We’ve suffered some body blows recently, but perhaps none will ever be as winding as the news I now deliver to you: Alice0 is leaving RPS. She recently celebrated 10 years here, so that should tell you something about how much of an influence she’s had over the tone of the site over it’s lifespan. Truly, the site won’t be the same without her – so let’s take the opportunity to celebrate here work here.
Alice0’s work is characterised by being funny, thoughtful, and colouring outside the lines. More than any other writer she has made me consider what games are and what they could be. Her time at RPS far exceeds the span of my own, so I can point back to her attempt to define ‘walking simulator’ with Pip. She continued ruminating on walking in games for years (Ed says that her post there about Sons Of The Forest may not be considered an Alice0 classic, but “sums up her exploratory energy” in a short post. I think my favourite Alice0 post is when she wrote about It’s Winter.
When I joined RPS she was our news editor, and made everyone who wrote for her a much better writer. She approached serious stories with anger and compassion, as required, but was even better at knowing what not to cover. And as for what to cover, well, her approach to news has always been broad. My favourite news Alice0 has wrriten are pieces like the one-two punch about her mousepad, or when she wrote about Destiny with the resignation of someone who had played it for many hours – the disappointing toaster or her wardrobe of Destiny fashion. Occasionally we dragged Alice0 over to writing features, much to her chagrin, but when we did she wrote absolute belters.
Her last few years here as associate editor were perhaps characterised by the continuing What’s Better? quest to find the best thing in video games, each article of which is a delight. It’s hard to describe the void that will be left now her island is sinking back into the sea. Who will remind us to send in our Playing This Weekend entries every Friday by hammering WSPWPWAPAAPWP? What will meetings be like without her entering yelling “What’s up gamers!?”? What fate the NFT novel? Who will write for the site like Alice0?
The good news is that the answer to that one is, partially, Alice0 – she’s going to continue What’s Better for us. But shes going, now, to heed the call of the wild, and I’m happy for her – if not for us. Please make the releveant anguished noises in the comments.
