The unashamedly political People Make Games cause me to sigh and splutter my Earl Grey from time to time, but the world of game journalism would be a much poorer place without their heavyweight investigations. Their latest free-to-watch video essay runs for over an hour and looks at the fascinating business of serious gaming.
I’m not saying the first three minutes of this CMAK contest were uneventful, but when the TV camera panned across the grandstands at the end of Turn 3, I noticed several people scrutinising phones or reading newspapers, and at least one spectator fast asleep. Said spectator awakes with a start 40 seconds into Turn 4 when the clatter of 20mm autocannon fire reverberates around the stadium.
Using the following clues (the map above is purely decorative) in combination with Street View, work out my location.
This year the European Union will spend around seven million Euros on video game development. Is this sizeable sum likely to be expended wisely? Having looked at some of the games Brussels has helped fund in the past, I have doubts.
This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a whizz at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not lend a hand.
It’s hard to believe, but the next COIN title from Every Single Soldier should be Early Accessible by the end of the year. Fingers crossed, Northern Ireland ’74 will be less intimidating than Angola ’86. As I mentioned in this piece, my withered brain struggles with A86’s relatively high (compared to Vietnam ’65 and Afghanistan ’11) village and unit count.
I’ve just learned that Ilan Papini, the chap behind thoroughly likeable sims such as Virtual Sailor and Vehicle Simulator, died in February from injuries sustained in a plane crash. The ICP Savannah piloted by the 60-year-old developer, suffered a bird strike over Israel’s Jezreel Valley, and Ilan pranged while attempting an emergency landing.
Me and Roman spent a small portion of last weekend in a thorny corner of Wessex, chucking plastic platters at chain-draped metal baskets. We’d decided to give disc golf a try after enjoying the demo for FLEX Disc Golf. Has time with a simulation ever inspired you to try The Real Thing? If you can trace a hobby or even a career, back to a PC sim, I’d love to hear about it.