Originally Posted by Bill Kunkel
First off, the reports that were mirrored off Jeb's ravings in Joystiq, etc. are largely inaccurate. I was brought in as a consultant last fall because T&T couldn't last with all that free content on the web. After looking at the situation I recommended that LFP sell the magazine, since there was an offer on the table. But Larry didn't want to sell and they wanted to know what I'd do if I had to try and save the magazine. I said it had to be brought up to date (the site was a joke and there wasn't even an email address). I felt there had to be a quality website. I wanted computer games covered, and I suggested more "lifestyle" columns (such as Mark Johnson's unique look at game-based action figures, Anatole Brown's Japan Report, Collector's Closet, etc.) and fewer columns based around a single game franchise. Finally, I introduced feature articles on subjects that weren't being covered in the other game mags, like careers in gaming, game colleges, competitive pro gaming, etc. We also got out the first serious coverage of Shadowrun (with tips from and interviews with the developers) and I had just, with the help of Anatole (who speaks fluent Japanese), fulfilled a life's dream by interviewing Nishikado-san, creator of Space Invaders.
But the fact is the magazine just wasn't selling. Within about 6-7 months we reached a point where I was really proud of what we'd done, but the readership was still sliding downhill.
There were no secret deals to fire people while they were covering E3 or any of Jeb's hysterical nonsense. In fact, before I was let go, I urged that the staff be informed of the situation before E3 so they'd have a chance to hustle up new gigs. And I can not imagine people like Anatole, Mark, Chris, Abbie and Geoff Arnold not being able to get work in the industry. And our AD, Lisa Beattie, is the most talented art director in the game magazine business.
I know that serious attempts were made to get better severance packages for the staff, especially for someone like Chris who endured throughout 15 years with LFP and is now a freelancer, but that was Larry's decision and it's his money.
I have no idea what the "Dear John" letter that was supposedly pre-released to the staff refers to since I was running the magazine and no one mentioned it to me. Sure I wish that LFP would have either sold the magazine to a company that was prepared to go all the way with the reconstruction or gone all the way himself, so to speak, but that magazine was kept alive for years after the point where it had stopped making money and was being destroyed by the Internet. Just ask EGM, which is not likely to be here this time next year.
I was personally treated very well at LFP (they let me edit from home for two weeks and then flew me out to LA for a week to work out of the office for almost a year; how many publishers would go for a deal like that?). They paid me very well and were totally supportive of my changes. I am grateful that they gave me a chance to get back in the world of print and I hope the people who feel T&T was just a washed-up codebook get to take a look at the eight issues published this year, because I'm certainly proud of them.
Bottom line, I'll be at CGE and can give you all the whole story. Meanwhile, the upside is that Commodork, which everyone seems to love, got a bump and Cav's story on the best arcades in America will indeed appear in the 150th and final issue of T&T.
