Exclusive Jes Bickham Interview

If you listen carefully you can hear the dark, prophetic mumblings of doom. The videogame magazine is a dying format, a dusty antique from a bygone era. Unable to compete with the instantaneous information fix provided by the internet, the traditional paper publication is fast losing its reputation as the ultimate source of gaming fact.

Twitter, podcasts, blogs, fan sites, forums and hourly news updates, provide the hardcore videogame fan with an unprecedented wealth of ways in which to satisfy their every gaming fetish. The magazine is simply the victim of an evolution in the way we consume information, its decline the natural result of the Darwinian Theory that only the fittest survive, its extinction, therefore, inevitable.

Rubbish.

The humble videogame magazine will live forever. And how do I know this? Because I’ve just finished interviewing the man responsible for one of the greatest videogame reviews of all time. And as long as he, and others of his kind, continues to write for our beloved gaming mags, the format will escape the fate of the dodo.

When Jes Bickham agreed to speak to DIGITAL GIGOLO I was genuinely excited. It was, after all, this very man that directly influenced my ambition to become a games journalist. After reading his groundbreaking Zelda: Ocarina Of Time review in N64 Magazine, way back in 1999, I knew that videogames were on the verge of greatness, soon to become as important and influential as film and music. Mr Bickham, you see, introduced me to the concept of videogames as credible forms of art. And I wanted to be part of this revolution, to change the way people perceived videogames.

Jes Bickham’s big break came when he sent Jonathan Davies (then Editor of PC Gamer) a Mario Kart 64 review (which, unfortunately, Jes informs me, has since been lost to ‘the mists of time’). Impressed with Bickham’s unique style, Davies gave him freelance work starting with issue 7 of N64 Magazine. From there Jes became a staff writer for PC Gamer, before moving to N64 Magazine as a full time reviews editor. Since then Jes has contributed, in various roles, to NGC, NGamer, Official Nintendo Magazine, Games Master and PlayStation 2 Max. He was also the Nintendo Channel Editor for the Daily Radar Website, the precursor to Games Radar.

A long, illustrious career then, with some of the most respected and cherished gaming mags of our time. Please step forward, Mr Jes Bickham…

Digital Gigolo: Ok Jes, let’s start with that epic Ocarina Of Time review. I dug out my old copies of N64 magazine and was astounded to find that the review is in fact a staggering 23 pages long and split over two issues (issues 23 and 24). That’s got to be some kind of record for longest review of all time, no?
Bickham: It’s a long one, isn’t it? And actually, Wil Overton, our art editor at the time, did the ‘preview’ review – he had to fly to Germany for a day to play the game in the company of Nintendo. But I digress. I recall that I had, I think, about two weeks to play the game to completion *and* write the review. It was a fantastic fortnight, if a hectic one. You know, half the office were crowded around the telly just to see what would happen next, while the others didn’t want it spoiled. Poor old Wil was one of the latter, but he had to lay the review out. Sorry, Wil.

Digital Gigolo: You memorably ended your OOT review with this Paragraph:

An American Journalist has already described Ocarina Of Time as “the Gone With the Wind” of videogames. It is not only that, but also the Guernica, the War and Peace, the Citizen Kane. Think of Super Mario 64 – as toweringly brilliant as it is – as a mere sketch, a character study; this is the completed picture, a portrait so exquisite it will be puzzled over, studied and, most of all, enjoyed for years. Nothing comes close. Game of the century? Believe it.

Almost ten years have passed since you wrote that review. In light of the phenomenal changes videogames have undergone in that time do you think your ‘Game of the Century’ statement still rings true today?
Bickham: Well, I think there may have been an element of youthful enthusiasm and hyperbole there, but I do believe it’s still one of the best games ever made. As much as I loved Twilight Princess – and even though that game can’t help but feel familiar, I still think it absolutely wonderful – there’s something about Ocarina, some wonderful sense of world-building and adventure that helps the player suspend disbelief and look beyond the mechanics of the game. I still boot it up just to gallop across Hyrule field and watch the sun rise. And I do the same in Twilight Princess, actually – go to the top of the tower over Lake Hylia and watch the rising sun burn the morning mist away. Magic!

Digital Gigolo: I absolutely loved the fact that you compare OOT to Guernica (a monumental painting by Pablo Picasso) but weren’t you worried that many readers might perhaps miss the significance of this reference?
Bickham: Actually, I can’t believe I said that. It makes me cringe a bit! I’m very proud of the review, and very touched that people – even now! – tell me that they loved it, but I think to compare Ocarina of Time to Guernica was perhaps a silly thing to do, given the painting’s provenance. But the sentiment – that these are all cultural masterpieces, and that a game can stand tall as a piece of culture in its own right – still rings true, I think. Also, I just assumed people would know what Guernica was – and if they didn’t hopefully they made an attempt to find out. But anyway, I’m glad you liked the comparison, so perhaps it wasn’t as silly as I think!

Digital Gigolo: In your review you also say that the term ‘Game’ simply does not suffice when describing such a groundbreaking creation. You go on to say “Nor will RPG, or 3D action-adventure, or any number of neatly pigeonholed descriptions and genres. This is a masterpiece, full stop”. Do you think that OOT was the first videogame that truly blurred the boundaries between what we traditionally think of as ‘art’ and games?
Bickham: Ah, the old ‘art’ question. I don’t think OOT was the first to game to say “Look! Games can be much more than repetitively shooting aliens”, or whatever – I mean, look at Super Mario 64, that knocked the wind out of my sails when I first played it, and I think is as close to a ‘pure’ gaming experience, all about the use of and play within 3D space, as is possible – but I think it was certainly an important milestone in showing what games can be. And I think it’s telling that nothing – not Twilight Princess, not even Capcom’s Okami – has managed to top it yet.
Obviously there’s the whole world-building aspect I mentioned earlier, and the beautiful style of the thing, the grandeur and the epic quest nature of the game, not to mention the sheer imagination on display. It throws a new thing at you every five minutes and then throws it away for something bigger and better. (Writing this makes me want to play it all over again!). But it’s also in the tiny, quiet things it does. The lovely goodbye between Link and Saria, the moment when Link returns, as a man, and simply stares wordlessly at the tree stump Saria used to sit on… Ocarina of Time is a wonderfully emotional game, and it’s mostly contextual – Link, like Gordon Freeman of Half-Life, I suppose, doesn’t talk and is a blank slate for you to fill.
But back to the ‘art’ thing. As I’ve gotten older, I’m actually no clearer in my head to winnowing down a good definition of what art is. And I’m not entirely convinced that games *can* be art. But, I suppose, if we were to suggest that a fundamental function of art is to hold a mirror up to the human condition, to reflect and affect, then I’ll contradict myself by saying that, in places, Ocarina of Time does indeed strive towards something more than press A to do this, press B to do that. It’s just a big, grand old adventure, isn’t it? Exciting, funny, emotional, resonant, full of derring-do and hard choices… it’s got it all, hasn’t it?
(Sorry – that’s all a bit long and rambling, isn’t it? But it’s Sunday and my brain’s dribbling out of my ears.)

Digital Gigolo: Has any other game since OOT had such a similarly profound effect on you?
Bickham: Since OOT, there’s been a handful of games I’ve truly loved, all for different reasons – Metroid Prime, Soul Calibur 2, Twilight Princess, Halo 3, to name four – but the one thing that actually gave me a profound emotional tug was Shadow of the Colossus. I think it’s a sterling, A-grade piece of work. And I think that’s down to what I said above, about blank slates – its world is gloriously empty. There’s nothing to collect (aside from fruit and lizard tails, and then only if you want) – and that makes it all the richer. It makes you appreciate the stunning environment for what it is – a stunning environment, at once dead and devoid of life and incredibly lush. (It’s the same thing as riding across Hyrule field just to watch the sun rise). The whole game is a joyous voyage of discovery.
And then there’s the story of the main character. And what I love is that, to again echo something I said above, context is all here – he’s killing these terrible, beautiful titans to resurrect his girlfriend, and when I felled the first colossus I felt both exhilaration and profound regret. It was both a triumph and a terrible thing to do – like killing an elephant, or something. And you don’t find out ‘til the end about what you’re doing is justified, or evil, or just tragically misguided and borne out of terrible loss. You know, what are these things? Are they wicked, or just lumbering great innocents? I truly love that game; it’s a terrific spectacle that doesn’t tell you what it is until the end, leaving you to *think*.

Digital Gigolo: The publications and websites you’ve worked for would suggest an inclination towards Nintendo. The Mario Kart 64 review that, ultimately, kick started your career as a games journalist was, after all, the archetypal Nintendo game. What is it about the Big N that inspires you?
Bickham: They follow their own star, don’t they? Their sense of design, of how to lead a player through their games, of simply knowing what makes something fun… they just get it right. They have their own ethos, and there’s an innocence to their games that you just don’t get elsewhere.

Digital Gigolo: Did you ever have a ‘Eureka’ moment, an exact point in your life when you thought ‘I’m going to be a Videogames Journalist’?
Bickham: Yeah, I did actually. It was from reading N64 Magazine, wondering what on Earth I was doing with an English degree and working in a restaurant, and simply putting pen to paper and writing about something that inspired me. And I can pinpoint the writing that led me to that – Zy Nicholson’s Super Mario 64 review, Jonathan Davies Mario Kart 64 review, John Smith’s Blast Corps review and Jonathan Nash’s Starfox 64 review. Just brilliant, brilliant games writing.

Digital Gigolo: What did you do before you became a videogames journalist?
Bickham: Not a lot! Basically, after my A levels I went to art college for a couple of years, then on to University – and for around a year after graduating I worked as a manager at Pizza Hut, before getting the break to write for N64 Magazine.

Digital Gigolo: What consoles do you currently own and which is getting the most play time?
Bickham: I’ve got a Wii and a 360. Currently the 360 is getting the most playtime, mostly for Soul Calibur IV and Sunday night Halo 3 and Gears of War gaming sessions I have with my old school friends from back in Essex. I need to get Smash Bros Brawl though. And Boom Blox looks fun.

Digital Gigolo: Do you own a favourite bit of videogame memorabilia?
Bickham: Do you know, I don’t. I never really collected much games memorabilia (apart from the cuddly Snorlax I bought when I went to Japan to cover Spaceworld one year). I suppose the closest thing would be the fake cover of N64 Magazine that the team made for me when I left the mag. It’s on the wall in my study, and reminds me that I used to be fatter. Oh, and I had my picture taken with Shigsy once – but as with so much digital imagery, it’s lost to the wilds of the internet now. Wish I still had that.

Digital Gigolo: Which current authors do you admire and which single person has had the biggest influence on you as a writer?
Bickham: I don’t think actually influenced my style, such as it modestly may be, but Harlan Ellison is just about as good as it gets. I read ‘Deathbird Stories’ as a teenager and it blew the top of my head off. The guy is just an incredible writer – and I got to interview him last year, which was a small dream come true. He’s known for his short stories, and they’re astonishing.

Digital Gigolo: Are you particularly excited by the quality of videogames we are seeing at the moment?
Bickham: Oh yes, everything’s incredibly polished, and looks amazing. That said, I’m struggling to think of much that’s truly innovative, but then I don’t think everything has to be. I’m intrigued by where Nintendo’s current path is leading – I find it hysterical to read the rantings on the ‘net about how Wii Fit is killing gaming. What Nintendo are doing now is splendid.

Digital Gigolo: What do you think of Ben ‘Yahztzee’ Croshaw’s Zero Punctuation Reviews?
Bickham: Oh, he’s very good, isn’t he? Very funny. I suspect a million other people have already called him the Charlie Brooker of the gaming world, but that’s kind of what he is, isn’t he? Mind you, Charlie Brooker is actually the Charlie Brooker of the gaming world, as he used to work on PC Zone. FACT.

Digital Gigolo: Do you agree that the traditional videogame magazine is under threat from the Internet?
Bickham: Of course, magazine sales are declining all the time. But magazines will always be around because you just don’t get the quality of writing on the ‘net that you get from the best mags. I used to buy N64 before I started writing for it, and that’s a great example – can you think of anything on the ‘net that’s as good as N64 was? Not just the writing, but the focus on reader interaction, the sense of humour, the passion. That’s what I took from it when I was a reader, and you just can’t get that from the ‘net. At least, I’ve not seen anything to make me think differently.

Digital Gigolo: What magazines do you buy?
Bickham: Not a lot, truth be told. I still keep up with the videogames mags (I get friends who still work at Future Publishing to steal them for me, so that’s not technically buying) but I’ll otherwise sporadically pick up things like Empire.

Digital Gigolo: You’ve been reviewing games for over 11 years now. Is it possible for you to simply play a game for the fun of it, without automatically critiquing it?
Bickham: Yes, it is, I think, although you need a bit of space in order to do so. I’ve not worked on games mags for a couple of years now, so have learnt simply play a game for the fun of it – but of course at the same time you’re seeing what the game’s doing. It’s like The Wizard of Oz; you know what levers the little man behind the curtain is throwing.

Digital Gigolo: What advice would you give to those people who want to review video games for a living?
Bickham: Find something else that pays better! No, seriously, if you love it and are passionate about it, then do it. Learn your craft, get your stuff out there on the ‘net and improve the quality of games journalism – because there’s an awful lot of rubbish out there. I think as time goes on and circulations shrink, there’s less and less opportunity to actually work on game magazines, though. Which is a shame – but if you’re passionate, and you’re good, and it’s what you want to do, then talent will out.

Digital Gigolo: When was the last time you were shocked by something?
Bickham: It was the Joker’s disappearing pencil in The Dark Knight. Or any one of a number of things in the news every day. Actually, to give a non-facetious answer, I saw a little girl of about nine smoking the other day. That’s just appalling.

Digital Gigolo: What does the future hold for Jes Bickham?
Bickham: I have absolutely no idea! I’ve never had a game plan, just bumbled my way through life and taken whatever opportunities arose. Just like most people, I suppose. So we’ll see. It’s all a bit of an adventure, isn’t it? I think I can see a beer in my immediate future, though.