Fanzine / Magazine Idea - Gauging Interest & Looking For Possible Contributors.

Simon_G

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Fanzine / Magazine Idea - Gauging Interest & Looking For Possible Contributors.

Hi guys,

Long time lurker, dont post much, although I truly appreciate the efforts people go to so that I and many others can benefit.

Anyway, just a quick message, not sure if it is in the right place or not, apologies if not.

Anyway the point of this post is to share an idea I have for an arcade / emulation fan based magazine and decided to sign up here to see if anyone would be interested in helping it come to fruition.

I am building a small bartop for the kids (I want to built a digital pinball cab too at some point) and started trawling through various forums looking for relevant help and advice. It quickly became apparent the information I required was available, but was more often than not scattered all over the net with a wealth of good honest advice buried under masses of "filler" material.

Anyway, what I would have been grateful for and which I am others would appreciate it too no doubt) is a central, well managed location with relevant information pertaining to their newly found hobby, or just their love of arcade / retro gaming in general. Thats not to say that any given website is not good enough, it's simply that its hard to keep relevant information available to those who need it.

A magazine / fanzine / publication allows that information (and other information too) to be stored in a way that is more easily digested, and also allows for better recall when that information is required in the future.

Of course this is not to say that the publication would be newbie centric, far from it, but the information for those new to the scene would be well balanced by articles for the more advanced member too.

If you are building a cab, the chances are that it will be running a frontend, so MAME and other emulators are more than likely to feature on it. Decent setup guides seem to be hard to find (well I have yet to find a decent one in my searches) yet even a rough starting guide with well laid out diagrams, things to look out for etc, all within one easily readable and digestible article would not go amiss, I am sure. Then there is the potential for skinning and other mods that can be added, making the whole experience better. And thats just MAME and its derivatives.

As for console emulation, I appreciate that the emulators themselves change at a rapid pace but seeing as it is IMHO just as important as the games that are being played themselves, some form of recognition has to be considered (even if it is just a direction to an updated guide on the corresponding publication website for example.)

Mrotate, ArcadeVGA, Soft15K....there is a massive amount of potential in just those few things alone for articles, guides and reviews not to mention everything else associated with it. Hardware reviews (new joysticks, buttons, peripherals etc that enter the market can be reviewed) and thats without the games themselves with the addition of console emulation thrown into the mix.

And then there are the games themselves....

Looking at arcade games we have reviews, interviews if possible, walkthroughs, manufacturer / developer look backs....etc. If we add in console games too, the possibilities include...reviews (of old games and new homebrew being released), previews, interviews, walkthroughs, developer look backs, arcade conversions and how they fared (joining the two sections together), peripherals for playing emulated games (like old style joysticks that have been manufactured with USB connectors, flash carts etc)….plenty to write about or cover which is getting little or no coverage elsewhere. I vision it being a more rounded publication offering not only guides and help, but reviews, interviews, articles covering MAME and console emulation.

With the arcade / console sections being closely related, the combination of the two in one publication will work well I feel, as they both compliment each other nicely. This also means much more scope for content and diversity to appeal to a wider audience.

And that is not an exhaustive list either, just what springs to mind, I am sure you could add to it too.

I have a flatplan made up for issue 1 and a few articles already written, but before I continue I am looking to see...

1) If there is any interest in such a publication
2) If anyone would be interested in contributing

Although I would love to see something like this in print, I cannot see how it would be possible given the extortionate cost of printing here in the UK. With this in mind, the publication would initially appear in PDF format, with the idea of including multimedia capabilities down the line (videos of gameplay, audio etc) and maybe even publication on the Apple NewsStand or iBooks somewhere down the line with any profits shared amongst those who contribute. Beer tokens ahoy! A printed version has not been discounted totally, but without robbing the proverbial bank I cannot see how it could be financially viable to begin with.

Anyway, I would love to hear your views especially if you feel you could contribute to something like this.

Thanks in advance.
 
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What you are looking for already exists. In fact, there are multiple threads about it here. What is the point in a stack of pdf files? You'll just have to use a search engine anyway, and you'll still have the exact same problem of not knowing what the appropriate keywords are so your search will be slow and tedious.


These publications always stray away from the technical and into the fluff pieces anyway. Fluff pieces are easier to write and submit so publishers end up with a ton of them.



Something like the pin-wiki would be a great tool for us. In fact, if I had time to create it I would. A centralized location where each aspect of these games is gone over and repairs are expounded upon would be great. We could easily subdivide it by manufacturer and there would be a location for general knowledge on each major component. A Wiki created in this way would be easier to search since you don't need keywords, just a general idea of what you are looking for. Follow the manufacturer tree to the specific era of game and then into the components.
 
An ongoing publication offering reviews, interviews, editorial and guides, relating to the intricacies of emulation in general and the games that can be played through it already exists?

If so care to enlighten me on where I can obtain this magazine / fanzine please?
 
An ongoing publication offering reviews, interviews, editorial and guides, relating to the intricacies of emulation in general and the games that can be played through it already exists?

If so care to enlighten me on where I can obtain this magazine / fanzine please?


Sure, I'll do the search for you since it is so difficult to find...


http://www.retrocademagazine.com

Also, for a more mainstream magazine you might want to try Retro Gamer. Sure, they talk about collecting but almost all of the games they are playing/reviewing are on emulators.

Of course, there are a ton of videos on Youtube as well.
 
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Sure, I'll do the search for you since it is so difficult to find...

I am aware of Retrocade magazine, I have purchased all three issues so far, however it is very distant from what I am proposing, seeing as 33% of it is arcade scores. (OK maybe not issue 3 but the first two were)

As for RetroGamer, its too UK computer centric, has very little in regards to Mame and arcade games, and is finding itself covering current releases and iOS / Android project just to get the advertising money in.

Like I said, the idea I am proposing covers all the things that Retrocade and RG do not, hence why I never mentioned them in the first place.

But thanks for the recommendations all the same.
 
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