While the Stevivor domain itself turns 18 years old this coming May, it’s served as a video games website for ten years as of this very day. That’s rather huge, isn’t it?
As its long-serving Editor-in-Chief I wanted to take a moment to thank our readers for helping us to become Australia’s most-read independent games website. It goes without saying that without you, we’d be nothing. Thank you for trusting us, thank you for following us, and thank you for coming back, day after day, for more video game news, reviews, previews and community content.
Equally as important as its readers, Stevivor would be nothing without a staff of dedicated writers. How better to acknowledge their continued hard work than with a look back at each writer’s first post?
Matt Gosper
We’ve had writers come and go, but Matt Gosper easily holds the record for longest tenure at Stevivor (who isn’t the guy who named the website after himself). Matt’s first piece was a review of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet in August 2011.
When you need a review done and lead time’s scarce, Matt’s your guy — especially if the title is an RPG or decidedly eastern. It’s been a pleasure over the past ten years seeing Matt transform from a wallflower to a confident man who’s found his place within this world.
Nicholas Simonovski
Good ol’ Captain Intelligent has had to put up with me since May 2012; it’s then he started his run as racing expert with a Forza Motorsport 4 Car Pack review.
Ever opinionated, Nicholas has always been a fresh air to me; you’ll always know what he’s thinking. Since meeting Nicholas, I’ve watched him grow from a graduate fresh out of uni to a respected accountant. It’s been a pleasure and an honour.
Luke Lawrie
The acquisition of Australian Gamer by Gameplanet was Stevivor’s gain — it meant Luke came on board to tackle reviews, previews and more from April 2013 onwards. Luke’s first piece was an Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel review.
Luke’s really my go-to man when there are events in Sydney (and there are a lot of events in Sydney). He’s a knowledgeable, reliable and consistent writer; I’d be lost without his hard work. Better yet, he’s a hell of a lot of fun as a friend.
Shane Wall
Once thought of as the sound guy — and the reason why some Stevivor podcasts sound so amazing (I’m the reason why some don’t) — Shane thought he’d have it easy when I helped get him press credentials for E3 2013. He soon realised I would take advantage of that situation and put him to work pretty hard.
Shane’s first piece was a Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare preview direct from the E3 show floor in June 2013; since then, he’s played a crucial role at Stevivor, and I can’t thank him enough for his continued hard work.
Stuart Gollan
Stuart joined the site and immediately jumped in to help me with day-to-day news, penning an article about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax in September 2014.
Stuart is our go-to RTS guy — that is, when he’s not acting as our resident Rocket League expert. He’s always there when you need him to pitch in, and for that I’m continually grateful. It’s been a pleasure to get to know him and celebrate new jobs, a marriage and other life events from across the internet.
Hamish Lindsay
Hamish introduced himself to me and asked to come on board as an Esports writer — the result was his first piece about Riot Games and League of Legends back in November 2014. Since then, he’s branched out and tackled reviews, previews and much more; I was delighted to see him thrive in Sweden earlier this year while on assignment covering The Division 2.
When the original Destiny was released, he and I became obsessed with the looter shooter; hours and hours logged in the game helped our friendship grow. It also made us fight a lot too, but hey — video games, am I right?
Ben Salter
This one’s admittedly a bit tricky — Ben has a number of posts attributed to his name ahead of his first proper post in May 2016, a Far Cry: Primal review. That’s because Stevivor partnered with the now-shuttered MMGN for our long-running Friendly Fire Show podcast.
I first met Ben at E3 2012 and we got on like a house on fire; that friendship continues to this day, even though Ben sadly left Melbourne for his hometown of Adelaide some time ago. Ben’s my most trusted adviser and confidante; if something I’ve written reads well, Ben’s likely whipped it into shape.
Jay Ball
Jay’s the person that’s had to deal with me for the least amount of time, though his enthusiasm and love of video games makes it feel like he’s been with Stevivor since day one. His first piece was a review of Alienation in June 2016.
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Jay over these past few years, and I’m incredibly happy to watch his personal growth (and at the same time, his family’s growth!). I can’t wait to see what Jay does with an upcoming London assignment.
Those we’ve lost along the way
Before there’s any misunderstandings, no one’s died — they’ve just stopped writing for the site regularly.
That said, I’d be remiss without a proper thanks to the following staff or guest writers: Matthew Bird, Julian Rizzo-Smith, Damian Cavanagh, William Kostakis, Trent Watherston, Greg Newbegin, Dave Haldane, Andrew Harrison, Alex Aniel, Mark Ankucic, Andy Gray, Noel Wheatley, Daniel Haynes, Daniel Robey, Hammond Buckland, Brad Stephenson, Chris Welldon, Bryce Wilson, Danielle R and Leo Stevenson. Matthew Bird gets the biggest praise of anyone for putting up with a boyfriend, then fiancé and now husband who spends WAY too much time on a side hustle.
Finally, they haven’t written for the site but I’m indebted to both Marcus Bendall and Josh Slee for their work in Stevivor’s logos over the years. No matter the iteration, they’ve always looked great.
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