Kill Screen: The Back to School Issue

Grab a pencil. Take some notes. We’re taking a closer look at how, what, and why games teach.

Kent Sutherland and Jamin Brophy-Warren quiz Don Rawlitsch on the history of The Oregon Trail. Ben Abraham cruises through the Australian outback of Fuel. Ryan Bradley explores the inner play life of babies. Patrick Cassels decodes the mysteries of box art. Rob Dubbin interrogates a trader about the financial lessons of StarCraft. Simon Ferrari wonders if videogames can save the news business. Ed Fries sees beauty in constraint in his game Halo 2600. Ben Fritz disappears in the Shadow of the Colossus. Zack Handlen wrestles with his childhood via an unhelpful Nintendo tip-line operator. Brendan Keogh recreates Halo with his schoolmates. Mitu Khandaker questions her own existence as a videogame academic. Laura Michet bounces through the world of the NASA-created Moonbase Alpha. Emily Short toes the line between learning and designing. Brian Taylor navigates digital worlds and our own. David Wolinsky meditates on the historical accuracy of Assassin's Creed II with its resident historian. Rob Zacny asks why the world wasn’t ready for a Chinese learning MMO Pangea Online.