Our Staff

The staff of Game Industry News has come together from their diverse backgrounds with one goal - to deliver the most accurate and timely news and information about the computer games industry. For the past several years, this has been our purpose.

Now, you have a chance to get to know us on a more personal level. We hope you enjoy learning more about us. Please feel free to contact any of us by the email addresses below.

NATE WOOLEY is the Product Reviewer for Game Industry News. He has been an avid game player since he convinced his father that Asteroids was worth getting an allowance over. Given that his father provided a fine role model by playing more than Nate did, a tradition was born: every night the two of them would travel to Old Towne Mall in Torrance, Calif., and play $5 worth of video games each, no small amount of money back then.       Mr. Wooley has been in publishing his entire career and decided that he could combine two of the three loves of his life (the third being his wife, Eileen) into Game Industry News. He now fervently hopes for some company to develop a publishing simulation game so he NEVER has to come up for air. He welcomes comments from subscribers or companies looking to forge relationships with GiN at publisher@gameindustry.com

JOHN BREEDEN II is the Chief Editor for Game Industry News. As a journalist he has covered everything from rural town meetings to the U.S. Congress and even done time as a crime reporter and photographer.       His first venture into writing about the game industry came in the form of a computer column called "On the Chip Side," which grew to have over 1 million circulation and was published in newspapers in several states. From there he did several "ask the computer guy" columns in magazines such as Up Front! in New Mexico and Who Cares? in Washington D.C. When the Internet started to become popular, he began writing guided Web tours for the newly launched Washington Post online section as well as reviews for the weekend section of the paper, something he still does from time to time.       His experience in trade publications came as a writer and reviewer for Government Computer News.       As the editor of GiN, he demands strict editorial standards from all the writers and reviewers. Breeden feels the industry needs a weekly, reliable trade publication covering the games industry and works tirelessly to accomplish that goal. He prides himself on being accessible to all his readers, and welcomes comments and suggestions sent to editor@gameindustry.com

GREG CROWE is the Features Editor for Game Industry News. His illustrious gaming career started out at the age of three, when he managed to get a bean from ‘Don’t Spill the Beans’ wedged up his nose. While he has never been quite that intimate with a game since, he loves all manner of games, and will play anything that is put in front of him.       In college he began writing a newsletter for a gaming group on the campus of Frostburg State University. It was in college that he learned of his talent for writing. Combining his love of games with his talent was an easy decision.       But first, there was work to be done. He joined the Peace Corps serving in Kenya and even though it was largely a country without computers, he survived and feels he was able to make a difference. Upon his return to the United States, he dove head first back into computer games. Puzzle games are among his favorites, if he can find one that challenges his ability to quickly solve most problems. And he still maintains a sad devotion to that ancient religion: Civilization II.       Greg welcomes your comments and ideas. Email him at features@gameindustry.com

TODD HARGOSH is the Testing Director for Game Industry News. Twenty long years have passed during which he evolved from playing Atari 2600/7800 in his living room to his current position.       In the past, he has been involved in other literary works, such as writing some military science fiction, computer game reviews for his college newspaper, and a short-lived weekly article for the Cumberland Times-News. In addition, Todd has had writings published in several major periodicals such as Gamepro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Electronic Games.       Todd's reviews are from the hardcore gamer's perspective; one who doesn't understand why games such as Deer Hunter and the FMV-laden Final Fantasy series got all the press and great masterpieces like Gunstar Heroes on the Genesis were greatly ignored. He does, admittedly, have a strong bias towards EA Sports titles.       Todd's other interests include reviewing new DVD releases, and going to local sporting events (he always gets multi-ticket plans for Washington Capitals games). Perhaps if you see him at an event (always wearing his black Bondra jersey), you can tell him exactly what you think of his reviews, or just send him a note to hargosh@gameindustry.com

JEVON JENKINS is GiN's Chief Product Tester. Jevon fell in love with videogames playing Colecovision. Like most game lovers, he spent his childhood indoors playing videogames or crowding around arcade machines waiting for his chance to try out the latest hits. Jevon likes to keep up on what's going on behind the scenes in the game industry and does a lot of reading and research to keep himself in the know.       Jevon believes that videogames are an art form. Just as a painter translates their imagination to canvas with the move of a brush and makes it a reality, it's even more amazing how a programmer can take such a vivid imagination and translate it electronically using the latest technology.       As a result he has come to appreciate the work behind a game as well as the game itself. Jevon hopes one day to be a software programmer as well as a reviewer. He can be reached at malc2127@hotmail.com

KAREN ROSENBERRY is GiN’s educational and children’s software reviewer. Rosenberry is a shining addition to the GiN staff and is highly qualified to review games designed for children. A specialist teacher who works with learning-disabled children, Rosenberry holds a master’s degree in special education and an undergraduate degree in elementary education.       Rosenberry believes that educational software and even purely fun children’s games are a powerful learning tool that only recently began to be explored by our industry. She feels companies have a responsibility to produce quality children’s software, and have to be mindful of whatever message the games contain.       She reviews children’s software with a mind to what children enjoy and how they will benefit from using the software. She uses her years of study in the field as well as careful observation of children working with computers to guide her in GiN reviews. Review ideas or suggestions can be sent to her satellite office at karenrb@boo.net

CHELLA RAMANAN is GiN's European Correspondent, so it's a good thing she hails from London. She spent various periods of her childhood in Worcestershire and her formative years in Amsterdam. She dabbled in the way of the gamer, but wasn't a convert until later. Hours were spent in friend's bedrooms playing everything from Frogger and Pac-Man to Mario Brothers - all the old favourites represented, plus the less favourite and more forgettable.       Skip forward in time to Chella's return to merry olde England to study English Literature at Kingston University. University digs are a beautiful thing she recalls, especially when featuring a friend with Beneath A Steel Sky on the Amiga!!! Days were spent in said friend's room as they pointed and clicked their spring term away.       Now with a Literature degree under her belt (she managed to finish Steel Sky in her first year, leaving time for study in the following years), Chella is a copywriter for a PR agency, but her heart lies in being a gaming journalist.       Games she has spent large portions of her life playing include Tomb Raider, Tony Hawks Skate Boarding, Final Fantasy VII, Sonic 2, Police 247, Silent Hill 2, and Herdy Gerdy. However, Beneath A Steel Sky will always have a special place in her heart.       When not playing games, she's at gigs having a good bounce around to her favourite bands, watching DVD's or down the pub with mates having a pint or three of cider.

CHRIS RICHARDS started playing video games back in the early 80's on an Atari 2600. His first PC was a Tandy 1000 (circa 1985) from Radio Shack and his first game was a little adventure game called Rogue. He is still addicted to it. And its all been down hill from there. He blew the dust off of his old 360K 5 1/4 floppies to provide you with a little bit of Game Industry History. Download a copy of Rogue compliments of the GiN staff. He can be contacted for GiN related matters at zaloth@yahoo.com

MICHAEL BECHETTI is the Mac game reviewer for GiN. He has always loved video games, but hates playing them on PCs. For the last 5 years he would visit local computer stores and ask "What new games do you have for the Mac?" His reply from a pimply face clerk was almost always "Chess or Backgammon?" Michael felt like he was in a Communist country. It really started to grate his nerves, but maybe it was finally time to give in to the Dark Side and buy a PC. Then from out of nowhere, Apple introduces the iMac. The tide slowly starts turning and the game industry starts getting out products for Mac people. Now many games that were untouchable are in his reach. He is happily reviewing them and will give you an honest opinion. You can reach this Mac loyalist at mbechetti@hotmail.com

ROYCE BRAINARD is an incurable gamer. Games of all types. He started many moons ago with chess and checkers (harmless enough) then progressed to board strategy wargames, pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons and the early console games. His love of games has grown through the years. His only wish was to find others to game with as solitaire gaming has its drawbacks; and to this end became involved with several play by mail games. While in high school Royce was busy developing his own wargames that played on hand made eight foot by four foot maps with tons of hand made counters to represent the various units involved.       It was a natural progression that he evolved into a computer game nut, since now the computer could handle the job previously performed by lots of charts, tables and die rolls. Then finally came the Internet games. WooHoo! Now he could play with other real live gamers in real time. He has literally died and gone to heaven!       An Electronics Engineer by education, Royce is now a Software engineer working with the Comanche Helicopter program ) and spends all day as well as all night and weekends on the computer ( much to his wife's chagrin at times ). Favorite games right now are EverQuest, Civilization, Starcraft, the Might and Magic series, Galactic Empires ( play by mail ) the Master of Orion series and the Heroes of Might and Magic series. He welcomes any questions or comments, relative to his reviews, at rebrainard@cox.net

ALEX FITZGERALD is cooler than Neo, slicker then Max Payne, stealthier than Solid Snake, and reigns above them all, greatest game writer on the planet.       Not really.       In reality, Alex is nothing like this picture. Instead, he's just a teenager from Bothell, Washington who just happens to know how to write. When he's not attending Kenmore Junior High (where he constantly annoys those unlucky people who have been sentenced to teach him), Alex enjoys listening to heavy metal music, watching a good kung fu movie, or (of course) playing a good video game. Besides Gameindustry.com, Alex has written for five other gaming websites, all though Gameindustry.com was his first and therefore, will always hold a special place in his heart. Other than gaming journalism, Alex has also delved into the realms of script and book writing. Alex is mainly a console gamer, although on occasion his friends will force him to play PC Games, whether he likes it or not. Alex plans to continue to write for Gameindustry.com as long as he is still interested in the video game writing field. If you would like to talk to Alex about anything, you can contact him at fitztex@yahoo.com

GARETH VON KALLENBACH Gareth is a syndicated film and DVD reviewer and radio host who has spoken at cons for the past 5 years. He is the creator of www.sknr.net and writes for over 20 publications. In addition to his film work, Gareth is active in the design, testing, marketing, and promotion of computer and video games, as he has worked in the gaming industry for years and continues to do so on a professional basis as well as in his journalist capacity.

RYAN A. ALLEN RYAN ALLEN is GiN's MMORPG specialist. Video and PC games have been a part of my life. My first video game console was an Atari 2600. First totally sucky game I remember was Pac-Man for the Atari 2600. I think I’ve always had an intrinsic critical eye towards games.       My day job is web design and development (another passion of mine.) And when I’m not playing games or doing web work I love to snowboard, watch movies, and drink beer! :)       I am honored to be GiN MMORPG specialist. I’ve been playing these games in one form or another since the BBS days with Usurper, Elite, and The Pit. Then when Windows 95 made Internet easy to the masses I moved onto games like Ultima Online and Meridian 59. Every MMORPG I review here will be unbiased and honest. And of course I look forward to reading all of your rabid fan boy emails. :) Emails can be sent to progamereviews@gmail.com