In case anyone wants to know exactly what I or any other reviewer of games and other media does at ChristCenteredGamer, here's a brief overview:
1. We get to pick, if we don't have a huge backlog of review keys, whatever we'd like to review, especially if we are volunteer reviewers. I'm a volunteer reviewer, but if we have a lot of review keys we need to check out, those go to the top of the pile. As for paid reviewers (regular employees who draw a fee for what they write, which is not a lot since CCG is a nonprofit), they generally handle the review keys first and foremost, but if they manage to get some free time, they can cover their own projects.
Note: All reviewers must do at least two reviews of two games of their own choosing prior to getting any regular requests to do game reviews, this is so CCG can get an idea of your competence and writing ability in general.
2. If we use a review key, we have to sign a contract prior (only the first time) stating we'll review the games we review within a certain amount of time or we have to reimburse the key we were given. The contract is needed to prevent someone from getting free review keys and running off with them, which is sad, I wish trust was not a problem for a Christian game review site, but such is needed in this day and age, alas.
3. Anyway, once a signed copy of the contract is in the hands of the CCG owners, game reviewers can pick review keys for any games that strike their interest for whatever consoles or computer they can redeem them on. Standard practice is limited to 2 keys at most, though people can take on multiple games for review depending on the backlog if time and circumstances allow. It's advised to not have a huge amount even if this is possible, that's a lot of writing you're gonna have to do and a lot of games you will have to play long enough to evaluate them for secular and moral content.
4. With review keys redeemed, here comes the part that sounds fun, you play the games. However, while you do so,you need to take notes (mental or physical) on the game play, controls, graphics, sounds, stability and any morally objectionable content,especially for Christians.
Depending on the game, this could take awhile, you need to play long enough to get a well-rounded idea of the secular and moral pluses and minuses of the media in question.
5. Then it comes time to write up a rough draft, following the standardized format used for all CCG reviews. To make the last step much less painful, try to proofread your draft as completely as possible PRIOR to submitting it to the review panel forum for reviews on CCG.
Trust me, doing so makes next step less tedious.
6. Once you've thrown your review to the wolves, the other reviewers will descend on the review like ants on sugar cubes and point out all grammatical errors and other mistakes you may have made.
Believe me, they will be VERY thorough, CCG takes the Christian ethic in having pride in not doing shoddy work that would embarrass you before God very seriously. Jason Gress (site co-owner) in particular is very strict on journalistic quality and who will make sure your work will not look shoddy, man clearly passed his English classes with flying colors, and he expects all submitted work to be something a journalist could be proud of. (And for the record, I concur with him.)
7. Once your work has been extensively revised and made fit for public consumption, it joins the queue of work to be published on the main site, which will be done according to the dictates of site policy, with review key work taking priority.
8. Once the work you wrote is published, it doesn't end there. If the review requires a rewrite due to new updates or information, you will have to revise it later. Also, comments may be left on your reviews, be willing to respond to them and take constructive criticism, if any, maturely.
9. If all this sounds like something you are interested in doing, you can apply here.
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