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"What happens when you bring game journalism talent from big sites like Joystiq, Kotaku and The Escapist together to launch something completely new?\nYou get Polygon, a gaming website from Vox Media, the brains behind The Verge and SBNation. Polygon launched Thursday morning, after spending months with its content housed in the gaming section of The Verge, a training wheels period for their editorial team.\nThe game journalism field is a crowded one, so Vox and Polygon's editorial team, headed by former Joystiq editor-in-chief Christopher Grant and managing editor Justin McElroy, have to differentiate their new site. McElroy says they'll do this by making the coverage more about who is making and playing games, not just the games themselves.\n\"We want to focus on the human side of development, and focus things on people. I want people to feel the respect that we feel for them,\" says McElroy. \"I think most video game websites have gone for that very narrow sliver of people for whom gaming is their main hobby. I think that's awesome, but there are other people who like video games, but have other interests, so those websites don't serve them. I think they want to see how gaming can dovetail with their other interests.\"\nMcElroy says Polygon isn't out to \"unseat\" other websites, but to provide things they aren't providing. While he, his brother Griffin McElroy, and Grant all departed Joystiq at once to create this new site, they said it was not because things were rocky at Joystiq, but because the opportunity to build something new was too good to pass up.\n\"It was not a question of us wanting to leave, it was more of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we couldn't pass up. The chance to do something like this is something you wait for and you hope for. We won't get another opporutnity to start from the ground up,\" he says.\nMagazine-Style Features\nThe Polygon team has been working since January on their new site, and strategizing how it will be different. The editorial team says they'll have several long features a week, between 2,000 to 6,000 words.\n\"There are not a lot of outlets doing magazine-style journalism about games,\" says Grant. \"We want our features to feel like a cover story of a magazine, and draw people in in the same way.\" \nGrant also says these features are something he thinks readers will consume on their tablets, a format more conducive for long-form pieces.\nHaving longer features that take writers several days isn't a product seen as frequently in web journalism, where metrics like page views and daily traffic carry more weight. Grant says Polygon is taking a different approach to luring advertisers, instead pitching them on the fact the publication will deliver consistently high-calibre content.\n\"For an advertiser, the appeal is being associated with something that is very high quality is important.  It's not normally viable for a web outlet to do. We want to get them to come back to Polygon because of the brand identity,\" Grant says.\nDynamic Game Reviews\nPolygon's editorial team also plans to disrupt the game review, a institution Grant says needs to adapt as games change.\n\"When you reviewed old games, that game was never going to change over time. We still review games like we do movies, like a static piece of content,\" Grant says. \"Most reviews are just reflections of a game on release day.\"\nThat could include updating the score based on content updates, downloadable content, or even how the multiplayer environment affects a player's experience in the game.\n\"This is more about reviewing games as a service than as a product. We don't want our reviews to be indistinguishable from a review of a vacuum cleaner,\" says McElroy.\nMcElroy says Polygon will also experiment with what a score actually means, a tricky subject for everyone involved. Critics' numeric scores can greatly impact game sales, but McElroy points out that \"bad games don't make it to market anymore, so most games score between a 7 and a 10.\"  \nAccording to Grant, almost everything at Polygon will have an evolution, and what we're seeing at Thursday's launch is only the \"minimum viable product.\"\n\"As you get older, you want to be really proud of what you do, and you want to point to the stuff that you make. It's not that I'm not proud with the work I did at Joystiq. This is an opportunity to do something that is bigger and more ambitious,\" Grant says. \"I've grown up with games journalism, and I am excited to see it evolve.\"\nThumbnail image courtesy Jeffy Can, Flickr.\nGet Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit\n\nThe Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.\nDate: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 \nTime: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. \nLocation: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036\nTickets: Purchase tickets on Eventbrite.\nA Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit\n\n\nMashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThe Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nWe had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social Media\nPete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011\nThis year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSocial Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations\nMashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTeaching \u2013 and Learning From \u2013 The Old Grey Lady\nBrian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation\nEli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhat Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism\nAdam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of  Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Evolution of Sports Illustrated\nSports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom Tactile to Mobile\nJosh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Makes You Smarter\nChristy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Guide Audience\nA member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWho Owns Your Identity?\nMashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin\nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLike A Virgin \nTor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n The Problem of Prediction\nTony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMashable's Big Announcement\nAt Mashable Media Summit, we announced the Mashable Publisher Platform, a new editorially curated syndication experience that brings content from select publishers to our site.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Importance of Being Awesome\nFaris Yakob, chief innovation officer of MDC Partners\u2019 kbs+p and founding partner of Spies &amp; Assassins, covers from art and copy to arduinos and code, and how important it is to be awesome.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T Brings 4G to NYC\nLarry Solomon, AT&amp;T's senior vice president of corporate communications, announced that 4G LTE will be coming to New York City.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAT&amp;T\nSpecial thanks to our presenting sponsor, AT&amp;T. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOne on One\nBloomberg TV anchor Emily Chang talks tech with Foursquare's General Manager Evan Cohen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe New Model of Content and Commerce\nLauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, Founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe\u2028; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Future of Social TV\nMashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBreaking Down Content Barriers\nMichael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSponsors for the Mashable Media Summit 2011\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGetting Ready for the Post-Conference Reception\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedia Summit 2011 Reception \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSupporting Sponsor\nSponsorship Opportunities\nA limited number of sponsor opportunities are available for the Mashable Media Summit. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of Mashable\u2019s passionate and influential audience. Contact sponsorships@mashable.com for opportunities."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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