By Alec Meer on May 29th, 2009 at 12:18 am.
Behind the scenes, in the gelatinous chamber where the RPS Hivemind’s life-sustaining anti-plankton is grown, Jim and I had a brief debate. “We should have a weekly iPhone post”, quoth he. “But so many people will be angered by such a thing”, quoth I. We both then stared at our own iPhones with a mixture of pride and shame, and we wondered. How would the goodly, but sometimes distressingly irate, readers of the Rock, the Paper and the Shotgun feel about such a thing? While we continue to wonder, we can at least justify this: John Carmack, the Great Brain of id Software, talking about the trials and tribulations behind the upcoming iPhone port of Doom, and the issues inherent in visually tweaking (or not) a true-blue PC classic.
It’s interesting regardless of whether or not you own one of dem phones, dem phones, dem iPhones because it offers a few (tech-centric) insights into the making of the original Doom all those years ago, as well as that aforementioned discussion of whether graphical updates for a modern age are greater or lesser in import than retaining the game’s original aesthetic – regardless of whether it was initially intended to look that way or was merely limited by the hardware of the time. This being Carmack, half of what he writes is so technical as to be insensible, but there’s certainly a few interesting talking points thrown to the crowd.
29/05/2009 at 00:33 Craymen Edge says:
To quote your “about” page : “Quite simply, RPS is about PC gaming – all of PC gaming, rather than just one of the weird and wonderful niches most other PC-centric sites confine themselves to. It’s written by four of Britain’s top games journalists, and it aims to cover everything from the latest breaking stories about the biggest releases to esoterica from the format’s obscurest peninsulas.
To contact us, just click… no, wait. Wait. Before you send that press release about your new PSP game or link to a dog playing Sega Genesis music on a noseflute, please remember that we are a PC-only site. That’s PC only. P.C. O.N.L.Y. Honestly, you’d be amazed how many people don’t realise that.”
I read RPS because it’s about PC gaming, and offers the kind of content you don’t often get elsewhere. If I want to hear about iPhones, I’ll listen to any of the million US gaming podcasts out there. They never shut up about the things.
29/05/2009 at 00:35 Mr Popov says:
A weekly feature certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone. However I’m sure many readers would wonder why you wouldn’t include a weekly (insert other platform here) feature either.
29/05/2009 at 00:37 Novotny says:
Well if you must, then what about Blackberries? Should do one for them too, weekly. But why stop there? Maybe it is hightime you covered consoles too.
Don’t you dare start posting about iphones.
29/05/2009 at 00:37 jalf says:
Well, I wouldn’t mind. But how would it fit into the PC-only thing you have going? Why should you cover iPhone news, but not, say, NDS? Why not make a weekly non-PC-gaming-stuff roundup then? If and when there’s something interesting happening on other platforms, I’d just as soon read about it here as on other sites.
The only question is how you’re going to brand RPS. It’s hardly PC-only if you talk about non-PC phones. (and you’re pretty explicit on the About page about “PC ONLY”. You’d have to update that page, at least).
I dunno, I don’t have a strong need for more iPhone news, but it’s not something that’d ruin my day either.
It also depends on what angle you’re going to take? Are we talking about the iPhone in general? Games on it? Indie games specifically? Developers talking about developing on it? The economic viability of developing for it? What are we talking about here, exactly?
29/05/2009 at 00:38 Freudian Trip says:
Really don’t get the point of iPhones but then with my Samsung that wouldn’t look out of place alongside a Nokia 3330 I’m probably not the demographic they’re aiming for.
It’s your website, you pay for it, I don’t, do as you wish.
29/05/2009 at 00:42 Dominic White says:
Purity is overrated. I don’t even own an iPhone (or anything capable of playing games that isn’t a dedicated portable gaming system), but I’d love to hear more about what the RPS crew find interesting.
Bring on the iPhone articles.
29/05/2009 at 00:45 Kez says:
Honestly, I think you’re all overreacting because it’s an iPhone game but that’s not the emphasis here.
The reason I feel the article is relevant to RPS is that it relates to the difficulties with modernising one of the great classic *PC* games, regardless of the target hardware.
We’re going to see a lot more upscale ports of our old favorites being made in the future, and I’m not opposed to reading about how people are doing that right/wrong.
29/05/2009 at 00:47 Tim says:
This is one of my favorite websites (you know this is prefacing an interjection), but I think a regular iPhone post would be annoying as hell. I already think there are too many random indie game posts about the latest flash in the pan, but maybe that’s because I read those sites as well. In either case, save it for some of the good ones.
29/05/2009 at 00:47 Garu says:
If you guys can maintain the current level of coverage, PLUS a weekly iPhone roundup, then great. But more likely you’ll have to cut something else and I’d much rather have another retro feature or something like that than coverage for a platform I neither own nor plan to anytime soon.
That being said, it would be reasonable idea for you guys to have a weekly “Elsewhere in Gaming” feature where you briefly talk about all the non-PC things that have been keeping you interested. Please don’t limit it to just the iPhone, though.
29/05/2009 at 00:53 Saul says:
@Kez: Did you actually read the post?
I’m not really a fan of adding iPhone news, as it is really rather inconsistant. I wouldn’t be against a weekly “non-PC” roundup, because I’m sure you fellas would only pick the most interesting bits to go in it, and I really don’t care to read any other gaming sites.
I don’t have any consoles or fancy phones, but sometimes I’m sure there are still stories worth reading about them.
29/05/2009 at 00:53 Fede says:
No problem from my point of view: the more you write the more good and interesting writing to read (even if I don’t have an iphone)!
29/05/2009 at 01:08 Thranx says:
Blasphemy. Does it require a mouse and keyboard? Nay. Thusly does it belong on RPS? Nay.
My confidence in the foundations of this site are now shaken. What’s next? News about how awesome FPSs are with two thumbsticks? *shudder*
Don’t cave to the fad.
29/05/2009 at 01:09 Steve says:
iPhones? RPS, I am disappoint.
29/05/2009 at 01:16 sinister agent says:
You could make all sorts of cases about this being a PC site almost by definition, but anything we whinge about is trumped by the simple fact that it’s your site. Personally, I’d have no interest at all, but then I have no interest in a lot of things. I’d still hang about for a lot of the other stuff you lot put out.
29/05/2009 at 01:21 Andy`` says:
Did everybody forget who Carmack is and where Doom came from? And how often there’s an iPhone focused post on this site, ever? This is the fourth that’s iPhoney enough to even be tagged for it. If you can’t click links and need the history: the first was LucasArts games (same as this, really – PC game goes to iPhone, PC vs. iPhone debate occurs), the second was a comparison to the PC as a gaming platform, and the third was Alec controlling a PC with an iPhone while falling backwards off his chair. Four since November 2007. Hardly regular, yo.
Interested to see how this handles though. I keep hearing from everyone I’ve spoken to about this how it will be impossible to get right. But if Carmack’s doing it, it cant be impossible, can it?
29/05/2009 at 01:22 Junch says:
I sincerely dislike that the iPhone is attempting to become the handheld gaming device of the century. I remember reading a PR statement a year back, the guy actually said he thinks the iPhone is the best gaming device there is.
Seriously? No, seriously? Wtf about the Nintendo DS? Or the PSP? Proper games-focused only handheld devices to lose out to some stupid iPhone!? It just makes me hate Apple all that more.
29/05/2009 at 01:23 Joflar says:
As a fat American I don’t mean to throw my sense of entitlement around but their site should be interesting to their viewers.
29/05/2009 at 01:24 Z says:
To quote Yahtzee:
“Fans are clingy, complaining dipshits who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you’ll be for it.”
Not one for grammar, Yahtzee.
29/05/2009 at 01:28 CMaster says:
The stated purpouse of this site is to be about PC gaming. Not about phone games, pocket PC games etc etc.
Now, if you feel the PC centricness is getting a little stale, then maybe you want to branch out into other games (and of course, some of the flash games featured here can be played on other formats).
If you do start doing a weekly iPhone post though, what about when some really exciting iPhone gaming news comes through? Does that have to wait, or does it go up straight away? Once iPhone post become regular, then another writer decides he wants to start adding stuff on his favourite other format. In a while, what is there to sperate you from Kotaku or IGN, say? Also, if it becomes “PC and mobile games” blog, the claim that you don’t hate consoles starts to look a little thin.
On the actual article, reading Carmack is interesting but difficult as ever. He moves so fast from concept to concept it can be hard to keep up.
29/05/2009 at 01:30 Citizen Parker says:
Look, ultimately you chaps can make this a site dedicated to implementations of Tic Tac Toe and I’ll read it and subscribe to it. So take this with a grain of salt.
Even though large parts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the iPhone and all the odious apparatus of Apple rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in many genres, we shall fight on cross-platform releases, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the indie scene.
We shall defend our PC gaming, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on Ventrilo, we shall fight on PBEM, we shall fight in monthly subscriptions and in micropayments, we shall fight in the Talk-o-Tron 3000.
We shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Rock Paper Shotgun or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our fellow PC enthusiasts beyond the seas, armed and guarded by Steam, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New Game Journalism, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of our fair site.
29/05/2009 at 01:37 solipsistnation says:
I’m not incensed at the very concept of ongoing iPhone articles, as if talking about iPhones would suddenly dilute the whole site into Just Another Generic Game Stuff Blog, but you guys do only have limited time, and I’d rather the site stay focused. There are plenty of Boing Boing Offworld-type sites out there to post generic gaming news. RPS stays interesting by maintaining its unique editorial voice and sticking with stuff that is, for the most part, genuinely interesting over the long term and is relevant to that core of PC gaming. It does open you up to a lot of “What about [MY FAVORITE PLATFORM]?” whining, though, and I doubt you want that.
This article, though, I think is interesting because it’s tied directly into the core of RPS– it talks about one of the cornerstones of PC gaming as we know it and how hardware has evolved. It’s borderline– Carmack’s post is very technical and gets into a lot of interface stuff with the iPhone, which isn’t a PC. (GASP.) He does talk about the choices they made way back when, though, so it’s relevant here.
Personally, I’d stick with “PC Only” and maybe do an “other platforms” writeup weekly or something, but make sure stuff lines up with the core values of RPS. (Sonic III released for the iPhone? Not so relevant. “Elite” ported to the iPhone? OKAY!)
29/05/2009 at 01:38 Vinraith says:
I agree with others here that if you’re going to start covering the iPhone (hiss, spat) you should be covering other (real) gaming devices as well. Either this is a PC gaming only site or it’s not. PC and iPhone gaming only doesn’t make much sense, and I find it hard to believe the cross over audience is all that extensive.
29/05/2009 at 01:39 Ziv says:
I guess it does kinda destroy that only PC thing here, but if it doesn’t go on expense of other articles then why not.
29/05/2009 at 01:41 invisiblejesus says:
I’d be much more into the idea of a weekly non-PC gaming roundup than a weekly iPhone bit.
29/05/2009 at 01:42 CannedLizard says:
Gotta say, not a fan of the idea of iPhone content. For one, it doesn’t seem to fit with the mandate of this site. For two, it will make me want an iPhone or iPod Touch even MORE than I already do.
For three, you guys DO break your mandate every so often, but VERY carefully. And only in situations where you can justify it somehow. Like here! Or here! Honestly, the desperate justifications are what make it worth the entry fee.
29/05/2009 at 01:42 Vinraith says:
@invisiblejesus
Now see, that’s a good idea.
29/05/2009 at 01:43 solipsistnation says:
@Junch: The iPhone is a platform. It has the potential to be a fantastic gaming platform. It may or may not end up any good at it in the end, but it has possibilities.
Look at the early days of the DS– how many games were released with crappy touchscreen controls tacked onto what would have been (or actually was) a decent GBA game, and then had words starting with “D” and “S” stuck on the name to make the point? There was a lot of skepticism there, for good reason. It took a while for developers to figure out how to actually use 2 screens and touch controls. We’re still in the “Recycled Game: Dual Strike!” period of iPhone games.
29/05/2009 at 01:43 Nox says:
(Warning: I just reread this post and discovered that I’ve rambled like I’m off my meds, which is funny since I don’t take any. Most people should just move past this message and on to the next person’s, which will no doubt be more rational and less verbose.)
I’m going to regret typing this (in fact, my fingers are protesting already, making this even more difficult), but as RPS is the last bastion of PC-centric gaming of which I am aware, coverage of alternative gaming offerings would absolutely kill me.
My early professional career was spent in retail management–first Babbage’s then Software, Etc. After that I jumped ship and went to work for the enemy: Electronics Boutique. I rounded-out my ‘hard time’ in retail by returning to Babbage’s. Over the five years I was employed, I saw a transformation in each store’s layout which has continued to this day. What was once the cornerstone of each store–PC games–was eventually whittled down to either an island display or a couple of end-caps. And thanks to the thriving trade-in market, you can bet your signed copy of Civilization II that you’ll always be asked to trade in your old console games at checkout–even if you’ve never purchased anything but PC titles from the store.
I still remember when Gamespot sent all of its readership an apology e-mail explaining that in order to thrive they were going to have to start covering consoles.
At one point I had a subscription to every PC gaming mag available on this side of the pond. One of them–I cannot recall which–started including a section called something like “What They’re Playing” with the pronoun indicating console gamers. I promptly canceled my subscription.
It’s bad enough that Bill Harris @ Dubious Quality likes consoles–he apparently has a loving family and is an avid sports fan, too.
The point I’m making is that literally everyone covers all-format gaming. RPS is unique in that it’s the only place that caters specifically to my interests. For that, I check it several times a day. Because it makes me feel special. That may sound lame, but it suggests that there are others, like me, whose primary hobby is PC gaming. Community, to me, is significant. And the only thing I’m aware of that’s as strong as, say, the instant camaraderie that all smokers share is the knowledge that the person you just met is a mostly PC-gamer, which is hardly en vogue.
I fear that I may be coming across as a bit of a PC snob, despite my intentions. I don’t begrudge others their entertainment platform of choice. I simply find the input devices more elegant & comfortable and the offerings more varied. These are my preferences. I like to multitask. I prefer a desk to a sofa, a monitor to a television. I like to fiddle, modifying .ini files and figuring out which obscurely named extensions in an install can be renamed to .mp3 and played in VLC media player.
My last console was the 3DO. After owning one of everything ’til that point except a NEO-GEO, I decided that I needed to focus on one entertainment platform to simplify my purchasing. I was tired of the ‘which version of the game do I buy’ gymnastics that I was performing with major game releases.
There are tons of reasons I’m a PC-only gamer, and I’ll stop boring everyone with my rationalizations. I realize that my single-mindedness doesn’t translate directly into why RPS should be a PC-only gaming site, but I’d totally use up one of my wishes for freeing a genie to make you guys ignore other platforms. The other two wishes would go toward something involving Joss Whedon and another thing regarding a car made of weather-proof cinnamon.
Man, I really need that magic lamp.
29/05/2009 at 01:43 Andy`` says:
Oh I seeeee…I finally see what all the nerd rage is about. I should read the posts before I comment on them, yes? Apparently I was just pulled straight into the gravity well of Carmackness on the other side of the link.
But yes. Do it! Do it to spite them!
29/05/2009 at 01:44 Mystic Smeg says:
I’ve got Snake on an old Nokia…..
29/05/2009 at 01:45 squadman says:
I agree that I would rather you stayed PC focused. I have plenty of other console sites bookmarked, and I come here for PC specific news!
I love that this site has a real focus on PC gaming, as there are so few sites that do. There’s so much to cover, and so much has already been forgotten about the history of PC gaming – so it’s nice to come to a site that celebrates PC gaming exclusively!
29/05/2009 at 01:47 Vinraith says:
On a partially related note, has anyone else played the Doom port on Nintendo DS homebrew? The control’s terrible, but it’s a very faithful port nevertheless.
29/05/2009 at 01:49 Dead Fish says:
Practically iPhone gaming = handheld gaming. I don’t see how this is related to a PC blog. I don’t own an iPhone myself, so I’m personally not interested.
29/05/2009 at 01:57 iincompetent says:
Linking to a legendary PC developer spouting technicalness is all well and good. I applaud, as I love any insight into how John Carmack ticks … but I really don’t see any value in a regular iPhone thread on RPS.
In my opinion the only thing the iPhone has going for it is its high geek-market penetration and low low prices for crappy games that I could play for free in flash (or those that were released on the PC 15 years ago). Touch screen gaming is better served on my DS and I coudln’t care less about tilt controls.
I would much rather see RPS do a weekly feature on interesting console games that should see a release on the PC. Perhaps even a look at how developers could exploit our favoured platform to improve said games.
29/05/2009 at 02:02 jeffthewonderbadger says:
Dear God. Alec, what have you done?
29/05/2009 at 02:09 PleasingFungus says:
Man, Carmack’s great. Purchased Wolf 3D on the iPhone – only thing I’ve actually bought on the App Store! – and am looking forward to buying iDoom when it comes out. (Admission: never played the original. Was three years old when it came out.)
Also: no opinion on iPhone posts.
29/05/2009 at 02:16 MD says:
I AM IRATE :-[
Nah but if you do go with the iPhone thing, please do make a point of keeping it to undiscovered oddities, awesome homebrew etc. — the kind of stuff that a) people will not be able to read about in 50,000 other places, and b) will interest those of us who don’t own an iPhone, and don’t care about any of the widely-reported/boring pieces of iPhone-related news.
29/05/2009 at 02:18 MD says:
Oh and more Carmack please! In fact I’d much prefer a weekly Carmack post than a weekly iPhone post.
29/05/2009 at 02:19 Radiant says:
Do what you want it’s your website?
29/05/2009 at 02:23 Radiant says:
Or are you that scared of Gillen?
29/05/2009 at 02:24 john t says:
I like the idea of a single weekly Sunday-papers style roundup of “Non-PC related Gaming News” — or even “Non-Gaming Related PC News.”
29/05/2009 at 02:41 jarvoll says:
Noooooooooooooooooooo! The rest of the world is poisoned by console/portable madness! Keep RPS sane, healthy, & PC-only!
29/05/2009 at 02:43 I am beginning to understand this comment system says:
I honestly don’t care what platforms you guys choose to cover. A good game is a good game, regardless of platform and by the same token, a well written piece on a console game is the same to me as a well written piece on a PC game.
However, I do enjoying about hearing about indie games that I would miss otherwise and those are predominantly released on the PC.
Switching gears, Carmack is the man. His dedication to his fanbase / open source is inspiring.
29/05/2009 at 02:45 Angel Dust says:
What the hell if wrong with all you whiners? Sure it’s not 100% PC but the article was interesting, intelligent and written by bonafide PC royalty about the porting of one of the definitive PC games. I would have no problem with RPS posting about stuff like this and I trust that they won’t use that as an excuse to go crazy on not strictly PC posts.
29/05/2009 at 02:55 jalf says:
@Angel Dust: There’s always one, isn’t there?
I don’t know which thread you’ve been reading, but until your little rage explosion, I haven’t seen anything that could be interpreted as “whining”. What exactly are you so angry about? Who’s whining? Why do we need to discuss whining in this otherwise pretty peaceful discussion?
And I don’t think anyone has a problem with the article they linked to. That’s not really the issue. The question is if they should make a weekly iPhone post.
29/05/2009 at 02:58 Andy`` says:
Actually, there’s two (see my other posts further up thread).
The ‘mack hole’s power is growing. We might need to eject the generators to blow us free. Shame the iPhone doesn’t have a removable battery.
29/05/2009 at 03:01 Devan says:
I would prefer not to sift through mobile, handheld or console news, but it wouldn’t be a huge deal.
29/05/2009 at 03:20 invisiblejesus says:
@Angel Dust: I think you’re misinterpreting some posts, here. I don’t think anyone, or very many people anyway, object to the Carmack article. The question was asked how readers would feel about a weekly iPhone piece. The responses about iPhone coverage are about that, they aren’t necessarily objections to the Carmack article.
29/05/2009 at 03:21 bhlaab says:
I’m sick of hearing about the iphone as a gaming device period. It’s clearly– clearly not.
As for sprucing up old game, I’m fine with the Zdoom approach where you add new features that don’t alter much beyond added playability (like mouselook) and new environmental effects with high res textures.
But then there’s jdoom and the duke3d hd project where you’re putting 3d models in an engine not meant to house them and it just looks awful.
29/05/2009 at 03:22 James T says:
A maxim not only for the RPS staff, but for all the world: no-one cares about your Iphone. It’s not a very complicated maxim.
(…You’re still the best poster though, Jim.)
29/05/2009 at 03:28 Günter says:
Oh, it’ll just be iPhones at first. Innocent as can be, but next thing you know it’ll be Blackberries, and then Nokia phones, and then you’ll have an entire section devoted to cell phones. Then you’ll branch into other handhelds, and then what’s stopping you? You’ll fall into the consumerist, conformist, must-have-everything death spiral of the damned. Always jonseing for your next fix of paid-off 9.75/10 reviews. Your mind will be slowly melted by the simplicity of the CHILDISH CONSOLE GAMES. Next thing you know you will be PERFORMING SEXUAL FAVORS FOR CLIFFY B TO GET A PREVIEW COPY OF GEARS OF WAR 3 SO YOU CAN SCORE IT 10/10 ON YOUR GENERAL GAMING WEBSITE.
IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!
…Bust seriously, I would be totally cool with a weekly iPhone feature.
29/05/2009 at 03:38 Radiant says:
“I honestly don’t care what platforms you guys choose to cover. A good game is a good game, regardless of platform and by the same token, a well written piece on a console game is the same to me as a well written piece on a PC game.”
Well said
29/05/2009 at 04:00 Persus-9 says:
Wow this comments thread went TL;DR fast! Anyway, I’m sure I’ll just be saying what other people have been saying but I’d like to offer my opinion since Alec basically asked for it.
I don’t want to sound like an angry internet man but I’d like this site to remain extremely PC centric please.
I like this site because in my heart I’m a PC gamer, I own a couple of consoles sure, but in my heart I’m a PC gamer and I want to read about PC gaming. I can get enough info about consoles just from checking Eurogamer daily. I just don’t want to hear about it in the same way I want to hear about PC gaming.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a weekly roundup of other format news, something easily ignored like that but I wouldn’t want to see normal regular stories that aren’t in some way related to PC gaming.
P.S. I think that PC is a synonym for IBM PC compatible and thus I count Linux and modern Macs as PCs not just DOS and Windows based machines.
P.P.S. I consider this particular article perfectly legitimate PC news since it’s an article about porting legendary a PC game by a legend of PC developement. That makes it PC news in my book.
29/05/2009 at 04:15 Vinraith says:
@I am beginning
“A good game is a good game, regardless of platform and by the same token, a well written piece on a console game is the same to me as a well written piece on a PC game.”
The best written piece in the world about a game on a platform I don’t own (and don’t care to own) is still a big pile of irrelevant to me.
@James T
“A maxim not only for the RPS staff, but for all the world: no-one cares about your Iphone. ”
A-fucking-men.
29/05/2009 at 04:21 flo says:
yay, iphone posts pl0x, now!!!
no, seriously, but if you somehow can make this happen it would be awesome. Concerning the pc-only-ness: you talk about how pc-games sell compared to console games, or the differences between them already, so why not about iphones? Then if ppl ask why you write about those and not about blackberries or so, just tell them that the iphone at least has some relevance as a gaming platform, maybe even more then psp, certainly more than blackberries or other phones/pmps.
29/05/2009 at 04:27 negativedge says:
Anyone that plays video games and wishes to play them while moving has a DS, not an iphone. An iphone is a phone. You use it to talk to people. I don’t care that the modern phone is never actually used to talk to living human beings via voice and is instead used as a glorified IM device that also accesses youtube and can play your favorite shitty voice clip from your favorite shitty movie every time your terrible friends send you a six letter message you just payed five dollars for–it is still a phone. The only reason people play games on it is the same reason they do any inane thing on it– to brag to their friends about all the cool, pointless things they can pay way too much money to do on a device designed for none of them. Of all the platforms, of all the niches, of all the things in the known universe one could use to play a game of Doom (which likely numbers in the hundreds by now), the iphone is the one I’d like to hear about least.
And on the off chance anyone actually cares about gaming on the iphone as something other than a novelty or object of a useless techbuzz fad article on all the millions some guy in the hills of Kentucky is making because he ported strip poker to the thing–well, I bet they already got websites they go to. Don’t be one of them.
29/05/2009 at 04:30 Angel Dust says:
Apologies all! I skim read the RPS post and went straight for the article and never noticed the question about having a weekly iPhone piece!
In that case I’m with James T! Unless there is some real merit to it, mcuh like this post, I’m not interested in iPhone news.
29/05/2009 at 04:35 flo says:
@negativedge maybe all ppl that like to carry more than 1 device do. the others do not. (carry a ds that is) also, I don’t know anyone that has a ds, but lots of ppl with iphones. Also you are being very condescending and sounding like a glorified nerd douchebag. like all those “omg pc gaming in jeopardy” guys before you. It’s one thing to say “i object to non-pc gaming content” or something along those lines, but if you do it as rage/hate filled like a crowd of the worst fanboys and along the way basically confirm every cliché about pc-gamers ever published, that maybe belongs on engadget or so, but not here.
29/05/2009 at 04:38 negativedge says:
ok
sorry that I’d rather take liberty with my words than say “no, please don’t.” You’ll get over it, I promise.
I don’t think it’s worth covering a platform that only has games on it “because people don’t like to carry more than one device.” That’s great. Then wait until you get home to play a video game. And you’re calling me the nerd, god damn.
And for fuck’s sake if you’re going to try to claim the moral high ground, at least learn to spell out words like “people.”
29/05/2009 at 04:39 chesh says:
iPhone posts are why I unsubscribed from Offworld. I don’t want to unsubscribe from RPS :(
29/05/2009 at 04:44 CJ McFly says:
Please do a weekly iphone post! Don’t listen to those scared of accelerometer. Surely you can add “we also like iphones” to the about page. And since there are more and more PC classics coming out on iphone, there is definitely a link. You could tie it in with a comparison to the originals – Myst, Doom, and my own favourite Ports of Call!
Also, I would much rather read about RPS views on iphone gaming than an over-excited american professing the awesomeness of this week’s release.
Please – you know you want to!
29/05/2009 at 04:51 James Brophy says:
ok, it might not be strictly relevant to the pc… however hands up who here diden’t play doom and or loose allot of hours thanks to works of or heavily influenced by John Carmack?
I don’t care if he is releasing his first rap album… what interests carmack interests me.
Ahem.. a weekly iPhone post would be very cool… but you might want to set it up in a different section of the site. “Rock, Paper, iPhone” perhaps?
29/05/2009 at 04:56 flo says:
@cj mcfly 2nd that
@negativedge yeah, your’re clearly “the nerd” cause 1) you are acting out the grammar nazi, although it should have been obvious that this acronym was used on purpose, and 2) in your world (if I interpret your posts correctly) one would have to carry a phone, a pager, a notebook, an mp3 player, a mobile radio, and a mobile gaming device, instead of just 1 device that can do everything. At least as far as mobile gaming goes I think at the moment the bes device for this is the iphone. This might change quickly, but for now it is. Additionally, I didn’t claim any moral highground, just stating the fact that you are being non factual and a total hypocrite.
29/05/2009 at 05:07 Clockwork Harlequin says:
iPhones. Writing? Nerd angry. NERD ANGRY! Raargh!!
Err *cough* That is -as has been said- RPS presents itself as a PC gaming site. That is, you specialize so as to be able to deliver better coverage of a particular subject. What’s wrong with that?
On the other hand, if I were in your shoes, I’d be tempted to do an iPhone theme week, just to bait us nerds.
Edit: Why is there no poll?
29/05/2009 at 05:38 Rufust Firefly says:
Android has a Doom port already–it’s the #1 game on that phone right now, though that’s not really saying all that much since most Android games are pretty lame right now. (Though I do like Buka a lot.)
iPhone posts must be the new DRM.
29/05/2009 at 05:53 negativedge says:
@flo
I hear-tell of a time, long past, in which the ancients carried not all of these devices, but none of them! One wonders how they were able to live such productive lives.
And to claim the iphone is, currently, a better gaming device than the DS is…a little misguided. Then again, I’ve no doubt you have no idea what you are saying or why, as the rest of your post clearly illustrates. I don’t claim to understand idiots. So you win.
29/05/2009 at 06:14 shinygerbil says:
You know what, I actually wouldn’t mind an iPhooey/other-platform related weekly roundup – if only for the incredibly selfish reason that I can’t be bothered to actually trawl through the hundreds and hundreds of miniature shiny turds that get squirted onto the App Store every week to find out which ones are just a thin layer of gold leaf, and which ones go chink when you bite them.
29/05/2009 at 06:51 PC Monster says:
I don’t know if a weekly iPhone post would fly, Alec. My gut instinct says no. And I hate iPhones and every single solitary person who uses one.
Bu I’ll defend this article to the death considering it deals with Doom, one of the games – if not THE game – that practically started the PC off as a serious gaming platform in the 90′s. I never tire of reading about the ol’ gal’s continuing adventures.
29/05/2009 at 06:53 c-Row says:
I got an iPhone. Wouldn’t mind seeing the ocassional post on RPS every now and then.
29/05/2009 at 06:59 Turin Turambar says:
John Carmack speaks: pc gamers listen carefully.
29/05/2009 at 07:01 Jim Rossignol says:
“Or are you that scared of Gillen?”
Gillen is also an iPhone user. My interest re iPhone is that it, and other futurephones, are increasingly akin to a PC, and most of the RPS crew use them as such. Clearly the Apple-controlledness of them is horrendous – iTunes is the worst piece of software I’ve ever encountered – but they interest me precisely because of their enormous versatility. Mobile devices have previously seemed a little one-sided.
“I don’t care if he is releasing his first rap album… what interests carmack interests me.”
The horror.
29/05/2009 at 07:31 negativedge says:
The PS3 and Xbox 360 are so similar to the PC that many games are ported back and forth between them!
I just don’t see it. If you are going to argue that what differentiates the PC is the kind of games that traditionally populate it, and to what degree those games take advantage of the idea of the computer, well, the iphone most certainly does not apply. Outside of superficial things like being able to connect to the interwebs and allowing users to talk to each other (which, mind, the current batch of consoles also do), there is nothing much in common between the platforms. If you want to do weekly roundups of curious software people may not hear about, stick to the PC–there are thousands of indie games and mods and who knows what else lurking all over the place. This proposed expansion seems like a reach.
29/05/2009 at 07:46 Dan says:
I read RPS because I like the writers, rather than a distinct need for PC-solus commentary. If you want to write about the iPhone occasionally then go for it – it’s your website.
The iPhone is, barring the obvious major corporate support, in a similar position to the early years of the PC – anyone with a little programming knowledge and a few ideas can produce something and slap a price on it. They may get rich. They’ll probably be ignored. Piracy will be rife. It’s like the shareware days all over again. I don’t mind the occasional comment on it, as long as we don’t attract the Touch Arcade audience.
29/05/2009 at 07:48 Nerd Rage says:
I’d be interested in the story of this particular game which happens to appear on an iPhone, but a regular iPhone post would be a post for me to regularly skip over.
In other words, ditto what I’ve seen most of the other folks say above.
29/05/2009 at 07:50 Tei says:
I have more interest in John Carmack works, than in iPhone.
But I am on not need of a “Weekly John Carmack post”. Anyway I know this is a blog, you guys can talk about your cat, or whatever if you desire to… But my preference is PC games. PC, and PC, and PC. Theres overabundance of information about consoles everywhere. Maybe you guys feel in need of a “Mee too”? …and talk about console stuff too, because everybody else is talking about consoles?
29/05/2009 at 07:52 Mr.President says:
I don’t care about iPhones, but if an article is as interesting as this one, I’ll read it. If it’s not, I’ll ignore it. It’s not like anyone is forcing us to read every single RPS update. I skip a bunch of stuff as it is.
Oh, and I insist that “Doom/Wolfenstein RPG” type of games is much more fitting for cellphones. With all this iDoom silliness, I hope id still find time to make a proper Quake RPG.
29/05/2009 at 08:02 Petrushka says:
Feel free to have a weekly post about the iPhone. You’re entitled to do anything with your site that you want, and I won’t take it personally. Just make sure, when you do so, to delete the subtitle in the site’s logo — the bit about “PC gaming since 1873″ — as well as completely rewriting the “About” page.
I’m inclined to agree with Kez’ first post, that if PC games are re-released on an alternative platform and it is a significant event, it may be worth covering in what purports to be a site devoted to PC games. That makes sense to me.
But if you want to have a regular iPhone feature, it’s no longer a site devoted to PC games, is it? So, your choice: keep the subtitle, and the focus on PC games, or lose it. Either way, I appreciate your being honest about it.
29/05/2009 at 08:02 Caiman says:
Yeah, I’d read an article about Doom on *insert platform* but I wouldn’t read an article about *insert platform* on RPS.
29/05/2009 at 08:12 Simon Jones says:
Funny thing is, the first time I ever played Doom was on an Acorn Risc PC. Not having access to Dos/Windows PCs at the time I hadn’t had a chance to play the game until it got ported over to the Acorn, at which point it already had a load of graphical enhancements.
So my first and defining encounter with Doom was with it already prettified. I was therefore rather surprised to find out just how ugly the ‘original’ game was when I eventually got round to playing it on the PC.
I have no problem with enhancing/updating graphics of old games, but it is absolutely crucial that the design remains the same. Update Monkey Island with high resolution versions of all the original art, for example, but don’t change the character designs.
29/05/2009 at 08:16 Seniath says:
Non-PC gaming on RPS? THIS IS A TRAVESTY!
No, it’s really not. It’s their site, they can write whatever they want. And I agree with Jim, smartphones are edging ever closer to ultra portable laptops/netbooks/whathaveyou, so where’s the harm?
29/05/2009 at 08:32 Pavel says:
Well, I do not like iPhone, and I do not like the fact that my favourite PC only website in the whole universe is thinking about writing iPhone related things.But ultimately it is of course up to you.
29/05/2009 at 08:35 DBeav says:
I WANT A DAILY UPDATE ON THE NGAGE!
29/05/2009 at 08:37 Shadowcat says:
If you really want to pick a hand-held platform which has some similarities to the PC as a platform, you should pick one of the open ones. The Pandora looks dead-sexy (and will likely be the first hand-held that I buy), but that still wouldn’t really seem relevant to the site.
I’d prefer to see the site remain PC-exclusive, personally.
29/05/2009 at 08:41 MD says:
We are all completely aware of this. Just because not everyone is prefacing their comments with “In my opinion” and closing with “but of course it is ultimately up to you” doesn’t mean they think they are laying down the Word of God. The fact that the guys who run the site are in charge of what they do with it simply goes without saying. If the Hivemind decides it wants everyone to shut up and stop offering opinions, it has ways of making that happen. But so far they have given the impression that, understandably, they want to know what their regular readers think of their tentative plan to change the direction of the site somewhat.
29/05/2009 at 09:04 Sinnerman says:
iPhone? I know that PC is gaming is dying due to piracy and everything but you could still try covering something like the Wii before resorting to hipster gadget coverage.
29/05/2009 at 09:04 demonarm says:
Sirs, I for one would prefer you omit coverage of your newfangled contraptions in this esteemed publication.
29/05/2009 at 09:06 EyeMessiah says:
ALL OR NOTHING GUYS.
ALL OR NOTHING!
EDIT: Actually this is a bit like when Valve floated the idea of getting people to pay for TF2 & L4D updates, even although there was virtually no chance of them ever doing this. We wondered what they were up to by suggesting such crazy nonsense. What’s your angle RPS? What are you building in there?
29/05/2009 at 09:10 Dominic White says:
I feel sorry for the RPS guys. This is their free blog, where they write about what they want to write about. When they want to write about something new, they’re nice enough to run it past their readers first.
Said readers start churining out essay-length rants about how their further interests would ruin the site, and possibly PC GAMING FOREVER!!!!111oneone.
Talk about ungrateful.
29/05/2009 at 09:10 Feet says:
One post a week on mobile gaming would be ok for me, but no more than that.
29/05/2009 at 09:14 Ian says:
@ Seniath: They also clearly asked for our opinion.
Mine is… please don’t, guys.
29/05/2009 at 09:15 The Sombrero Kid says:
@Jim Rossignol
i know what you mean about phones becoming increasingly PC and totally agree we work on iPhone virtually exclusively at my company now and sometimes I forget it’s not covered by rps and almost send you links & stuff about it, However the iPhone is to the mobile phone what the apple mac is to the PC I don’t see you covering macosx a hell of a lot, probably because it’s even more strictly controlled and anti PC than the console platforms, the fact is if apple don’t like an app it doesn’t get on their platform which is what I thought this site and all it’s writers and readers were against.
There are other things I could say about apples, ahem, US centerism but I wont cause I’m afraid of getting sued or something and it’s not relevant.
29/05/2009 at 09:16 Schmung says:
I’ll post just to re-iterate what many other have said – I’m fine with things like this as there is an interesting link to the PCs past, but I don’t really see mobile gaming in general (and the pissing iphone in particular) as something that I want to read about on RPS.
29/05/2009 at 09:17 The Sombrero Kid says:
oh and to all the people who say shit like
“it’s their site and they could do what they like”
true but if they want to keep their readership they’ll listen to them, which is precisely why they asked for our opinions.
29/05/2009 at 09:21 DMJ says:
Well… I read RPS for PC gaming news and general entertainment, in about 30%/70% proportions respectively.
If you post about iPhones, make it extremely entertaining and there will be no blood.
29/05/2009 at 09:22 mister k says:
When they came with their iphones,
I remained silent,
because I didn’t mind iphones, I mean, come on, they’re pretty awesome
Then they came with their blackberries,
I remained silent,
because blackberries are pretty hip and I guess pc owners have them.
Then they came with their nintendo DS,
I did not protest,
because I own a DS and I thought that’d be pretty sweet
Then they came with their PSP,
I did not speak out,
because I guessed that was fair if they were covering DSs as well.
When they came with their wii,
there were no pc gamers left to speak out against it….
A lesson from history for you.
(I’m sorry….)
29/05/2009 at 09:25 Some Guy says:
you do need a PC to stick stuff on the iphone so its vaugly related.
29/05/2009 at 09:25 jon_hill987 says:
You can play Doom on the Nintendo DS. Cover them as well please! :roll:
Well I can’t talk really, my blog covers all sorts, mind you I didn’t start off by telling people what I was and wasn’t going to do.
29/05/2009 at 09:28 futage says:
I dunno.
I have zero interest in iPhones but Mister Rossin-yol’s point up there ^ about them being somehow PC-like is interesting.
I mean, ‘PC’ has various meanings ranging from anything which can be described as a ‘personal computer’ to specifically IBM x86 based things running Windows (the latter being the definition used on this site so far, really. I’ve not seen much about linux gaming or OSX(86) gaming or whatever).
But it’s true that there’s a generation of devices which are very PC like and becoming kinda ubiquitous (which PDAs never were). An iPhone isn’t really all that different from a (small) windows tablet PC and I don’t think anyone would moan much if you posted about gaming on those.
I think there’ll probably be some sort of hybridisation of iPhone-like things (Pres and that google-phone thing and that) and netbooks before long. Not sure quite how but they seem to be two devices with very similar applications so they’ll probably merge to some extent.
So yeah, no interest in iPhones in particular but covering this phenomenon of ubiquitous portable PC-like devices and what gaming what we can have on them then yeah, cool.
29/05/2009 at 09:32 Tei says:
I invoque “Godwin law of Internet” on mister_k post :-)
29/05/2009 at 09:33 The Sombrero Kid says:
@futage
I don’t think they’d have a problem talking about Linux gaming if it actually existed, it’s Microsofts fault that it doesn’t but that doesn’t change the fact.
29/05/2009 at 09:37 RogB says:
respectfully: iPhone articles, nay.
29/05/2009 at 09:41 futage says:
@Sombrero
I’m not really suggesting that they ought cover linux gaming. I’m not bothered. But if you want to go down that route, I bet there’s more people with linux than with iPhone, and there’s certainly more (and better) games.
My point, rather, was that linux gaming quite clearly is PC gaming and hasn’t been covered and that this is more about what this site considers to be a PC than about covering non-PC things.
I think a DS or something could be considered a PC in the very broadest sense. But I think that PC in the sense it’s meant by this site refers to a multi-purpose device which happens to have games on it rather than a dedicated gaming device. I think that’s a fair distinction to make between consoles and ‘personal computing’ devices and is in keeping with the spirit of the site and with PC gaming.
In short/better words: I think Jim’s point is a good one.
29/05/2009 at 09:44 wheres_my_gun says:
IMO iphone coverage would represent a loss of focus and would annoy the heck out of me.
29/05/2009 at 09:49 The Sombrero Kid says:
I’d agree but for me a PC would also have to be an open platform with no development and publishing restrictions, which you can’t say for the iPhone but you could say for Windows Mobile or Android or if we must symbian, unfortunately the games on these platforms are literally disgusting, which is why I’d say the site should probably stay away from phones for the minute, no doubt there will come a PC like mobile platform but it’s not here today and the iPhone most certainly isn’t it.
29/05/2009 at 09:49 Bill Posters says:
Wow, lots of comments…
I’m piping in to cast my vote for ‘no iPhone please’.
While I have no objection to this article in particular, the reason RPS is my favourite gaming site is purely because it is PC only.
On the other hand, a weekly non-PC gaming column would not be completely unwelcome, particularly if PC gaming is tangentially involved, as in the case of the Doom article.
29/05/2009 at 09:51 futage says:
@Sombrero
Aye, all fair points and I agree with that.
Personally I’d rather see a ‘good games for netbooks’ series of posts (though I guess there’d not be much surprise in that).
I don’t know. I am of two minds. Inconvenient, that.
29/05/2009 at 09:56 James T says:
I love it — “They were kind enough to ask your opinion, and you had the unmitigated gall to PROVIDE it! INGRATES!”
As usual, the most intemperate, pettiest, wildly exaggerated posts come from the people complaining about intemperance, pettiness and wild exaggeration.
29/05/2009 at 10:00 The Sombrero Kid says:
@futage
tbh I’d second that, it’d be good to know which older games run and stuff and are worth revisiting, doubt it’ll happen on this site though.
29/05/2009 at 10:02 AbyssUK says:
May I point out the iPhone is an Apple which has always been the PC without games… I vote no iPhones on RPS thanks but no thanks.
29/05/2009 at 10:03 MD says:
So basically when they choose to run something past their readers, they get sincere responses from people with an obvious affection for the site? How awful!
Seriously, this isn’t addressed specifically at you but at everyone who jumped in with similar comments about “nerd rage” etc., but berating those who dare to express an opinion is really unhelpful. Maybe I’m drawing too long a bow here, but talk of “nerd rage” and “essay-length rants” seems dangerously close to the ‘making an effort is for losers: let’s all exhange one-liners, memes and silly pictures instead, and sneer derisively at anyone who makes a considered post and/or admits to caring about something on the internet’ spirit that is so pervasive these days.
edit: beaten to it by James T, who of course was both more cutting and far more succinct. What a nerd, I bet he reads lots of books.
29/05/2009 at 10:06 Bobsy says:
Slightly less frothily: if there are iPhone articles, I simply wouldn’t read them.
29/05/2009 at 10:14 Dan Lawrence says:
“I feel sorry for the RPS guys. This is their free blog, where they write about what they want to write about. When they want to write about something new, they’re nice enough to run it past their readers first.”
Well some readers actually subscribe to RPS for real money so there are certainly some here with a more unfree investment in the direction of the site:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/can-i-donate-or-subscribe-to-rps-like-with-money/
You should all do it if you care about RPS so much :)
29/05/2009 at 10:22 futage says:
@Sombrero
Aye. For the most part it’d be any game that’s both good and 3 or more years old. But yeah, I’m sure there’d be some ‘Oooh, I hadn’t thought of that‘ ones.
Anyway, we’re being too agreeable.
29/05/2009 at 10:23 Leperous says:
Would rather that both journalists and game designers focused on PC games, than endless rehashes of 10+ year old sprite-based adventures, thanks.
Perhaps you could open a new RockPaperPotatogun website for that kind of thing?
And @ AbyssUK, Mac (and Linux) games still count as PC games methinks. “PC” is not a metaphor for “Windows”.
29/05/2009 at 10:23 Andy`` says:
Re, “nerd rage” comment: my initial impression was that Alec had made a joke via something he already knew the answer to and everybody over-reacted. I didn’t mean to be so insensitive at 2 in the morning, and also possibly horrendously wrong, thus I apologise.
So I’m going to properly weigh in now with: I’d like to see whatever’s very intriguing in the world of gaming – some of those completely not PC related articles in the Sunday Papers already qualifies, for instance.
29/05/2009 at 10:29 The Sombrero Kid says:
incidentally games I’m planning on trying on my netbook:
blade runner
anachronox
(I’m lucky and smart enough to own both of these)
oh and I’d recommend typing of the dead to anyone with a netbook (I couldn’t find an actual source to buy this from so I was forced to download it, which I’m fine with when the developers don’t want my money but you may not be)
29/05/2009 at 10:32 The Sombrero Kid says:
something else I’d want to say is I think there should be more ads for non subscribers and have been completely disabled for subscribers, that’s the payment model I’m in favour of, as I like the idea of the internet being ad funded with the ability to remove that if your flush.
29/05/2009 at 10:44 Novotny says:
Yes, I recently noticed that Slashdot has given me the option to disable ads, for being a good boy or something. I haven’t given them any money. I think this sort of behaviour, rewarding loyal posters/contributors, is pretty sweet.
29/05/2009 at 10:45 futage says:
My netbook plans:
Probably HL, just for the sake of it.
Probably Deus Ex, for the same reason.
Civ2.
Maybe a bit of dwarf Fortress if I can get y head round it and it doesn’t run like shit on the little atom.
Umm ummm… stuff I forget.
Not played Anachronox. Always kinda fancied it but worried that it’d be rubbish – I should play it then?
Typing of the dead is a reet good idea.
29/05/2009 at 10:50 The Sombrero Kid says:
@futage
deus ex and system shock 2 are the first games i copy onto any new pc.
tbh anachronox is flawed but i really like it, it’s final fantasy style combat without random battles and with a brilliant western story, there is a lot of reading in it though since like 90% of the dialog is text based.
29/05/2009 at 10:52 futage says:
I’ll give it a go then.
Great-but-flawed games are my favourite sort.
(the two games I always copy across are Civ2 and, a bit embarrassingly, Delta Force 2 (HL and DX are never far behind))
29/05/2009 at 10:53 Ian says:
@ Dan lawrence: Good point. I chuck them a couple of dollars every month, does this give me a right to be more unreasonable? :D
@ MD: Aren’t books for like total gayfags or something?
29/05/2009 at 10:54 Biscuitry says:
I can’t really add anything that hasn’t already been stated better than I could. I will simply say that I agree with those who say that it’s your blog and you can do what you like with it. I’ll regard any iPhone segment as I would a segment devoted to any other non-PC platform: I won’t object; I simply won’t care.
29/05/2009 at 10:57 Supertonic says:
Linux gaming doesn’t exist? I guess I imagined playing COD4, KOTOR, Football Manager 2009, Plants Vs Zombies, Braid and a whole bunch of stuff through Wine, World of Goo natively, and a whole bunch more. Purely my imagination. Silly me.
29/05/2009 at 10:58 Terrance says:
iPhones? On my internet!? Martha dear, fetch my rifle.
29/05/2009 at 11:05 futage says:
@Supertronic
I’m not really sure that playing Windows games through a compatibility layer/emulator counts. But there’s loads of games on linux anyway.
29/05/2009 at 11:08 DMJ says:
@futage: Dwarf Fortress does indeed run like sh*t on the little Atom processor in my Acer Aspire One. It works, but it runs like treacle.
The main problem with netbook gaming is the need to use no-CD cracks with games I legitimately own, and the virus-riddled form these often take. I keep a selection of powerful and paranoid anti-virus and anti-malware solutions on my netbook and I still end up with the occasional virus-infested .exe slipping through the intensive scrutiny I subject them to before running, and it can take hours to scrub the filthy bytes from my hard drive.
29/05/2009 at 11:09 Catastrophe says:
I think I’d prefer PC Centric being PC Centric but if you must; a “Playing Away” monthly or weekly roundup of games on other formats wouldn’t upset the mojo too much.
“Playing Away” is not a demand for a title by the way, merely a suggestion.
@ Seniath + Dominic White
They asked our opinion on the matter and we gave it. Is it the -wrong- opinion?
29/05/2009 at 11:12 futage says:
@DMJ
I suspected that might be the case. Demanding little game it is.
29/05/2009 at 11:18 Supertonic says:
Yep, I’ve got loads of those too but no-one here would have heard of them so thought I’d keep it understandable for others.
29/05/2009 at 11:19 Supertonic says:
PS my linux copy of dwarf fortress (native, not wine) works wonderfully ;)
29/05/2009 at 11:19 futage says:
Fair enough.
Any good ones to recommend? Must be time for by biannual linux-dabble.
29/05/2009 at 11:25 MacBeth says:
Another vote for:
“If it’s a story about an iconic PC game/dev connected with some non-PC hardware, then by all means, pray continue good sirs. But if it’s just about something on non-PC hardware, that is of no relevance to those who don’t own said item, nay, nay and thrice nay!”
Like others have said – there’s other places to go for that sort of thing. I want RPS to stay focused. And as a $2 subscriber I *DEMAND* that it be thus.
29/05/2009 at 11:29 Jayteh says:
I read this for PC gaming, not the latest faddy cell-phone/mobile related gaming news (which is a joke).
29/05/2009 at 11:52 Gnarl says:
I’d recommend you past about whatever you care about most. Passion seems like it would be the most important factor in an operation like this, where you’re selling more on your charisma and entertaining writing than other things.
I mean I personally would at best skim any posts on such topic and slightly mourn the article that might have been written in it’s place, but I post in comments, so I’m pretty sure I represent an extreme sample.
29/05/2009 at 11:54 MonkeyMonster says:
ROAOOARRRWWW.
Banana please.
PC games please.
29/05/2009 at 12:06 Markoff Chaney says:
Not like I matter, but since you asked maybe I do…
I am grateful RPS gives me posts about my PC gaming. I consider myself, first and foremost, a PC gamer. I love RPS for many reasons, not the least of which are the 4 main minds behind it and the site has, as its primary focus, PC Gaming. I subscribe to PC Gamer and not one of a myriad of other in print gaming magazines because it covers primarily PC gaming and that is my primary interest. I own a DS, and enjoy it. I own a Wii and sometimes waggle with it. I own a pocket PC and haven’t turned it on in a couple years. I have some interest in those things, but none of them are my primary interest. Good for me.
I am grateful you gentlemen have other interests that go beyond PC gaming. If it were not for these interests, RPS would not be as lively and organic as it is. Having these different interests also leads toward a greater number of ways that you can communicate and identify with your readers. Diversity and experience being keys toward a well rounded understanding of your subject material, you gentlemen can entertain and educate many of us and we keep coming back for more. More hits = More ad revenue and this place can exist for maybe another day. Good for you AND good for me.
Now if I could go all pedantic for a bit and point out that a PC, by definition, is a computer that used by a person. iPhones fit that definition, tehcnically. Centric means that whatever the topic is should be situated toward the center of discussion. Should I decry posts regarding DOS or the Amiga OS when the currently accepted platform is Windows? Should I wax philosophically about a post regarding graphic novels or music or movies other forms of media we share? Should I blather on incessantly about my unhappiness that you talk about games running in XP when it’s barely supported any more? If you post about a MAC or Linux port of a game, should I jump down your throat? If you discuss a system that emulates old Sierra adventures with a base coded in Java, should I scream for blood? Sure, I guess, if I want to, since you gave me the ability to add a comment and post my opinion. I have that privilege and you, as the owners of this site and content have the right to do with my post as you will: delete, edit, whatever. I have the choice to come to this website or not.
Can you still be PC Centric while discussing alternative platforms or media in a vast minority of your posts? Absolutely. Will I keep coming here? Absolutely. I just started subscribing here today, in fact. I have been considering subscribing for months and, a while back, this was the only site I allowed to continue get advertisements served from. Why? I like the cut of y’alls jib and I hope it can continue. If that means you choose to put a post up about something else you care about once a week that I don’t even have to read if I don’t want to, so be it. This is your website. I’m grateful you choose to let me read your mind thinks. If you choose not to read what I write, so be it. It won’t break my heart and I only give you feedback since you request it.
There is no right or wrong here, in my opinion. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law, as long as you harm none. As long as people continue to treat a granted privilege as an expectation of eternal rights and think that they are harmed when they can just not look and choose not to harm themselves you can never win. (As another aside, seriously? That’s suffering? Having yet another post about an alternative platform on a PC Centric site that still maintains its primary focus better than any other single PC gaming website out there and does it with more style and consideration and wit than the rest combined? Really? That harms YOU, my fellow PC/RPS lover?) If I may have one request, it’s that you four gentlemen keep being you. That means holding on to cherished standards of your self and continuing to change as the world changes. That means loving more than just PC games and bringing your other passions to the table as well and sharing if you want to. That is why I come here, to read your words and attempt to engage in meaningful discourse with other similar minded persons.
Thank You, Gentlemen. This goes to not only the big 4, but all of you in the comments and forum. I am grateful to even those in the readership that feel strongly opposed to greater diversification. I enjoy reading differing viewpoints and, for the most part, at least we can be civil and considerate while discussing things we are passionate about.
tl;dr – Do what you want, I’ll do what I want. I hope to keep seeing new content for RPS and I’ll keep reading and supporting RPS as long as you keep up the great content I can’t get elsewhere with your brains and stuffs. I can choose to not read articles that don’t interest me, which is already what I do, thank you very much.
29/05/2009 at 12:12 Bongo says:
I “vote” against. I’m here for the PC Games. If I want console info I go to Eurogamer. I read RPS precisely because it fills a niche. And I do agree with the top arguments, if you cover iPhone, why not cover DS, and then you can go on and on till you cover everything. Better would be to launch a separate site or something if you really want to.
In the end it’s your site and you can do whatever you want .)
29/05/2009 at 12:13 drewski says:
Good article.
No iPhone roundup, please. RPS is for PC gamings, I’m not interested in the latest silly toy Apple want to shove down our throats.
29/05/2009 at 12:19 Captain Haplo says:
I have no qualms with an iPhone column. However, I would like to point out that, much like a mass production line, a site that focuses only on one thing tends to become really good at doing that one thing. Now, I’m not saying that you folks won’t be able to be equally good at two things, but do you really want to unemploy Bob who makes the bolts for the car doors? He has a family, you know. We have division of labour for a reason.
29/05/2009 at 12:58 MD says:
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I’m not sure that it goes in favour of starting a weekly iPhone column though, but rather allowing yourselves to post about iPhones when there is a specific reason to do so. In this case ‘a specific reason’ could simply be that you felt like it, but I don’t know that turning it into a regular feature is the way to go.
29/05/2009 at 13:01 chris r says:
Would you post about a game for the Mac? Probably. Well, the iPhone is just a small Mac. And it’s getting classic PC games. I say post about it when it’s interesting and relevant to your audience. Don’t jam it in every week unless there’s a game that’s worth a look.
I come to RPS for the writing you guys do about what you love, because I like your approach and your interests, not for platform orthodoxy. If people don’t like the occasional iPhone post, they can just not read it.
Keep it up!
29/05/2009 at 13:06 pepper says:
No Iphone please, i dont care for the device nor will i ever. Stick with the reason why most people are here! PC!! Hail PC!!
29/05/2009 at 13:15 The Fanciest of Pants says:
Do what you want it’s your website.
If I see something I’m not interested in reading, I’ll scroll past it.
29/05/2009 at 13:30 Supertonic says:
Linux Games: Well Dwarf Fortress and World of Goo are both native on linux, and run perfectly, Wesnoth is worth a look, and openarena for your shooty goodness. Tower Toppler is a brilliant nebulus-remake and I love it. You might want to play with TORCS if racing is your thing. Ultrastar for singstar-ish karaoke goodness. Emulators all over the shop, including my favourite DOSBox. And remember, about 90% of the little indie games on here work in Wine, so you won’t miss out on your RPS goodness. Btw if you’re going to start on linux use Ubuntu. It’s easy and works right out of the box. If you use something like Arch or Gentoo it’ll scare the shit out of you and you’ll run screaming for the hills! Even I’m a little apprehensive about Gentoo.
29/05/2009 at 13:41 Tei says:
I have tried Linux gamming, but is too much work. Sure, you can run the 10 good Linux games. And compile any experimental one that half work. But wen you want to run Mass Effect 3, or Bioshock 4 you are much screwed. If you buy the game, you don’t know if it will run, and tryiing to run it is a pain. It probably is compatible with “One Game Gamming” if such a game is compatible, say.. WoW, or Quake, or XYZ.. But if you want to play *all*, and *the latest*, is a world of pain.
Paradoxical comment: If you like Ubuntu, maybe you sould test LinuxMint here (http://linuxmint.com/), is ubuntu based, but with the propietary crap that we gamers need preinstalled (flash, drivers, codecs, etc..)
29/05/2009 at 14:01 Supertonic says:
True, mint’s easy to install, though honestly it’s not that hard with ubuntu. And honestly, I find a hell of a lot works. Steam’s just fine in linux for instance, and a native client is rumoured to be in the works, so linux gaming is on the way, though I won’t pretend it’s as healthy as windows gaming just yet. My linux install is used for lots of different things, it’s just bloody handy not to have to reboot into win7 to play games (which is all my windows partition is used for, the one game in 100 that doesn’t work).
29/05/2009 at 14:15 SuperNashwan says:
I don’t really care what you write about as long as you do it with passion and wit. Which is more likely to happen if you write about what’s interesting you at the minute. It’s what makes RPS great in the first place.
29/05/2009 at 14:26 James says:
Echoing what many said – you guys write game words real good; will happily read any of your output that matches what I care about (iPhone, PC) and probably the rest too (to see what I’m missing).
29/05/2009 at 14:56 ryan says:
iPhones are teeny weeny little PCs.
what about netbooks? pocket PCs? casio watches? okay, perhaps the game & watch combo is nintendo….
29/05/2009 at 15:20 Dr.Evanzan says:
Markoff Chaney echoes most of my thoughts quite nicely.
I’m more than happy with the current PC-centric coverage of the site. I have no real interest in reading about iPhones or mobile gaming except where this intersects with PC gaming (such as the Doom article linked).
I have no problem with occasional non-PC articles (I can, of course, read or ignore as I like) but I’d be worried about a regular non-PC column distracting from writing PC articles.
That said, there may be mileage in a weekly ‘Other Formats News’ roundup ala Sunday Papers, particularly when written from a PC gaming perspective. An iPhone only column seems rather arbitrary though and likely to open the floodgates to numerous other platforms.
29/05/2009 at 15:34 Cooper says:
To add yet another voice to the crowd.
Please, no weekly iPhone posts.
I’d prefer to read something else.
A generic ‘non PC’ weekly roundup has been suggested, and would be fine. You guys already do a good job of picking out important pieces of information from around the gaming world which are relevant to PC gaming. Having a regular session where PC relevant information from outside the world of PC games can be found would be a good thing.
A dedicated section to iPhones would not. You mention the interest in terms of technology & DooM. This, I think, would do well in a ‘non PC but relevant’ section. But iPhone interesting alone alienates a whole bunch of readers who don’t have one, don’t want one, and don’t care…
29/05/2009 at 15:40 Clockwork Harlequin says:
Hey guys, the iPhone has us almost as worked up as steampunk tits, sporn, and DRM did. Wouldn’t put it past Meer to have posted it just to rattle our cages!
29/05/2009 at 15:45 jonfitt says:
I think posts where PC people do PC related things with iPhones are perfectly reasonable. For example these real and made up stories:
ScummVM on iPhone
Doom on iPhone
New MMO will have integrated iPhone app
DOSBox on iPhone
2D Boy make an iPhone game
etc.
Other stuff is of less interest even to me as someone who owns an iPhone.
…Unless it’s cool free indie iPhone games. Bring those on.
PS to all those without an iPhone. Sell a kidney, buy an iPhone (with unlimited data), and realise that you can no longer remember how you got by without one (and yes I’ve had many smartphones before the iPhone).
29/05/2009 at 16:11 Diogo Ribeiro says:
Ha ha, not even RPS can escape the AIMs.
Personally, I’m fascinated with iPhones as convergent platforms and with their potential to become a greater part of videogames. My interest has more to do with the adaptive process of companies who usually come from outside the gaming communities and the medium itself and try to break through, so I’m equally interested in case studies like iPhones, social gaming and the Wii. Some times potential strikes gold – Zynga is the current number one social game developer because they’ve managed to find a way to redefine gaming experience and actually understood their market; it’s amusing to see the often labelled “real videogame” industry scurry around with financial losses when they’re so adamant about following business models that are becoming as obsolete as those perpetrated by the music industry years ago. Sometimes it goes to waste – the NGage and the Phantom were spectacular failures, but now the latest NGage has proved to be actually quite good while downloadable gaming content is all the rage, from the Virtual Console to XBox Live and PSNetwork.
Would I read such an article? Yes. I’m interested in what RPS has to say on all areas of gaming, and sometimes find myself wondering what their thoughts on other platforms or games are. But you have to admit, you set the wolves upon yourselves when you chose to be PC-centric. Whether they care to admit it or not, many PC gamers are a very particular brand of jihad, rejecting anything else that’s not related to PC gaming because they fear it will lessen discussion or interest in their platform of choice. O’course, you could apply that to console fanboys as well, but those are not the ones screaming and banging at your virtual door right now.
If you want to expand RPS to be about other things, you should do so. I encourage it. Just don’t forget to make that clear to everyone so you don’t get “where my PC at?” remarks for a long time.
29/05/2009 at 16:43 Delboy says:
I don’t see a need for a /weekly/ post – but random “once in a while ones” – why not?
(You don’t do a weekly post specifically about MMO’s or FPS’s (do you?) – so why weekly with the iphone?)
If you have something interesting to say about a game – and it happens to be on the iphone (and in this case is one of the PC all time “classics”) – then I’m happy with that.
I suppose – also – is there a market for this kind of article? I mean – are you plugging a gap that doesn’t already exist (reviews of iphone games) – and if yes you might win as many new readers as you (may) lose (the “PC only” gang).
Delcaration of interest – I have an iphone. (but i don’t read websites about the iphone that assume I’ve hacked it/disasembled it/got linux running on it/or some other “not covered under warranty” activity. And it kind of annoys me that some people assume I’ve done these things.)
Delboy
29/05/2009 at 17:09 Nox says:
@Markoff Chaney
While I don’t agree with everything you said, I appreciate the effort you expended in order to state your opinion. There are a dozen or so regular posters whose comments rarely fail to impress (and by this, I mean ‘make me think’) and yours are top among them. I’m as appreciative as anyone of the snarky one-liners that make me grin, but your thoughtful, well-reasoned posts are ever enlightening.
That said, I will both stubbornly and desperately cling to my stance because there’s so little left for which to fight.
Oh, and special thanks for making my ‘essay’ seem brief in comparison!
@MD & James T
Yours are the words I would use if I could say anything in less than a novella. Much appreciated!
29/05/2009 at 18:53 Radiant says:
@Rossignol if the quality of the writing is good then really the difference between you four writing about a game I don’t own [Eve for example] and a platform I don’t own [Iphone I have a Bberry] is minimal; good writing is good writing.
29/05/2009 at 18:53 Radiant says:
Also are you then afraid of Walker?
29/05/2009 at 18:54 Radiant says:
Understandable…He does have the backing of Jesus.
29/05/2009 at 19:13 Nallen says:
@Jim
iTunes is the worst piece of software known to man. Amazing Apple with their focus on ergonomics gives it a pass at all.
At the end of the day as far as I understand RPS was born out of a shared passion of the four of you. If you’re all also passionate about iPhone gaming then write about it…although doing so and ignoring the Windows Mobile market might be a little at odds with your roots ;)
29/05/2009 at 19:45 Clovis says:
Didn’t read the other posts, but felt obliged to respond to the article. I like that RPS is about computer gaming.
OTH, I just really like what you four guys write. So, if you write interesting things about the iPhone, then I’ll probably enjoy them, even though I don’t own an iPhone.
29/05/2009 at 20:12 Guhndahb says:
I’m rather strongly against specifically covering the iPhone on RPS. I’d be less against an agnostic treatment of mobile platforms (must cover Android, WM, etc.) but only where it pertains in some way to PC gaming, such as DOS emulators running on them or ports of old PC games.
29/05/2009 at 20:21 scopie says:
As much as I would like RPS’s take on all the app store has to offer (full disclosure: I own an iPhone and MacBook), I think it would dilute the site’s refreshingly-consistent focus on PC gaming.
Too often sites start out doing one thing really well and then as their popularity grows attempt to be all things to all people. It’s a slippery slope and I don’t want my beloved time-suck RPS falling down it.
Keep doing what you guys are doing. It’s great :)
Also: John Carmack is a golden god
29/05/2009 at 21:03 Novotny says:
So would it be bold of me to try and sum up our response as:
We’ll read your bletherings anyways because we love your writing, however we’d prefer this to remain a pc-site, though we’d welcome bits and bobs occasionally on other stuff if the connection is there. As in the case of Carmack, above.
30/05/2009 at 01:01 Morningoil says:
@Mr Jim Rossignol
iTunes is the worst piece of software you’ve ever used? Really? Worse than MS Abcess? Geddouddaheeya.
30/05/2009 at 01:08 LionsPhil says:
The Internet Men are angry today.
iPhones: boo. John Carmack talking about development: yay.
30/05/2009 at 01:29 Surgeon says:
I tried to drop a couple of disco/funk mixes onto the wifes iPhone for the first time the other day.
The whole experience made me want to smash up her iPhone and forcefully and painfully insert it into Steve Jobs.
In our usability training last year, there was a quote from Mr. Jobs used as an example…
“Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes *could* have. So do we. But we don’t want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”
How about saying yes to drag and drop then, you git.
30/05/2009 at 01:43 Razor says:
I’m going to make this quick, as I have some classic Unreal waiting for me to play (The Sunspire and Bluff Eversmoking FTW). Being a person that understood the technical details of what Carmack was talking about I think this article was very relevant to PC gaming. I, like many here, have a dislike for certain aspects of Apple (but prolly for different, technical reasons and not merely religious zealotry). I still found this article interesting, bringing a nice technical perspective in taking an old PC class (Wolfenstein or DOOM) and porting it to newer hardware.
So Alec, I would not feel bad about this post. The relevancy might not be seen by all but it was seen by me, and I would have hated to miss that little bit of Carmack insight into one of my favourite game of all time.
30/05/2009 at 02:30 catska says:
All this iPhone bickering is just masking the fact that PC news has dried up so much that this site has to resort to covering mobile phones.
30/05/2009 at 02:50 Jetsetlemming says:
Make the required quality to cover an iPhone game extremely strict, then tack the coverage onto Sunday Papers, which already covers non-PC gaming (and non-gaming) shit when it’s interesting enough.
There, problem solved.
30/05/2009 at 04:41 James T says:
Whereabouts?
30/05/2009 at 05:49 veerus says:
This post is quite simply about a classic PC game that was ported over to another platform. Surely that qualifies as PC-related news.
30/05/2009 at 08:02 Kommissar Nicko says:
I don’t really know if anyone will get this far, because I actually read most of the posts and I’m mentally exhausted. Reading the comments thread on RPS always reaffirms my faith in humanity, and that the way forward, with human interaction on the internet, will not be like 4chan or the comments threads on X-Gaming-Blog. Some people are snarky, but this is by-and-large enlightening.
On the subject, normally I would object to iPhone coverage, having watched countless printed and internet gaming coverage locales fall to the inevitable march of non-PC games. However, so tremendous is my faith in the RPS staff that I’m not afraid they will completely fall by the wayside. I don’t doubt that their iPhone coverage will remain “PC-Centric,” and if it doesn’t, I always have the right and privilege to not read it. There’s plenty of stuff on here that I simply say “meh” to and not read, so it’s not as if an iPhone coverage will sneak into my dreams and haunt my consciousness. I’m a real boy. I can get over it.
I’m confident that RPS won’t steer me wrong, whatever they decide to do, and I won’t begrudge them their interests. Ever.
30/05/2009 at 09:38 Muzman says:
I find iPhone coverage a little ‘hmm’ as well even though “it crashes just like a PC!” or whatever. It’s still a phone, with an ‘i’ on the front to boot.
As mentioned above; somewhere further along the spectrum in the PC direction (in attitude and execution) is the Pandora. I’d be ok with that being covered. What about y’all?
31/05/2009 at 18:36 SiUnit says:
I have both an iPhone and an awesome gaming rig. Tbh i really couldnt give a shit about gaming news for iphone. At first I was really interested, saying things like “Woah dude! I poke it and it moves! AWESOME!”. Now its more like “stupid fingers getting in the way of my screen” and “dammit! why dont the controls work properly?!” followed by “AHHHHHHHHH! Why am i trying to game on an Apple product?!”
Just make sure you let me know when a FFVII port comes along =D
30/08/2009 at 00:53 Y3k-Bug says:
Meaningless (and quite late at that) aside, but to the RPS Hivemind that do own iPhones:
Yo dawgs, you be jailbreakin’ yer shit?
07/08/2010 at 13:56 peter says:
no
07/08/2010 at 13:59 peter says:
i want to playing later