The Sunday Papers

Sundays are for colouring in maps, being surprised by the news of sudden passings and compiling a list of the fine (mostly) games related writing from across the week, while trying not to include a link to some piece of pop music or another.

• Julian Kett points us as DMCool of the-comment-thread's fame's occasional blogging. I especially liked his initial piece, arguing Making Games Is Easy. Well, thats' not really what he's saying at all - but he's raising an eyebrow at the indie scene's tendency to gravitate to certain game types, arguing that we' they're perhaps just as conservative as the mainstream.
• We've been going back and forth on actually posting this for a week now, but fuck it. It's marketing, not the game. Compare and contrast the Europe and US covers for Settlers VII.
• I'm going to be writing about Digital early next week - I wanted to make sure it got as many eyeballs as possible, so am waiting until the weekend dip is over - but you shouldn't wait for my words to play the thing. Here's Denby talking about it and you can get it from here.
• Prehistorical in Internet terms, but there's a chance you won't have read it. Quinns and my intense Starcraft 2 rivalry this week lead me back to Sirlin's Play To Win. Read it all and possibly buy the bloody thing. Lots to quote and chew over. Bit which tripped me up most was in the Power Is Fleeting chapter, talking about to do when you are the best in the world: "Continuing to be the best at a game you no longer love, or never loved, is a difficult and hazardous thing to attempt."
• Ed Stern does a Brink development Diary on worditudosity.
• While a little overtaken by this week's events, here's Phill Cameron's take on the UbiDRM situation.
• Quinns went to a stage production of Metal Gear Solid. And then he has a think of how he'd do one.
• Stuart Campbell looks back at the early/mid-00s Fairplay campaign he lead. Mostly interesting as a portrait of people's response to this kind of consumer advocacy, though the idea that it could even be half-forwarded that it was at all causal in precipitating a world-wide reduction in prices is perhaps a tad self-aggrandizing. Or maybe, to be generous, tongue-in-cheek and/or deliberately inflammatory.
• JakeWorld does perhaps the best overview and speculation on the Infinity Ward/Activision fight.
• You hopefully will have read the Roger Ebert profile in Esquire, but since I only got around to reading it this week, there's a chance many of you may not. Really strong stuff, uplifting and petrifying in about equal measures. Here's Ebert's response to the article.
• Phillip Bond draws lady astronauts. That is all.
• And Then There Was Salsa blew the RPS chatroom's communal mind, tinged with the sadness that a bloody Salsa advert was the thing which brought the effect into our world.
• Via Alex S, the visualisations of what supplements actually may have benefits was striking.
• Great Dancehall article - "Why Only Jamaicans Should Use Autotune" - by Neil Kulkarni. Here's Tom Ewing playing Sci-fi music writer, and working out a speculative future where there's a CD revival. And away from music, this interview with comics writer Kelly-Sue Deconnick caught my eye due to some really quite candid talk about sexism.
• It was a disturbing week where my obsession over Electrocute's Super Kiss Attack - a song/band/subject combo which really does sound like I made it up - wasn't actually the most glorious irritant on my speakers - the honours for that goes to Timberlee's Heels. But I've woke up to discover that Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous has committed suicide, so let's drop his It's A Wonderful Life. RIP.

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