Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Sundays are for doing work and compiling a list of interesting (primarily) games related reading from across the week for your delectation. Also, desperately resisting linking to a pop song that’s set my head on fire all week. Resist. Must… resist.

• Following from Jack Arnott’s wry look at adults hiding their gaming, Splash Damage’s Ed Stern writes for the Guardian on the inevitable evaporation of the stigma around gaming … well, when we get past the horseless carriage stage. It’s commonly held stuff – but it’s also good seeing a developer on a large public stage doing it. I wish more would. That said, I also remember going clubbing with games journalists who introduced themselves to girls as “I’m a mumblemumble journalist”. Man! We suck.

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Sundays are only Sundays because the clocks have gone back an hour today, so I better get a move on pulling together a compilation of the finest (mainly) videogame related reading from across the week, while trying not to slip in a pop-recording of some manner or another.

• Tim Edwards writes about why he signed the Modern Warfare 2 petition. He wrote this before their initial responses, but it’s absolutely the core-level reasons why their position is something that’s well worthwhile being a bit prickly over.

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Sundays are for waiting for a long-awaited Doom-3 mod to download while compiling a list of splendid (mainly) videogame related writing from across the week, while trying to resist linking to an archive of early nineties late-night TV music performances. Go!

• Alec and I were at the Games Media Awards this week. We didn’t win, so spent our time being playfully bitter and stomping around. More seriously, I’m pulled between stressing the import of thesearetotallymeaninglessonlytheworkmatters and feeling happy that so many admirable people got recognised by their peers and kinda-peers. Man of the night was Pat Garratt of VG247, who swept every category he was in, including the Games Industry Legend award. Here’s what the ur-reporter wishes he said on stage. And here’s Tom “Tom Bramwell” Bramwell’s heart-on-sleeve recollections of the man. Not that he’s dead. He’s a living legend, you understand.

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Sundays are about crawling out of a sleeping bag to find a friend’s two children determinedly trying to attach themselves to your legs and forcing you to march around the front room pretending to be a RoboGodzilla powered by tea, going for a walk and acting as a human umbrella, and compiling a list of fine (mainly games) reading from across the week, while trying not to include something I’ve been playing all week and/or howling in the car on the way home. Go!
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Sundays are for bloodily bursting from the guts of an enormous Kieron-eating monster because not even death itself can stop me from compiling a weekly list of interesting (mostly) game related reading from across the week while trying to avoid linking to a pop-song. I am your Games Journalist Mesisah. [Do we edit this, or is it funnier just to leave it? - The Rest Of RPS]

• Quinns doesn’t just write for us, mores the pity. Here’s a piece he did on the joy of being confused for Eurogamer – as in, when you go Off The Map. Secondly, here’s his regular column for Game Set Watch. This time, it’s on Red Orchestra.

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Sundays are for Bacon, Batman and compiling a list of interesting (mainly) game related reading from across the week for the RPS-readers’ delectation, while trying to avoid to linking some quasi-ironic piece of pop.

• Quinns has started blogging about games more regularly. You may be aware, he does a lot of traveling. Here’s things he learned about real traveling versus 16-bit RPG adventure traveling. For example: “1) On a real adventure, you will not find the lowest-level enemies first. Low-level enemies must be found through trial and error. 2) Warthogs are not low-level enemies. 3) Bandits are not low-level enemies. 4)Rats are DEFINITELY NOT low-level enemies”. Lots more, natch. He also reviews WET without having played it.

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Sundays are for trying to get a collection of interesting mainly-games-related reading from across the week posted before you have to run to the cinema, hoping you don’t – in your haste – find yourself including a link to an edited version of a pop song that you’re sad the full-length version isn’t easily available yet.

• Derek Smart writes a long and seriously-intentioned piece on the media reception to All Aspect Warfare, specifically regarding Gamespot’s coverage of it. It’s long, but worth reading. If it’s too long, it gets to the meat near the conclusion.

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Sundays are for working your way from Agatha-Christie-esque countryside across the country towards an eventual destination of evening Agatha-Christie Sunday Evening Cheesy Adaptations. But on the way I take a break to chew on pop-corn, sip tea and compile a list of some of the fine reading that came to my attention this week, present it for your delectation and try not to include a link to a couple of pieces of pop music. I must try. I must.

• Edge’s Making Of articles are always pretty decent, especially when it’s on a genuinely good game. You don’t get much more genuinely good than Deus Ex. The nameless Edge-hero chats to Warren Spector on the Doom where you could talk to the monsters.
• Point/Counterpoint: The New York Times’ Seth Schiesel thinks Rock Band: Beatles may be the most important game of all time. Conversely, Crispygamer’s John Teti thinks that the New York Times’ Seth Schiesel’s review of Rock Band: Beatles may be the worst game review of all time.

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Sundays are for… God, this is a Long one. Anyway, Sundays are for heading to the evil South, having lunch, coming back and compiling a hefty list of splendid reading about games and similar things while trying to resist linking to one of the may things which were filling my late-night music listening last night, at least until I started playing AAAaaa(”Snip”-Ed) at 3:30am.

• Graham Smith has the misfortune to share a house with John Walker and an Office with PC Gamer’s Tim Edwards. He has no peace. Occasionally, he finds the strength to write something as he huddles and weeps. In the week that Spelunky went 1.0, his old piece on Spelunky’s Rick-Dangerous-where-the-random-danger-is-good caught my eye. Also, his piece on the now-forgotten Lotus 3, which – through the eyes of hindsight – seems to be Spelunky: The Racer. Someone should dig into that, I think.

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Sundays are for doing a lot of work, avoiding that lot of work with games of Champions and compiling a list of the fascinating (primarily) games related reading from across the week while resisting linking to a genuinely stunning performance.

• Games Workshop are doing a new edition of the lovely PC-game inspiring boardgame Space Hulk. Over at Downtowntime, Rab writes about Space Hulk. It’s heart-on-sleeve gaming romanticism and my favourite piece of games writing of the week.
• In the week of its console release, The Reticule interviews famous writer Paul Dini about the aims behind the writing of Arkham Asylum. What I find most interesting about it is that Dini – the veteran of animation – clearly both loves and is highly aware of what they’re doing with the tone: “It threw a lot of the restrictions out of the window… The level of intensity was a little more extreme so we were able to include everything that we wanted to whilst keeping the fantasy element intact. I’d like to think there is something in the game for angry teenager in all of us.”

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