Lewis Packwood
@lewispackwood
Features Editor for GamesIndustry.biz. Author of Curious Video Game Machines and The Art of Still Wakes the Deep. Previously freelancer for The Guardian, Edge, Retro Gamer, etc. Portfolio:
Reminder that Curious Video Game Machines is just £14 at the moment, the cheapest it's ever been! Plus there are loads of other great gaming books for not much money in the Pen & Sword summer sale :) www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Curious-Vide...
There were some amazing scenes earlier today when @mikerose.bsky.social and @ramiismail.com played “game pitching DnD”. I have never laughed so hard in a Develop talk.
This is immediately making me think of Namco's much missed Wonder Eggs theme park. Would Capcom ever be able to top its arch rival in the theme park naming stakes? Might as well give up now. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_...
A Monday morning reminder - Curious Video Game Machines is currently 50% off for a short while on the publisher's website. I guarantee you will learn something about gaming that you never knew before if you read this book. www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Curious-Vide...
I think the most remarkable thing about RV There Yet? isn't that it has sold an estimated 7 million units or so (although that IS remarkable), but that the developers are fully prepared to leave it all behind and move on to something new. You don't see that every day.
I am utterly thrilled to announce that @gibiz.bsky.social won Media Brand of the Year at the MCV Develop Awards last night, against some super strong competition. We have worked incredibly hard on the site over the past year, so this feels like a real vindication of all that hard work!
I had a big old chat with Jenova Chen in honour of Thatgamecompany’s 20th birthday. This bit about Valve really tickled me. If only they’d been happy to let the guns go, Thatgamecompany could have been indelibly associated with Steam instead of PlayStation
I was recently given this one as tow-in merch for the game Shutter Story - very neat. It’s full of slightly creepy family photos. store.steampowered.com/app/3798860/...
Is your dad a mega-nerd? Does he want to know how barcodes work? Or learn about VHS-based consoles? What about open-source computers from the former republic of Yugoslavia? If the answer is YES to the above, then boy have I got the Father's Day present for you. Curious Video Game Machines!
Adrian Chiles is taking no prisoners. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I also wrote this but about Capcom’s fantastic Steel Battalion controller, which I still can’t believe they made. Fun times.
My author copy of Joysticks to Haptics from @lostincult.co.uk has arrived! I wrote the chapter on Atari controllers - and the stuff about Amiga making a balance board for the Atari VCS is WILD.
I jotted down a few observations from Nordic Game in this opinion piece for @gibiz.bsky.social. The below quote from Emmanuel Rosier really stuck out though. Where do games go next? www.gamesindustry.biz/nordic-game-...
I jotted down a few thoughts on A Maze Berlin, where Godot was the talk of the town. A few gaming highlights: - Dome-King Cabbage from @cobysoftco.bsky.social - Name of the Will from @zeitgeiststudio.net - Tom the Postgirl from @oopsiedaisiesch.bsky.social - Phonopolis from @amanita-design.net
I wrote the essay and Q+A booklet for the beautiful @lostincult.co.uk EDITIONS version of Thank Goodness You’re Here - featuring a cheeky cameo from @danthat.bsky.social :)
I'll be at A MAZE Berlin next week on May 13 and 14, and I would love to meet up to hear about what you're working on/gossip idly. Drop me a line at lewis dot packwood at gamesindustry dot biz.
The queue to meet David Wise at Gamescom Latam was massive. Clearly plenty of Rare fans in today!
I saw The Magic Faraway Tree today - what an utterly charming film. Absolutely loved it. Saucepan Man FTW.
I had a lovely time at the @gamerepublic.bsky.social Dark and Doomy night. John and Brenda Romero are an utter delight, and The Dark Room was an absolute hoot. Plus the selection of Doom-inspired games to play was a great idea (Alien Breed 3D brought back a lot of memories). Well done, everyone.
All this talk of Project Helix being a console that plays PC games (or is it a PC that plays console games?) has made me think we've been here before...
This story from Peter Moore in the latest @thegamebusiness.com newsletter immediately made me think of @backpagepod.bsky.social and their ongoing fascination with Yuji Naka :)
My fancy new GamesIndustry.biz business cards arrived. Coming to an event near you, soon.
Our cat Totoro has taken to sitting on the armchair like this. The ultimate lounge cat.
First time making some hot cross buns. I’m considering this a practice run for Easter. 🐣