tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146792732011-07-14T14:22:54.100-07:00because "n" and "v" aren't THAT close on the keyboardwandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09453984621715598759noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14679273.post-1121918675236550902005-06-29T17:50:00.000-07:002005-07-20T21:04:35.236-07:00Just reading back over my last post, it does come out a little more vitriolic than I intended. Don't get me wrong, I stand by everything I said. It's just a little one-sided in it's representation of my opinion on the mag is all.<br /><br />I'm not <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> jealous of American magazines, they suck almost as much as ours (not <span style="font-style: italic;">quite </span>as much, because they at least have original copy); but I <span style="font-style: italic;">am</span> envious of the UK because they have <a href="http://edge-online.co.uk/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Edge</span></a>. Why can't we have a decent mag out here in Aus? I'll ignore the Australian edition of <span style="font-style: italic;">Edge</span>: I mean, who wants regurgitated UK content a month after it comes out (besides, obviously, readers of GamesTM)? I'll pay exorbitant air-freight prices, thankyou very much.<br /><br />There's a challenge for you <span style="font-style: italic;">JBTN</span>: give us something like/better-than <span style="font-style: italic;">Edge</span>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14679273-112191867523655090?l=magazive.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09453984621715598759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14679273.post-1121918585726360002005-06-29T15:47:00.000-07:002006-01-05T20:24:12.506-08:00<a href="http://jumpbuttonmag.com/">JBTN</a>, as they would - apparently - like to be known, are a new, hot-off-the-press game magazine. "So what?", I hear you ask, "I've already got a wide variety of Australian gaming mags to choose from, just bursting with US/UK content/reviews/idioms (GamesTM, I'm looking at you). Why would I want another?". Well, there isn't a single review, preview, or cheat inside: only interviews with installation and comic book artists, news on upcoming game to film adaptations, AND - and this is where it gets annoying - constant reminders that we Gamers, the <span style="font-style: italic;">avant garde </span>of postmodernism and pop-culture, the Great White Hope of Humanity, are a subculture.<br /><br />Did I mention that Gamers are a subculture? Because Gamers are a subculture. Gamers are real people with real feelings. If you poke them, do they not say: "I'm telling Mum"? This is a magazine for us, the Gamers. For us. Gamers. Us. La-la-la.<br /><br />Guys, if you have to keep pointing it out, you aren't really representing a subculture. That kind of stuff is supposed to be assumed knowledge. Individuals in a group have no need to reaffirm their own identity to others (within the group) in such a way. Who're you trying to convince: us (whoever 'we' might be), outsiders (whoever 'they' might be), or yourselves (or, more likely your publisher)?<br /><br />I hope to see more from JBTN (and you just <span style="font-style: italic;">know </span>they agonised over that abbr. "JMPBTN"? "JMBTN"? "JPBTN"? Well, I would have ...) because, frankly, I <span style="font-style: italic;">expect </span>more from them. This issue smacked of being scraped together from whatever they could get their hands on. I mean, c'mon people: a short story from the POV of a cat who's ignored by their game-addict owner? Hel-LO Filler! If there really is a need for such a niche publication, then why isn't there sufficient content to fill it respectably?<br /><br />My girlfriend pointed out - when I voiced my initial disbelief that this wasn't just a US/UK reprint - that there's literally a surplus of such niche magazines at the moment. These guys have a few things going for them: the inclusion of your artists' media (<span style="font-style: italic;">á la</span> design magazines) is neat, and the gaming industry is coming into its own, even in Australia. There was only a single ad in here (for <span style="font-style: italic;">Splinter Cell</span>, inside the front cover) so, maybe once they've gotten a handle on this whole "magazine" thing, we'll see ourselves a damned interesting publication. Good luck, guys.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14679273-112191858572636000?l=magazive.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>wandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09453984621715598759noreply@blogger.com0