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Bitmob Featured Community Writer: Patrick Bonk
Andrewh
Thursday, April 08, 2010

The Bitmob Featured Community Writer is a new series where we focus on you, the Bitmob community member. We'll dust off your old articles and give you your just reward: more eyeballs on your writing. We'll be featuring some of your favourites, some you may have overlooked, and maybe even you!


Our first featured writer is Patrick Bonk. He's been an active contributor since the site's first week and has been posting ever since. A loving husband and father, Patrick is based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. If you've never been there, it's very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter, and very, very flat all year round. Sounds like North America's best excuse to stay inside and play video games. Over the past year, Patrick's consistent contributions shows us that this is indeed the case.

What really strikes me is Patrick's efforts to connect with the Bitmob community. Nearly all of his posts end with a "What do you think?" prompt. If you want to connect with Patrick, look for SUPERGHOST...well, just about anywhere, and you'll find him.

 

 Let's take a look at some of his best articles.

 

Meet the Mob: Patrick Bonk -- What better way to introduce the man than to let the man introduce himself? Patrick relates to us how he is a flat-out gamer (and you'll see below, he can back it up!)

Front-page posts

Sega Dreamcast: A Console of Firsts -- Patrick kicked off last September's Dreamcast week with a look at how the console innovated many of the features we love in our current-gen systems. The Dreamcast may be gone, but it isn't forgotten.

Two Cents on Six Days in Fallujah -- Now that we know that Six Days in Fallujah isn't cancelled, just in search of a publisher, does Patrick's article still hold up? Yes it does, as he argues why such a game would be more than a just another shooter.

From the Mobfeed

Halo Highlight Reel: Zombies and Reach, Oh My! -- Patrick helps prep you for the Halo: Reach beta, while having some fun in Halo 3: ODST's multiplayer.

My Game Room Launch in Review -- Patrick, an older gamer with a lifetime filled with bleeps and bloops, revisits his past with Microsoft's Game Room. Heck, he even managed to get past the launch issues! He offers up four games to get your arcade started.


Rolling Start: Nascar Knights and Blur Beta Impressions -- Patrick and friends take emergent gameplay onto the track by having some NASCAR fun in Forza Motorsport 3. Some Blur beta impressions are included.

Massively Effective: Mass Effect 2 and the Cerberus Network -- Taking a look at the Cerberus Network, Patrick argues that it's a win-win. Bioware gets rewarded for a great game and you get rewarded for buying a new copy of Mass Effect 2.

SG's Archives: How SUPERGHOST Helped Shape Gears of War Multiplayer -- How do developers make great games? Patrick got some insight into the process, when he played a few online matches with Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games some time before Gears of War launched. Where did he find him? In Halo 2, of course!

As you can see, Patrick is prolific! Keep an eye out for his posts, and don't forget to chime in on his thoughts. He's just as eager to hear yours as to share his.


Want to be a Featured Community Writer? The best way to get featured in this series is to register with Bitmob and start contributing! You'll have to use your real name and it wouldn't hurt to write a Meet the Mob post about yourself and tag it with "Meet the Mob". If you have a favorite Bitmob community writer and want to nominate them, send me an email at andrew.hiscock@bitmob.com.

 
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Comments (17)
Default_picture
April 08, 2010


Great idea, Andrew. I'm sad to say that I missed out on most of Patrick's articles, despite him being here from the beginning. I was just catching up on his pieces, and lot of them are really interesting reads.


Me_square
April 08, 2010


@Brian: Thx for the compliment.  I still have to go back and fix up some of my old articles and bring them up to the new Bitmob standard.  Personally, some of my favourite posts are: BioShocked! Where Has My Interest Gone? and My Fantasy Zone: Reviving Classic Sega Franchises .  Those were also some of my most read. 



A great honour to be featured amongst all the great writers here at Bitmob.  Next I need focus on quality over quantity.  ;)



 


Alexemmy
April 08, 2010


I feel so guilty that I haven't read, probably any of, your pieces, Patrick! I just can't keep up with reading Bitmob as well as contributing. I've always seen you around and thought that we needed to get to know each other better. I've followed you on Twitter forever but we've barely ever interacted! I am going to remedy this... somehow.



Also, wonderful idea, Andrew. Look forward to more of it.


Me_square
April 08, 2010


@Alex: Don't feel guilty.  It is difficult to keep up with so many sites, opinions, and personalities. I struggle as well. That is the beauty of this feature.  It gives people such as ourselves that extra bit of exposure. AJH totally surprised me with the feature!  Nice way to kick off my wekend!


Default_picture
April 08, 2010


My bro is a celebrity!


Redeye
April 08, 2010


Congrats Patrick. I think i've read everything of this except for the meet the mob post but I rarely make as many connections with a set of writing and who wrote it as I should. So this is a help in that respect too. Now I know you did all that cool crap.



As a side note, does anyone make stupid jokes about your last name in referance to the scout in TF2?


Dan__shoe__hsu_-_square
April 08, 2010


Congrats, Patrick!!


37893_1338936035999_1309080061_30825631_6290042_n
April 09, 2010


I love this idea feature. What a great way to show people that their writing means something.



Just another example of a how amazing this community is.

Me_square
April 09, 2010


@Jeffrey: Thx! BTW many name jokes, but none based on the TF2 bit!


59583_467229896345_615671345_7027350_950079_n
April 09, 2010


This is a great idea for a feature. Kudos to Andrew for coming up with this, and double kudos to Patrick for being featured!


Andrewh
April 09, 2010


First of all, Aaron Thomas and I both had this idea. It was a bit of a Leibniz and Newton independently inventing calculus type of thing, so give Aaron some credit!



@Patrick. Love those articles as well. Due to space, I went with Fallujah instead of Bioshock 2, as Fallujah is top of the mind  and still not out yet! I'd love to see a revisit to your Bioshock article, to see if your concerns were warranted!



@Alex: This is what this post is for, catching up on great writers.



@Jeffrey: That's a great point. A bird's eye view of someone you actually have been reading. Interesting!



@Chase: It really is the best spot on the internet.


Alexemmy
April 09, 2010


Wonderful idea Andrew AND Aaron! Look forward to reading more.



 



 



There, happy? Haha, just joshin'! Aaron is awesome.


Brett_new_profile
April 09, 2010


You Canadians are too nice. Take the credit!



And congrats on being the first featured writer, Patrick!


John-wayne-rooster-cogburn
April 09, 2010


I love the idea of featuring a writer. Great pick, too! And congratulations, Patrick. Keep up the great work!


Mikeminotti-biopic
April 09, 2010


Awesome idea! Congrats to Patrick!


Me
April 13, 2010


Love it! This feature is a great idea for the community! Oh and..Patrick is awesome too :)





Congrats man!


Lance_darnell
April 14, 2010


What a great idea for a post from a great community manager and featuring one of my favorite writers!!!



 



Congrats Patrick! See you in the Gameroom!


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