 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2020) |
 | |
 Issue 9, the first redesigned Kill Screen issue after a successfulKickstarter campaign | |
| Categories | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founder |
|
| Founded | 2009; 16 years ago (2009) |
| First issue | March 2010; 15 years ago (2010-03) |
| Final issue | 2016; 9 years ago (2016) (print) |
| Company | Kill Screen Media, Inc. |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | New York City |
| Language | English |
| Website | killscreen |
| OCLC | 892699658 |
Kill Screen[1] is anonline magazine founded in 2009 byJamin Warren and Chris Dahlen and owned by Kill Screen Media, Inc. It focused onvideo games andculture, but also included articles based onentertainment. The name is based on thevideo game term of the same name.
In 2009, both Warren and Dahlen were former writers forPitchfork when they decided to found the magazine. After a successfulKickstarter campaign to fund the magazine, the first issue was released in March 2010. After partnerships withPitchfork, StoryCode andFilm Society of Lincoln Center, the magazine eventually founded an annual video game conference, two5six, in 2013. The magazine's website did a redesign in January 2014 and the print magazine itself was redesigned and overhauled after a second successful Kickstarter campaign in November 2015. In 2016, two5six's name was changed toKill Screen Festival.
From 2009 to 2016, it was also published in print. After 2016,Kill Screen ceased publication, and its website went defunct around the same time. The site was relaunched in 2020 with a new editorial approach.
Kill Screen was a print and online magazine that specialized in literaryvideo games journalism. The magazine originally planned to publishthink pieces rather thanbreaking news.[2]PSFK described the magazine's demographic as "25–34-year-old wealthy, urban, culturally elite males".[3] Some of the magazine's authors had previously written forThe New Yorker,GQ,Los Angeles Times,The Onion andThe Daily Show.
The magazine was founded byJamin Warren and Chris Dahlen,[2] who both wrote forPitchfork (Pitchfork partnered with Kill Screen in 2011 to republish some articles on their website[4]). In a discussion at the March 2009Game Developers Conference, the two discussed the lack of "high-end, intellectual" magazines about video games and non-blog writers in the style ofTom Wolfe andChuck Klosterman. Brophy-Warren and Dahlen decided to startKill Screen.[3] They sought for the magazine to mirror whatRolling Stone andWired established in their respective industries.[5] Anthony Smyrski ofSwindle served as the magazine's creative director. The magazine's authors had previously written forThe New Yorker,GQ,Los Angeles Times,The Onion, andThe Daily Show. The magazine was originallycrowdfunded throughKickstarter[2] in late 2009.[3] The print magazine was redesigned in 2015.[6][7]
Kill Screen Festival, formerly known as two5six, was an annual game developers conference organized by Warren from 2013 to 2016. The conference was announced on 20 March 2013 onVimeo, which was filmed atThe Invisible Dog Art Center. Within the 2015 two5six festival,Kill Screen introduced Game Academy, an event workshop where participants who had little-to-no knowledge of code could learn.Intel sponsored some workshops and provided "game scholars", those experienced in programming. It also expanded to include a film festival, effectively making the festival two days longer.[8][9]
The New Yorker praisedKill Screen for its intuitiveness and described it as "theMcSweeney's of interactive media".[10] PSFK calledKill Screen a "novel and elegant twist on modern publishing" with the feel ofMonocle and impressive design and writers, and compared it as "Rolling Stone was torock'n'roll or whatWired was to tech".[3]Time compared the magazine toSalon, but for video games and rated it among the best magazines/blogs of 2011 and praised their review ofL.A. Noire, stating that it could help legitimize the video games medium.[5]Ars Technica praised the magazine's layout and composition for its price, stating that "the dives are deeper, the writing is thoughtful, and the presentation and custom art for each story makes the experience of reading these stories about our hobby a sensual experience."[11]Engadget stated the magazine avoiding "the mechanical nitty-gritty that plagues game writing."[12]