Vision Quest

I'm not a big fan of Kill Screen. I think I've made that pretty clear here. They've done several pieces which I enjoyed quite a deal, but they mostly came early in their run, and often from non-regular contributors or interviews carried on the strength of their subjects. As a bit of a confession, my big 2012 In Review joke was, in great majority, pull-quotes from Kill Screen; I'm talking well over half with a couple of repeat appearances. And to think I once bought a T-shirt off them as a starry-eyed dreamer.

So I'm bored and spinning my wheels, so why not fling a little more mud in their eyes? Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, right? Better than adding another voice to the din surrounding that torso fiasco, anyway. Thankfully I had the Kill Screen vision statement re-tweeted into my timeline today, so I got a good chuckle from the short form. But I felt that wasn't just being snide, but unfairly cheap. So why not really take a fine toothed comb to where their mission falls apart at the seams? I can even give it a score on a 10-point decimal scale like their estranged mother, Pitchfork! So, have I wrongly misaligned our critical community's Kid A or been overly charitable to our Travistan? Let's find out... together.

The Year In The Rearview: A Gallery

A commemoration to the New Games Journalism of 2012.

A juxtaposition of select quotes with visual complements.

All images are best seen at their full size. (750 x 500 px.)

Additional submissions welcome!

Everyone Loves You, Nobody Cares

DISCLAIMER: If you're already sick to death of games writers writing about gamers writers and games writing and getting all hyper-personal about it, go ahead skip this whole mess. I don't blame you, I generally can't stand it either. But to critique it, I have to go hypocritical and actually use it. Feel free to just ignore this whole mess and comment that you did so. I won't be offended in the least.

I'll probably manage one more Real Game Thoughts thing before year's end but this sure as heck isn't it. No edits, no running it by a friend; it's raw and kind of disjointed, but whatever. I had feelings and this happened, so, you know, sorry in advance. Happy Hanukkah, free Palestine.

My First Public Apology™

If you're reading this, chances are you know what this is about, and greater still you're one of the people I owe an actual apology. Not a tweet, not with any kind of qualifications or explanations or deflections through humor and irony. I did that already, and it was done in self-preservation and cowardice. This is nothing less than a total admission of fault.

The things I said were rude and spiteful, were motivated by nothing and came from nowhere. The words and names I used were secondary to the emotion behind them, which sought only to hurt and was childish in the extreme. I lost contact with several writers for whom I have a great deal of respect and whose writing I enjoy on a regular basis. Whatever infinitesimally small grievances I may have with their work from time to time were far outstripped by my senseless vitriol in a moment of weakness and idiocy.

I am truly and earnestly sorry for my actions, and any ill effects I caused to those I slandered. I am owed no forgiveness, and can only ask for it humbly and ashamed of what I have done.

Thank you.