Games journalist Leigh Alexander takes readers into the busy, closeted world of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.  Then she takes us everywhere else.

Clipping Through is a fascinating perspective on an industry not readily understood by people who live outside of it.

Alexander immerses us in this land of neon lights, screens, keen techies and knowledgeable colleagues, while simultaneously immersing us in her own head; a place of human doubt, insecurities, memories, purpose and determination.  And seemingly perpetual hangovers.

It’s not a very long book, but it doesn’t need to be.  It sets out to describe specific events and the mindset its author adopts to deal with them.  Alexander seems to know herself very well, which might sound like a pompous statement worthy of a top hat and monocle, but so few writers truly understand themselves in the way she has managed to put across.

That’s fairly important when writing a book like this, where the interpersonal relationships a journalist has cultivated – whether over years or minutes, ongoing or curtailed – have to be summarised in a quick sentence or two.  Sometimes there are short stories attached to names, filled with a prevailing emotion.  Regret.  Thankfulness.  Admiration.  Everything is laid bare without discarding subtlety.

Chapters are written according to subject (like “Brand”, “Awards”, and “Tools”) and adhere to a very rough timeline of events at GDC.

Alexander discusses her sentiments on being a games journalist and whether or not that makes her and others ‘real’ journalists.  She talks about coding, the mysterious and terrifying Money Men, the social gatherings, awards, her concerns about the future of games writing and the curve of her own success, among dozens of other facets.

There is a clear appreciation for independent and mainstream games development, as well as the people who work in each sector.  Alexander’s desire to see gaming culture represented, promoted and – crucially – evolve is palpable.

Every so often there are sharp points on the subject of her gender, which bring the reader’s mind crashing down to workplace realities the games industry is keen to shake off – and probably never will.   An Instagram photo with Anita Sarkeesian gives way to a dark joke, then a thought:

“The people that send Anita threats might be here, at this event, somewhere.  Fear.”

My favourite part of Clipping Through was a segment on Alexander’s worry about being accosted by Ken Levine during an interview with another developer.  She describes her prospective confrontation using the stealth mechanics of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with such deftness that I laughed, and I couldn’t stop smiling for a couple of pages.

This is not a guide on how to become, or even how to exist as, a games journalist.  It’s a deeply personal window into one journalist’s state of mind, organising little bits of industry knowledge alongside hard-won experience.  As such, Clipping Through is perfectly balanced and doesn’t outstay its welcome at around 65 pages.

Clipping Through: One Mad Week in Video Games brings a much-needed voice to the field of games journalism, supporting a practice which all too often is seen as a point of transition to a ‘bigger’ career elsewhere.

It’s available now as an e-book and can be downloaded here for $5.00 or more.