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STAR LE TTER

BOOK SMART

Hi Iain, I read your piece ‘Watch What You Do’ in issue 261 and just wanted to share how much it resonated. You even awoke a lost memory about the water puzzle games – so thanks for that. I can’t help but wonder though: did the person who invented that (because someone /did invent it) think they were doing a service to the world for kids who didn’t have access to a Game Boy, or were they just on the payroll of some corporation that has long since folded? Maybe it’s a bit of both.

» Keeping to asystem can generally catch a wider audience than any individual game.

If I could be so bold, can I ask Retro Gamer’s advice with something? I’ve noticed a huge rise in gaming print media. I subscribe to Retro Gamer, but I also buy a lot of publications from Bitmap Books and others. A lot of the weightier tomes cover time periods or systems, but never individual games. Is this a licensing issue? Are there different legal issues to consider when publishing media around a single IP, rather than a collection of games or a system?

Kyle Campbell

We never really considered the thing about the water puzzles, and it’s a good question, Kyle. As for single IP books, we’ve seen the likes of Bitmap Books’ officially licensed Metal Slug book, but you’re right to note that they’re less common. We’re not lawyers, but while there are potential legal pitfalls we’d say that it’s more likely to be a matter of keeping the audience as broad as possible. Many retro-gaming books are funded through Kickstarter, and they tend to attract anything from 500-5,000 backers – if your topic is too narrow, you run the risk of an unsuccessful campaign.