Michael B. Duff

Just got the new Iain M. Banks novel, so I hope you will excuse one rare "Squee!"

There’s no time to form a personal relationship with a writer; no time for any of that sentimental nonsense, in this brave new world of big ads and unique visitors. Nick Denton is at the mercy of his readers, and now so are we, as the “golden age” of blogging makes way for a new kind of industrial revolution.

You know what the world really needs? A Bioware-style RPG based on Matter. You play an SC agent uplifted from a primitive culture. You go on a series of missions, carefully working behind the scenes to manipulate events, or using the selective application of violence to influence the course of wars. Then you're called home to deal with some kind of personal tragedy, slowly traveling back to your home system through a variety of spectacular habitats. Of course, they have to "turn off" all your fancy SC gear for the trip home, leaving you vulnerable to kidnapping and assassination attempts… Please, somebody make this game. Apart from the awesomeness of the game itself, a CRPG could introduce thousands of players to The Culture an elevate the tastes of a generation of SciFi readers. Wish I had a couple million dollars so I could finance the damn thing myself.