From the Mouth of Madness:
Welcome back!

By Jason "loonyboi" Bergman

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

elcome back to loonygames! This is our second issue (in case you missed our first) and I'm more psyched to be doing this than ever before.

It's strange, but when I was working on this site before launch (and this was quite some time) I always figured it would be a success...but believe me when I say this (and my lord I can't believe how terribly cliche' this must sound) I never expected the success we've had.

Let's start with the feedback...I figured we'd get some nice comments from readers, but I never expected the sort of support I recieved from other web-sites out there. Our first week was a success because of the plugs and kind words printed on those pages, and I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped us out.

Whether a nice news bit on us like at PQ, Blue's, Redwood's, sCary's, and others, or the complements we recieved on 3DPortal and HexenWorld, each one of them brought a huge smile to my face. When you spend a long time working on something without being able to tell anyone about it, this sort of thing, no matter how insignificant to most, takes on a whole new meaning. So, thanks, guys. I owe you all a big ol' pint of Guiness.

Okay, now that that's off my chest...let's talk about this week's issue of loonygames. That's what you're here for, isn't it?

We've got a great cover story this issue..."Are You Sick of Games?" by Jeff Solomon, a good friend of mine, and a great writer to boot (and of course, the only man i've ever seen drink a pint of Guiness in 15 seconds). The article tackles a subject that people have known about for what seems like ages...but nobody in the gaming community's actually taken the time to speak out on. So, in true loonygames fashion, Jeff's jumped head first into it, and come back with one terrific read. Hop on over there and check it out...you won't regret it.

Tomorrow brings the next installments of Paul Steed's phenomenally popular "Thinking Outside the Box". It's an even-numbered issue this week, so Paul's written the first in a long series of 3D modelling tutorials for your reading pleasure. Whether you're a seasoned 3DSMax geek, or someone who's just downloaded qME, you'll definitely want to check this out.

Also up tomorrow is the second "Pixel Obscura" by Josh Vasquez. This week, Josh aims his viewfinder at Resident Evil 2, and while that would be a great read by itself, it's even more entertaining since Josh (and myself as well) is a huge fan of zombie movies. His column is facinating regardless of your feelings towards horror films, and for those of us who do...well, it's practically a revelation.

Wednesday presents the debut of Elaine O'Neal's "Birth of a Gamer" column. Elaine's a bit of a novice when it comes to games...actually, she's a complete newbie. What we've done is give her a big ol' stack of games (an incredibly eclectic group, at that) and we're going to sit back and watch as she records her experiences with them. Ideally, this will become the chronicle of someone as she discovers that she truly enjoys playing these games...but we could also be terribly and horribly wrong. We have absolutely no way of knowing...and you know what? It's great to read and try and guess. :)

Also Wednesday, is Rich Wyckoff's "Beaker's Bent". "Beaker's Bent" was spawned off of his editorial from last week, when he discovered how much he enjoyed ranting. If you liked his rant last week on originality, you're sure to love this week's, which focuses on emulators, those things that are either a godsend, or incredibly illegal, depending on who you work for.

Thursday we've got a real treat, and one I feel privileged to run. This Thursday, our "Guest Editorial" is written by none other than Stephen "Blue" Heaslip, webmaster at the site that probably brought many of you here today, Blue's News. I call this a privilige because I've been a fan of Blue's for over two years, but also because it's sort of like i've come full circle with him.

Many people know that I've written for Blue in the past...but did you know just how far back it goes? All the way back to Blue's Quake Rag. I was one of those guys who used to send in news to him back in the day, and when I finally launched my original Quake site (the Quake Sound Editing Page) he gave me my first plug. Later on, i'd start to write controler reviews for him, and even my E3 report from this year...and let's not forget QuakeCast, (which later became Shooters) the weekly Real Audio show I co-host with him. What am I getting at here? Well, what i'm saying, is that while we've always worked together on some level, this is really the first time I've been able to edit something of his...and it's quite a thrill to do so after so much time.

Not to mention the fact, that his editorial marks the first real Blue Rant in almost two years! Considering that at one point the Rants on Blue's Quake Rag were my favorite part of the site, this seemed like a bit of a crime to me...so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

And we've also got a review of Forsaken by yours truly...but hey...let's be honest...you'll be here for Blue. I can accept that...heck, I know i'd be here for that. ;)

Friday brings more pints of lovin'...a review of the Diamond Stealth II G460, a card I'm quite fond of myself...and also a "Community Profile" of Dave "Zoid" Kirsch, another one of those guys "living the dream" as it were, having gone from mod author to working for the company that created his favorite games (that being id Software, if you've been living in a box).

All that, and someone else will win one of those stylin' loonygames t-shirts by Howard Cruse again this week^* (be sure to check out last week's MailBag to read last week's winning letter, if you missed it).

Not bad for a second issue, huh? We're working our butts off to live up to our shameless subtitle ("The Best Damn Gaming Magazine Online") so if you think we're doing a good job (or a lousy one, of that matter) be sure to drop us a line. We appreciate it.

Finally, I'd like to take a moment this week to point out our kickass cover paintings...the one from the first issue was done by Dan Zalkus (the illustrator of the icons for each column, as well), and this week's was by Mike Sanzone. Both can be reached via our "About" page, so drop 'em a line and tell them what you think! These guys are doing some great work for us here, and we appreciate it more than can be expressed in this column. Thanks guys! :)

Until next week...stay loony!

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