Video games
| Video games | |
|---|---|
.svg) Cover logo 1991–1997 |
|
| description | Video games magazine |
| publishing company | Future publishing house |
| First edition | March 27, 1991 (1/1991) |
| attitude | January 2001 (2/2001) |
| Frequency of publication | per month |
| Editor-in-chief | Anatol Locker |
| ISSN (print) | 0946-0985 |
Video Games was a German video game magazine from the 1990s with cross-platform articles and game tests. It limited itself to the console market.
history
The first edition 1/1991 was published on March 27, 1991 by the publisher Markt & Technik ; Back then as a special edition of Power Play , then regularly in an independent form. The first editor-in-chief was Anatol Locker , his deputy was Martin Gaksch and Heinrich Lenhardt occupied the position of the chief editor. In addition to the usual tests, tests of imported games and games for more exotic consoles such as SNK's Neo Geo as well as articles about other novelties and niche areas (3D technology, anime, etc.) were to be highlighted . Game tests for handheld consoles were also an integral part of the magazine.
The video games were not limited to the mere matter of the video games themselves, but also enriched the magazine again and again with anecdotes about its employees and everyday editorial work. The editors also published multi-page articles on the subjects of anime , virtual reality and the beginnings of 3D graphics technology as early as the early 1990s .
The video games were published from the expiring 8-bit age ( NES etc.) to the 16-bit time ( SNES , Mega Drive ) and into the era of the 32-bit consoles ( PlayStation etc.). At the end of the 1990s, the magazine first switched to Weka Holding and finally to Future-Verlag . The last edition hit stores in early January 2001 (edition 2/2001).
Structure and structure
Each edition of the video games followed a specific structure. The first third of the booklet dealt with newly announced games as well as various scene-related happenings (trade fairs, conventions ...). Given this way, special articles (such as the one on the subject of anime ) were also accommodated here.
The middle of each issue was always taken by the rubrics "Tips & Tricks" ( cheats and other gametricks), "Advice & Action" (help with technical questions from readers), as well as "Mail o Mania" (in the early years they were kept in black and white) (Letters to the Editor).
The last third of the magazine finally contained the reviews of the currently published games on the various consoles. The evaluations were made in percentage points by the editorial meeting. The opinion of the test author came into play in a separate section of text, which was also headed with a concise assessment (e.g. “great”, “good”). The “Video Games Classic” award was given from a fun rating of 80% .
Video games also rely heavily and successfully on an almost "buddy" approach to the reader, continually adding pictures of the editors and a number of anecdotes from their editorial and sometimes private everyday life in order to create a stronger "we-feeling" in the community produce.
The video games editors (selection)
The following list represents a selection of the most concise editors in the heyday of the magazine. The other, temporary editors of the magazine included numerous games journalists known at the time , including Heinrich Lenhardt , Anatol Locker , Boris Schneider-Johne , Roland Austinat, Martin Gaksch , Andreas Knauf, Michael Hengst , Julian Eggebrecht and Ingo Zaborowski.
- Ralph "Bronco" Karels
The math student at the time mainly reviewed beat-'em-up games. After the magazine was discontinued, Karels worked as a lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and as a freelancer at Maniac , for which he still writes today.
- Dirk "Döak" Sauer
The Berliner mainly took on the so-called Jump 'n' Runs in the context of the magazine , but also covered other topics. Dirk was also responsible for the “Tips & Tricks” section.
- Tetsuhiko "Tet" Hara
As a German-Japanese native, Tetsuhiko Hara was responsible for Japanese games and anime. As a result, he was usually responsible for testing Japanese imports and establishing contacts with Far Eastern manufacturers. As a part-time job, he also wrote the first German subtitles for official anime film publications. From January 1999, Hara moved to the service of the video game manufacturer Square .
- Manfred "Manni" Neumayer
Named as "the Redaktionsgrufti" in the magazine's own introductory column. As the oldest in the team, he often tended to be skeptical about newer titles in his articles and led a rather sober writing style. Later (from 07/95) he only worked as a producer of the magazine.
- Hartmut "Harti" Ulrich
Ulrich was the editor-in-chief of the magazine during the most popular phase of video games. According to the editors, he was / is a declared shooter & action fan. At times he was also responsible for the "Mail o Mania" section. Ulrich was replaced in his function in February 1997 by Michael Hengst , who had already worked for the “mother magazine” Power Play .
- Jan Barysch / von Schweinitz and Krain, Freiherr zu Kaudern
As a television technician, Barysch was primarily responsible for the technical issues of video games, in addition to writing reviews. He worked in the editorial department until April 1997. Barysch got the name "von Schweinitz und Krain, Freiherr zu Kaudern" through marriage, where he took the name of his wife. After a divorce, Barysch uses his maiden name again.
- Robert "Robzäng" Zengerle
Zengerle was part of the team from the end of 1993 to the beginning of 1998 and in the final phase of his involvement in the project was also the deputy head of the magazine.
- Wolfgang Schaedle
Not really specializing in any genre. The musician and trained chef - in his capacity as a veteran and connoisseur of classic games / consoles - replaced Neumayer, who was retiring as a reviewer.
Stefan Hartmann, the cheat supplier
Stefan Hartmann from Ilvesheim made a name for himself in the VG community by sending in cheats that were above average in the VG category “Tips & Tricks” . Together with the video games editorial team, he also wrote an article in the magazine on the anime / Japanese animation genre .
The ninja turkeys
At the beginning of the 1990s, the comic series “Ninja Turkeys” was incorporated as a regular series into the video games editions under the official titles “Modul” and “Return to Modul” . It was both a parody of the video game world of that time and of the editorial team of the magazine itself. Karl Bihlmeier was the draftsman and creator of the series of these black-and-white illustrations with the protagonists obviously based on the series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , which was popular at the time .
Anime and the "Video Games"
The Video Games devoted several more detailed articles to Japanimation long before the German anime boom, which began at the beginning of the new millennium.
The "Video Games" and German censorship
As early as 1992, the video games took on the much-discussed topic of "censorship, indexing & Co." as part of a multi-page article in which they examined both German publications and Japanese products in more detail. The final conclusion of the article that the discussion about the dangerousness or ratification of video games is "idle and off the table in a few years" should not come true. Because although, unlike at the time, age ratings and indexing committees now exist, various politicians and other groups use them time and again as an indicator of acts of violence and misconduct among young people.
In later years, after some editions of the video games had been indexed for the treatment of indexed or confiscated titles (such as Mortal Kombat ) and were therefore subject to distribution restrictions, the magazine switched to no longer giving ratings for games that glorified violence. In addition, age recommendations were made for each game treated or, in later years, the applicable age ratings were given.
Web links
- kultpower.de , kultboy.com - databases with game ratings of video games
- kultboy.com , kultpower.de - Cover of all issues
- kultpower.de - Ninja-Turkeys : 16 episodes and commentary by Karl Bihlmeier
- http://www.kultmags.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Future-Verlag is discontinuing the video games magazine . In: horizon . German specialist publisher . February 7, 2001. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.kultpower.de/external_frameset.php3?site=%2Fvideogames_redakteure.php3
- ↑ http://www-hm.ma.tum.de/archiv/mw2/ss98/mw2/info/
