Edge Issue 253

This magazine is dated May 2013 and priced at £5.00.

Knowledge
Cutting pledge - 4 pages (10-13)
 * Have the mulitmillion dollar success on Kickstarter taken independent developers out of the game?

Summit about Japan - 2 pages (14-15)
 * The inaugural BitSummit, a gathering for Japan's indies, asks how local devs can go global.

Mod nation - 4 pages (16-19)
 * Nexus network creator Robin Scott on life behind modding's greatest empire.

Soundbytes; Arcade Watch - Groove Coaster Arcade - 1 page (22)

My favourite game: Dara O'Briain - 2 pages (24-25)
 * The Irish comedian on making games funny, the industry's lucid dreaming phase and finishing Portal over and over just for Still Alive.

Dispatches
Dialogue - 2 pages (29-30)

Trigger Happy - Steven Poole - 1 page (32)
 * A trip through the painterly world of The Unfinished Swan leads to ruminations on digital paper envy.

Level Head - Leigh Alexander - 1 page (34)
 * Forget the console wars, the real battle is to stay relevant in the face of a fast-changing landscape.

You're Playing it Wrong - Brian Howe - 1 page (36)
 * After being caught off guard by the PS4 reveal, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveils Xbox 720.

Hype
Thief (PC,PS4) - 6 pages (42-47)

The Elder Scrolls Online (PC) - 4 pages (48-51)

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (360,PC,PS3) - 4 pages (52-55)

Arma III (PC) - 2 pages (56-57)

Card Hunter (Mac,PC) - 2 pages (58-59)

Saints Row IV (360,PC,PS3) - 2 pages (60-61)

Round-Up - 2 pages (62-63)

Features
Four Play - 10 pages (64-73)
 * We talk to Shuhei Yoshida, the president of Worldwide Studios, who brought Sony's firstparty developers to the table to fashion their dream console, and a get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the process from two marquee studios: Guerrilla Games and Evolution Studios.

Loaded Words - 8 pages (74-81)
 * There's a debate raging over what it means to be a game. Let's examine the terms of warfare.

An Audience with... Hideo Kojima - pages (82
 * Kojima on the future of Metal Gear, the mystery of The Phantom Pain and hitting 50.

Reviews
Post Script

BioShock Infinite - 1 page (93)


 * Why Infinite doesn't preach pacifism

SimCity - 1 page (97)


 * What's the future for always-online gaming?

Create
People: Michael Brough - 2 pages (116-117)
 * The subversive indie talent wants to mess with your head

Places: The Moon - 2 pages (118-119)
 * This bewitching celestial body has long cast its spell on games

Things: Handguns - 2 pages (120-121)
 * Why is gaming's most common weapon so ambiguous?

Studio Profile: Irrational Games - 4 pages (122-125)
 * How a critical darling avoided buckling under commercial pressures and stayed true to its storytelling ideals

The Making of... The Walking Dead - 4 pages (126-129)
 * How Telltale Games made a zombie adventure more interested in getting at your heart than your brains

The Art of... Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - 4 pages (130-133)
 * Sumo Digital's trip through Sega's history was an uphill struggle

What Games Are - Tadhg Kelly - 1 page (134)
 * Why games won't eat themselves

In The Click Of It - Clint Hocking - 1 page (136)
 * A rose by any other name

The Possibility Space - Randy Smith - 1 page (138)
 * The things money can't buy

Word Play - James Leach - 1 page (140)
 * The horror! The horror!

Other Credits
Online Editor
 * Neil Long

Senior Art Editor
 * Mark Wynne

Features Editor
 * Jason Killingsworth

Games Editor
 * Nathan Brown

News Editor
 * Michael Gapper

Writer
 * Ben Maxwell

Production Editor
 * Matt Clapham

Art Editor
 * Andrew Hind

Deputy Art Editor
 * Phil Haycraft

iPad Assistant
 * Helen Wilson

Editorial Contributors
 * Leigh Alexander, Daniel Dawkins, Nathan Ditum, Duncan Harris, Clint Hocking, Brian Howe, Andy Kelly, Tadhg Kelly, James Leach, Craig Owens, Rob Pearson, Steven Poole, Daniel Robson, Jaime Russell, Chris Schilling, Graham Smith, Randy Smith, Chris Thursten

Art Contributors
 * Martin Davies, Kevin Nixon, Alvin Weetman, Brian Taylor