Kill Screen #6: The Change Issue

Arab Spring. Occupy Wall Street. Healthcare reform. The deaths of cultural icons Steve Jobs, Ray Bradbury, & MCA. The London Olympics. Obama up for reelection. The (supposed) end of the world. What better way to frame 2012 than to talk about CHANGE? With Issue 6, we take a closer look at the transitions, turmoil, triumphs, and tragedies of games that spill over from our gaming lives to our real ones, and perhaps even the other way around. Ralph Bear, the father of videogames, ponders the world he helped create. Former Parker Brothers CEO Rich Stearns tells us how cereal titan General Mills once held a portfolio of game licenses that would make Activision drool, and how they blew it. Journey across the former Iron Curtain to hear the tale of Ultimate Newcomer, an unfinished RPG that began development during the Cold War. Plus what we can learn from a purportedly tasteless JFK assasination simulator. The benefits and drawbacks of biofeedback research. A 12 step process for gaming addicts. And a journey across the country to find what remains of America's arcades. Written Carrie Andersen, Ryan Bradley, Nicholas Breckon, Dan Crabtree, Andrew Hayward, Jon Irwin, Darshana Jayemanne, Jason Johnson, Nicholas Keyasko, James Mitchell, Bo Moore, Levi Rubeck, Filipe Salgado, Anthony Sims, Jr., Andrew Vanden Bossche, and Luis Wong. Art Braulio Amado, Dan Black, George Bletsis, Mikey Burton, Dan Christofferson, Mike Force, Josh Fronk, Gena Hayward, Jory Hemmelgarn, Regan Johnson, Jesse Lenz, Edward McGowan, Michael Mesker, Daniel Purvis, Colin Pinegar, Chaunté Vaughn, and Ping Zhu.