The Sunday Papers

Sundays are for tea, working at hacking through your inbox and compiling a list of the fine (mostly) games related writing from across the week, while trying not to include a link to some elder statesmen of pop returning for one last little conceptual game.

• Since it's such a big talking point of the week, let's give a proper less-sarcastic link to Ebert picking up his games aren't art drum and beating it some more. To keep things brief, there's always been a big hole in his argument: "No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets." accepts the fact that you can compare them, so are art. His argument isn't "games aren't art" to "games aren't as good art as cinema, literature, etc". In other words, he's admitted he's 100% wrong inside his own articles. Since he's conceded the point, we now have someone just saying he doesn't like games, having never played the relevant ones, thinking watching a video of a fragment of one is a suitable way to judge one - which is equivalent to me reviewing the merit of the concept of movies from looking at their posters in front of the cinema.
• Except, had an odd little thought. Could you contrast a game favourably to Hamlet? Trickier proposition, but I'd give it a shot. But I could compare a game favourably Timon of Athens. Though you could compare episodes of Eastenders pretty favourably with Timon of fucking Athens.
• Remember Digital? Splendid interview with Christine Love about it. For those who don't speak French, scroll down to see the English version. I probably write something else on Digital, as the Daft-Punk referencing Digital Love header still has to be used.
• Midlife Gamer wonder who actually plays those trucking simulators. So they decide to interview creators SCS Software to find out. This is delightful stuff, and a wonderful portrait of a niche developer.
• Splendid making of Halo 2 article over at Eurogamer. Considering the game was an enormous financial success, Bungie are agreeably candid about how troublesome the whole development was. It's the sort of thing which could, if they wanted, get plastered over.
• Tom Francis talks to Farbs about the future of the Captain Forever-project - basically, something with the scope of Elite - with special attention to how its business model is working. As in, pay one fee, and get all its micro-sequels.
• That's enough interviews for now. Here's Bit-tech's article on why everything is trying to be an RPG at the moment. For me, this is interesting - for all the whining about social games from hardcore developers, when they're doing very much the same thing just as often does tend to undermine their position.
• H+ Review of the Warcraft Civilization: Social Science In A Virtual World.
• Following on from the Superbrothers' piece, Sinister Design has some thoughts about writing in games.
• Nintendo made me Nympho. Quite.
• You'll probably have seen Pixels by One More Prod. If you haven't, click-click away. Startling stuff.
• Casanova was one of my defining comics of the late 00s. As far as something resembling a traditional American-format comic goes, my favourite. It's now returning, in a recoloured format, at Marvel's Icon imprint. If you follow comics, you should follow this. You will thank me.
• On a comics tip, comrade McKelvie and myself had a book come out for the House of Ideas. Tying into the Siege crossover, we wrote a SIEGE: LOKI tie-in. There's a preview of it here. It's been enormously well received, but I think my favourite piece on it is the Comics Alliance round-table review, which is spoiler dense, but very funny. As in, probably worth reading even if you're never going to read the comic.
• Black Box Recorder are back! And then they're gone! They're releasing two tracks on Election Day for download, for one day. It's a very Them thing to do. They're streaming now on myspace. The one you'd want is Do You Believe In God?

Failed.