Loads of Polygon’s employees was laid off following Vox Media’s sale of the publication to Valnet, however two of its former guides writers are launching their very own guides-focused web site: Huge Pleasant Information, which you could find at bigfriendly.guide. Ryan Gilliam and Jeffrey Parkin based and are co-owners of the positioning.
Guides make Gilliam “really feel like I’m serving to somebody take pleasure in one thing that’s crucial to me and I do know is essential to them,” he tells The Verge. “And so once I misplaced the chance to do this at my standard 9-to-5, I wished to proceed it.”
“I hate sounding conceited or bragging, however what Ryan and I bought actually good at was serving to individuals play video video games,” Parkin says. Their work on guides helps individuals have enjoyable with video games, he provides — and assists with issues like getting a giant horse in Zelda.
Huge Pleasant Information will make most of its content material obtainable at no cost, and the guides themselves received’t be paywalled. However Gilliam and Parkin can even be opening a Patreon for the positioning as a means for individuals to help the work, which can even give individuals entry to a Discord. There shall be a weekly podcast that’s free for everybody and a month-to-month subscriber-only podcast the place Gilliam and Parkin will focus on their protection plans.
There shall be adverts on the positioning to begin. “For now, not less than, we’ll run adverts to maintain the lights on,” in response to the positioning’s About Us page.) However the focus is extra on constructing a neighborhood that trusts Gilliam and Parkin’s work and pays to help it. Along with engaged on guides for video games that curiosity them, Gilliam and Parkin need the neighborhood to make strategies for guides that they’ll contemplate and reply to.
The discharge of Huge Pleasant Information is simply the newest outlet from Polygon staffers: former editor-in-chief Chris Plante launched the Post Games podcast and former curation editor Pete Volk launched the PV Guide newsletter. The brand new shops comply with the rise of different indie gaming publications like Aftermath and Game File.
With Huge Pleasant Information, Gilliam and Parkin have modest expectations. “We’re not seeking to construct a model and promote it or something,” Parkin says. “I don’t suppose both of us wish to get significantly wealthy. We wish to preserve doing this. That’s actually what it comes all the way down to.”