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Kill Screen #1
Kill Screen Issue One: The No Fun Issue
FEAR. GLUTTONY. PSYCHOSIS. FRUSTRATION. PAIN. SICKNESS. REJECTION. DISGUST.
Welcome to the "No Fun" issue. 96-pages of the best writing and illustrations in the biz, including:
Jason Fagone talks to the team behind Big Buck Hunter Pro, and studies the allure of its gun.
John Teti with the incredible story of New York City's 30-year ban on pinball.
J. Nicholas Geist with a story of marriage, judgment, and World of Warcraft addiction.
Jenn Frank picks the videogame feminist of the decade.
Jason Killingsworth is schooled by an eight-year-old Guitar Hero prodigy - and takes the opportunity to grow up.
Gus Mastrapa battles anxiety and finds a rescue in EverQuest.
Rob Dubbin digs up the strange, hilarious fan fic of internet legend Stuart Michigan, starting with his latest work, "Some Russian."
Majed Athab reflects on the Six Days in Fallujah controversy, and asks: why is it easier to make a ridiculous war game than a realistic one?
Matthew Burns asks if competition is necessary? Or is he just terrible at multiplayer Halo?
Nora Nahid Khan surveys the most disturbing and most disgusting bosses in survival horror.
Mitch Krpata goes to the darkest corners of the Framingham Fun and Games to play torture porn shooter Chiller.
Ryan Kuo with a critique of Left 4 Dead 2.
Filipe Salgado on the hopelessness of Stephen Lavelle.
Interviews with MESSHOF, ANNA ANTHROPY, JESS CHAVEZ, and KRYSTIAN MAJEWSKI, by Jamin Brophy-Warren, Chris Dahlen, Richard Morgan, and Ryan Kuo.
And Zack Handlen brings it home with the most disgusting puzzle in interactive fiction history.
On the art side, enjoy the works of Fred Benenson, David Boni, Eóin Burke, Brody Condon, Alessandro Cotrufo, Joseph DeLappe, Eric Englehard, Ben Fry, Jon Haddock, Sarah Jacoby, Julian Lytle, Eva and Franco Mattes, Julian Sancton, and Ryan Theodores.
Welcome to the "No Fun" issue. 96-pages of the best writing and illustrations in the biz, including:
Jason Fagone talks to the team behind Big Buck Hunter Pro, and studies the allure of its gun.
John Teti with the incredible story of New York City's 30-year ban on pinball.
J. Nicholas Geist with a story of marriage, judgment, and World of Warcraft addiction.
Jenn Frank picks the videogame feminist of the decade.
Jason Killingsworth is schooled by an eight-year-old Guitar Hero prodigy - and takes the opportunity to grow up.
Gus Mastrapa battles anxiety and finds a rescue in EverQuest.
Rob Dubbin digs up the strange, hilarious fan fic of internet legend Stuart Michigan, starting with his latest work, "Some Russian."
Majed Athab reflects on the Six Days in Fallujah controversy, and asks: why is it easier to make a ridiculous war game than a realistic one?
Matthew Burns asks if competition is necessary? Or is he just terrible at multiplayer Halo?
Nora Nahid Khan surveys the most disturbing and most disgusting bosses in survival horror.
Mitch Krpata goes to the darkest corners of the Framingham Fun and Games to play torture porn shooter Chiller.
Ryan Kuo with a critique of Left 4 Dead 2.
Filipe Salgado on the hopelessness of Stephen Lavelle.
Interviews with MESSHOF, ANNA ANTHROPY, JESS CHAVEZ, and KRYSTIAN MAJEWSKI, by Jamin Brophy-Warren, Chris Dahlen, Richard Morgan, and Ryan Kuo.
And Zack Handlen brings it home with the most disgusting puzzle in interactive fiction history.
On the art side, enjoy the works of Fred Benenson, David Boni, Eóin Burke, Brody Condon, Alessandro Cotrufo, Joseph DeLappe, Eric Englehard, Ben Fry, Jon Haddock, Sarah Jacoby, Julian Lytle, Eva and Franco Mattes, Julian Sancton, and Ryan Theodores.
- GenresGamesVideo GamesEbooks
96 pages, Single Issue Magazine
First published July 1, 2010
48 people want to read
About the author
Jason Fagone
9 books191 followersI've written about science, sports, and culture for Wired, GQ, Men's Journal, Esquire, NewYorker.com, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, Philadelphia, and the 2011 edition of The Best American Sports Writing. A few years ago, I wrote a book called "Horsemen of the Esophagus," about competitive eating and the American dream. For the last three years, I've been working on my next book, "Ingenious," which will be published this November. It's about inventors and cars. I live outside of Philadelphia with my wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 11, 2014
Wow, what an appropriate title for this issue! Not only is it about games not being fun, the reading itself isn't fun!
There are a few noteworthy exceptions, but on the whole the articles in this issue fall into two categories: lacking a punch line, and pretentious. At least four or five articles end suddenly, with no final summary and not even a general indication of what the article was supposed to be about, and no reinforcement of a thesis... if there was one at all. The pretentiousness is pretty jarring in a few more of the articles, where you're supposed to feel as awed by some "arty-farty" game as the author was. But nothing he or she writes feels remotely relatable. To me, it was like an article length of "It's deep and ambitious and you just don't get it" being written over and over again.
I can see that some of my dislike for this issue comes from a personal preference, but these critical texts just wandered far too deep into what amounts to intelectual masturbation. I've got nothing against analysing games and critiquing them (hell, I encourage it most of the time!), but I do get kind of grumpy when its overdone. To me, it was hard to identify whether it was the subject matter that seemed a pointless waste of time, or if the authors wrote it that way.
However, at least a few articles stand out, with my favourite being the fascinating story behind banning Pinball Machines in pre-WW2 USA. That was a really interesting topic, and it felt like a well researched and well written piece of journalistic content.
For my first encounter with this mag, this was definitely an underwhelming one.
There are a few noteworthy exceptions, but on the whole the articles in this issue fall into two categories: lacking a punch line, and pretentious. At least four or five articles end suddenly, with no final summary and not even a general indication of what the article was supposed to be about, and no reinforcement of a thesis... if there was one at all. The pretentiousness is pretty jarring in a few more of the articles, where you're supposed to feel as awed by some "arty-farty" game as the author was. But nothing he or she writes feels remotely relatable. To me, it was like an article length of "It's deep and ambitious and you just don't get it" being written over and over again.
I can see that some of my dislike for this issue comes from a personal preference, but these critical texts just wandered far too deep into what amounts to intelectual masturbation. I've got nothing against analysing games and critiquing them (hell, I encourage it most of the time!), but I do get kind of grumpy when its overdone. To me, it was hard to identify whether it was the subject matter that seemed a pointless waste of time, or if the authors wrote it that way.
However, at least a few articles stand out, with my favourite being the fascinating story behind banning Pinball Machines in pre-WW2 USA. That was a really interesting topic, and it felt like a well researched and well written piece of journalistic content.
For my first encounter with this mag, this was definitely an underwhelming one.
September 17, 2020
horrible book do not read
May 1, 2016
As I usually do with an anthology-style product, I'm just moving over my status updates.
"Big Buck- I've seriously misjudged this game all these years"
"King of the Ogres - Although I never got into WOW, I've faced similar issues with others (sometimes peers and sometimes the older generation) not understanding games as a diversion as valid as whatever they do for fun."
"Feminist gamer of the year: This aligns with what we often describe in the comics world as men with breasts - female characters that the male authors don't fill with authentic female voices. Reading about fallout was pretty eye opening. The Portal section was great, but I'm surprised the author didn't pick up on the female taunts from glados like calling Chell fat."
"Intensive - interesting interview about the role of games and point and click games in particular"
"Tura, Lost - Very deep. I'm thankful to the author for sharing that. What a great, eclectic collection this Kill Screen is turning out to be."
"Some Russian - not only was that fan fiction great, the intro reminded me of the back stories my brother's and I created for Tetris."
"Bungie Dev - Interesting meditation on whether competition is always best for video games"
"The sound of sickness - a good reminder that sound had to be created for video games. There is no ambient recording"
"Ball is out of control - I heard this story on a podcast. (I think 99% Invisible) Pretty weird bit of history with Pinball and NYC."
"Creating discomfort - I'm not familiar with these games, but I'm glad we have a good indie scene now that can support them."
"Winning hearts and minds - reminds me of conversations I've had with veterans about what they think of military shooters."
"Lick Her Boot - just like creating discomfort, a discussion with a designer who does things to mess with the player. There's a logic to the way the player is messed with that reveals how we've been conditioned by decades of play and game design vocabulary."
"Axe to grind - It's so amusing how we get so caught up in what we're supposed to be the best at that we fall apart when a kid bests us."
"Chiller - arcades .... I wish they still existed"
"Bosses - a look at some truly disturbing bosses and what it says about us."
"The local - As I've learned more and more about how localization works, I've been less and less upset with the compromised made"
"Calling off the engagement - an examination of how we interact with games and how that makes it different from other art"
"Stephen Lavelle - communicating difficult themes through games in which there is no winning."
"Monday - a neat use of a text adventure interface to communicate a sad story."
"Big Buck- I've seriously misjudged this game all these years"
"King of the Ogres - Although I never got into WOW, I've faced similar issues with others (sometimes peers and sometimes the older generation) not understanding games as a diversion as valid as whatever they do for fun."
"Feminist gamer of the year: This aligns with what we often describe in the comics world as men with breasts - female characters that the male authors don't fill with authentic female voices. Reading about fallout was pretty eye opening. The Portal section was great, but I'm surprised the author didn't pick up on the female taunts from glados like calling Chell fat."
"Intensive - interesting interview about the role of games and point and click games in particular"
"Tura, Lost - Very deep. I'm thankful to the author for sharing that. What a great, eclectic collection this Kill Screen is turning out to be."
"Some Russian - not only was that fan fiction great, the intro reminded me of the back stories my brother's and I created for Tetris."
"Bungie Dev - Interesting meditation on whether competition is always best for video games"
"The sound of sickness - a good reminder that sound had to be created for video games. There is no ambient recording"
"Ball is out of control - I heard this story on a podcast. (I think 99% Invisible) Pretty weird bit of history with Pinball and NYC."
"Creating discomfort - I'm not familiar with these games, but I'm glad we have a good indie scene now that can support them."
"Winning hearts and minds - reminds me of conversations I've had with veterans about what they think of military shooters."
"Lick Her Boot - just like creating discomfort, a discussion with a designer who does things to mess with the player. There's a logic to the way the player is messed with that reveals how we've been conditioned by decades of play and game design vocabulary."
"Axe to grind - It's so amusing how we get so caught up in what we're supposed to be the best at that we fall apart when a kid bests us."
"Chiller - arcades .... I wish they still existed"
"Bosses - a look at some truly disturbing bosses and what it says about us."
"The local - As I've learned more and more about how localization works, I've been less and less upset with the compromised made"
"Calling off the engagement - an examination of how we interact with games and how that makes it different from other art"
"Stephen Lavelle - communicating difficult themes through games in which there is no winning."
"Monday - a neat use of a text adventure interface to communicate a sad story."
January 20, 2015
Thoughtful and often thought-provoking.
The pieces that stayed with me most vividly were:
"King of the Ogres" by J. Nicholas Geist
"Videogame Feminist of the Decade" by Jenn Frank
Trauma, Krystian Majewski's psychological exploration through photos
"Winner" by Matthew Burns and "Axe to Grind" by Jason Killingsworth (I can't help reading them side by side)
"Winning Hearts and Minds" by Majed Athab
"Like a Boss" by Nora Nahid Khan
"Monday Morning" by Zack Handlen
The pieces that stayed with me most vividly were:
"King of the Ogres" by J. Nicholas Geist
"Videogame Feminist of the Decade" by Jenn Frank
Trauma, Krystian Majewski's psychological exploration through photos
"Winner" by Matthew Burns and "Axe to Grind" by Jason Killingsworth (I can't help reading them side by side)
"Winning Hearts and Minds" by Majed Athab
"Like a Boss" by Nora Nahid Khan
"Monday Morning" by Zack Handlen
December 21, 2013
More content meant more chances to succeed and fail. The last article was horrible.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews