Somebody's retiring or something...

Last year I was looking for a PC only gaming site. I found Rock Paper Shotgun. I liked it a lot. I read (present tense) it daily.

RPS has a very cool, informal style. They're referential, but not in a way that comes off as creatively stilted. They're just constantly reminding us how something they're talking about fits in the current gaming/pop-culture landscape. Or they're being clever. Or punny.

Some sites have staff writers I hate, and I end up skipping most of their posts. I like all the writers on RPS. I do have a favorite. Kieron Gillen, of course. He seems to be a favorite of many, but that may be because he's announced that he's retiring from writing up video games. Well, he's retiring from doing it on a regular basis.

I have a few weekly highlights. NBC's Thursday night lineup (with Community as my favorite). G4tv's web series Feedback, which honestly hasn't been the same since Patrick Klepek left but it's still quite good. One of my favorite weekly things though is (was?) Kieron Gillen's The Sunday Papers. It's a roundup of notable video game news/opinions and is usually ended with a nod to a certain band or song. Reading it's posts is a great way to spend a nice, relaxed Sunday.

This week's Sunday Papers was followed by an additional installment--a "Gillen-y Supplement". The supplement contains highlights from his 15 years of games journalism, selected by Gillen himself. I was familiar with his writing from my one+ year of reading RPS but that obviously only scratches the surface. This is well worth reading.

If you keep hearing people expressing sadness about his retiring and can't put a face (or article) to the name, the aforementioned supplement is required reading. Really great, fun writing, and I've got a handful of new games to go out and try as a result of reading it.

I'm going to close this by adding a post that's been in my bookmarks for years. Yes, years, because even though I've only been reading RPS for a little over one year apparently I've known of Gillen for quite a lot longer. "How to Use and Abuse the Gaming Press". I stumbled on this article a long time ago--um, I don't know how, or what I was searching for when I found it, or why I didn't start reading his blog regularly, but it's there, in my bookmarks, and I've never forgotten about the article since I first read it. Regardless of how I found it, if you're even a little bit interested in games journalism or marketing in general, you should check it out.

Ahh, finally put his blog in my feed reader. Should have done that ages ago.

You should do it right now.

David