I mentioned when exp.’s first three issues went out-of-print in May that Attract Mode had some old stock lying around, and the site has—after protracted gestation—finally relaunched today. Attract Mode is now a “video game collective” with a range of members including the likes of Cory Schmitz, Zach Gage and Steph Thirion, who will contribute blog posts and curate… things? I declined full membership as I wasn’t sure I could commit to writing posts on the site or generally being involved enough to think myself worthy of having my name up in lights (I still haven’t submitted anything to the relaunch of Insert Credit!) but if I can think of anything to add, I will.

Anyway, the last stock of exp. minus one, zero and infinity are now on sale in the Attract Mode shop powered by Fangamer. This is, genuinely, the final chance to own these issues, and in fact I don’t even know how much stock they have left. Attract Mode’s Matt Hawkins is currently in the process of convincing me to give them what’s left of the exp. minus three issues I had printed for Venus Patrol, so those might get put up on the store too at some point (and those will be the last of those, too.)

Actually, as I write this it seems that exp. infinity has already sold out. Hmm, well… good luck and happy shopping if you’re looking to grab the other remaining issues, then?

So! I’m announcing that this weekend’s Toronto Comics Art Festival is the last time I am going to sell them. On Friday evening I’ll be closing our online store, so if you’d like to purchase issues from me before then, get your orders in quick: especially as I’m not doing a final printing, and my stock is very low for certain issues (at the current count, I think I only have about six issues of infinity left, and I wouldn’t complain if I got to TCAF with none in hand.) I’ll also be removing the download link for exp. minus infinity, so consider yourself warned. However, as a thanks for your support, until I close the shop I’ll be chucking in a pin set with every order, because why not.

Now: you might have some questions. First thing I’m going to admit is that although exp. is officially going out of print, there’s still some stock floating about out there (I think Quimby’s, for example, still has issues) and I can promise you that when the Attract Mode online store re-opens, they will have a small stock of the original triptych for posterity’s sake. But those issues will, eventually, be gone too. And then there’s no more! (Serious.)

(Oh, if you’re wondering: At TCAF I’ll be selling the issues at the Attract Mode table being curated by Matt Hawkins.)

Second, you might wonder why I’m bothering to put them out of print. Well, something I particularly realized while working on the minis, both of which had intentionally limited runs (though I might have some “Venus Patrol” issues of minus three for sale at TCAF too, though, ahem, I haven’t run that past Brandon Boyer yet) is that print doesn’t have to be “forever.” Part of what makes exp. special to me is that it’s not the internet (“duh”–everyone) where everything you have written is always available, no matter whether you still believe it or not. Am I proud of every issue of exp.? Of course. Do I still believe everything I’ve written in it? Possibly not. I think continuing to personally go to the effort to sell the issues as is implies that they continue to represent me, and I don’t think that’s true. It’s simply time to move on to the next step.

And by next step, I do mean for myself and exp.: while my career currently (working as a designer and producer on Queasy Games’ upcoming Sound Shapes) has made it impossible to give exp. my all, I intend to return with future issues when I can. I dearly wish to. And in the meantime, I continue to update our Tumblr and Twitter, so there’s that!

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: Sold Out

(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.

• The claim that I wrote every part of this talk–including the synopsis–at the very last minute is not “shtick” but complete honesty. It’s reflected in the delivery of the talk, which to me comes off like a stand-up routine that hasn’t been rehearsed enough (I seem to have this ability to fail a sentence and somehow simultaneously trail off from it while instantaneously starting another. It’s disconcerting.)
• The Jaime and Mark I refer to during the talk are (of course) Jaime Woo and Mark Rabo, organizers of Gamercamp.
• If it seems like I spend a lot of time talking about myself, it’s because I genuinely believe (with good reason) that you have no idea who I am.
• You can find the Chris Crawford article I refer to, “Sixty,” here.
• If you can bear it, you can listen to my infamous (?) drunken appearance on the Listen UP podcast here (you’re going to have to scroll down to Listen UP: 04/3/2009, or find my name, misspelt with two Ts as usual.)
• All forum comments taken from this NeoGAF thread, because it was passed along to me by a friend (though I won’t pretend I don’t obsessively google myself like everyone else, because I do, I just spell my name correctly when I do it.)
• I’m still not a voice in Sword and Sworcery.
• You can find the Joel Johnson article I refer to, “You Write ‘Bias Journalism’ and I Read ‘Derp’” here (trusting I get a Gawker link to work, they always bump me back to the front page.) My summary of it is awkward and my point is not really the post itself, but how applauded it was by others.
• I’m not going to tell you what blog I dissect, but you’re all smart people.
• Probably the most memorable (and most stand-uppy) bit of the talk is the “shitty house” metaphor, and one bit of that I feel that leaves me open to criticism is that while, yes, with exp. I am trying to clean off a small square of the house for myself, for money I have–and will almost certainly continue to–shit on the house along with everyone else. Even the people who are shitting on the house for peanuts (err…) are just trying to make a living. My problem is the people in positions of power, who see no reason to do anything other than shit everywhere.
• The reference to Podgamer is, sadly, outdated now; Stuart Campbell and Jonathan Nash fell out, broke apart, and now the site is a shadow of its former self.
• You can view Brandon Boyer’s talk on “snark” as part of the Indie Gamemaker Rant at the GDC Vault, and he talks about it here.
• I keep telling people it wasn’t a standing ovation because only some people stood up, but I don’t know if that comes across as false modesty. It probably counts. It was great. I felt like Robin Williams at the end of Dead Poets Society… or something.
• I think if I was to do this talk again to reflect the current climate, it would (probably) be a lot less positive. Dickwolves and misogynistic abuse over Twitter have taken their toll.
• Ultimately, I know that there is nothing new under the sun, my points have been made before (and certainly better) and were at times were facile. However, for an emotive session of just one man’s views pulled together at the last minute (and for the time) I think I did OK. Take my message to heart and be gentle in the comments, if you choose to have anything to say at all!

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: Sold Out

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:

Stargate, p. 45
Gorf, p. 48
Ultima I, p. 48
The Hobbit, p. 50
Xevious, p. 57
Boulder Dash, p. 75
Knight Lore, p. 84
RebelStar, p. 120
Defender of the Crown, p. 124
Super Hang-On, p. 133
Xybots, p. 152
Laser Squad, p. 158
The New Zealand Story, p. 163
Exile, p. 164
Final Fight, p. 170
Pang, p. 172

Stunt Car Racer, p. 176
Out Zone, p. 186
Raiden, p. 194
Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon, p. 196
Mega Lo Mania, p. 207
NHL Hockey, p. 210
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, p. 222
The Lost Vikings, p. 225
Street Fighter II Tubo: Hyper Fighting, p. 230
Plok, p. 246
Samurai Shodown II, p. 265
King of Fighters ’94, p. 273
BioForge, p. 279
Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, p. 336
The Last Express, p. 343
Interstate ’76, p. 348
Street Fighter Alpha 3, p. 368

SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter’s Clash, p. 399
Team Fortress Classic, p. 414
Perfect Dark, p. 418
Return to Castle Wolfenstein, p. 457
Uplink, p. 474
Grow, p. 504
Astro Boy: Omega Factor, p. 522
NBA Street Vol. 2, p. 533
Torus Trooper, p. 592
Rogue Galaxy, p. 633
Rebelstar: Tactical Command, p. 638
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, p. 681
Flywrench, p. 720
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, p. 742
Retro Game Challenge, p. 745
Saints Row 2, p. 817
Art Style: Intersect, p. 840
Flight Control, p. 866

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, p. 880
The Sims 3, p. 912
Torchlight, p. 925
Bioshock 2, p. 943
Army of Two: The 40th Day, p. 944

Some notes:
- If you find any of the selection odd, I was brought on after the majority of the games had been curated, and generally selected which games I thought I could write intelligently about. I think each of my pieces argues fairly well for the title’s inclusion.
- There are literally hundreds more games I wish I could have written about. It thrills me to have written about titles like Retro Game Challenge and SNK vs. Capcom: Cardfighter’s Clash in an actual book that actual people will actually buy, but while reading it jealousy seeps in–argh! Brandon Boyer got to write about Chibi-Robo! Gnngh! Simon Parkin bagged Faselei!
- I managed to write about games from every decade except the seventies.

1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die is a book edited by Tony Mott and published by Universe Publishing. It is available at retail in all good book stores, and online from stores including Amazon (.com, .ca, and .co.uk).

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.