Our Favorite Websites: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Rock, Paper, Shotgun is my favorite website for reading about computer/video games.

It's a small site, run by just a handful of guys.  And what they do is written reviews of computer games.  They don't give out ratings and awards, and they don't have fancy multimedia stuff.

Explaining what makes Rock, Paper, Shotgun so great requires a bit of a exposition..

I have learned something about myself -- I don't really *ENJOY* playing computer/video games.  I used to as a young kid and I do sometimes still play them, but mostly when I do, one of two things happen.  Most often, I just don't enjoy it -- I just don't have the patience.  Occasionally I'll find a game that really captures me (Mafia2 for example).

However, while I don't actually enjoy playing video games much, I find I am fascinated by reading about them.

There are lots of reasons for this.  From a programmer's perspective, video games in many ways are the apex of pure coding challenges.  We're also at an amazing time where robust simulation is becoming a part of the core of game design, and where simulations are more and more treading on what was previously the domain of AI and Artificial Life research.  And it's becoming increasingly clear that video games can be genuine master works of fiction and art.

Which brings us back to the Rock, Paper, Shotgun website.

No other website does as good a job of writing so regularly and satisfyingly about the joys and failures and potential of computer games (large and independent).

It's a bit hard to explain, but Rock, Paper, Shotgun is a reminder that some people just write well (and differently).  And that when you read reviews from people who have broader interests in the genre, you get insights that you don't get on a normal game review site.

It makes all the difference in the world if you are interested in reading game reviews not (just) to decide if you want to play it, but for the love of the idea of computer games and what they are capable of.

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the Rock, Paper, Shotgun website, click: here.