Long-Form Features
Writer, journalist, and storyteller who explores the future — and the past — of innovation, video games, and technology.
Has a passion for in-depth storytelling and an insatiable curiosity about how things work. Also skilled in audio/podcast editing and production, photography, interviewing. Holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Melbourne.
Author of The Secret History of Mac Gaming, published by Unbound. Info: http://secrethistoryofmacgaming.com
Journalism beats: video games, technology, science, innovation, AI, VR, AR, games and tech history, game development.
Always eager to discuss new writing and editing opportunities—freelance, contract, or staff. Contact via Twitter or email rich.c.moss at gmail.com.
Based in Melbourne, Australia.
Portfolio below is a selection of features and in-depth reporting. You can see a more all-inclusive portfolio at richardmoss.contently.com
Long-Form Features
Virtual reality has had a shaky 18 months. After years of hype about the world-changing potential of its second coming (following a dud first wave in the 1990s), its poster child headset the Oculus Rift launched to a lukewarm reception.
Not much about Age of Empires isn't epic. Over the last 20 years, these epoch-spanning games have starred more than 50 historical civilizations, sales have surpassed more than 20 million units, and a core fanbase of hundreds of thousands has put hours upon hours into playing one series entry or another on a weekly basis.
It's perhaps fitting that a game with the tagline "nothing is true; everything is permitted" emerged from creative director Patrice Désilets bending the rules. Assassin's Creed began life as a Prince of Persia game, expanded and reimagined for a new generation of consoles.
You'd think that game credits would be simple. It's just a list of names and roles, after all. How hard can that be to get right? But credits are rarely simple, because neither is game development. And yet credits are an invaluable, underappreciated aspect of game making.
AI-generated and AI-driven characters may still be in their infancy, with years of development yet ahead before they reach maturity, but already they are making a mark on our lives, and their use is rapidly rising. They help us get around town, run our smart homes, file our appointments, chat with us on website support ...
The Angel of Darkness very nearly killed Tomb Raider. It effectively condemned the long-running studio behind one of gaming's most lucrative series to an inelegant demise. It went through three years of development hell before it was rushed out unfinished in 2003, to the eternal mockery of an industry weary from grandiose promises after five prior games that all looked, sounded and played much the same.
Meet the people pushing to make video games more accessible to those with - and without - disabilities.
A rookie team of Cameroonian developers is adding a touch of Africa to the action-RPG genre with a title more than 10 years in the making.
Grand Theft Auto Online is a war zone, only there's no sides and no chance of eventual peace. The streets of Los Santos are filled not with hopeful young starlets or happy-go-lucky tourists but with cold-hearted killers who'd happily turn on their friends and comrades if they ever ran out of police, civilians, and other human players to mow down.
The 20-year journey of an Amiga indie born of passion, destroyed by love and reborn as 1993: Space Machine. Shenandoah: Daughter of the Stars was supposed to be released in 1993. Developed for the Amiga by four Swedish teenagers working out of a bedroom, it had a UK distributor, a working demo and coverage in popular game magazines.
Steven Gonzalez was just 12 years old when doctors diagnosed him with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare form of cancer that causes anemia, frequent infections and pain. Told he had a 2 percent chance of survival and torn away from his friends to the harsh confines of a hospital, Gonzalez turned to video games for comfort.
For James 'Shamus' Hammons, Doom and a limbless, white-gloved cartoon mascot were all it took to ignite a longstanding obsession with Atari's Jaguar. Back in the early '90s, he felt he couldn't abandon his Atari ST for IBM PC-style computing simply to play id Software's genre-defining FPS, but then the news came that Doom would hit his favourite company's new 64bit console.
It's a strange life, porting video games from one platform to another - seldom making something of your own. But that's what Aspyr Media has been doing for roughly 17 years.
A filmmaker spends excruciating years on a pixellated animated film to bring it to fruition.
How Steve Fawkner twice tried something unusual and different, struggled to find a publisher, then struck gold.
The story of the fans who never stopped playing Championship Manager 01/02.
Australia’s and New Zealand’s early video-game history may already be lost.
Meet the people trying to make games accessible to the blind and partially sighted, and the gamers who stand to benefit.
In Melbourne, Australia, a man who can repair almost any typewriter nears retirement.
How a group of game developers beat the odds to create the Kenyan game industry.
How Scott Reismanis gave a big voice to small-time game developers.
A look behind the scenes at Cliff Johnson's career and the ten-year struggle to create a sequel to 1987 hit The Fool's Errand.
Discussion at the ACMI Game Masters Forum in Melbourne last month highlight just how insanely hard—yet crucial—it is to properly preserve and archive the history of video games.
An in-depth behind-the-scenes look at a project that aims to make video-game emulation accessible to a general, mainstream audience.
The full story behind one of the Mac's most beloved games
A look back at the original Mac OS -- System 1 -- and how it started a computing revolution.
The rise and fall of a major video-game publisher, presented through the lens of its product branding.
Other Features
GameDaily talks with Nick Suttner about the constantly shifting game market and why indies need to find their champions. One of the most important things that Nick Suttner needs every game developer (indies especially) to understand is that it's people - not companies but rather individual champions in different parts of the industry - that make games succeed.
Multi-touch hardware and software company Ideum is exploring a potential future for the workplace in which traditional desks give way to projected capacitive touch (PCT) tables that you use with both hand gestures and tangible objects. The project is called the Dynamic Desktop, and it's an idea that creative director and CEO Jim Spadaccini believes will work on any PCT screen.
Oh how I miss the days of five-hour seasons and having the power to select and arrange advertising boards. Even when they took themselves way too seriously, like with The Manager and the Premier Manager series, football management games used to have a wonderful innocence to them that the latest Sports Interactive fare lacks.
Fine dust pollution triggers all manner of health problems, but accurately tracking its concentration across cities and regions takes considerable manpower. That could get a whole lot easier with a sensor that attaches to a smartphone and measures particulate matter (fine dust) levels in the air, which is under development at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
That pounding in your chest when the action gets really intense in a video game or movie takes on a new dimension with the KOR-FX 4DFX, an adjustable and lightweight vest that translates audio into subtle vibrations that are meant to help you feel where explosions occur and gunshots comes from - or simply to better enjoy your favorite music.
Carlos Vasquez can hold his own against the very best Mortal Kombat players in the world. He competes in tournaments and reached the finals of his pool at EVO 2013, despite having being rendered blind by closed-angle glaucoma. Vasquez has memorised the game's combos, along with their audio cues, so he can play at the highest level using only what he hears.
Seven senior members of Firemonkeys, the Electronic Arts-owned studio behind iOS hits like Real Racing 3, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and The Sims Freeplay, joined forces onstage at a panel at the PAX Australia gaming convention on Sunday, July 21, to discuss their high-profile creations, daily routines, and life under EA.
Guy Perfect wants you to remember what is arguably the most imperfect video-game machine ever released.
Bruce Morrison is an avid Bungie fan. Despite never having worked for the famed Halo and Marathon developer, he’s just released his third product with their name on it.
How a simple video-game puzzle taught me to face my fear of crowds.
The inside story of one man's dream to become a full-time game developer, and his team's first shot at glory.
Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride developer Halfbrick announced its next iOS game, Colossatron: Massive World Threat, at a panel at the PAX Australia gaming convention this weekend, revealing details about its story, gameplay, and development.
We speak to Game Console Worldwide's Justin Barwick about the new open-source GCW-Zero gaming handheld, which is in the closing stages of a Kickstarter campaign.
Highlighting more than 60 emulators and classic games you can play in your web browser
How The Story Mechanics's debut title The Thirty-Nine Steps moves interactive storybooks forward, and suffers growing pains in the process.
Bust out your monochrome party hats, iPhone 5 owners; you can now play Game Boy games without going to the trouble of a jailbreak. Jason Morley just released Game Play, a javaScript Game Boy emulator for the iPhone 5.