Games teach us, and they change us - but only if they get close to us.

Welcome to "Intimacy," our most personal, most haunting, and most uproarious issue.

The best writers and thinkers in gaming tell their stories, and they hold nothing back.

• Brendan Keogh sees anorexia through the lens of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
• Victoria and Anthony Bartkewicz share the secret of a happy marriage: Pummeling each other in Soul Calibur IV.
• Ryan Bradley explores the mystery of hand-holding, while Justin Amirkhani asks game designers about the most influential fights they've survived.
• We take a walk down memory lane with Leisure Suit Larry's Al Lowe, speak with Katherine Isbister about social gaming, and ask the creator of Digital: A Love Story if she's ever been in love herself.
• And Jenn Frank writes a personal history of her Second Life, leading us from an Amsterdam sex den to an Anglican church.

These are just a few of the stories in our longest and most powerful issue to date. Share it with someone you love.

Written By: Justin Amirkhani, Chris Baker, Victoria and Anthony Bartkewicz, Ryan Bradley, Rob Dubbin, Jenn Frank, J.P. Grant, Andrew Hayward, Tracey John, Jason Johnson, Brendan Keogh, Nora Nahid Khan, Brandon W. Laird, Maddy Myers, Chris Plante, Jason Schreier, Kent Sutherland, Brian Taylor Art By: Jesse Angelo, Max Capacity, Tim Denee, Jason Fischer, Celine Grouard, Gena Hayward, Ian Higginbotham, Tiffani Hooper, Stu Horvath, Andrew Hymas, Sarah Jacoby, José-Luis Olivares, Rey Ortega, Louis Roskosch, Justin Russo, Mark Stuckert, Filippo Venturi

Published Fall 2011