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volume 1, issue 40

Today in loonygames:

New!! The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments on the front page!

Livin' With The Sims: theAntiELVIS explores the wild and wacky world that is Will Wright's The Sims, asking the inevitable quesiton, "is The Sims the first step toward a virtual life where everyone is Swedish?"

Pixel Obscura: Josh Vasquez on Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

Real Life: Check out our newest comic strip, Real Life! Updated daily!

User Friendly: Updated daily!

Related Links :

Inside Raven Software: Jason "loonyboi" Bergman's massive history of Raven Software.

T-Shirts: Stylin' loonygames t-shirts from Berda Compugrafix!

Artwork: Hey, dig the artwork on loonygames? We're selling some of the original art.Now featuring original art from Penny Arcade!

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Random Feature :

Put a Little Love in Your Pocket!: Trying to understand Pokemon? Our loony editor got to the bottom of the GameBoy phenomenon.

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From the Mouth of Madness:
Another Busy Week

By Jason "loonyboi" Bergman

What's new this week in loonygames? Ask our loony editor.

orry for the lack of a real column again this week, kids…I've been working overtime on next week's cover story (which is bound to turn some heads) and while I did have a column set to go for this week's issue, I simply wasn't convinced it was ready for prime-time just yet (heck, if I'm going to offend people, I may as well do it right).

Unfortunately, I'm still not on my DSL line, which means another week of erratic updates. Last week I managed to get one on time, with the rest happening on a daily basis, so I'm definitely getting used to this whole modem thing, but it's a pain in the tuchus, and one I'm not likely going to get 100% adapted to anytime soon. I'm told that my DSL line will be installed after the 20th, which means next Monday's issue will likely suffer from a similar fate. Once the line's put in, though, it's back to the regular, wee-hours updates that you've come to know and love in the last year or so.

On that note, I'll leave you with a photograph my sister (the fabulous Stephanie "Bobbi" Bergman) uncovered this past weekend while we were clearing everything out of our parent's house:

Amazing, isn't it? I love this picture…aside from the fact that it proves beyond a doubt that both myself and my sister were completely demented from childhood, it also shows something you don't see too much of anymore: a family gathered around a video game. You have to wonder why that isn't more commonplace these days. My father (the balding guy in the photograph, natch) was actually the one to purchase the system. Sure, he bought it for the kids, but he also did it for himself. I asked around, and you know what? A startlingly large number of my friends have similar memories.

And yet, by the 8-bit generation, for the most part, parents stopped playing games. What happened here? Was there something pure that has been lost as games got more and more complex? Why is it that some people can play Pac-Man all day and all night, and live for Tetris, but refuse to even attempt anything more complicated?

There's definitely something here…and perhaps we should all think a bit about it. Have games gotten too complex?

On that note, I'll leave you to think. Enjoy this week's issue!

Until next time, stay loony!

- Jason "loonyboi" Bergman is the editor-in-chief here at loonygames.

Credits: From the Mouth of Madness logo illustrated by and is © 1999 Dan Zalkus. From the Mouth of Madness is © 1999 Jason Bergman. All other content is © 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, so don't do it...or we'll just forget about you. Let's see how you like it.