Feature: Stephen Johnson, Lead Editor of G4's "The Feed"

The man behind The Feed... and Skyrim comedy videos

Walking around the G4 offices is like taking a stroll through all of the great video games you’ve ever played. You can see cubes and offices lined from wall to wall with memorabilia, action figures, and signed posters. Stephen Johnson’s desk slightly different, more toned down with only a couple hanging pictures and even a signed picture from Kevin Pereira, the host of “Attack of the Show”. So how do you take people that have these kinds of memorabilia next to the computers that they write on seriously?

This is why: Stephen Johnson is the lead editor of the Feed on the G4 website, and believes that video games are on the precipice of something amazing. Something that only comes around once every century. Something that many forms of entertainment strive to achieve but only few transcend into that greatness. Soft spoken with glasses just barely thicker than his goatee, he thinks that video games are as close as they’ve ever been to becoming works of art.

“Video games right now are at about the point where films were in the 30’s.” Johnson said, who has written for all kinds of publications before coming to G4 in 2005, ranging from movies to horse racing. “It’s starting to find the language in which it wants to speak to us to be considered art.”

In August of 2010, Roger Ebert said in his Chicago Sun-Times blog that video games can never be considered art. He barely even chooses to defend his argument, he just makes it and refuses to budge. The blog post itself has over four thousand comments on it to date, and both sides very enthusiastically defend and dispel video games as an art form. Johnson is on the other side from Ebert on the fight, and that’s one of the reasons he enjoys going into work every day.

Whether or not video games can be considered art, they are still a huge part of the entertainment industry and are covered by a multitude of publications. Johnson thinks that the evolution of games into an artform has fostered all of the coverage that you see today. “I think that the idea of journalism in video games is relatively new because as an art form it’s grown to support the industry of video game journalists.” So as much as people want to argue about the legitimacy of industry, as long as it sells, there will be those there to cover it.

Eric Eckstein, director of the games editorial section of the G4 website, surely seems to think that Johnson is more than qualified to make these claims. “His other interests in film really brings something unique to the tabe,” said Eckstein, “he’s more about the narrative of the game than the intuitive design”. He went on to reference LA Noire and Alan Wake as two games Johnson was particularly excited about because they featured more in depth narratives than flashy gameplay.

“I love the gaming industry itself. I love being involved with something thats on the edge of something,” Johnson said, and he seems to be right. The release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 shattered the opening weekend sales records of any major form of entertainment in history, and copies of major titles often sail into the millions for units sold.

Graduating from college in the early nineties from Emerson College in Boston, Johnson is easily one of the more senior members in both age and experience of the G4 team, and there are times when he really notices it. “My co-workers think that the fact that I really liked LA Noire is evidence that I’m really old because they all thought it was boring and I thought it was so awesome,” said Johnson, who also admitted that he doesn’t try to keep up with anything thats popular or trending in the world if he doesn’t have to.

While his co-workers may poke fun at Johnson’s seniority over them, he does notice a unique dynamic between himself and all of the younger members of the office. “It’s less about the generations and how much younger they may be, but more about what they’re doing in their lives,” Johnson said, “I’m married and have a child so if I didn’t have those things I think there would be even less of a difference between me and them”.

But while there may be differences in age, there is certainly not a difference in how involved Johnson is with his subject matter. And he is very excited about the direction video games are going, and how that direction could keep pushing the industry into an art form. “There are ways of imparting thoughts and emotions that you cant do through other mediums, you being able to decide what direction a story goes in. Games are running up the limitations of giving the player choices.”

Working at G4 has provided some unique experiences for Johnson, the most unique being the opportunity to be on Feedback, the weekly video podcast about video games posted on the website. Johnson said that speaking on camera didn’t exactly come easy at first. “Oh man, I was so nervous the first time,” he laughed, “it’s just not my style to do that.” But as the number of appearances increased, so did his poise in the public eye. Now he’s extremely excited whenever he’s asked to go back on, and often catches himself talking about what will be on the show with co-hosts before he even sits down in front of the camera.

While video games have been a part of Johnson’s life for as long as he can remember, he still remembers that it is a job and it supports his family. This doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have done things differently, though. “I would have pursued what I really wanted to do younger, but I made excuses like ‘oh, I don’t have any experience’ and that held me back”.

Nevertheless, now Johnson is exactly where he wants to be, surrounded by his video game swag, writing about something that is evolving into something exquisite. He seems completely comfortable in his surroundings, and is showing the world that games can be art through his journalistic work. Eckstein puts it perfectly, “He’s been here for years and playing games  for even longer... he’s a self starter that knows film, and when he sees the convergence of the two, he really notices.”

You can follow Johnson on twitter @steveajohnson.