Matt Bassil

As seen in…

Life

EVE Online and the first graveyard in gaming

Cyno vigils, floating corpses, solar system cemeteries and virtual acts of remembrance: in the deep space of this MMO, everyone can hear you mourn – and everyone benefits.

Cicada 3301: the coders still working on the internet’s strangest mystery

When a post appeared on a message board in 2012, it sent a small corner of the internet spiralling into a conspiracy of whistleblowers, dead man’s switches and NSA surveillance. Eight years on, and Cicada 3301 has become a story of obsession, paranoia and, most improbably, community.

Life

Dying video games and the people who continue to play them

What is it like to play in a world designed for hundreds to inhabit at once, when it is now almost completely unpopulated?

Culture

The simulator players who are always on the job

Most people play video games as a form of escapism. For others, it’s an extension of their daily grind.