| The Wall Street Journal pulled off a near-perfect coup over the weekend with its profile of the low-key founder of Fortnite maker Epic Games, Tim Sweeney. The piece is chock-full of interesting and important nuggets about Sweeney and his company. Running Epic is the only job Sweeney has ever had. He's single and childless and unpretentious, focused on nature conservation rather than trophies. He's also humble, insisting that while he absolutely created Epic he did not make Fortnite, the "battle royale" sensation. He is proud his company is in North Carolina, not Silicon Valley. He's also pleased that his game focuses on shoot-em-up techniques that don't emphasize blood and guts. There is good business stuff in this story too. It describes Sweeney's personal ambassadorial role convincing executives of various game console makers to allow their systems to work with each other so Fortnite gamers would have more potential partners. It also documents that Fortnite usage has peaked, a worrisome sign for Epic. If the profile is merely near-perfect, it's because of what isn't here. There's nothing on Epic's financials, because Epic doesn't disclose them. The article doesn't offer color on Sweeney's management team, which must be able. It doesn't get into Fortnite's wildly anticipated debut in China, where gaming giant Tencent owns a big piece of Epic. (This Vice article suggests the market entry has been unique, due to Chinese government requirements.) And the article doesn't discuss what impact taking on investors like KKR, Kleiner Perkins, and Lightspeed Venture Partners will have on the fiercely independent Epic. These topics can be in someone else's feature story on Epic Games and Tim Sweeney. *** Some post-weekend reading suggestions: * Peter Hartlaub's lovely tribute in the San Francisco Chronicle to an ugly but immensely democratic pedestrian walkway from the BART mass-transit station to Oakland's now-quieted Oracle Arena left me feeling nostalgic. In the 70s and 80s my parents and I crossed the Illinois Central railroad tracks on an equally democratic old wooden bridge that led to the southern edge of Soldier Field. A satellite image of where I remember the bridge crossing the tracks along E. 18th Street on Chicago's South Side suggests it has been torn down and replaced by a covered structure. (Bears fans: I'd love to hear from you if you remember that bridge and know of its plight.) * I wrote last week about economist Raghuram Rajan's focus on the role of community alongside government and markets. Heather Knight, also writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, has a wonderful piece on how a community—not a business—succeeded where local government failed. * If you are a writer, editor, or international adventurer (in body or spirit), you'll love this unusual and wonderful obituary of Saul Bellow "sidekick" Keith Botsford. | 
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