Pixel Bison Issue 2

After a short delay caused by quality control issues with the printing, the latest issue of Pixel Bison arrived yesterday morning. The delay itself was minor but what was really appreciated was the Twitter update by the editor detailing why the delay had occurred and what options people had to deal with it. This clarity of communication was a nice touch.

Anyway, back to the magazine and here it is in all of its glory, alongside the included A4 poster:

As you can see, the cover is taken up by the indie title Nina Aquila: Legal Eagle Chapter II. This gets not only a review but also a three page interview with the games' creator, Ethan Fox. Both are well worth reading and if the idea of an anime styled graphical adventure where you play a defence attorney is appealing, then the first chapter can be found here for free (it's playable in a web browser). Chapter II is also available here for the sum of $2.99 (you can pay more if you wish), with a third chapter due in the autumn. 

The series of interviews with former Lionhead staff continues with a four page chat with Charles Griffiths and sheds further light on what it was like to work for such a well known developer, as well as working in the games industry as a whole. There is also an interview with Tatiana Delgado, co-founder of Out of the Blue Games. This I particularly liked as their forthcoming release, Call of the Sea, was a highlight from May's Inside X-Box show - a 1930's set first person puzzle adventure game. I've been playing a few similar titles recently (Deliver Us The Moon, The Talos Principle and Close to the Sun being three stand outs this year) and I like the style of this one. This interview gets four pages, one of which is artwork from the game. The final interview is with Ryan Brown of Super Rare Games. If you're not familiar with this publisher, they release limited run physical editions of games for the Nintendo Switch, and when I say limited, we're talking in the low thousands at best. Why? Because in the age of digital downloads, there are many who still want to collect physical games (I see no issue here - I bought the Evercade with an eye for collecting, as well as playing, the games). All of these interviews are well written and, in my humble opinion, are nearly worth the price of the magazine alone.

But there is more, of course.

Previews this month are for Chestnut Grove and Atomicrops, the former a short puzzle game with a very contemporary theme, the latter a farming simulator with a suitably nuclear twist. Both sound intriguing. 

The only review is that of NALE II as noted above, but you get three pages, half a dozen lovely screenshots and then, in a well placed move, a full page advert for Chapter III following straight after the review. There is also another advert for Chapter III on the back cover. This brings me neatly to the subject of adverts.

I was asked by a friend how many adverts there are in the mag, as they were thinking of giving it a try but didn't want to pay for something that was mostly adverts and little other content. Well, let me put their, and your, mind at rest - there are a total of three pages of adverts in this issue of Pixel Bison - the aforementioned full page for NALE Chapter III, a full page for Long Ago, a soon to be released puzzle title, and a split page - two quarters for the magazine and subscriptions, then a half page for a novel. That doesn't count the back cover ad, but then that's what the back cover is for. So no, there are not many ads in here at all - it's almost all content. 

The news section is pretty much taken up by the announced titles from Sony's PS5 event in June - seven pages briefly covering all of the games announced. Some interesting titles there and a handy little guide for future reference. There is also a page of publisher news where three new titles get an airing.

Finally, we get to the Retro section, with a five page retrospective on Star Trek: Birth of the Federation - a 1999 strategy title that I remember rather well. Reading this brought back some good memories of this title from way back when and I'd like to see more in depth pieces like this in future. A two page chat with Chris Griffin, founder of the YouTube channel Retrojunk Review leads nicely to what promises to be a lovely idea where the editor picks a couple of titles from his game collection and discusses them (possibly with interviews). That, I'd like to see take off.

So, overall, another excellent issue that more than maintains the level of quality set by the first. If you've been on the fence about Pixel Bison then give it a go. Check out Pixelbison.com, where you can buy single physical issues for £4.99 or get a digital copy for just £3 per issue. If you like what you see, then there are subscriptions available here. Roll on issue three!!!

Pixel Bison - a new gaming magazine

This, gentle reader, is Pixel Bison. Written and published by Andrew McMaster, Pixel Bison is a new monthly magazine that aims to cover the vibrant Indie games scene, with a dash of AAA and retro gaming for good measure.

You may be wondering why bother, as hadn't magazines died a death because of the Internet??? Well, no, not quite. True, we're nowhere near the heady days of Amiga Format boasting sales of 200k a month plus, but there are still some gaming and gaming related magazines out there: Edge, Wireframe and Retrogamer spring to mind. Even the niche hobby of historical wargaming supports three titles, so there is a demand for paper based mags. And it is a niche that Pixel Gamer is aiming for, with the aforementioned focus on Indie gaming. You won't find this in any newsagents though, only on the Pixel Bison website, where the first issue can be purchased now and subscriptions are available.

An A5 publication, there are 44 pages including front and back covers and only a modicum of advertising. At a cost of £4.99 plus postage, this isn't a cheap publication, but then the quality that money buys is evident as soon as you pick it up. The cover is glossy and thick, high grade paper has been used for the pages and everything has a sheen. Money was not skimped on the publishing, nor, incidentally, on the binding. This has been printed as a keeper, not something you'd put into the recycling when finished with. If you prefer a digital only copy, then that will set you back £3.00.

I won't list the contents - you see what's in the mag from the excellent cover. Inside, the articles are well written and informative, photographs and screen shots are superb and space isn't wasted, which is always a nice thing to see. The interviews are varied and noteworthy in the stories they tell, and I am really looking forward to the continuing interviews with former Lionhead staff. In addition, the style used for the previews and reviews is straight forward and personable, demonstrating the author's enjoyment of his task. I have no complaints at all about the content.

In fact, I have no complaints about the magazine. It is something new and a bit different, and I hope it long continues. Indeed, I have purchased a six month subscription (list price £37.99 including postage. 12 months is £69.99). True, mainstream magazines are cheaper, but they don't offer what Pixel Bison does, so I'm happy to pay up.

If you have an interest is videogames then this is a publication I urge you to check out, as having finished the first issue, I highly recommend it.