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EVE Evolved: End of an EON
This week we heard the disappointing news that EON, the official print magazine for MMO EVE Online, has officially closed down. The quarterly magazine first launched back in 2005 and may have been the first official magazine dedicated to a single MMO. The first edition was packed full of current news, sneak peeks, coverage on major events, fan-written fiction, features, and guides. The experimental magazine was produced by MMM Publishing under official license from CCP Games and proved to be a big hit, going on to publish 30 editions over the next seven and a half years. Though EON has had a much longer run than most official MMO print magazines (the World of Warcraft magazine lasted all of five issues), it's still disappointing to see it go. The closure has a special significance for me because it was at EON that I and many other players started out as writers and editors. It's thanks to the work of the mag's editor Richie "Zapatero" Shoemaker that I went on to get this job at Massively, where I've written the weekly EVE Evolved column for almost five years now. EON Magazine was a real gem that will be sorely missed by dedicated fans, but the biggest shame is that those who might support the mag didn't know it was having financial difficulties until it was too late. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look back at what made EON great, ask why it failed, and interview editor Richie Shoemaker on his thoughts behind the closure.
Kill Screen gaming mag aiming for highbrow readers
Between John Davison recently promising a revitalization of GamePro, Steve Harris' purchase and subsequent relaunch of EGM (as EGM Now), and now the announcement of "Kill Screen" from Jamin Brophy-Warren and Chris Dahlen, it's been quite the year for gaming magazines. But Kill Screen seems to be taking a decidedly different approach to publishing, aiming its first print run at "2 or 3,000 copies," Brophy-Warren told us this afternoon. With an editorial directive to thematically tackle game writing -- and no obligation to the traditional reviews/previews/news format due to a donation/subscriber-funded, non-profit approach -- Kill Screen intends to avoid the mechanical nitty gritty that plagues game writing. "A great example of that is with Brütal Legend," Brophy-Warren said. "Tim Schafer had to come out and defend the RTS elements ... When we talk about games critically, it's not going to be in that sense." The first issue, the "test run" or "zero issue" as it's being called, will be finished in "the next week or two" and shipping by January. Brophy-Warren added that he's hoping the second issue will be ready for GDC, but he's not so certain. And as for the short initial print run, he says "Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?" and encourages people to subscribe to insure they'll get a copy. We wish them the best of luck!
Breakfast Topic: Sunday best
Our guild recently had a picture taking, or more accurately, a screenshot-taking session for a local gaming magazine. Everybody came dressed to the nines, although what that meant exactly is different for every player. Some players donned their Lunar Festival chongsams, others put on their Tier 7s, while others still whipped out legacy outfits such as their Warlord's Raiment or the Death Knight's full armor from their starting area. We drew the line on one officer who wanted to show up in his skivvies and Mirror Image activated. We didn't want a naked troll showing up on the pages of a magazine, much less three four.When Love is in the Air in a few days, I'm going to dust off my tuxedo set and take some cheesy screenshots with my wife's character in a sexy black dress. One of our big kahunas, Liz Harper, is taking advantage of Level 80 to complete her full Judgement set. It's still one of the coolest armor sets in the game, I think. I mean, even one of the Top 10 players out of millions seems to think so. It made me think about what clothes we wear to look our best. None of us enjoy looking like a clown, right? I'm sure we keep some outfits stashed away in our ever-filling bank. What do you whip out when you're asked to wear your Sunday best? That Admiral's Hat, maybe? Or Blue Overalls and a pitchfork for that farmer look?
