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The Escapist (magazine)
Encyclopedia
The Escapist is an online magazine
covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first published on July 12, 2005. The Escapist runs weekly with a main edition published on Tuesday; originally, a weekend extra edition was published on Friday but has been since discontinued. Each issue addresses a particular theme related to gaming culture.
(a.k.a. Tycho Brahe), Kieron Gillen
, and John Tynes
. Following issues included work by Tom Chick
, Allen Varney
, Jim Rossignol
and other top writers from in and outside the game industry, including a four-part piece by leading game designer Warren Spector
. The editor, Julianne Greer had not been involved in the gaming industry before The Escapist, and had a background in marketing and new media. According to Themis, by late 2006 the website had 150,000 monthly readers. The website MMORPG.com noted that the webzine had become the "flagship brand" for Themis, which runs other websites and ventures related to the gaming industry, with the reputation of "a widely read and highly respected form of game journalism" and "paying writers top dollar".
On July 9, 2007 the site relaunched with a completely new design, which also saw the end of the weekly PDF issues and a shift in layout to one more similar to other websites. Although the weekly topic and publish schedule was retained, new regular content additions included more game reviews, editorial articles, conference coverage, and a relaunch of Shoot Club by Tom Chick
. The only notable new feature added was Zero Punctuation
, weekly animated video reviews that led to a four-fold increase in the Escapist's traffic.
and takes the form of a series of opinion polls, split into four divisions (North, South, East and West) each consisting of 16 developers. In each round, developers are eliminated down to two, who then compete in the grand final.
The event has been criticised by many site members due to the site's policy of allowing developers to advertise on their own websites and games in order to gain votes. Further criticism ensued in 2010
when Zynga
was permitted to enter the competition despite multiple controversies surrounding the business practices of the company and debates whether Facebook applications
could be considered games. There was also significant controversy over the 2011 result, considering winner Mojang AB
have still not released a completed game.
Online magazine
An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...
covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first published on July 12, 2005. The Escapist runs weekly with a main edition published on Tuesday; originally, a weekend extra edition was published on Friday but has been since discontinued. Each issue addresses a particular theme related to gaming culture.
History
The premier issue featured pieces from well-known gaming-community authors including Jerry HolkinsJerry Holkins
Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins né Parkinson is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals...
(a.k.a. Tycho Brahe), Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen
Kieron Gillen is a British computer games and music journalist, as well as a comic book author. Gillen has worked for many years as a video game journalist and has, more recently, worked on various comics. He is perhaps best known for his creator-owned comic Phonogram, created with artist Jamie...
, and John Tynes
John tynes
John Tynes is a writer best known for his work on role-playing games such as Unknown Armies, Delta Green, Puppetland, and for his company Tynes Cowan Corporation. Under its imprint Pagan Publishing, Tynes Cowan Corp...
. Following issues included work by Tom Chick
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick is an American television and movie actor, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game...
, Allen Varney
Allen Varney
Allen Varney is an American writer and game designer born in St. Louis, Missouri. He has a dual B.A. in English and History from the University of Nevada, Reno....
, Jim Rossignol
Jim Rossignol
Jim Rossignol is a British computer games journalist and critic, as well as an author.-Journalism:Rossignol started his career a reporter on a finance newsletter. He says he was fired from the job due to obsession with a video game...
and other top writers from in and outside the game industry, including a four-part piece by leading game designer Warren Spector
Warren Spector
Warren Spector is a role-playing game designer and a video game designer. He is known for having worked to merge elements of role-playing games and first-person shooters. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, fantasy writer Caroline L. Spector...
. The editor, Julianne Greer had not been involved in the gaming industry before The Escapist, and had a background in marketing and new media. According to Themis, by late 2006 the website had 150,000 monthly readers. The website MMORPG.com noted that the webzine had become the "flagship brand" for Themis, which runs other websites and ventures related to the gaming industry, with the reputation of "a widely read and highly respected form of game journalism" and "paying writers top dollar".
On July 9, 2007 the site relaunched with a completely new design, which also saw the end of the weekly PDF issues and a shift in layout to one more similar to other websites. Although the weekly topic and publish schedule was retained, new regular content additions included more game reviews, editorial articles, conference coverage, and a relaunch of Shoot Club by Tom Chick
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick is an American television and movie actor, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game...
. The only notable new feature added was Zero Punctuation
Zero Punctuation
Zero Punctuation is an ongoing video game review series created by comedy writer and video game journalist Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw and published by the online magazine The Escapist.-Background:...
, weekly animated video reviews that led to a four-fold increase in the Escapist's traffic.
Hosted content
The Escapist hosts a number of ongoing video series and webcomics, most of which pertain to videogames, although they have expanded to other aspects of geek culture.Current
- Anthony Saves the World
- Big Picture with MovieBob
- Critical Miss
- Escape to the Movies with MovieBob
- LoadingReadyRunLoadingReadyRunLoadingReadyRun, often abbreviated to LRR, is a Canadian sketch comedy website, based in Victoria, British Columbia, founded by Graham Stark and Paul Saunders...
- Name Game
- Tales from the Table
- Zero PunctuationZero PunctuationZero Punctuation is an ongoing video game review series created by comedy writer and video game journalist Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw and published by the online magazine The Escapist.-Background:...
- Unskippable
- The Jimquisition
- Pro Gamer Gauntlet
- The Miracle of Sound
- Drinking Games
- No Right Answer
- Feed Dump
Past
- A Good Knight's Quest
- Apocalypse Lane
- A World of Her PWNA World of Her PWNA World of Her PWN is an episodic internet series featured on Escapist Magazine. Created by Douglas MacKrell and Samantha Mason, the story revolves around the character Samantha Baker, a journalist for the fictional online gaming magazine, Isometric View...
- Daily Drop
- de-rez
- Doomsday Arcade
- Doraleous & Associates
- Drawn By PainDrawn By PainDrawn By Pain is a 12-part episodic internet series. It is about the spiral into one woman’s search for salvation as her animated madness fights for her sanity in the real world.-Plot/Summary:...
- Escapist News Network
- Extra CreditsExtra CreditsExtra Credits is an ongoing webseries presented by James Portnow, Daniel Floyd, and Allison Theus. The series of videos discuss issues pertinent to video games and game studies, particularly: discussing issues concerning the development of videos games, addressing the legitimacy of video games as...
- Game Dogs
- I Hit It With My Axe
- Kung Fu Grip
- Rebecca Mayes Muses
- Show About Game Shows
- Stolen Pixels
- There Will Be Brawl
- Top 5 with Lisa FoilesLisa FoilesLisa Renee Foiles is an American actress and video game journalist. Foiles has appeared on Seasons 7-10 on the popular Nickelodeon series All That. She and three other cast members were the only members to last through Seasons 7-10...
- Unforgotten Realms
- Videogame Theater
- Creature Caster Master
March Mayhem: Developer's Showdown
March Mayhem: Developer's Showdown (commonly referred to as March Mayhem or simply MM) is an annual event hosted by The Escapist to determine the most popular video game developer in the industry. The event was first introduced in 20082008 in video gaming
Notable events of 2008 in video gaming. See also history of video games. The release dates listed in this article are the games' original release dates.-Events:...
and takes the form of a series of opinion polls, split into four divisions (North, South, East and West) each consisting of 16 developers. In each round, developers are eliminated down to two, who then compete in the grand final.
The event has been criticised by many site members due to the site's policy of allowing developers to advertise on their own websites and games in order to gain votes. Further criticism ensued in 2010
2010 in video gaming
The year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America....
when Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
was permitted to enter the competition despite multiple controversies surrounding the business practices of the company and debates whether Facebook applications
Facebook Platform
The Facebook Platform provides a set of APIs and tools which enable third-party developers to integrate with the "open graph" — whether through applications on Facebook.com or external websites and devices...
could be considered games. There was also significant controversy over the 2011 result, considering winner Mojang AB
Mojang AB
Mojang AB is a Swedish independent video game developer founded in May 2009 under the name Mojang Specifications by Markus Persson...
have still not released a completed game.
Results
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Mojang AB Mojang AB Mojang AB is a Swedish independent video game developer founded in May 2009 under the name Mojang Specifications by Markus Persson... |
BioWare BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts... |
| 2010 2010 in video gaming The year 2010 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games, including several new titles.-Events:-Game releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2010 in North America.... |
Valve Valve Corporation Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States... |
BioWare BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts... |
| 2009 2009 in video gaming The year 2009 saw the release of many video games, including several sequels.-Events:-Scheduled releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2009 in North America.... |
Turbine Turbine, Inc. Turbine, Inc. is an American computer game developer that pioneers 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing games . Turbine was founded by Johnny Monsarrat, Jeremy Gaffney, Kevin Langevin, and Timothy Miller, changing their company name in 2005 to Turbine, Inc... |
BioWare BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts... |
| 2008 2008 in video gaming Notable events of 2008 in video gaming. See also history of video games. The release dates listed in this article are the games' original release dates.-Events:... |
Turbine Turbine, Inc. Turbine, Inc. is an American computer game developer that pioneers 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing games . Turbine was founded by Johnny Monsarrat, Jeremy Gaffney, Kevin Langevin, and Timothy Miller, changing their company name in 2005 to Turbine, Inc... |
Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems Harmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States... |