Why Haven’t They Made This?

To the Editor: I get enough adverts from traditional media without being told by an “independant” games mag what beer I should be drinking. Frankly, an advert has never convinced me to buy anything, and they do nothing except breed annoyance. Don’t you have any respect for the magazine you set up, not to mention the authors of the articles which have been cut in half by your corporate whoring?

-Doug Inman

To the Editor: I of course was disappointed by the appearance of ads in your magazine but I understand that financial support has to come from somewhere. I’m sure there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this change, but don’t worry. As long as you exert a bit of editorial control over the ads to keep them within the aesthetic boundaries of the magazine, most of us aren’t going anywhere. I don’t mind ads when I know that they are enabling a company to bring me an excellent (and free!) product. Please just don’t let them get out of control, and never, ever let them use Flash.

-Jerrod Hansen

To The Editor: I recently discovered your magazine after it was linked on www.hardocp.com. I have been an avid gamer pretty much my entire life, as my parents had a TI 99/4A computer before I was even born. However, I have always gone to great lengths to dissociate myself from the fanboys and zealots, and the idea of a magazine that appeals to the intellect, as opposed to consumer impulses, is fantastic: not only giving me something to read and look forward to, but as a sign that the industry is starting to mature. The creeping backlash against big-business gaming gives hope to a person who’s newest console is a Dreamcast that they bought used for $20 and steadfastly stays a generation or two behind on PC hardware.

Anyways, many words have been spent on lauding your publication, and almost as many discussing your layout. I for one am in favor of it, however I think it is seriously lacking one small feature: page numbers. It would not only be very convenient but also contribute to your goal of replicating the feel of a printed magazine to have each page numbered, and to include a “Go To” function so that your readers can skip around at will.

-Jason Begy

To the Editor: I know a lot of people will criticize you for including advertisements in your e-zine. I will agree that it is “annoying”, but please take these complaints with a grain of salt. What the addition of advertisements really means is that you have crossed the threshold from the web-blog-with-nice-formatting stigma into the world of professional, magnificently entertaining literature. Well done!

-Andy

To The Editor: In regards to SMAC (and gaming in general) I’m reminded of the malleable triusm, “Simple minds think of people, average minds think of events, great minds think of ideas.” Never before in a game has there been such a confluence of Great Ideas – technological and spiritual determinism, the Will to Power, near-pornographic fetishism of Progress; the list goes on and on. When a game erupts onto the scene with the authority of (at least) a century of concepts behind it, it can’t fail to enthrall the true science fiction dork.

That gaming opens us to the full spectrum of human expression is to be applauded. Unfortunately the simple interactions seem to be crowding out the great ones.

Thanks for the article and the magazine in general. Looking forward to more,

-Ben Warr