The Sunday Papers

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.
• You've seen the Champions Online Costume Bingo, yeah?
• Wellspring Foam writes an open letter to the creator of Spirit Engine 2 on why he should get his game on Steam and push it more generally.
• Haven't linked to anything of Bill Harris' for a while. Here he is responding to charges that games - being structured play - are actually less worthwhile than structureless play.
• Comrade Quinns' Console Game Writing "Tight" Watch. Demon Souls? Splendid, but the word Tight is never used. God Hand? Tight.
• You dug Canabalt, yeah? Well, Gaming Daily interviews developer Adam Atomic about it. As a passing aside, I highly approve of developers naming themselves like late 90s-post-bis fanzine writers.
• Also on Gaming Daily, Ben "The B" Borthwick writes about tutorials. He also obeyed Alec's demand there be a certain game staring Michael Winner from the podcast. Foolish Alec and his yappy mouth has birthed such horrors.
• Indie developers talking directly to the gamers via vidcam? Everyone's at it. After Dejobaan did it, Cliffski has a crack.
• Yeah, I'm totally not playing Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma.
• Cryptic's Ben Ziegler followed me on twitter this week, which made me go back and have a read of his blog. I think I may have linked to this post on what he thinks people should take from community feedback in MMOs before, but it's worth reading again.
• I missed Dave Taurus' exit letter from Games Journalism, which he published on the Triforce when he fucked off on his new adventures. He actually chooses an unusual target to decry rather than the usual topics people make when attacking videogames writing, and he's not entirely wrong.
• I also missed comrade John Walker having a good old rant about Derren Brown's latest antics when he wrote it. John takes magic very seriously, so is seriously disappointed in Derren.
• Editor Daniel Menaker writes... well, about editing and the systemic problems with being a book editor. A methodical look at book publishing from the other side which is well worth digesting.
• It just seems unfair that I can't hear the full 9-minute version of Fuck Buttons' Surf Solar yet. Also, it's unfair that I'm not in a club right now dancing to it. Badly, natch.

Failed.