About the Editor
David Gornoski founded VGMWatch.com in 2005. During Kyle Orland’s tenure as editor of the publication, David served as publisher of the publication. After Kyle’s departure from active writing, David assumed the position of editor. In addition, David currently serves as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of E-mpire Ltd Co., an entertainment media firm specializing in game publications. In years past, David has served as EIC of NintendoNow.com and PSInsider.com. Billy Kirk, current Editor-in-Chief of NintendoNow.com, provides news commentary and analysis at VGMWatch.com as well.
Past Editor:
Kyle Orland got his start writing about games when he founded fan site Super Mario Bros. HQ in 1997. Since then, he’s written as a freelancer for many publications including Electronic Gaming Monthly, Gamespot, The Escapist, Next Generation, Joystiq Happy Puppy, and Paste Magazne, among others. A complete list of his published works can be found on his workblog. Kyle is a founding member of the International Game Journalists Association and is always looking for freelance and permanent writing opportunities (Looking for writers? Drop him a line).
Kyle graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2004 with degrees in computer science and journalism. His favorite game of all time is Super Mario 64.
on November 4th, 2005 at 1:52 pm
Hi Kyle,
This is Jared Black, formerly the EIC at Video Gamers First and currently trying to pull my own new site (Video Game Generation - http://www.vggen.com) up by its bootstraps. Just wanted to let you know that I admire the work you’re doing here, and think you’re providing a great service for the industry (even if it doesn’t appear to be getting the audience it deserves…yet).
Just don’t point out any of my mistakes when VGGEN is large enough to matter! ;)
Take care,
Jared
on December 8th, 2005 at 10:24 am
Yea, I agree. I’m the Xbox/Xbox 360 EIC at gamingtarget.com. I’ve also written for UGO.com and actually had some interest from IGN but I was unable to relocate to the west coast at the time.
Anyway, just wanted to say this is a great site. I recieved your email and it prompted me to return. I’m just looking to talk shop and make some contacts. Keep up the great job and I’ll make sure to frequent the site more, this is a fantastic place for gaming writers. Thanks again.. : )
on January 20th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Hey Kyle,
Just came across your name and link in the ongoing “Shoe” conflict. I must say I was surprised to see your name in lights. A lot has happened since 1996, eh?
Hey, if you hear about any videogame journalist jobs in the UK, you know where to find me! :)
on July 8th, 2006 at 11:03 am
Hey there Kyle,
This is Francesco Tisch I’m an enthusiastic gamer and writer. I do a lot of, well I guess you could call them, “writing gigs” for my school and friends and what not. I feel that writing. and reviewing about something as fascinating and engaging as games, would be my perfect outlet. I’ve been told, (considering I love games, and writing), that I should try going into the buisness, and I thought, whynot start somewhere awsome like vgmwatch,
I feel I could be an asset to the buisness. The thing that I’d like to do, is be in the know about all the new systems and games, be able to play ‘em and give my feedback. Thanks for reading, please reply when you can. I’d love to get my hands on the industry.
-Francesco L. Tisch
on January 16th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Enjoyed your video game music article on The Escapist (+fav digimag). The Play! Wolf Trap reference really jumped out at me, I went to that show. And I too saw the point of view of the old crowd and the young crowd performance. Each reacted differently although the older crowd (as you said) is more likely to be curious of the other side of the fence, perhaps because of maturity but also maybe because of accessibility. Video Games are accessible on both a shallow and a deep level whereas classical music only has a deep level for appreciation. But even if the older crowd were interested, the gaming community shouldn’t think they’ve won anything. The music enthusiasts of the world appreciate the music but probably aren’t going to show up to your next LAN party.
I found it interesting that the idea spawned off a single person covering C64 tunes on his guitar. I’ve done the same over the years on the piano (most on youtube) and although it’s cute never really thought it would have any major appeal in a performance setting (nor do I now).
Games are interactive and sorely departed from movies or observer media. A similar thing happens in video games. Although video games might be the radio of the 21st century, I don’t quite see the exact metaphor. See, on the radio you might have a tune drilled into your head by the Big Music Industry but with a video game it is so much worse. 10 hours of Gears of War, 50 hours of Resident Evil, 1,000 hours of The Sims, 2,000 hours of World of Warcraft or 10,000 of Everquest, the scale of repetition continues to grow. And right along with the repetition, so does the exposure to the music of these games.
So is it good music or just good hypnosis?
on July 27th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Why do I get information about Kyle when I click on More About Dan?