The Game Fanatics Staff: Jake Valentine

By: William Harmon
Published: Mar 1, 2013
at 11:43 am

The Game Fanatics Staff

Editor: Jake Valentine

Figures that of all the people to write up a bio about Jake, that it’d be me. At the present, Jake is a guy that lives in Cincinnati. He is also a guy that is not afraid to be wrong about games. I mean that in more than just the “Jake and I disagree about stuff” kind of sense (though we do. Tons of stuff), I also mean it in the “Jake speaks his mind regardless of what the masses think” kind of sense. Which is actually a fairly admirable approach to journalism. You all don’t need to be reading news, if all you’re reading is about how people agree with you all day. Jake’s a pretty hard worker, and on the prompt side of things. If news happens, or if articles need to be written in a time sensitive manner (like when we were covering PAX East last year), Jake is usually on it first. Dude’s also a total jerk (ok, fine, not really…).

So why does “Jake Valentine” want to write about games? I mean, we all love them, but what in particular did you have to say to people that made you want to start putting your ideas out there.

Jake Valentine loves gaming. Jake Valentine also loves writing. Jake Valentine enjoys talking in third person, too.

But seriously, I’ve always wanted to write as a child. I prefer dealing with topics I’m passionate about. Nothing gets me going like gaming. I’ve also wanted to give a different perspective when it comes to journalism. I feel that there’s too much of a hive mind in gaming. I always tell it like I see it, no matter how much in the minority my opinion may be.

Different strokes for different folks. We all write a lot here, but if you had to say you had a “field of expertise”, what genres do you think would fall into that? What do you think you’re most qualified to talk about.

There isn’t a genre I don’t enjoy playing. I feel like if you shy away from certain genres, it’s hard to put things in perspective. Sure, adventure and action games provide different experiences, but they’re enjoying for different reasons. It also puts things into perspective as certain genres become more and more mainstream. The Walking Dead, for example, isn’t an adventure game. The Cave, however, is much closer to the roots of the genre, but is still off a bit. I’m able to make these observations because I’ve forced myself to expand my horizons beyond the genres I’m comfortable with.

Can you give us a little insight into your gaming history. What games do you think have left the biggest impressions on you, and why do you think those impressions made such a large impact?

My gaming experience started when an Atari was dug out of my attic. From there, it broke and a Genesis was purchased to replace it. I’ve felt that as I’ve grown, my tastes have refined a bit and I’ve, again, gone further and further out of my comfort zones. Looking from the outside, I never saw the appeal of a Grand Theft Auto game, until I forced myself to buy San Andreas.

What do you do outside of gaming or writing about gaming? The point of this piece is to know more about who you are, so why don’t you tell us about what other hobbies or passions you have.

Outside of gaming, I’m one of the few hockey fans in Ohio. I constantly get told no one appreciates the game. It’s their loss. Other than that, I have my bachelor’s in electronic media and spend my time doing freelance video work. Plus food. I absolutely love food.