@BenKuchera

Ben Kuchera

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What are your feelings on writing for free in return for exposure?

It's almost always a waste of time. Ask the site how many people who have written for free have gone on to paid positions. Ask for the editors qualifications to make sure they even know what they're talking about when, or if, you get edits. If you're not working under a qualified editor, you're wasting your time and likely learning just as much as you would if you opened a Tumblr.
There are good "for free" writing opportunities, but they are rare. Most of the time you're helping out someone else's hobby for free.

Did you know there's a guy with two fully functional and sized phalluses in the world? What are your thoughts?

The world is a wonderful and strange place.

How do you balance 5 kids and gaming? I'm struggling to balance just one

Honestly, it really helps to make gaming your career. Although that obviously isn't a helpful response.
My wife is amazing, first thing. Second thing is to plan ahead. If you have an hour to game, figure out what you want to play, make sure it's updated, get all the upkeep done, and get right to it. I play less now than I used to, but I value it much more.

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What is your favorite F2P gaming app? What is your favorite paid gaming app?

I'm really enjoying Loadout, although the tech problems are getting under my skin. I'm getting back into Skyrim, so that's my current favorite right now.

Read any good non-fiction books lately? I recommend The Bully Pulpit, parts of it take place in Cincinnati and it covers investigative journalism in the early 1900's.

I'll give it a look!

Outside of a shortage of games, what do you see as the current shortfalls of each next-gen platform?

I would love to see the Xbox One drop the price and lose the Kinect. I don't know if Sony has a big shortfall with the PS4, outside of a need for big-name exclusives. I think the PS4 has been nailing it, though.

Would you ever consider writing in some other capacity? Like a book, or on a game?

One day I would love to write a comic book.

Do you think it's necessary to go to school to be a journalist/blogger/writer in general? I trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, and something with writing seems like the best choice.

It's not necessary, but you learn a lot and make a ton of good connections. The less debt you carry though, the better off you will be in terms of looking for work and trying to make it work.

Do you think Nintendo will make another home console, or is the wii-u the last we will see?

I think Nintendo has the bank account, games, and will needed to stay in the hardware game. I look forward to seeing what's coming next, and would love to see a Mario or Zelda game on blazing fast hardware.
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What's the best thing going in the analog gaming space right now? Any board or card games you're really enjoying?

Not really, I just don't have the time. But a really fun, really quick-paced game to get into is Dungeon Commander. Get a few sets, invite the friends over... you're going to have a good time.

Do you ever put your foot in your mouth? If so, how do you mess up and retain credibility?

Oh yeah. Sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small ways. But if its big and public, the best thing to do is apologize, explain actions that will keep the same thing from happening again, and then honor those words.

How many revisions do you typically go through for an article?

It's not like revisions or drafts, it's more like a series of adjustments to try to get the closest to saying what you want to say. I like to read through something two or three times, and it can often go through two or three more people on the road to publication. The more editing, the better in my experience.

Do you think the Vita has a future beyond being a handheld PS4?

The Vita is one of my favorite systems, portable or no. It has a ton of great games. Still, loving something and thinking it has a big future in the market are two very different things. I hope it does well, but it has a rough road ahead of it.

What is your opinion on Octodad's social commentary about gay rights at the Olympics?

The game was actually, and I'm not surprised people missed this, a thinly-veiled commentary about the slow death of the public space industry.

What do you think will end up being the most acclaimed RPG to come out in 2014? Best selling?

I'm not really following RPGs right now, so I'm the last person to ask about this one. Everyone I know is raving about Bravely Default, so there's that.

Do you believe the increased use of microtransactions in full price titles is something that we will see even more off, or just an experiment by publishers to find alternate revenue streams and will be phased out?

I think it really depends on the game, the publisher, the implementation... there are so many variables. Some will do it better than others, but as a trend I don't think it's going away.

Has the community of any particular game, without having to say what game it was, ever ruined the experience of the game itself for you?

Sometimes the community around a game has made me avoid it, but that's usually due to just listening to the most vocal people ranting and raving. Once you get INTO a game, no matter what game it is, in my experience it's pretty easy to find great people to play with. It takes a little bit of work, but making friends and playing with high quality people playing the game in the manner you want to play really helps the experience.
It can feel like asking someone on a date, almost. "I had fun playing with you in [NAME OF GAME] do you mind if we friend up so we can do this again another night?" And it's also important to use ever feedback mechanism you can to attempt to punish the assholes. The systems tend to work if you put a little into them.

Did you ever feel like you had to bite your tongue when writing the PAR especially around the time PA was getting a lot of heat for one of its creators comments.

No, but it did make it feel like I had to be more careful about, or even avoid, certain topics. It was a terrible situation that I wish could have been handled differently, but there's been so much ink spilled on this topic I'm a little leery of talking about it again.
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Do you think anything good will actually come out of the whole EA Dungeon Keeper fiasco?

No. If the game is making money, that's all they care about. I don't think anyone's brand is being permanently hurt. I do think the whole thing shows a certain contempt for the audience, but the sad thing is how often companies are able to get away with that.
The best response is to simply not play, not pay, and go find something that IS worth supporting. Living well is always the best revenge, and there are plenty of great games out there.
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Liked by: Lena LeRay

Did you go to college if so what did you study?

I did! I went to Northern Kentucky University and later University of Kentucky. I studied Psychology and English.
No, I don't have a degree. No, it hasn't held back my writing, but it would have definitely made some things easier. Yes, I am still paying off my student loans. At least the rates are good!
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