So like a lot of people i’m going to have a fair amount of free time to spend over the next week or two, i thought it might be fun to recommend some interesting web sites to read.
Now i’m familiar with your Cracked, Salons, Onions etc, i was thinking less well-known or quirky stuff you’ve stumbled across.
No particular subjects, just anything you found interesting which you think others might.
http://www.giantbomb.com/videos/3/ Mostly videos, a couple of experienced games journalists play through 30-60 minutes of a game while discussing it. I often find this more helpful than a review for whether i’d like something.
As a fellow RPS reader you’ve probably read the first two of these, I realize, but:
Alice and Kev - Funny and ultimately moving story told through Sims, when the author decides to create a single father/daughter pair who are poor and hungry and see how miserable their lives get. Beautifully done, whether you like the Sims or not (I’ve never played).
Concerned: A Half-Life 2 Comic - A must-read if you love Half Life 2; a comic look at a regular citizen / nonhero / idiot who just misses all the important events of HL2. The author uses Garry’s Mod to pose the HL2 characters (especially the citizens and combine) to create some amazing artwork and the humor is silly and goofy yet, somewhat like Alice and Kev, the end of the tale is surprisingly emotional (though not nearly as much as A&K).
Special People - People with somewhat banal superpowers live among us and band together to solve crimes. (How banal? One guy is “Arm Fall-Off Boy,” whose arms can detach and act independently; another can conjur bacon at will; a third transforms himself into a piece of drywall. The fun is seeing how the author manages to make these ridiculous-sounding abilities actually useful to the action.) It sounds cliched but the writing is simple and powerful, and at times quite funny though as with many such stories things grow more serious as time goes on. I’ve linked to the Chapter List and IMHO you should probably start with the “Hands On” chapters, beginning with “Ian Innis.”
Selfish plug: About Schuyler Falls - Online serial just celebrating its 15th anniversary. It’s the story of an upstate NY community beset by murder, screwed-up people and their interactions both passionate and criminal. The early seasons are somewhat soapy and simplistic in style (but I’m very proud of them anyway; the 1st season’s murder mystery shifts into something bizarre but all explained rationally and has clues that play perfectly fair with the audience). Don’t like soaps? There’s plenty of mystery and drama to suck you in as well. The mammoth 4th season just ended & has some of the biggest storylines that come together in a huge epic season finale. With nearly 1.3 million words, ASF will give you plenty to catch up on.