Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Wrestling For An Internship: The Marcus Stewart Story (DVD On The Way)
“Decide what to be and go be it.” WWE hall of famer Edge borrowed that quote for his induction speech and it’s a line that has struck a chord with me since hearing it. It’s a simple yet powerful motto and one of the reasons I feel I’ve reached this point in my life. I traveled a long, winding road to reach this point (figuratively and literally–I’m from Florida), with a steady diet of pro wrestling and, of course, video games fueling my dreams and aspirations.
I grew up a child of Mario and Sonic before eagerly transitioning to PlayStation (CD’s were fancy and futuristic to me). I’ve always enjoyed playing most anything and everything but growing up without an allowance made that challenging. I satisfied my gaming obsession by constantly trading toys and other kid-desirables with friends for video games. A Kangaskan Pokémon card netted me a new copy of Metal Gear Solid the week it launched and I once talked a kid into giving me his Sega Game Gear along with two games. He didn’t get anything in exchange, but I like to believe that he found my wonderful company payment enough.
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, so one day my mom bought me the Spider-Man 2 issue of Game Informer. After combing the cover story for every detail on the innovative web-swinging mechanic, I begged her for a subscription. She obliged, thankfully, and I’ve been a huge fan of the magazine since. I joined the website shortly before its 2010 relaunch. Replay became my favorite web series, and I was lucky enough to even have my own dumb art featured on an episode (a bingo card of former GI editor Dan Ryckert). Game Informer always seemed like the coolest job in the world and working here always lingered in my subconscious. However, it’d be a few years before I’d pull the trigger on pursuing game journalism.
Even though I loved games and have always excelled at creative writing, I had no idea what career to pursue upon graduating high school. Most careers always seemed either crappy or boring, so I spent a couple of years in community college studying basic academics while figuring out what to do with myself. I finally decided to follow my love affair of gaming by enrolling at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study game design. Crafting my own virtual worlds definitely had its upsides, but four years of botching walk animations and screwing up the difference between specular and bump maps made me realize that aspect of the industry wasn’t for me. It was during this time that I began dabbling in writing.
As an avid WWE fan, it was only fitting my first foray into writing took place on a wrestling forum called Wrestlezone. I’d post reviews in the gaming section and the positive reception led to me starting my own blog. Plugging away on my blog for two years helped hone my skills significantly. I continued to publish game reviews while stretching my wings writing a variety of other features. My aspirations rose when Game Informer began their internship program, providing the perfect chance to write for my favorite outlet.
Believing I was hot stuff, I applied for the GI internship 2014 winter term to no avail, so I began searching for websites to write for in order to increase my credibility. My break came with Gamer Attitude, a small site based in the UK. During my tenure I learned job essentials such as writing news stories, communicating with developers, editing the work of others and even podcasting. The body of work I generated there was enough to earn me the GI internship on my second attempt.
To say I’m ecstatic to be interning here is an understatement. I have to pinch myself each time I exit the 3rd floor elevator and see the Game Informer office greeting me. A feeling of awe (and, admittedly, intimidation) still strikes me whenever I’m in the presence of the other editors. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity, and I hope you guys enjoy whatever zany ideas I bring to the site. You can also follow me on Twitter @MarcusStewart7. I’m working on raising my tweet frequency higher than that of a Halley’s Comet appearance, so feel free to start a conversation–especially if it pertains to people in tights performing scripted moves with predetermined outcomes.
Enjoy!
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
