Caspian Whistler is the founder and creative director of A Profound Waste of Time, an independent magazine inspired by video games. Each issue is available in hardcopy only, and each page is uniquely illustrated, combining prose and design from renowned gaming journalists, critics, and developers into a thoughtful collection of essays. The first issue of APWOT shipped in 2018 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, with the Kickstarter for the second issue currently underway.
In this interview, Cas and I talk about the value of a print publication in an industry that moves quickly; the magazine’s origins in the zine scene; how he attracted an all-star editorial cast, including Polygamer alumni Susan Arendt and Jonathan Holmes, to his first issue; how design can be beautiful while still enhancing readability; what he learned from the first Kickstarter; how often we’ll see future issues of APWOT; and how his dyslexia influences his editorial process.
Stream the audio edition of this interview below or from iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Mixcloud, Spoke, Overcast, acast, Pocket Casts, Castbox, TuneIn, RadioPublic, or the Internet Archive.
Full disclosure: I backed both APWOT Kickstarters.
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