The Sunday Papers

Sundays are for waking up late, and hopefully purging the last of the jet lag, and then compiling a list of the fine (mostly) games related reading that crossed your path this week, while trying not to link to some piece of popular music or something.

• Probably the feature which made my eyebrow raise most. Jeff Vogel of long-standing indie-RPG company Spiderweb talking about why he's okay with people pirating his games. Sometimes.
• And here's the post-mortem of Gary Marple's Gravity Core. We get a lot about the indie success stories. Here's the opposite, talked about with striking candour.
• Simon Parkin writes a piece called Maps for Boing Boing. Primarily about Final Fantasy VII, but not. Few things please me more than seeing a peer limbering up and taking a big swing. This is Simon taking one hell of a big swing. Bravo.
• Over at What They Play is an interesting article about parents who have to travel a lot using their games to stay in contact with their children, specifically looking at how Mythic's Paul Barnett plays with his son Callum. Which is the sort of thing which is always a good to see to create a fuller picture of how we interact and use games.
• Following on from this week's SpyParty piece, Chris Hecker does some analysis of the competition (i.e. Those exploring a similar deceptive space) from when he was E3. Fun stuff.
• Midlife Gamer interviews Waldi, who runs HardTruckSite. Ever wanted to know why people fall in love with and play Truck sims? Read the interview and you'll know. Also interesting how even in the smaller niches the debates mirror the larger core gamer populace: "With the release of each next game people argue as to which one is the best. But the biggest debate is about the future of truck sims. People discuss if they should become more and more realistic (in the way that an instructional fighter simulator for army use is a simulator) or become more like arcade games (such as 18 Wheels of Steel: Convoy). In the first case fans will be delighted, but they will be the only buyers. In the second, the demand will be much bigger, but the fan base will be disappointed."
• Kirk Hamilton reports on Jesse Schell's Visions Of The Gamepocalypse presentation. I'll admit, the Citizen points aspect of the curfew was totally drawing from all the people talking about integrated game elements into society. I just span it negatively.
• So - Limbo's not heading PCwards, but everyone's playing it anyway. Here's Phill's take on it. Anyone else playing it?
• The brutally punishing Hydorahis one of the year's best shooters. Here's an interview with its creator.
• The Daily Mail article about iPad owners being selfish elitists and people who don't own one being fucking losers went the rounds this week, but in case you've missed it, here it is. The Daily Mail at its best.
• The lovely Ready-Up folk are advertising for a Staff Writer. Interested?
• The ever-awesome Steve Murray writes for the National Post about San Diego ComicCon and urges our jock masters to return to thrash us. It's for all our own good.
• I was at San Diego Comic Con this week. Despite having seen the notes beforehand, missed Matt Fraction's The Batman Dreams Of Hieronymus Machines presentation (In short: Why Comics?). Glad that it found its way online. You will be too.
• Sarah Jaffe writes splendidly about Lady Gaga as a perfect pop star for a country in decline.
• Another splash of Pop-Criticism. Here's Why We Fight mapping pop to the class-room.
• Two comics out this week. Previews and stuff here.
• Been an odd week, so I'm going to go with a song I've linked to already recently. The Crystals "And Then He Kissed Me", which was on my mind because Delightful Fiance had an odd moment when she was singing it to herself all day and then, on the way home, passed the pub beside where we live. And it's blaring out of the door, having just started. One guy in the door says to the other: "Oh, man, I love this one". She walks past, more than a little unnerved.
• That said, I'm still trying to work out what I make of the Manics' new one too. I mean, it's very silly, but I like my Manics' silly.

Failed.