The Escapist (magazine)

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The Escapist
The Escapist Magazine Issue 1.jpg
Cover for The Escapist's first issue: "Gaming Uber Alles"
URL escapistmagazine.com
Type of site Video game website
Available language(s) English
Owner Themis Group
Created by Themis Group
Launched July 12, 2005

The Escapist (typeset as 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.[1] The Escapist was first published on July 12, 2005.[2] 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.[3] Each issue addresses a particular theme related to gaming culture.

Contents

[edit] History

The premier issue featured pieces from well-known gaming-community authors including Jerry Holkins (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.[4] The editor, Julianne Greer had not been involved in the gaming industry before The Escapist, and had a background in marketing and new media.[5] According to Themis, by late 2006 the website had 150,000 monthly readers.[5] 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".[4]

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.[6] 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.[7]

[edit] 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.

[edit] Current


[edit] Past

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] 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 2008 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.[citation needed] There was also significant controversy over the 2011 result, considering winner Mojang AB hadn't officially released a game as of March 2011.[citation needed]

[edit] Results

Year Winner Runner-up
2011 Mojang AB BioWare
2010 Valve BioWare
2009 Turbine BioWare
2008 Turbine Harmonix

[edit] Dispute with James Portnow and Daniel Floyd

Around the end of July 2011, there was a dispute between The Escapist and the team that provided content for the show Extra Credits. The dispute was over what the remains of a charity that was to pay for Extra Credits artist Allison Theus's surgery should be used on. James Portnow from Extra Credits planned to create a game publishing label with the money, where the revenue would go directly into funding subsequent projects.[8] The Escapist stated the money should have been used to create more episodes of Extra Credits for The Escapist and to compensate Themis Media for donation incentives, such as premium memberships and T-shirts.[9] As a result, Extra Credits broke ties with The Escapist, and the show has since aired on Penny Arcade.[10]

[edit] Awards

In May 2008, The Escapist won the Webby Award and 2008 People's Choice Award for Best Video-Game Related Website. The Escapist also won this award in 2009 after a protracted voting battle between the members of The Escapist and the website Gamespot. In 2011 The Escapist again won three Webby Awards: Best Games-Related Website, People's Voice Best Games-Related Website and People's Voice Best Lifestyle Website.[11][12][13][14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Julianne Greer (June 30, 2009). "Editor's Note: Canadian Makin'". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/editors_note/6217-Editors-Note-Canadian-Makin. Retrieved 2009-12-29. 
  2. ^ Themis Group (July 12, 2005). "Themis Group Launches The Escapist". gamesindustry.biz. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10085. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
  3. ^ "The Escapist Escapes From Pseudo-Print Chains". GameSetWatch/CMP. July 13, 2006. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2006/07/the_escapist_escapes_from_pseu.php. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
  4. ^ a b Dana Massey (May 19, 2006). "Support company thrives as the MMO giant grows". MMORPG.com. http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm?loadFeature=669&bhcp=1. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
  5. ^ a b "Gaming's Top 50 Journalists". Next Generation Magazine. October 17, 2006. http://www.next-gen.biz/features/gamings-top-50-journalists. Retrieved 2006-11-13. 
  6. ^ Julianne Greer (July 9, 2006). "Editor's Note: Pens, Paper and Pretzels". The Escapist (magazine). http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/editors_note/786-Editor-s-Note-Pens-Paper-and-Pretzels. Retrieved 2007-09-28. 
  7. ^ "Zero Punctuation Equals Millions of Views". NewTeeVee. http://newteevee.com/2008/01/24/zero-punctuation-equals-millions-of-views. Retrieved 2008-02-07. 
  8. ^ "Because Games Matter By James Portnow". http://www.rockethub.com/projects/2165-extra-credits/posts/740. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
  9. ^ "A Response on Extra Credits". http://www.facebook.com/notes/alexander-macris/a-response-on-extra-credits/10150287107583910. Retrieved 2011-08-11. 
  10. ^ "Extra Credits on PATV". http://penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits. 
  11. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. 2011-10-28. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12#webby_entry_games_related. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 
  12. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=13#webby_entry_games_related. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 
  13. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. 2011-10-28. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=96&season=15#webby_entry_games_related. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 
  14. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webbyawards.com. 2011-10-28. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=96&season=15#webby_entry_lifestyle. Retrieved 2011-12-24. 

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Adventure Game Studio • The Escapist • Mark Lovegrove
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