I've never found it so difficult to put together. Not because there weren't any submissions, of which there were plenty (thank you very much for that!), but simply because I can't find the time anymore. Therefore, this is the last edition of my reading tips for the time being until I have regular time for gaming and GamersGlobal again. But you don't have to do without reading tips until then, as Hannes Herrmann has offered to take over the scepter in the meantime.
Regarding today's collection of reading tips itself: From articles about special “manufacturing methods” for games to a report from a retro trade fair, there's a lot there again. An article about a book or a scientific discussion of “the gamers” or the question of whether gaming has really reached the center of society can also be found in today's issue. Have fun browsing and browsing virtually!
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There is real craftsmanship in these five fascinating video games
rnd.de on April 23, 2024, by Jan Bojaryn
Most new releases are now likely to be based on one of the big, well-known game engines (Unreal, Unity and so on). Since so many games have the same technology under the hood, games with special features stand out. When textures are scanned or come from photographs, it is still something special:
Video games are handmade. Digital games thrive on countless content that is painstakingly designed and lovingly placed in the virtual worlds. As a rule, these objects and backdrops are created primarily on the computer. But a number of titles take the craftsmanship literally: Here, worlds are created as models and then photographed or scanned in three dimensions. This creates games that look fascinating and always a bit strange.
Retro Computer Festival – Two days of pure computer history
heise.de on April 21, 2024, by Markus Will
Retro is a fascinating topic, just from a historical perspective of how games and their platforms have developed. How many are interested in this is shown by the successful continuation of the Retro gamers. It's no wonder that places where you can experience and touch retro have a special appeal. So here is a little report about it Retro Computer Festival:
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Last weekend the Retro Computer Festival took place in the Heinz Nixdorf Museum Forum in Paderborn – it was a journey into the pioneering days of computers. For the third time, the Paderborn Heinz Nixdorf Museum Forum (HNF) in cooperation with the Dortmund Retro Computer Meeting (DoReCo) invited people to the Retro Computer Festival on April 13th and 14th. According to the organizer, over 60 exhibitors presented their collectibles – from groundbreaking computers from past decades to exotic hardware such as Telex devices. In addition to the defining machines of the home computer era such as the C64, Commodore Amiga and Atari ST, various Apple devices and other systems were also on display along with some exotic and replica computers.
Middle of society (Happy on Friday)
gameswirtschaft.de on April 12, 2024, by Petra Fröhlich
I think many people are familiar with the phrase that gaming has reached the mainstream of society. The killer game debates are becoming rarer and the number of players is getting larger. But apart from these points, how can you determine whether gaming has really reached the mainstream of society? A good indicator are board games that suddenly also require knowledge of games.
If you want to become a millionaire at Jauch or a quiz champion, you now have to (also) score points with solid knowledge of games. […] Last Saturday evening, Second German Television, shortly after 11 p.m. Johannes B. Kerner has been looking for the 'quiz champion' for three hours. The Norwegian-born Thomas Kolåsæter is in the final of the “Toughest Quiz in Germany” (ZDF self-promotion). 3.6 million are watching. Today Journal anchorman Christian Sievers – the expert in the discipline of 'current affairs' – fiddled with the cover and then asked the question: “In which major German city does the Gamescom computer games trade fair take place regularly?”
From the archive: Langer complains: Everything used to be better
gamersglobal.de on February 8, 2012, by Jörg Langer
One of my favorite things about Reading Tips is the “From the Archives” section. A wonderful reason to browse through old or even very old articles, columns and tests. A little sad today, I thought about “the good old days” when I had more time for gaming and everything was better anyway. Naturally, I stumbled upon this long blasphemy:
Let me write this: Everything used to be better! No, I don't mean the sense of community among neighbors or just people, my own physical condition or even the contents of my bank account. I'm talking about the gaming industry. Oh, it was nice back then, when there were 30 game magazines worldwide and three in Germany, and no internet. When screenshots often came as slides (⇒ footnote 1) by post (⇒ footnote 2), they were glued to a piece of paper (⇒ footnote 3) and given to the layout company, who then scanned them (⇒ footnote 4) to use them and build a page (⇒ footnote 7) with the text (⇒ footnote 6) submitted on the diskette (⇒ footnote 5). Back when people like Peter Molyneux They also did their own PR work by traveling from Guildford to Poing near Munich and spending a lot of time promoting their game there.
The movie everyone hated: 25 years of “Wing Commander”
heise.de on March 16, 2024 by Gerald Himmelein
A provocative title. I'm not even sure if I've seen the film (but I almost have to, since I used to devour everything about it Wing Commander it said). So he probably needs to be looked at these days. But now away from my poor memory and towards this post about about Chris Roberts Film about the well-known game series:
25 years of “Wing Commander”: On March 12, 1999, the film about the game was released in US cinemas – and disappointed even the most loyal fans. But the debacle had a happy ending. Anyone who speaks to a certain generation of gamers about “Wing Commander” is often met with a romanticized look. “Oh, those were the days. I bought a flight stick especially to play it. And a sound card. And…” Then throw in that today is “Wing Commander's” 25th anniversary. “Oh really?” The look will change into a slight melancholy.
Debates about games are conducted with “prejudice and half-knowledge”.
derstandard.at on April 7th, 2024, by Alexander Amon
The debates about “killer games” were already mentioned earlier. How upset “the gamers” were that politicians primarily stood out because of their ignorance on the subject. Prejudices surrounding the topic of gaming can also be easily found in other ways. Are all gamers fat and sexists? Does (computer) gaming make you violent? These and other questions have actually now been examined through research:
His whole life has Harald Koberg researched the topic of video games. He has questioned the many “hard opinions” on the topic in his new book “Streitpunkt Games”. Video games make you violent. Gamers are sexists. Many parents are not interested in their children's digital hobbies. There are a lot of harsh opinions about video games and those who play them, but they are neither based on debate nor translated into action. This is “culturally interesting and at the same time unfair to the players,” says Harald Koberg, cultural anthropologist and author. For his latest work, the Graz native discussed with numerous people the point at which someone calls themselves a gamer and why many still have a problem with or fear of digital gaming culture.
Finally, two general recommendations
Since it even came up in the Sunday questions, there is still that every month 64 magazine.
A small platform filled by motivated hobby authors. Some of the authors may be familiar from a website called GamersGlobal. It's about That doesn't work.
In the video: System Of A Down – Chop Suey (C64 Cover, SAM, Hokuto Force)
This time a music video as a C64 cover including appropriate graphics and animations.
Thank you for the numerous submissions, you make it possible for me to create the reading tips, as my time is very limited recently. A big thank you goes to the following tipsters (including those whose tips didn't make it into the issue): Alain, Drapondur, kdoubleu, Q-Bert, Johannes and Lencer.
Do you have any tips for the next edition? Then send a PM to Hannes Hermann.