RIP Computer Games Magazine (aka Computer Games: Strategy Plus)
Just saw over on Gamasutra that Computer Games Magazine (also once known as Computer Games: Strategy Plus) has been shut down. I have a soft spot in my heart for the magazine because I used to write a monthly column on the online gaming market called “Over the Net” for them. This was way back in the early 90′s when online gaming was still in its infancy, just after my days at TEN (Total Entertainment Network). It’s sad to see another of the old school fade away.
I’ll always remember the fun we had writing about Kali (the old IPX over LAN/WAN hack to enable multiplayer on early LAN games). Back then, online game support was very, very rare… you were lucky to find LAN support. Kali addressed that problem by routing LAN packets over the net. However, it was pretty obvious that in the coming years game companies would step up and start implementing their own online solutions. And so I wrote a column titled “Kali is Dead” that inflamed the gaming community and drove a huge amount of feedback to the magazine. Good times!
Sadly, Kali is irrelevant today in online gaming in all but fringe cases, and my article can’t be found online anymore. I did see the original print magazines in the basement a while back, though. I might have to find that column again – just for grins.
Anyway, to return to the point, I’ll miss the magazine. It was one of those magazines with articles that respected the reader and actually made you think. Those are getting rarer and rarer these days – and for some reason, they’re now almost all British. Guess if someone has had plenty of practice with the English language, it’s you Brits. Even if you can’t spell the King’s Language correctly anymore. “Theatre?” “Favour?” Bah. 
Related posts:
-
http://www.gamecollect.net BlackICE