Wow, thank you to the guest who mentioned Madman’s Cafe, I haven’t thought about that site in two decades.
I was on the old IC forums back in the day trying to get people to play Linda Cube and it’s been a joy to drop in and out of the hobby/scene and see that Brandon & friends have stuck it out in varying capacities. I think I originally came via The GIA maybe? because that was the only place on the internet with people talking about Vib Ribbon and also posted long threads about exploring abandoned Japanese buildings and holy shit Mother 3 etc etc.
Mostly what I remember about the old IC is everyone jerking each other off about Silent Hill 2, and I mean that in the kindest way possible. I also remember being really annoyed by Tim’s writing (probably MGS2 specifically) because his layers of irony were often impenetrable in those days. But it can’t be underlined enough just how little interesting or thoughtful writing about games there was back then. There was basically nothing. Journalism was all condescending and juvenile and consumerist, and online spaces were console war slapfights and name calling. To have Insert Credit exist and encourage reasonable takes – it truly felt remarkable to connect with others online who wanted to elevate the medium.
Congrats and thank you to all involved!