If top-notch reporting is the artisanal rye holding the Vertical Slice sandwich together, then The Repository is your indulgent filling of choice. I guess that makes me the mustard.
I'm smitten with the notion that journalism is my calling, but as much as I adore my increasingly endangered gig as a jolly news hound, I want Vertical Slice to expand beyond the confines of a traditional paper by offering something unique.
That's why I'm launchingThe Repository, a growing library of development know-how made possible through contributions from a generous cohort of investors, publishers, and developers.
As it stands, The Repository houses a small collection of design documents and pitch deckssubmitted by Outersloth, Kitfox Games, and Outerloop. Three cheers for those rascals, please!
The best part? Everything included in The Repository is completely free. Today and forever. In reality, that means "for as long as Vertical Slice exists," but you get the picture. You don't need to be a Vertical Slice member, paid or otherwise, to browse and download the collection. Just have a mooch and take what you like!
Have a poke around! Some Repository uploads even include insightful developer notes!
To keep the project manageable for—flexes thumbs—this guy, I'm starting off small. I intend to expand The Repository each month (or thereabouts) with new additions from benevolent contributors. In the future, I'd love to expand the initiative to include dev-authored content and long-form educational interviews, but that will cost time and money—both of which are incredibly precious to me right now, as I sit here typing these very words, days before Vertical Slice officially breaks cover and weeks after I received my final pay packet.
To address that rather pressing issue, The Repository will is looking for financial backing from like-minded partners who believe in the value of transparency in an industry that generally favours anything but. I've tapped sales agency Corner The Market to handle all sponsorship requests—that editorial/sales divide is sacred, after all—so please shoot them an email if you're at all interested in supporting what I think is a pretty rad initiative.
On the other hand, If you're sat there thinking 'how can I my wonderful video game company showcase its wares?'—do I have an answer for you. Just swing by our inbox using this email address and the subject line 'Repository Contribution' and we'll give you the lowdown.
I could keep jabbering on about why I think this is something that will help every single developer out there learn a little bit more about effectively structuring internal documentation and weaving together fancy-schmancy pitch decks, or you could just go and check out The Repository for yourself!
Chris is an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience covering the video game industry. He was formerly news editor at Game Developer and is currently the founder and editor of this resplendent website.
