[lock-on] Journal 001 - Review

The [lock-on] project was a dream given form. It's goal, to provide long form content and bespoke artwork, to prove that videogames are more than just an entertainment medium, to demonstrate that videogames are art. One hundred and fifty-four pages, featuring work from dozens of writers and artists, wrapped up in a high quality hardback cover. This is a review of a new videogames journal. The year is 2021, the name of the tome: [lock-on].

Volume one with custom obi strip.

I apologise. To J.M. Straczynski for ripping off his Babylon 5 opening monologue and to you, gentle reader, for really reaching with that intro. I'm sorry.

Anyhoo, here is [lock-on], a videogaming periodical from Lost in Cult, a new indie publishing company that aims to provide premium content for fans of videogames. Launched via a Kickstarter campaign that raised £16,567 from a requested £13,000 in April, the publishers have certainly achieved their original goal in getting the first volume of their new journal out to backers, and gone further by setting up a new funding stream to support the journal and grow the readership. More on that later.

As a backer of the physical hardback edition, I was interested to see what would arrive. When it did (two days early compared to the expected date, which was a pleasant surprise), it was wrapped in bubble wrap, along with an A3 poster, four artwork postcards, a little sticker and a review booklet. Everything was supported by a piece of card and the black, padded envelope topped off the package. 

The extras are of high quality and the poster, along with the artwork cards, beg to be framed and put on the wall. As for the journal itself, the cover is nice and sturdy, and shows off the artwork brilliantly. The pages are of good stock but not glossy, and I think that suits the journal very well. 

The existential reason for this journal are the articles, and after a good intro from Digital Foundry's John Linneman, there are 32 commissioned articles plus four pieces from backers of the campaign, all linked to the core topic of this volume, Sony's PlayStation. I'm not going to list all of the articles or authors, you see those in the picture below, but what I will say is that there is a lovely variety of topics: from retrospectives on specific titles, to the approach to accessibility in videogames; from a personal reflection of growing up with Sony's consoles from day one, to how the PlayStation 2 rocked the Indian videogames market; from a run through of Housemarque's best games, to an interview with Limited Run Games - there is a breadth of topics that make this volume a joy to read. 

Contents page.

What really lifts [lock-on] is the presentation. Each piece has a different art style and layout - some make good use of blank space to reinforce the text, others are side on, so you have to turn the book 90 degrees. Fonts, layout and tone are individual to each author and artist, highlighting how unique each piece is. You get a good feel for each author's style and there is a definite love of all things PlayStation here. I especially liked the Kickstarter backer's entries, and I hope they will be a feature in future volumes, but having said that, there isn't a wasted word in here from any contributor. However...

The review booklet.

Now don't hate me... yet. Finish the paragraph before collecting your assigned pitchforks and flaming torches and joining the queue for the Megabus (other methods of mass transport are available) to Durham. [lock-on] is not 100 percent perfect - the article on Silent Hill will be a troublesome read unless you are in good reading light (red text on a black background is a design choice but my tired and aged eyes didn't like it), and it rams "Bills, Bills, Bills" in to your head with all of the subtlety of a pneumatic drill, but that's the only, teensy minor issue I can raise. If I scored my reviews out of one hundred, [lock-on] would lose a couple of marks for the text decision and a good thirty or forty for the half hour it took to get that bloody song out of my head... Oh, fudge, it's back again! Curse you, Dickinson!

That minor quibble aside, I can find no further fault. Lost in Cult have delivered gloriously on their promise and have a second volume planned for a Kickstarter campaign launching 17th August. This could be an expensive month, what with this, Ninty Fresh and E1M1 starting to hint at another batch of issues, but I am not complaining. Indeed, it's exciting and reassuring that such varied videogames-centric publications are continuing to thrive. 

As for Lost in Cult, well, they have another source of funding as well. There is a membership drive via Steady, where from £2.50 to £10 per month (if billed annually), £3 to £12 (if billed monthly), you can support the team and gain access to podcasts, Discord, exclusive articles and even a digital copy of the journal, subscription amount dependent. The intention is to widen the community around [lock-on] as well as ensure content creators get paid for their work. You can check out the various tiers and options here.

Back to the journal itself and if this is something that appeals to you, you can buy a digital copy for £18 or a softback copy for £20 -  the hardback is now sold out. Any purchases of these in August will also result in a 15% donation from the price you pay going to safeinourworld.org, a charity aimed at supporting mental health in the videogames world. A worthy cause that will cost you nothing extra to support.

Will I be buying the second volume? Yes. [lock-on] fills a niche and it does so gloriously with style and verve. This is a premium journal and one that, based on the first volume, is worthy of support. 

You can find out more about [lock-on] via their website here, where you can check out snippets of volume one, preview info for volume two and see details of their Steady membership.