ACKS to Grind - Rick Stump

Macris’ ACKS to Grind With Stump

Dear readers: You can help save dark fantasy by backing my epic adventure novel Lord of Fate, now funding on Kickstarter. Video gaming has gotten a lot of attention lately, in large part due to colossal blunders made by industry leaders. It helps that vidya is now the dominant entertainment sector,…
September 12, 20246 Comments
Sony Pain

Sony: The Fall of a Titan?

Note to readers: You can help save dark fantasy by backing my epic adventure novel Lord of Fate, now funding on Kickstarter. Sony has long been a titan in the video game industry, riding high on the success of the PlayStation brand since its inception in the mid-90s. But recently, Sony…
September 11, 202412 Comments
Crash Video Game

Is a Second Video Game Crash on the Horizon?

The video game industry is a multi-billion-dollar juggernaut. It boasts massive profits, blockbuster releases, and a global audience that spans all age groups. Yet, despite its success, concerns are growing about the possibility of a second game market implosion akin to the infamous crash of 1983. While the market today…
August 8, 202413 Comments
Time Machine

We All Have Our Time Machines

Getting my new dark fantasy novel The Burned Book ready for launch is demanding more of my time of late. So here's a blast from the past that didn't get enough love the first time around. Did you know that you own a time machine? As a matter of fact,…
June 19, 20248 Comments
St. Carlo Acutis

Millennial Saint of Gamers

In the latest sign of spiritual renewal in the Catholic Church, the announcement came down yesterday that Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonized. The fifteen-year-old Italian web designer gained acclaim for his cataloging of eucharistic miracles. Now, Pope Francis has officially recognized a second miracle attributed to Acutis' intercession, clearing…
May 24, 20244 Comments
2D 5

How AAA Studios Killed 2D

A recent thread on X by author JD Cowan kicked off a trip down gaming memory lane. In particular, he addressed how AAA studios killed 2D games for a generation. Related: FF7: The 1st Unfinished AAA Game? JD is right. The fifth home video game console generation was when game…
May 22, 202418 Comments
WotC Cynthia Williams

Wizards of the Coast President Resigns

The tabletop role-playing scene was rocked yesterday by news that Wizards of the Coast president Cynthia Williams is stepping down. Wizards of the Coast president Cynthia Williams is leaving the company at the end of the month. An SEC filing disclosed that Cynthia Williams, the president of Wizards of the…
April 18, 202413 Comments
Demoralization

The Pop Cult Demoralization Trap

  For years I've been charting the decline of all pop culture media while urging people to stop consuming content by companies that hate them. Recent days have provided a plethora of case studies illustrating why. Take this exchange on X from just yesterday: Related: Mark Kern – Calling All…
April 17, 20245 Comments
Joker It's Not About the Money

Mark Kern: Calling All Gamers

Get get FREE books and first looks at my exciting new projects monthly! Join my elite neopatrons to read my new dark fantasy novel The Burned Book as I write it! Join on Patreon or SubscribeStar now. Just weeks after helping to kick off what some are now calling GamerGate 2, legendary game dev and CEO…
April 15, 202416 Comments
Retro Stream

Years Ago and in Another Country

A common saying has it that the past is another country. It's taken as a figure of speech, but pay a visit to almost any mid-American shopping mall these days, and the prevailing vibe resembles an archaeological site. What was the hub of American commerce in the previous era is…
March 21, 20247 Comments