If you’ve been following this website for a while, you’ll remember that we never started out as a WordPress site. The original intention was to write content and create InDesign templates around it until everything could be put together into PDF format. And one thing we learned from doing so is that template production is difficult, and time-consuming, and often didn’t get completed until long after the plain text of the content had been written. This meant that we were sometimes reluctant to write features about “current” topics in entertainment when there was a risk of the conversation no longer being “current” by the time our features were published. Instead, we would sometimes try and discuss broader topics that were “always” relevant. Case in point: our summer editorial.
The Lost Summer Editorial – the brief
What we wanted to discuss in the article was simple. The entertainment experiences we covered in the magazine often took place in a dark room, in front of a large screen, and preferably with some quality headphones – and this is the last kind of situation you want to find yourself in during the summer months. This was understood within the industry as well; in particular, video game releases were known to “dry up” over the summer period, and there was often a shortage of new titles to talk about. (It didn’t help that we were active in the seventh-generation of consoles, when the Xbox 360 was put under the spotlight and the issue of overheating and the solder on your chips was brought into question.) I had a broad idea of what I wanted to achieve with the article – a general round-up of some of the best entertainment people can enjoy whilst at the park, under a parasol, or on the way to the seaside. What I didn’t realise, however, was that in the years that passed since the feature was conceived, enjoying new entertainment in the summer months would become easier – and more normalised – than it ever was when we came up with the concept for the summer editorial in the first place.
The tech effect
With the passage of time, entertainment become shorter, quicker and easier to consume. Your indulgent 3+ hour movies and epic 100+ hour RPGs were still being produced and were readily available in all of the usual places, but joining them were video shorts on social media, and polished, immediate games available on mobile app stores or dedicated gaming handhelds. We had moved on from the age of portables without backlights (a few years before conceiving articles for the PDF magazine I would have still been playing handheld games on an original Game Boy Advance, which was a good distraction during the summer months, but hardly ideal when you couldn’t see the screen), and the boom box (a summer staple for some garden parties) was quickly being usurped by the smart speaker, allowing hundreds of hours of summer tunes to be streamed during outdoor gatherings. (As mentioned in my Disposable 2022 article, I have since bought myself a CD boom box with radio and Bluetooth connectivity despite already having a standalone Bluetooth speaker – primarily because it serves as a better all-in-one solution.) Meanwhile, today’s e-readers allow anyone to take their entire library outside with them, whilst also offering useful bookmarking options and accessibility features to ensure that all bookworms are catered for with minimal hindrance. Crucially, none of this has to be costly anymore either; prices of consumer tech today open up more ways to enjoy new media releases without being confined to a single room (my own boom box might not have the best sound quality but it didn’t empty my bank balance either), and you won’t have to write up a budget for summer entertainment before allowing yourself to have fun.
The Lost Summer Editorial – the outbreak
As the UK government became more insistent on the precautions we had to take during the Covid-19 pandemic – staying at home if possible and sacrificing the get-togethers that would usually be in our social calendars – those who tried to comply with the guidelines found themselves confined to their households during the summer months, or forming a support bubble with friends, family or other trusted acquaintances. When introducing this article we began by saying that isolating yourself with only the latest entertainment to keep you distracted was as far removed from typical summer activity as you could imagine – but for a while some of us at least had to get used to the idea of this being a new way of living. And it’s not like there isn’t evidence that supports the fact that most of us tried to get used to this – the 2020s began in an environment where high street retailers were hit hard by a rise in online shopping, because everyone had been told to stay indoors when possible. The UK government’s advice at the time was “Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” (this would later be amended to “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”), and home entertainment played a crucial part in keeping us sane. Instead of heading out for spontaneous family picnics in crowded parks, we would dust off our summer playlists and portable consoles, or call up family and friends over FaceTime. The truth is that summer is just as good a time as any to enjoy the latest entertainment, and it only took a global event such as Covid-19 to provide some focus for the summer editorial we wanted to complete so many years ago.
Looking at today’s technology and the devices that will be available in the future, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of ways to enjoy yourself without being confined to that dark room and large screen. Handheld gaming is becoming more ambitious, mobile internet plans are more widespread, and a smart speaker is part of the furniture rather than being an overpriced luxury. Our original summer editorial was conceived by myself and another editor on the team, and even after the PDF’s final issue it was something that I wanted to write. Irrespective of the final outcome, I hope you have a great summer ahead of you.
