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Kill Screen

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For the gaming term, seeGlossary of video game terms § Kill screen.
Kill Screen
Issue 9, the first redesigned Kill Screen issue after a successfulKickstartercampaign
CategoriesVideo games
Founder
Founded2009;15 years ago(2009)
First issueMarch 2010;14 years ago(2010-03)
Final issue2016;8 years ago(2016)(print)
CompanyKill Screen Media, Inc.
CountryUnited States
Based inNew York City
LanguageEnglish
Websitekillscreen
OCLC892699658

Kill Screen[1]is anonline magazinefounded in 2009 byJamin Warrenand Chris Dahlen and owned by Kill Screen Media, Inc. It focused onvideo gamesandculture,but also included articles based onentertainment.The name is based on thevideo game term of the same name.

In 2009, both Warren and Dahlen were former writers forPitchforkwhen they decided to found the magazine. After a successfulKickstartercampaign to fund the magazine, the first issue was released in March 2010. After partnerships withPitchfork,StoryCode andFilm Society of Lincoln Center,the magazine eventually founded an annual video game conference, two5six, in 2013. The magazine's website did a redesign in January 2014 and the print magazine itself was redesigned and overhauled after a second successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2015. In 2016, two5six's name was changed toKill Screen Festival.

From 2009 to 2016, it was also a print publication.

After 2016, Kill Screen ceased publication, and its website went defunct around the same time. The website reopened in 2020 with a new editorial approach.

Overview[edit]

Kill Screenwas a print and online magazine that specialized in literaryvideo games journalism.The magazine originally planned to publishthink piecesrather thanbreaking news.[2]PSFKdescribed the magazine's demographic as "25–34-year-old wealthy, urban, culturally elite males".[3]Some of the magazine's authors had previously written forThe New Yorker,GQ,Los Angeles Times,The OnionandThe Daily Show.

History[edit]

The magazine was founded byJamin Warrenand Chris Dahlen,[2]who both wrote forPitchfork(Pitchforkpartnered with Kill Screen in 2011 to republish some articles on their website[4]). In a discussion at the March 2009Game Developers Conference,the two discussed the lack of "high-end, intellectual" magazines about video games and non-blog writers in the style ofTom WolfeandChuck Klosterman.Brophy-Warren and Dahlen decided to startKill Screen.[3]They sought for the magazine to mirror whatRolling StoneandWiredestablished in their respective industries.[5]Anthony Smyrski ofSwindleserved as the magazine's creative director. The magazine's authors had previously written forThe New Yorker,GQ,Los Angeles Times,The Onion,andThe Daily Show.The magazine was originallycrowdfundedthroughKickstarter[2]in late 2009.[3]The print magazine was redesigned in 2015.[6][7]

Kill Screen Festival[edit]

Kill Screen Festival, formerly known as two5six, was an annual game developers conference organized by Warren from 2013 to 2016. The conference was announced on 20 March 2013 onVimeo,which was filmed atThe Invisible Dog Art Center.Within the 2015 two5six festival,Kill Screenintroduced Game Academy, an event workshop where participants who had little-to-no knowledge of code could learn.Intelsponsored some workshops and provided "game scholars", those experienced in programming. It also expanded to include a film festival, effectively making the festival two days longer.[8][9]

Reception[edit]

The New YorkerpraisedKill Screenfor its intuitiveness and described it as "theMcSweeney'sof interactive media ".[10]PSFK calledKill Screena "novel and elegant twist on modern publishing" with the feel ofMonocleand impressive design and writers, and compared it as "Rolling Stonewas torock'n'rollor whatWiredwas to tech ".[3]Timecompared the magazine toSalon,but for video games and rated it among the best magazines/blogs of 2011 and praised their review ofL.A. Noire,stating that it could help legitimize the video games medium.[5]Ars Technicapraised the magazine's layout and composition for its price, stating that "the dives are deeper, the writing is thoughtful, and the presentation and custom art for each story makes the experience of reading these stories about our hobby a sensual experience."[11]Engadgetstated the magazine avoiding "the mechanical nitty-gritty that plagues game writing."[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^Kevin Ohannessian (May 8, 2013).""Kill Screen" Looks To Foster Cross-Industry Collaboration Around Games With New Event ".Fast Company.RetrievedSeptember 5,2015.
  2. ^abcMastrapa, Gus (December 1, 2009)."New Gaming Magazine Killscreen Aims for the Brain".Wired.RetrievedAugust 15,2017.
  3. ^abcdMyers, Courtney Boyd (June 4, 2010)."Kill Screen Magazine: What Does It Mean To Play Games?".PSFK.RetrievedAugust 15,2017.
  4. ^"Kill Screen".Pitchfork.May 2, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon October 20, 2011.
  5. ^abMcCracken, Harry (June 6, 2011)."Kill Screen - The Best Blogs of 2011".Time.ISSN0040-781X.
  6. ^Shin, Nara (3 November 2015)."Kill Screen Magazine Gets a Redesign".Cool Hunting.Retrieved12 October2016.
  7. ^"Kill Screen, game culture periodical, relaunches".Boing Boing.November 5, 2015.RetrievedOctober 18,2016.
  8. ^Jess, Joho (29 May 2015)."Two5six Scholars Program Brings Diversity To Video Game Creation".iQ.Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2015.Retrieved18 October2016– viaIntel.
  9. ^"Game On: Two5Six Festival Celebrates Culture and Video Games".FLOOD Magazine.8 May 2015.Retrieved18 October2016.
  10. ^""PopRally"".The New Yorker.
  11. ^Kuchera, Ben (August 9, 2010)."Kill Screenjustifies price of print; game writing grows up ".Ars Technica.RetrievedOctober 14,2016.
  12. ^Gilbert, Ben (December 2, 2009)."Kill Screen gaming mag aiming for highbrow readers".Engadget.RetrievedOctober 14,2016.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kill_Screen&oldid=1216248891"