Make it stand out.
Lost in Cult presents: [lock-on] Volume 1
A premium gaming journal delivering thought-provoking stories, insightful features and carefully curated art from the best and brightest industry talent.
For all enquiries, please contact Benjamin Hayhoe at publishing@lostincult.co.uk
What is [lock-on]?
In what we hope is the first in a long line of products and services that the Lost in Cult team will create, we present to you [lock-on] Volume 1. For so long now, we have wanted to create a video game journal centred around all things gaming, pop culture and art. Our inaugural issue is focused on the past, present and future of the PlayStation, all whilst featuring thought-provoking and insightful content aboutcurrent affairs and the wider gaming sphere. Our aim is to deliver on our promise of a collectible product that has both quality and design at the forefront of all we do.Through our experiences in and around the industry, we have carefully selected and curated a list of content creators who will be sharing their talents through long-form features, case studies, interviews, and retrospectives. Every single one of them has bought into our vision, and the content on offer will be relatable, informative, academic, unique, thoughtful and, most of all, entertaining.
Figure 1: Issue 1 of [lock-on]
Who are we?
Our team is made up of five very passionate individuals who each have their own experiences and stories to share. Every member of Lost in Cult has worked on other projects in some capacity, and we are confident that our collective experiences will ensure that [lock-on] Volume 1 and all future ventures will be something to be proud of.
Jon Doyle - Director
It really feels as though every project that I've been involved in, every freelance opportunity I've worked on, and every relationship I've built with content creators over the years has led to this point. It's always been a dream, but a year ago I decided to pursue this project that would bring together a carefully curated selection of artists and writers into a beautiful product. One that would do justice to the majestic imagery and stories that video games have given us. I deeply care about the preservation of video games and from that the stories they represent, [lock-on] is a love letter to every gamer who believes gaming is more than a throwaway consumable.
Jason Maddison - Creative Director
As a Graphic Designer and lifelong gaming enthusiast with an Honors Degree in Computer Games Production, [lock-on] is all my passions rolled into one. Our new video gaming journal represents an opportunity and platform for us to express our creativity and thoughts in the PlayStation world and the wider-gaming arena - a real chance for us to create a publication where people like you and me can present not only our art, words and philosophies, but also the more serious, thought-provoking and sensitive topical matter of the industry. I hope that in years to come, [lock-on] can be something on your shelf which you can refer to time and time again to revisit the many interesting stories and fragments of gaming history we aim to collate.
Eliza Marzec - Art Director
To me [lock-on] stands for unity, creativity and passion amongst people from different countries, different backgrounds, people who each see the world differently and people who let us see their world through their art.. as Edgar Degas once said - “Drawing is not what you see but what you must make others see” [lock-on] has proven to me that when a group of fantastic and passionate creators get together truly anything is possible.
Shaun Hughes - Content Director
[lock-on] represents everything I value in the video game industry. Passion. Preservation. Quality. It also presents me with a chance to be involved in something that a while back I could only dream of, however a talented bunch of passionate content creators and a team of like-minded individuals have gotten us here. Now, we just need you to bring it all to life!
Benjamin Hayhoe - Marketing Director
I’ve worked on a number of print publications now in various editorial roles, but nothing to the scale and potential of [lock-on]. The passion that this team has, and the quality of the content that we’ve commissioned, is incredible, and I’m so excited to be a part of bringing this project to life, celebrating gaming past, present, and future while also providing a platform for emerging and established talent to showcase their work and themselves. Bring it on!
What matters to us most?
At the heart of all we do is preservation. We want to create something that preserves and immortalises aspects of gaming history which is all too often lost in the vastness of the World Wide Web. All of our written content will be accompanied by carefully commissioned, bespoke artwork from both independent and established artists. Some of our team are artists themselves, and the affinity between an engaging and insightful piece of written work and an exclusive piece of art can’t be understated. Equally as important to us is community. We fully intend for [lock-on] to be a platform that allows indie developers and aspiring artists and writers to gain exposure, further promoting their voices and talents to the wider gaming community and industry. We will also be featuring contributions from many industry names that you may already be familiar with, including writers, developers and influencers.
Figure 2: A design for an upcoming piece on Supergiant Games' Hades
Our cover art
We feel very fortunate to have received support and backing from our cover artist, Alessio Greco. He has designed two truly outstanding covers, one for our softback
journal and one for our hardback. The attention to detail and vision for the pieces encompasses all that [lock-on] is about, and we couldn't have asked for more from Alessio.
Figure 3: Our Hardback Cover Variant
Figure 4: A snapshot of the creative process and the attention to detail that we’ll be consistently utilising throughout our artwork pieces.
Figure 5: A closeup of our hardcover artwork
Our content creators
We have an eclectic group of contributors to our inaugural issue, most of which you will find listed below:
John Linneman (Digital Foundry)
Marc Duddleson (My Life in Gaming)
Ryan Biniecki (Mystic)
Adam Koralik (YouTuber)
Alex Aniel (Author of Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil.)
Jawmuncher (Dino Crisis Expert)
PlayStation Brah (The Playstation Brahs)
Ryan Brown (Gaming news curator)
Nate Ellingsworth (Ninty Media)
Andrew Dickinson (The Dreamcast Years)
Wumpa-Gem (Crashy News)
Marcus Maloney (Sociology Lecturer)
Laurie Eggleston (The Cross Players)
Lance Macdonald (Youtuber)
Lara Jackson (GameByteHQ)
Dave Klein (DaveControl)
Kelsy Polnik (VGchartz)
Douglas Bogart (Limited Run Games)
Matt Paprocki (Freelance Journalist)
Rishi Alwani (IGN India)
James Bentley (Freelance Journalist)
Michael Leopold Webber (Freelance Journalist)
Jamie Sharp (Freelance Journalist)
Ben Bayliss (Freelance Journalist)
Cade Onder (Screen Rant)
Ethan Hunt (Switch Player Magazine)
Sam Wilson (Freelance Journalist)
Lewis Parker (Ninty Media)
Thank you
Thank you for reading to this point, We hope that what you’ve seen in us and our product is something that resonates with you. We are confident. We are ready. And most of all, we are incredibly passionate and excited by what the future of [lock-on] could hold. From all of us at Lost in Cult, we can’t wait for passionate fans to join us on this incredible journey, and we hope that you’ll be interested in speaking with us further about this project in your professional capacity.
