Produced in association with (and at the behest of) Superbrothers Inc., exp. minus three: Black Days: E3 2011 was created to be distributed at the Midsummer Rockshowcase, an event held on Thursday, June 30th 2011 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto featuring the music from Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP as performed live by Jim Guthrie.

In an unprecedented collaboration for exp. Magazine, Superbrothers Inc. provided cover artwork and an introduction to the content, which remains entirely written by Mathew Kumar. The twenty-page “mini” features non-traditional coverage of the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2011 and a thematically-connected postscript on Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP, that more closely follows the style established in the first three issues of exp. (and which received no editorial influence from the issue’s underwriters.)

Though produced in a limited edition only for the Midsummer Rockshowcase, we can offer the remaining overstock (serendipitously, fifty-two issues) for sale online. As the content is specific to the context of the weeks following the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2011, there will be no reprint. Issues are being sold on a first-come, first-serve basis from our Big Cartel shop.

Buy Now: Sold Out

exp. minus two is something a little different.

It wasn’t meant to be this way; I had the best intentions to finally reach the fabled “issue one” of exp. in time for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2011, but as the festival approached it became increasingly clear such a huge task was not going to be realistic. I decided I would take a different tact, and in order to still have something to launch at the festival I decided to–as many zine and comic creators do–create a “mini”; a small booklet, maybe only a few pages long, that would offer something different to the usual exp. especially for the TCAF audience. To use a music analogy, if the previous issues of exp. were EPs, I was burning out on trying to create our album (issue one) and so decided to break it up with a quick single.

exp. minus two: The Legend of Zelda still fits that analogy, but rather than a mere single, think of it as a limited edition seven-inch. At least partially inspired by a recent playthrough of the original 1986 NES Legend of Zelda was, exp. minus two is a short story that in final form far exceeded what I originally expected of my “mini”: it’s fifty-two pages long and features a special linen paper cover with hand-painted, individually unique gold detailing. Due to the personal nature of the content and form, I limited the printing to fifty-two copies, of which the majority were sold at TCAF. I was (unfortunately) only able to hold five copies to be sold online.

I’m not sure–though I doubt–that this book will be ever printed again, so this may be your only chance to own a copy (and I guarantee that this book will never be printed again in the same format, nor will the content ever appear online.) They are being sold on a first-come, first-serve basis at the same price they were sold at TCAF from our Big Cartel shop.

Buy now: Sold Out

“We decided to proclaim our dislike of one of the weakest bands on the planet by putting out these shirts … the thing about the shirt is it’s like a dictionary definition. Blur: are shite. It’s factual and if there’s any legal problems about it I’ll go to court as someone who has studied music so I can prove they are shite.” – Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, discussing the band’s controversial Blur: are shite/Mogwai: are tremendous t-shirts with the NME in 1999.

First revealed at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2011, the kotaku is shite/exp. is tremendous two-piece one inch pin set is now available.

Buy now: $2.00

On November 13th, 2010 at the Toronto Underground Cinema, I performed the closing keynote of the first day of Gamercamp 2010, entitled “We Are All Trapped In The Belly Of This Horrible Machine And The Machine Is Bleeding To Death.” You can view it below (warning: infrequent strong language which suddenly becomes very frequent towards the end).

(While the slides are somewhat necessary to the flow of the talk, you can download an MP3 here too.)

As the talk was performed over three months ago, I think it does need some context, so I’ve thrown together some quick notes and links for anyone interested.

Read more…?

Launched at Gamercamp 2010, the latest issue of exp. is now available in two flavours: exp. minus infinity, a free PDF, and exp. infinity, a print edition available for sale from the expdot.com shop.

This third issue of exp. is the final part of an initial trilogy of ‘zines in which the content is entirely written and produced by Mathew Kumar. As with previous issues, minus/infinity features several experiential articles considering the games Mathew experienced between the 5th of May and the 10th of November 2010.

In this issue:

- The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom (A title card sequence)
- Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent (A puzzle page)
- Alan Wake (A collection of lost lost manuscript pages)
- VVVVVV (A different way of looking at things)
- Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (A party of friends)
- Patchwork Heroes (A lazy demand) (print exclusive!)
- exp.ress Mail (A star letter)

Editor’s note: exp. minus/infinity continues the experimentation of the first two issues by forming a “sampler” diptych: as requested by many, readers can now sample the content via a PDF before choosing to graduate (or not) to the print edition. exp. is a print magazine and I intend to keep it as such; this issue, while currently a “one-off,” may however influence our future direction.

Read now: PDF
Buy now: $7.00

I’m not sure if anyone would argue that video game journalism is a rewarding profession. In fact, arguing that it’s a profession at all is stretching it in most people’s opinion. So to see my work included in a book that is emblazoned “Selected and Written by Leading International Critics” is something of a benchmark in my career.

Available now in the US, Canada, the UK and probably other countries whose version of Amazon I can’t be bothered to search (sorry) 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die is a genuinely beautiful book, and something that strikes me is not simply that I’m (implicitly) included as a “leading international critic” but the company I keep as such, with the book featuring writing from Brandon Boyer, Kieron Gillen, Simon Parkin and many other of my most admired contemporaries. Pouring over it, in fact, I’d go as far as to argue that it’s not so much the games that are essential as the writing about them; this book is a wonderful reference piece if you want to get an honest opinion and historical context for pretty much any worthwhile game in the last 40 years written by someone whose opinion counts. I expect I’ll be referring to this rather than the traditional (and lazy) Google/Wikipedia/Mobygames trifecta when requiring a little background on a certain game that’s slipped my memory.

I was–unfortunately–only able to contribute a small number of the entries in this tome and with no author index (an oversight, I think) there’s no quick way to find my articles in particular. So in the interest of self-interest, here’s the list. All my entries are marked MKu in the book:

Read more…?

Although Pac-Man’s official “birthday” lies on May 22nd, Namco Bandai decided to hold an exclusive “birthday party” for the yellow dot-eater in Los Angeles on June 15th, the first night of the Electronics Entertainment Expo.

During the evening, everyone at the party was asked to watch the following video, a summary of Pac-Man’s history. With jazzy background music, awkward narration and a near-random selection of Pac-Man facts, it was my favourite video of E3, and while a deluge of trailers flooded the internet in the days during and after the expo, this wasn’t one of them.

As a result, I got in touch with Namco Bandai in the hope that they’d let me share it with the world, which, thanks to the work of Reory Howard, I now can–exclusive, in fact, to exp. Magazine. It probably loses some of its charm removed from the context of Pac-Man’s birthday party (which did, in fact, count Mr. and Ms. Pac-Man in attendance) but it still brings a smile to my face.

Pac-Man is an arcade game developed and published by Namco (now Namco Bandai Games.) You can still find Pac-Man arcade machines in the wild, but it’s also been ported to almost every video game system ever. The version available on iTunes is generally considered perfectly acceptable, despite being priced $4.99.

Launched at the 2010 Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May, exp. issue zero is now available for sale online.

With thirty-six pages entirely written and produced by Mathew Kumar, the issue continues in the same vein as the original minus one issue, featuring several experiential articles considering the games Mathew experienced between the 26th of October, 2009 and the 4th of May, 2010.

In this issue:

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (A covert operation)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (A pointless question leads to a genuine realization)
- Deadly Premonition (A movie guide)
- Retro Game Challenge (An open letter)
- Torchlight (A cut-out-and-keep activity)
- Dark Void Zero (A cross review)
- Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (An interview)
- The Shivah (A hero?)
- exp.ress Mail (An analogue internet)

As with minus one, these articles will NEVER appear online. While supplies last, orders will be fulfilled with the limited first edition produced for sale at TCAF. All issues feature a unique transparent cover design.

Update, June 10th: All first print (TCAF) copies of the first edition are now sold out. First edition, second print copies will begin being dispatched the week after E3.

Buy now: $7.00

Welcome to exp. Magazine’s new website! Expect (ir)regular updates, not only related to the progress of the magazine, but new content in the style of the magazine (created with the web rather than print in mind.)

While you wait, you can check out our new about and FAQ pages, which will explain everything you could ever know about exp. without having picked up a copy to see it for yourself. That you can do at our new shop.