John Walker's Electronic House

Kieron’s Going Out, He May Be Some Time

by on Sep.30, 2010, under The Rest

Today Kieron leaves Rock, Paper, Shotgun, on his 35th birthday. Because games journalists aren’t allowed to be 35. This means he has to fall back on his fledgling comic book writing hobby.

The last thing I imagine KG wants is sycophantic tributes, because he’s a terrible man who doesn’t deserve them. But I still feel compelled to at least say:

He’s the reason I’m in this job. Which is either a massive compliment or insult, depending upon how you view getting to do your great loves (writing, gaming) as a career, getting paid almost no money and living on scraps. While he wasn’t the member of PCG staff who gave me my break (that was Mark Donald, who I think genuinely regretted it for the rest of his time on the magazine), he was the man at the mag who fought for me when I messed up, and put special effort into making me a better writer. Also, he was the reason I wanted to write for them in the first place. It was, as I’ve said far too many times, his Descent 3 review (as the tip of a mountain of KG pieces – he was the writer in the mag whose pieces I’d read just because his name was on them) that made me want to do the same job. Two issues later I was published in the magazine.

And now he’s dead. Dead to me, at least, because who cares about stupid comic books, right?

Despite everything, it’s been something approaching a pleasure to work with him for the last, oh good grief, twelve years. And especially in creating Rock, Paper, Shotgun over the last three. He leaves us in a position where we’re finally about to maybe actually make some money after three years of work, making him both a generous soul, and an extraordinarily inept businessman.

Kieron’s goodbye post is here, with further thoughts here.

But that’s it, apart from when it isn’t, for his games journalism career. He’ll be fondly remembered, that Keiran Gillan.

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6 Comments for this entry

  • Fede

    > He’ll be fondly remembered, that Keiran Gillan.
    You mean Karen Gillan? :)

    > Because games journalists aren’t allowed to be 35.
    35 is a very attractive age. But I hope you will stay at 34 indefinitely. You know, London is full of people who have, of their own free choice, remained 34 for years.

  • Rosti

    I think Captain Oates quotes are appropriate; I’m imagining a Logan’s Run style system purely for games journalism.

  • Dozer

    I feel very sad.

    Can’t find that Descent 3 review online anywhere!

  • Flameberge

    Bye bye KG. We’ll miss you! My favourite faux-intellectual intellectual working in games journalism.

    Also:

    Awww, John is such a sweetie ^_^ I want a friend like John. John will you be my friend?

  • Ian

    Screw Kieron. Walker 4 lyfe, yo.

  • Alex

    Now you’ll be able to insult Scott Pilgrim all you want. I think it’s a fair trade-off.

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