Ten things #2c: Killzone

Like a few other new publications in recent months, issue zero of Kill Screen (“The Maturity Issue”) was successfully funded through Kickstarter.

A creation of journalist Jamin Brophy-Warren and designer Anthony Smyrski, its opening introduction puts it firmly in the New Games Journalism camp (see previous post), talking about the unexpected emotional responses that games bring us, and the essence of on-screen death and finality.

The cover image (top) is just lovely, while the principle cover line (reminiscent of this McSweeney’s book) suggests that it won’t be taking itself too seriously for long.

A 68-page creation from 11 contributors beyond the core team, illustrations come from dramatic screenshots (given new significance through their context here), atmospheric thematic photographs, and above all some of the huge selection of fan-based art and explorations of the medium that can be found online. So a piece on Legend of Zelda is prefaced with a bored-looking Link, while a short but scholarly look at videogame controllers is beautifully illustrated with X-ray shots of controllers themselves.

Unlike Invert Look, it feels like a lot of time and thought has gone into how this looks and feels – rather than a dummy, it feels almost newsstand-ready.

That’s not to say that there aren’t a few bum notes. The afore-mentioned controller piece, though short, is still dense, and a jokey piece on how the magazine got its name isn’t very funny (and was already contradicted in the opening article anyway). The rhythm of reading is a bit monotonous at times, without much clear structure, and although there’s probably too much first-person writing, the magazine feels a little less certain when it strays into other territories.

At its best, however, Kill Screen reminds us why we play games, and how they relate to the rest of our real lives. A piece about Resident Evil 2 transports the reader to 1997, and how the PlayStation changed everything. The piece about fraternal initiation by console will warm the heart even of an only child, while “Walkthrough for a made-up game” reads as both thoughtful fiction and distressing self-analysis. Divided up with witty two-page graphics such as “The Many Faces of a Space Invader”, it reads well, and the design reacts perfectly to the subject matter without overwhelming the content.

By the end, you feel like you want more. Issue One, the No Fun issue, promises 96 pages of strong-sounding content, and is apparently about to ship. It’ll need to be something special to justify its $20 cover price, but judging by issue zero, that’s certainly not beyond them.

Though I don’t know how wide its distribution will be, I’m really looking forward to reading Issue One, and if you like videogames, or are interested in why others do, you should put in your order now.

And, as an aside, it’s yet another endorsement of what Kickstarter can make possible – and having funded a new issue of at least one other interesting-looking videogame magazine, there’s plenty more players to enter the arena yet.

Level up.