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Chris Plante leaves Polygon

I

iMax

Member
Heading to The Verge.

Chris Plante said:
In hindsight, there's no reason Chris Grant should have hired me.

Unlike my other co-founders, I hadn't launched, led or even been staff at major publication. I had experience as the editor of an unsavory blog and a gun-for-hire for a couple dozen outlets. I had a pocketful of big ideas I had no idea how to deliver.

The first time we met to discuss the idea that would become Polygon was nearly three years ago. Next week, I will begin my transition from Editor-at-Large at Polygon to Senior Editor at The Verge.

I am sad to leave the best publication I've ever worked for, though I'm only moving a few desks away. I'm not really leaving the physical space. And I'll still appear on Polygon as often as they will allow me.

This isn't goodbye. It's a chance to reflect on my experience at Polygon, and champion a few of my favorite pieces. We posted so many.

No Girls Allowed is, for me, the most important piece published on Polygon. Tracey Lien takes a gargantuan subject — the genderization of video games and their marketing — and makes it personal and understandable, without sacrificing its intricacies. I regularly find myself saying, "I want to do the No Girls Allowed of [Insert Controversial Topic]," before realizing what a Herculean task that will be.

I had the good fortune to watch some unbelievable interviews coagulate into powerful features, like Russ Pitts' Mirror Men of Arkane and Charlie Hall's Watch Dogs: Invasion. I will never forget sitting in a barbecue restaurant in Tokyo with Matt Leone, listening to recaps of interviews for The Oral History of Street Fighter 2.

At that table in Shibuya, I sat between Jimmy Shelton and Tom Connors. I've worked on sets for The Onion, Fox-Regency and BBC, and these two men, along with Caleb Green and the rest of the Vox Media video team, are the most talented filmmakers I've met. Just look at their productions.

I regularly recorded a podcast with two friends who also happen to be comedy icons. The podcast also featured a giraffe who happens to be one of my closest friends. Recording with a giraffe was an astonishing feat considering the logistics of recording in New York City, and without a doubt, a serious misuse of company resources.

I worked with a news team that is as smart as it is fast. They saved me from looking like a fool on a weekly basis. Samit Sarkar even copy-edited this post.

Brian Crecente taught me how to report like a professional, not a kid fumbling his way as he goes along. I am proud of the reporting I did on Take-Two and its developers over the past couple years, and I couldn't have done a lick of it without Crecente's and Pitts' guidance. Nor could I have spent so much time on so few pieces without a news team that kept the site running and growing on a daily basis. I envy their talent and energy.

Arthur Gies let me review the biggest game of last year. And he let me give Spelunky a 10. I don't know why he put up with me. I was a pain in his ass every time I struggled to write criticism. Sometimes people ask me if Arthur is as tough as he seems. He is not. He is a tattooed teddy bear.

Speaking of teddy bears, Ben Kuchera gracefully took my attempt at an opinion section and made it an actual section for opinions. Internally and externally, he has been an advocate for a diverse cross section of voices in video games.

I will miss Polygon, but I will love watching it grow from across the room. There's so much talent in every department, so much humor and positivity and insight and drive.

Plante

On the internet, it's easy to read an individual article and imagine it materialized fully formed from the person with the byline. You rarely consider the room full of editors, reporters, critics, videographers, developers, sales people and QA testers that keep a website from falling off the internet. You don't hear about Chao Li or Jake Lear or Tyson Whiting or Shaun McIlroy or our team of moderators or the hundreds of people who have been so generous with their time to chat with me in the comments and Twitter. You don't hear about these passionate, vital people that make my work possible.

I'm so fortunate that these many people helped me trick you into believing I had a clue what I was doing. I came here with a lot of big ideas, and they made them possible.

Thanks for sticking with me,
Chris Plante

P.S. Please don't tell anyone at The Verge that I have no clue. I think I have them duped. I have the opportunity to help Ross Miller launch TLDR. After spending the majority of the last five years writing about video games, I'm eager to write about some of my other passions. With TLDR, I will cover whatever interests me — and what I hope interests you.
Click to expand...

Source. Did a search, couldn't find anything. Give a 7.5/10 if old.

All the best, Chris!
 
E

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Uh, isn't this the same company? Wouldn't he just be switching seats, if even that?
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
Sometimes people ask me if Arthur is as tough as he seems. He is not. He is a tattooed teddy bear.
Click to expand...

All I wanted to know about Arthur Gies is why he is wrong about virtually everything he has ever commented on.

Anyway, good luck at Verge, Chris Plante.
 
C

Curufinwe

Member
D

Dramos

Member
The Verge used to be one of favorite tech websites... Today there seems to be a lot of click bait articles, inconsistent reviews, messy navigation and now it seems that they try to cover every type of news there is.

Heck, even Joshua Topolsky left.
 
Swarming101

Swarming101

Member
A shame, Chris Plante was probably the single best writer on Polygon IMO. His Opinion pieces were the best thing about the site for me.
 
B

brickwalker0

Member
Didn't Russ Frushtick leave just recently as well? Wonder if that had any influence, not that it matters in the grand scheme.

So Besties is dead orrrr....?
 
S

Sylvrfonic

Member
Yup, Plante was the sole reason I would visit Polygon. I really like him and his variety of content. I am glad that he's still creating.
 
Haint

Haint

Member
Dramos said:
The Verge used to be one of favorite tech websites... Today there seems to be a lot of click bait articles, inconsistent reviews, messy navigation and now it seems that they try to cover every type of news there is.

Heck, even Joshua Topolsky left.
Click to expand...

Yea it's basically gawker.com now. I guess tech doesn't pay the bills. Lifehacker also used to be 90% tech based, now it's 90% paper clip hooks and ketchup bottles. This is a recent trend, not really sure what's behind it.
 
Ecto311

Ecto311

Member
Amir0x said:
All I wanted to know about Arthur Gies is why he is wrong about virtually everything he has ever commented on.

Anyway, good luck at Verge, Chris Plante.
Click to expand...

When Polygon started I was excited till I seen that Gies was part of it - then I never went there. He's too badass.

ibtg8BtTjcTndH.gif

Edgy as FUCK. Get your shit together gaming press. Someone needs to be interviewed over the phone and getting their tongue bifurcated. If you isn't getting some ink or a mod and telling me how every game you get a hold of is shit then I can't hang.


/s
 
T

TalonJH

Member
No specific opinion on his writing but he is a pretty funny guy. Not sure why he needed to write something like this when he'll be in the same building.

As for Polygon, I was one of those people that liked Polygon when it first started. Over time I've simply stop caring for most of their game content.
 
S

Shane86

Member
The Verge has gone so far downhill since I used to visit it. It used to be just tech, now they're posting about current events and any clickbait they can think of.
 
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