Photo: Jesse Kumin/Permission of Hock Wah Yeo
With GameStop’s stock exploding and shrinking on a weekly basis, it’s easy to forget that until recently, it was an open question whether the next-gen of gaming consoles were going to come with an optical drive at all. Physical games managed to avoid the grim reaper, for now, but little care is put into their packaging these days. A whole generation missed out on a time when you could walk into a Babbages and an encyclopedia-sized PC game box practically leapt into your hands.
During the video game industry’s adolescence, a visit to the shelves of the computer shop meant finding shareware games in ziplock bags beside boxes adorned in the state-of-the-art of graphic design of the time. But some designers went further and took the opportunity to turn those standard cardboard boxes into eye-catching sculptural objects. One of the unsung heroes of the PC box is the designer Hock Wah Yeo.
Rob Bowen
On my last solo flight through the highly populated solar system that is the Springs green scene, I climbed to heights previously unknown to me at The Treehouse. Tucked away in a small business center, this quaint shop made for a bit of a tight squeeze as I entered the lobby, especially in these days of ârona where public spaces demand a 6-foot distance between folks.Â
At The Treehouse, the entire transaction takes place in the lobby as the budtender brings jars of product to the check-in window. Thereâs no on-site ATM and this is the usual kind of cash-only op, so be sure youâve got the ducats in your pockets before you arrive. Or, like me, you will have to make a secondary trip around the corner to cop the cabbage.Â