carolyn Petit. Perhaps you know me from my work for GameSpot, where I was an editor for about four years. Of course, I’m particularly well known for my review of Grand Theft Auto V, which sparked something of a discussion in the larger cultural sphere about both the politics of that game in particular and what sorts of concerns are appropriate in media criticism in general. But while that review received an especially high level of, umm, attention, I’m proud of a lot of the work I did during my time at GameSpot.

I’ve also enjoyed the opportunity, in the months since my time at GameSpot ended, to do writing about games that is sometimes more personal, and that sometimes engages more directly with the values of a game or the politics inherent in writing about games. I always found it amusing how some commenters at GameSpot regularly criticized me for being a feminist, as if that’s something to be ashamed of. In that context, it was viewed by some as a liability. Now that I’m a bit less constrained by audience expectations, I’m treating my life experience and my personal perspective as an asset.

A few of my post-GameSpot pieces I’m particularly proud of are:

this piece on why political engagement is critical to games journalism, and this piece on why game reviews, like games themselves, are inherently political

dragon heart: a personal piece on Dragon Age: Inquisition’s romance options and being a hero who doesn’t get what you want

this piece detailing my position in the discussion about whether or not Bayonetta works as a kind of feminist icon

In the Mouth of the Moon: a personal piece for VICE on loneliness and failure in Majora’s Mask

But while the chance to do different kinds of writing about games has been very exciting and rewarding for me on a personal level, the reality is that I’m not able to earn anything approaching a living wage through the sorts of freelance (and, in some cases, just plain free) writing I’m doing these days. So I’m asking for your help.

If you find my work thought-provoking or moving or challenging or infuriating and want to help me keep doing it, 

I can’t tell you how much your support would mean, and how much of a difference any contribution from you would make.

Again, thank you so much for visiting my Patreon page.

Q & A

What will the money you raise be used for?

Rent on my little studio apartment. Bills. Groceries. Medication and other health-related stuff. Cups of coffee. Games to play and write about. Equipment so that I can improve my streaming setup. Maybe dinners with friends sometimes, or a few drinks. If this campaign goes really well, perhaps I’ll buy myself a cute knit hat at some point. You know, all the glorious and mundane stuff of life, my friends.

Will you still do paid freelance work?

Yes, absolutely. I hope you understand that I’m not really in a position right now to pass up any opportunity to pull in a little extra money through the work I’m doing, and I also like to hope that such writing might help me build up my audience a bit. Your contributions here help me keep doing that stuff, as well as doing the writing I just post to my games writing Tumblr. 

How often should we expect posts and pieces from you?

I’m gonna say roughly once a week. Sometimes it’ll be more--some weeks I’ll be able to play through a few games on the shorter end of the scale about which I feel I have something meaningful or worthwhile to say. And sometimes it might be less--I may sometimes want to dive into the 80-hour RPG du jour and feel like I really need to give it its due before I can formulate my thoughts and feelings on it. There also may be times when I submit a thing to a publication for printing but the publication decide to sit on it for a little while, or whatever. So yeah, I don’t want to guarantee a specific output, because that will vary. I just want to say that I will be devoting time to this as if it were an actual job job (because that’s what it is to me), and that I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you at every reasonable opportunity, without (I hope) falling into the habit of writing stuff just to write stuff. Posts will be up on my games writing Tumblr, as will links to freelance stuff I write for publications, and any other gaming-related projects that your contributions here enable me to devote time to. I’ll post updates here on Patreon for backers letting you know about any and all work I do that your contributions help make possible.


Will you do stuff in addition to your writing?

Currently, I'm a regular on two podcasts. One is the fun Wild Guesses, a quiz-show format podcast hosted by Kevin VanOrd and also featuring Tom Mc Shea. It's a format based on a certain podcast we used to do back at a certain website we used to work for. Good times.

The other is the somewhat more serious (but still totally enjoyable!) podcast The Crockpot, on which myself, Tom Mc Shea and sometimes Brendan Sinclair tend to dive into a specific issue or concept. The 'cast is usually, but not always, related specifically to games.

Can I suggest/request certain things?

You betcha! I’d love to hear any ideas you may have for things you might want me to write about, or stream, or whatever. The truth is I’m sort of making this up as I go, like so many things about my life. So yes, feel free to make suggestions.

What I will strive never to do for you is to just tell you something because I think it’s what I want to hear, or to not say something because I’m worried some people may disagree with me so strongly that they’ll stop supporting my Patreon. I hope that even if and when you disagree with me, you can respect that I’m being honest with you about my perspective.

Are you still looking for and hoping to find regular full-time employment?

Yep. As a single trans woman who is well into her 30s, the relative stability of a steady paycheck and employer-provided medical benefits is pretty attractive. I’ll be transparent with you about that if and when it happens, and re-evaluate the Patreon at that time.