On this present day, within the yr of our Horace 2007, Rock Paper Shotgun was born. Sure, earlier birthday posts will let you know the location’s official birthday is August twentieth – the day RPS was totally unveiled to the world – however those self same posts will even let you know the 4 RPS founders had been mucking about with the location in secret for properly over a month earlier than that. It is also the date that is been etched into our Wikipedia web page, which everyone knows is the true supply of all information. So right here I’m, demanding showers of cake and confetti, as a result of I am now the one guilty for all this. Glad Birthday to us.
In fact, technically it is our 149th birthday, us having been PC players since 1873 and all that – the everlasting, ineffable conumdrum sitting on the coronary heart of RPS that is been baffling occasional passers-by for properly over a decade. I’ve solely been with the location for slightly below a 3rd of that point (the 15 years, I hasten so as to add, not the total 149), having joined the location within the autumn of 2017 as RPS’ first {hardware} editor. The location’s modified fairly a bit since then, each by way of its design and its wonderful hivemind of writers. As an example simply how far we have come, here is what the location seemed like on October twenty sixth 2017, the day my very first put up obtained revealed.
D’aww, take a look at us being all edgy with that splatter impact throughout the Shotgun and our purple, white and black gamer colors! Weren’t we simply lovable?
Fairly totally different to as we speak’s model of the location, that is for certain, which we launched only a few months later in July the next yr. As you may see beneath, we nonetheless had our previous Newest blog-roll-style format in place again then, topped by a trio of hand-selected highlights from the editorial bigwigs. Nevertheless, final yr in 2021, we determined that three editorial spotlight packing containers simply wasn’t sufficient, so we requested our beautiful tech wizards for a fair shinier new homepage, including an unlimited highlight to the highest of the location in addition to numerous beautiful large cabinets to deal with the ever-expanding hallways of all our totally different sections. And sure, that darkish mode remains to be coming, of us. Our tech group are on it, I promise.
It isn’t simply the look of the location that is modified within the final 5 years both. Certainly, other than Alice0 and myself, the remainder of your entire present RPS group is all brand-spanking new, as even our esteemed deputy editor Alice Bee solely joined the location in June 2018. Graham (RPS in peace) can also be nonetheless knocking round in our information cabinet, in fact, serving to us to cowl a few of our night shifts, however his correct job now lies in our nice large company mothership within the sky.
Graham is not the one large title we have stated goodbye to since we turned ten. We have additionally bid a full-time farewell to Pip Warr, Adam Smith, Alec Meer, John Walker, Brendan Caldwell, Matt Cox, Nate Crowley, Matthew Citadel, Noa Smith, Astrid Johnson, Alice Liguori, Dave Irwin, Sin Vega, James Regulation, Jake Inexperienced, Colm Ahern, Imogen Beckhelling, and simply final week, one among our first official feedback moderators, Felisha Dela Cruz. And that is not forgetting all our wonderful freelancers who’ve additionally gone on to larger and higher issues as properly. We love each one among you, and you have all performed a important half in making RPS what it’s as we speak.
And what RPS is as we speak is an unimaginable group of 11 of the UK’s finest video games writers. I could also be mistaken on this, however I assume that is the primary time we have ever actually been at full energy. With Alice Bee, Alice O’Connor, Rachel Watts, James Archer, Ollie Toms, Ed Thorn, CJ Wheeler, Liam Richardson, Rebecca Jones, Hayden Hefford and our ever devoted feedback mod Paolo Balmes at our aspect, we lastly have a fully-rounded roster of stories, evaluations, options, {hardware}, guides and video buds now, and I can’t let you know how fortunate I really feel to be the particular person main all of them each day. I am so, so enthusiastic about what the longer term holds for RPS, and I hope you’re, too.
In addition to persevering with to cowl all the newest and biggest video games from AAA blockbusters to the following large (and unknown) indie hits, we have large plans for Yr 2 of our just lately relaunched supporter program developing, the second iteration of The RPS 100 occurring very quickly, our ongoing Time Capsules and GOTY Revisited collection to sit up for (and sure, this month’s Time Capsule will certainly be 2007, in honour of our birthday), new columns, new video exhibits and a lot extra ready within the wings – and I can not wait to let you know extra about all of them within the coming months.
So here is to you, loyal RPS reader. As we elevate our Horace champagne glasses and tuck into a giant slice of limitless Horace cake, I would wish to say a giant thanks to everybody who’s learn us during the last 15 years. We would not be right here with out you, so thanks once more for serving to us preserve the lights on. This is to the following decade and a half!