Shoot first, ask questions later.
A lot has changed in 25 years. Dating apps, the Docklands Light Railway, drill music, Google Maps, an entrepreneur blasting one of his own cars into space, the resurgence of the far right, five-pound pints. It is truly a technological utopia we live in, apart from the annoying lack of tricorders and flying cars.
On the other hand, some things haven’t changed. Extremely good videogames still have the words ‘Mario’ and ‘Zelda’ in their titles, for one thing. And for another thing, commentators still employ the hoary old line that some cultural product they don’t like is “like a videogame”, even as videogames themselves (titles aside) have vastly changed.
During the World Cup, for example, David Runciman, writing in the London Review of Books, considered the prospect of the next tournament being held in Qatar, of necessity in hermetically sealed, air-conditioned stadiums, and broadcast in 4K, with endless replays and machine-aided refereeing decisions. Perhaps, he suggested, the 2018 World Cup would be the last “when we are able to tell the difference between an international football match and a videogame”. Football, he argues, will become “like a videogame” once all the humanity has been drained from it, once it becomes somehow lighter than air, merely a spectacle of pixels beamed all over the world.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
NO MORE ROOM IN HELL 2
You're not alone in the dark
WINDBLOWN
Life after Dead Cells
COLLECTED WORKS - JOSH SAWYER
Journeying to the Forgotten Realms, Infinity and beyond with the RPG veteran
SCREENBOUND
Going deep in a mind-bending hybrid of perspectives
Trigger Happy
Shoot first, ask questions later
Grand strategist
Paradox's Mattias Lilja addresses the publisher's recent difficulties - and the plan to right the ship
Diablo IV
A progress report on the games we just can't quit
Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
In Capcom's diabolical tribute, evil goes far deeper than the demons on the screen
SERENITY FORGE
How a near-death experience lit a fire in the Colorado-based developer and publisher
THE MAKING OF...ALIEN: ISOLATION
How a strategy-led studio built a survival horror masterpiece in Ridley Scott's image