Video Game History Hour

Author and historian Kevin Bunch returns to the familiar guest chair to educate us all on a somewhat obscure 1970’s consolputer from his recent video, The History of the Bally (and Astrocade) Professional Arcade: Archive Annex Episode 4. In this episode, tears are shed, wrapping these things in useless metal, accidental historical revisionism, what’s in a name?, the toy industry was too small for undercutting, Dog Patch: shotgun volleyball, ironic corporate rewards for good behavior, and making friends over this hardware.

See more from Kevin Bunch:

Twitter: @ubersaurus

YouTube: /atariarchive

Website: atariarchive.org

Patreon: /atariarchive

Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@yuberus

Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/ ubersaurus

Book: Atari Archive Vol. 1 https://limitedrungames.com/collections/atari-archive-vol-1

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank gets a bit reflective and shares how he got where he is today; not just the video game stuff, but the life stuff, too. In this episode: a youth in Las Vegas, underage drinking and overage smoking, dropping out of school, the Wild West of game cataloging, Frank can do it better, how to get sh*t done, thanking your inspiring figures, being a kinder person, dreaming big(ger), trying to find boredom, looking toward Jerry Beck, comics historians are just killing it, and learning from your spouse.

See more from Frank Cifaldi:

Twitter: @frankcifaldi

Email: [email protected] 

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Historian and game developer Andy Cunningham shares his fantastic new book The World of Nintendo Book, Volume One: A World of Wonders, a visual history of Nintendo merchandising. This first in a series goes deep into the creation of Nintendo of America's merchandising team of the late 80's and early 90's, something often overlooked in videogame history. In this episode: merchandising: the boring and the enticing, the logistics of collecting retail displays, creating a store within a store, the original Director of Merchandising, selling a promise, Nintendo’s retail force of ‘87, and what made Nintendo staff better?

See more from Andy Cunningham:

Website: worldofnintendobook.com

Twitter: @TheWONBook

Instagram: @worldofnintendobook

Facebook: /andycunninghamauthor

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Kyle Orland, author of the new Boss Fight Books’ Minesweeper, joins the show to talk about one of the most prolific 90’s games by the same name. In this episode: the Minesweeper generation, how Bill Gates got addicted to it, the ultimate time waster, it was a mouse tutorial, Microsoft’s internal conflicts, the moral panic around games like Minesweeper, and the clock is ticking.

See more from Kyle Orland:

Twitter: @KyleOrl 

Sr. Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/author/kyle-orland/ 

Book: https://bossfightbooks.com/products/minesweeper-by-kyle-orland 

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Writer, journalist, and ‘several’ time returning guest Jack Yarwood shares his research on two video game logos with stylized R’s, which were subsequently made to be physical objects, as recently published in his articles "It Became Almost Like A Cult" - The Untold Story Behind Rockstar's Iconic Logo and The Origin Of Rare's Iconic "Golden Toilet Roll" Logo.

Mentioned in the show: https://gamehistory.org/dma-design-art/

See more from Jack Yarwood:

Twitter: @JackGYarwood

Website: timeextension.com

Twitter: @TimeExtension64

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Kelsey and Frank hit record on a Friday afternoon for an impromptu, off-the-cuff discussion about a scary recent development in the world of video game preservation regarding the preservation organization Forest of Illusion. Total bummer topics include how much we rely on individual people to work for free, how many fragile points of failure there are for keeping information alive, and how there aren't any great solutions yet. But don't worry! Things get positive again toward the end.

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Jirard Khalil, aka "That One Video Gamer", aka “The Completionist,” aka “Dragonrider,” joins us to talk about his recent video I bought EVERY Nintendo Wii U & 3DS game before the Nintendo eShop closes. In this episode: what happens when an E-Shop closes and why it shuts down, preserving games for toddlers, libraries collecting like this would be absurd, unheard stories of the chaos of buying thousands of dollars in Link gift cards, is piracy a possible solution or the only option?, wishful legal solutions, the true costs of this endeavor.

See more from Jirard Khalil:

YouTube: /ThatOneVideoGamer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Completionist

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/TheCompletionist

Instagram: @thecompletionist

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

(Content Warning: this episode deals with the topic of death)

Collector, preservationist, and founding board member Steve Lin joins us to illuminate the realities of dealing with a collection after the collector has passed away. In this episode: balancing preserving history and helping a family left behind, what you can implement immediately, what is a trust and how does it work?, collecting in the 90’s and 00’s, your Why? of collecting, the passion for collecting may not live beyond you.

See more from Steve Lin:

Twitter: @stevenplin

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Journalist and researcher Nick Yanes brings us a piece of history not only from his own local area, but also from his own past in his recent article The birth and death of Budcat Creations, Iowa's first (and only) Triple-A game studio. We take a peek inside the life of a development studio during a tumultuous time in the game industry and learn some valuable lessons along the way. In this episode: the Guitar Hero empire, annual Halloween playlist, the business model of a dev studio, life as a game developer, what happened in Nebraska?, what Bubcat could have been, and lessons from not being recession-proof.

See more from Nicholas Yanes:

Twitter: @NicholasYanes

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-yanes-51884aa/

Post News: https://post.news/@/nicholasyanes

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank and guest Chris Kohler recap their recent attendance of the 2023 D.I.C.E. Summit, a Las Vegas convention for executives and other high-level creatives in the interactive entertainment space. In this episode: a little history of the show’s atmospheric evolution, the D.I.C.E. Awards, ‘speed date’ networking, the best games shopping in Vegas, Frank apologizes to his Mom, and we do allow ourselves to reminisce about the good ol’ days with some behind the scenes journalists’ stories.

See more from Chris Kohler:

Twitter: @kobunheat

Website: www.chriskohler.biz

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Kohler/e/B001IOFJPI%3F

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Frank Cifaldi takes the guest seat for this episode and shares the story of the most obscure caper in Carmen Sandiego’s criminal history, a story we shared in a blog post a few years ago. In this episode: we plan a TV series, deep fried steak with a Teddy Roosevelt impersonator, Broderbund’s involvement in the game, attending an unaccredited auctioneering school, this game’s legacy in a parallel world, and Frank’s favorite part of this episode.

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Polygon Senior Reporter Nicole Carpenter joins us to chat about the 1989 Legend of Zelda cartoon, the subject of her recent oral history piece: ‘Excuuuuse me, Princess!’: An oral history of The Legend of Zelda cartoon. In this episode: Zeldathon; this cartoon is basically Shakespeare; The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!; the wild west of the Duoforce; a dinky startup named Nintendo of America; my sword doesn’t hit things, it shoots lasers; and poor Will Smith.

Referenced in the show: https://gameranx.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/3-720x821.jpg

See more from Nicole Carpenter:

Twitter: @sweetpotatoes

Email: nicole (at) polygon (dot) com

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Jonas Rosland, executive director of Hit Save!, shares their newest Guide to Start Video Game Preservation as an individual not necessarily affiliated with an organization. In this episode we look at the first steps to take, knowing what’s already been done, where to get more material, and we ask some philosophical and big-picture questions around video game preservation.

See more from Jonas Rosland:

Website: hitsave.org

Patreon: /hitsave

Twitter: @hitsaveorg

GitHub: github.com/hitsave

Personal twitter: @jonasrosland

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Norm Caruso returns to discuss Super Mario Kart’s somewhat humble beginnings as laid out in his recent video essay The Story of Super Mario Kart | Gaming Historian. In this episode: looking for the SMK team photo, an invaluable go kart outing, Mario by any other name, the mechanics of drifting, Norm had to “git gud,” file dates: a crucial tool in digital archaeology, and Lost Media: $25,000 for a lost song.

See more from Norm Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

Website: thegaminghistorian.com

Patreon: /gaminghistorian

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

As we celebrate this milestone episode, we invite our editor, Michael Carrell, and producer, Robin Kunimune, to take a look back with us at some of our and our listener's favorite memories from the last 100 'hours'. In this episode: how this podcast came to be, why we dedicate our time to this project, favorite guests, embarrassing moments, and so much more!

Mentioned in the show:

Derek’s 3D Scan - 8M Memory Pack box:

https://sketchfab.com/models/8e862790426d492793f74c60e671320f

See more from Michael Carrell:

Twitter: @ProducerMike975

Instagram: @ProducerMike975

Podcast: Comicast via Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Dreamcast Junkyard veterans Tom Charnock and Brian Vines join us to share their knowledge and experiences of the Dreamcast’s launch in both the European and US markets, respectively, and even a little on the Japanese market’s launch. In this episode: bonding over our strict video game upbringing rules; doing our darnedest to NOT derail into a Geist Force investigation; why the packaging differed; a deep dive into swirls; various lawsuit threats toward Sega; and many of the similarities and differences between these two market launches.

See more from Tom Charnock:

Website: thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk

Twitter: @TheDCJunkyard

Podcast: The Dreamcast Junkyard DreamPod on all podcast services

YouTube: /TheDreamcastJunkyard

Discord: The Dreamcast Junkyard

Facebook (et al.): /TheDreamcastJunkyard

See more from Brian Vines:

Twitter: @VirtuaSchlub

Blog: thevirtuaplanet.com

Saturn Junkyard's TitanCast: thesaturnjunkyard.buzzsprout.com

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Dylan Mansfield, gaming historian and archivist, joins the show to share an odd piece of Sega history from his recent article Saving Sacred Pools: Sega’s Million Dollar Adult Game. This mid 90’s FMV game with adult themes was, until recently, considered lost. In this episode: we want to know why crappy games are crappy; once again, we get sucked into doing research live on the air; Frank doesn’t have much time left to do his work; Kelsey likes to “...well, actually…”; and a bit of smack talk.

See more from Dylan Mansfield:

Twitter: @thatdylanfellow

Website: www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/

Additional work on DidYouKnowGaming?: LOST Nintendo DS Game FOUND After 15 Years (by us)

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Chris Gliddon, archivist and producer at RocketSnail Games, takes a look back at the inception and evolution of Club Penguin, an MMO virtual world filled with games and activities from 2005. In this episode: Chris and Kelsey can barely contain their excitement, no one wants war - everybody just wants to chat and walk around, preserving a living game: it’s clean (but it’s a mess), business cases for archiving, and if you don’t have Leeroy Jenkins you don’t have World of Warcraft.

See more from Chris Gliddon:

Twitter: @redkeytar

Website: redkeytar.com

Twitter - Successor to CP: @PlayPartyParrot

Website: partyparrotworld.com

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

As the end of the year approaches, so does our 100th episode and we can't wait to celebrate by hearing about your favorite memories from the last 99 shows. Please send your stories, questions, and comments to [email protected] or by submitting through our google form: https://forms.gle/62tKAsQW6VRKUNUN6

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Computer and video game historian, NYU assistant professor, and all-around rad friend of the show Laine Nooney discusses their recent article One of the most important women in Apple’s history never worked for Apple. In this episode: Bitcoin, ham radios, VR, and the Apple II - it’s all related; Softalk magazine; the 1977 Trinity; and ideation on the purpose of history.

See more from Laine Nooney:

Twitter: @Sierra_OffLine

Podcast: Unboxing: https://anchor.fm/unboxingplayandprofit/

Book: The Apple II Age: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-apple-ii-age-laine-nooney/1142333554

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Chris Kohler returns to the show, this time to chat with Frank Cifaldi about the Portland Retro Gaming Expo held annually in Portland, Oregon. In this episode: a creepy merry-go-round, PRGE museum iterations, a drive-by pre-announcement, the current collector atmosphere, and the preservation ecosystem.

See more from Chris Kohler:

Twitter: @kobunheat

Website: www.chriskohler.biz

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Kohler/e/B001IOFJPI%3F

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Alex Smith hijacks the show from co-hosts Kelsey and “the other Kelsey” to dive deep into the history of Magnavox, manufacturer of the first commercial home video game console: Odyssey. In this episode: a ‘loudspeaker’ really is a person who speaks loudly, Futurama, Star Trek, the government creates a monopoly, we’re going to need a lot of wire to go wireless, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra.

See more from Alex Smith:

Website: theycreateworlds.com

Blog: videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Podcast: podcast.theycreateworlds.com

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Drew Mackie, author and owner of gaming blog Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games, joins the show this week to share the history of some of Street Fighter II’s character names. We start off with a recent article of his, If His Name Is Blanka, Why Is He Green?, taking a look at the biggest theories surrounding this odd naming choice. Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun-Li, M. Bison, and Vega all make an appearance. Don’t worry, everyone communicates using their words, not fists, on this show.

See more from Drew Mackie:

Website: thrillingtalesofoldvideogames.com

Twitter: @drewgmackie

Instagram: @kidicarus222

Production Company: tablecakes.com

Podcast: gayestepisodeever.com - LGBTQ+ analysis of episodes of classic sitcoms

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Ernie Smith, editor of website and newsletter Tedium and chum of the show, hooked our attention with his recent article Surf Like A Shark highlighting the SharkWire Online, a totally unlicensed device which brought internet connectivity to the Nintendo 64. In this episode: edgy 7-years-olds are a marketing demographic, Fisher-Price “My First Internet,” Dad is on the computer and we’re not fancy enough people, and Dan keeps the game cheats legacy alive (thanks Dan!).

See more from Ernie Smith:

Website: tedium.co

Twitter: @ShortFormErnie

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Journalist and critic Kim justice recently released a video, The Story of JRPG's in the UK BEFORE FFVII: Super Play Magazine | Kim Justice, challenging the traditional narrative about how JRPGs were introduced in the UK, perhaps paralleling how it happened in the US. In this episode we shop for hardware live on-air, underserved import culture, Donkey Kong Country takes a back seat, spoilers gonna spoil, and it takes gumption to tell people what’s really cool.

Mentioned in the show:

https://www.codejunkies.com/Products/SD-Media-Launcher__EF000580V.aspx

outofprintarchive.com

See more from Kim Justice:

YouTube: /kimblejustice

Twitch: /kim_justice

Patreon: /kimblejustice

Twitter: @kimxxxjustice

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Designer and Sierra On-Line co-founder Roberta Williams shares how Adventure inspired her own career in creating/designing the King's Quest and Phantasmagoria series as well as her newest work: Colossal Cave 3D Adventure, a reimagined version of the original title.In this episode we’re joined by a very vocal special guest, avid readers become avid storytellers, we’re all acutely aware of our own age, and looking under the hood bears greater appreciation for design.

See more from Roberta Williams:

Twitter: @thecolossalcave

Website: colossalcave3d.com

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Jimmy Maher, author of The Digital Antiquarian, returns once more to share his recent article Toonstruck (or, A Case Study in the Death of Adventure Games). We examine this 1996 point-and-click adventure as an illustration of the mainstream decline of its entire genre. In this episode: “Siliwood” interactive movies are the next big thing, the curse of a blank check strikes again, no one ever got off Myst’s first island, do peanut butter and salmon really go together?, how simple economics shaped game design, Frank drops a major bomb making us question if we even know him anymore, and Barney is a real dinosaur who wrote his own song lyrics.

See more from Jimmy Maher:

The Digital Antiquarian: filfre.net

Patreon: /DigitalAntiquarian

Twitter: @DigiAntiquarian

The Analog Antiquarian: https://analog-antiquarian.net/

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Kevin Bunch returns to the show to share a new episode from Atari Archive: The Launch Lineup: Intellivision Archive Episode 1. In this episode we learn the history of the Intellivision launch and many of the innovative, if not long-lasting, ideas that came with it. Get ready for some Backgammon with a shifty-eyed poker man.

See more from Kevin Bunch:

Twitter: @ubersaurus

YouTube: /atariarchive

Website: atariarchive.org

Patreon: /atariarchive

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

We’re joined by Aaron Reed, creator of a special blog post turned book called 50 Years of Text Games, a project documenting one stand-out text adventure game from every year going all the way back to 1971 (Oregon Trail!). In this episode we look into the 1988 entry, P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A., a political protest game from Czechoslovakia. Aaron helps paint a striking picture of the political and cultural climate at the time which helped forge this, and other, resistive titles. Find out how this game created IRL consequences, both intended and unintended.

See more from Aaron Reed:

Twitter: @aaronareed

Book Pre-Order Kickstarter: 50 Years of Text Games: From Oregon Trail to A.I. Dungeon

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Gaming Historian Norm Caruso returns to share The Story of Super Mario World | Gaming Historian: his newest YouTube documentary. In this episode we get to see behind the curtain, so to speak, and witness industry strategies for psyching out your competitors; hear the swan song(s) of 8-bit cartridge games from Nintendo; see some ‘fishy’ early sprites; claim plausible deniability; get excited about dated files; and have our minds blown with new information on our beloved Yoshi.

See more from Norm Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

Website: thegaminghistorian.com

Patreon: /gaminghistorian

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Henry E. Lowood, Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections in the Stanford University Libraries and Co-Editor of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories, gets deep into the weeds of library science around video games with VGHF Library Director Phil Salvador comparing and contrasting our two organizations. In this episode: we plan to be around in 100 years, Henry gives us a homework assignment, battleships and destroyers both play important roles in Library Land, spreadsheet enthusiasts get a shout out, and only the most hardcore historians will know about this special collection at Stanford.

See more from Henry E. Lowood:

Twitter: @Liebenwalde

Website: https://lowood.people.stanford.edu/about

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Derek Alexander and Cassidy recently collaborated on Zeebo: Brazil's Bizarre Delisted Console | Past Mortem [SSFF], a mini documentary on possibly the most ill-conceived video game console, ever. In this cutest episode of the VGHH, we meet the Zeebo Gringo, a beautiful mutant system is born, we claim diplomatic immunity, and Uncle Zeebo and Kelsey both overstay their welcome.

See more from Derek Alexander:

Twitter: @stopskeletons

YouTube: /StopSkeletonsFromFighting

Twitch: /stop skeletons from fighting

Patreon: /StopSkeletonsFromFighting

See more from Cassidy:

Twitter: @BadGameHOF

Website: badgamehalloffame.com

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Returning guest Jack Yarwood recently wrote about this Mario Paint sequel in his article How a British Developer Made a Japan-Exclusive Sequel to Mario Paint: the Super Nintendo utility to create art, animation, music, etc. Published in 1999, Mario Artist Paint Studio was a direct sequel in everything but name. Being exclusive to Japan and exclusive to the N64 floppy disk add-on 64DD is just the beginning of this odd tale.

See more from Jack Yarwood :

Twitter: @JackGYarwood

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

We have a quick announcement about the podcast this week - Frank explains: we're changing our publishing frequency, why, and what it means moving forward. We'll be back at it next week; see you then!

Jonathan piqued the interest of our co-hosts with his recent video EarthBound 64/MOTHER 3 N64 Spaceworld ‘99 breakdown/analysis, a detailed account of everything we know about the Spaceworld demo of MOTHER 3, a game well documented as our ‘holy grail’ in preservation. In this episode Kelsey and Jonathan must defend Cabbage, Frank pleads with you, a time traveler saves our life, Frank is haunted by what could have been, and Jonathan puts out a call for two missing magazines.

See more from Jonathan:

Twitter: @DaEgg123

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPo8kqM51sBD0USOjouTrQ/featured

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Chris Baines shares his recently published documentary, The History of Ghosts 'n Goblins (and Makaimura 魔界村) - Full Series Retrospective | ChrisB Crisps, covering the extensive (if confusingly titled) franchise and its creator Tokuro Fujiwara. In this episode: cringing from ‘go,’ clout is expensive, women are hard to find, we visit Kelsey’s WonderSwan Corner, and Frank ruins Chris’ video. Oh, and a “Woooooow” moment from a beautiful evolution line through history.

See more from Chris Baines:

Twitter: @ChrisBCrisps

YouTube: /ChrisBCrisps

Instagram: @ChrisBCrisps

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Jon-Paul Dyson, the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games at The Strong, where he is also the VP of exhibits, shares all about the museum and its 2022 World Video Game Hall of Fame finalists. In this episode Disneyland is one of the best level designs ever made, collectors make a whole greater than the sum of their parts, potted palms and vending machines bring a new perspective, and Moon Patrol gets left out in the cold.

See more from Jon-Paul Dyson:

Twitter: @jpdysonplay

See more from The Strong National Museum of Play:

Twitter: @museumofplay

Instagram: @museumofplayroc

Facebook: /TheStrongMuseum

YouTube: /MuseumofPlay

International Center for the History of Electronic Games Facebook: /ICHEG

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Gaming historian Liam Robertson returns as almost a sequel to Ep. 16 to share how Nintendo’s Page Boy was almost a sequel to their unreleased Work Boy, as shown in his recent video Page Boy: Nintendo's LOST Game Boy Add-on | Game History Secrets. Man, that’s a lot of boys! We stack add-ons to get an operating system, find the origin of the selfie, assign Nintendo employees a scavenger hunt item, and Liam brings Kelsey a new secret - all at 400 characters a minute.

See more from Liam Robertson:

Twitter: @Doctor_Cupcakes

Game History Secrets series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO9mxFELVbbHM1dR6VumpP60zBENfQr0b

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Author Chris Kohler explores the evolution of niche fan culture from analog to digital through stories from his book Final Fantasy V (Boss Fight Books Book 18). “Young Chris” learns uploading to America Online makes it live forever, all the cool games stay in Japan, you can use Mario Paint as a Rosetta Stone for Japanese, and searching the internet for information about Final Fantasy has no results. “Now Chris” manifests Frank into existence with his thoughts and will always have his back.

See more from Chris Kohler:

Twitter: @kobunheat

Website: www.chriskohler.biz

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Kohler/e/B001IOFJPI%3F

Video Game History Foundation:

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Veteran game designer Noah Falstein looks back on his 42 year long, and counting, career and reflects on the evolution of both the role and industry over these four decades. We find Noah’s cassette tape, Simon is in Silicon Valley, $30 brings utter horror, Noah has to rein in the fun or else you’ll get hurt, and we put out a call for your tattoos.

See more from Noah Falstein:

Twitter: @nfalstein

Website: theinspiracy.com

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Benj Edwards - journalist, tech historian, and recovering retro computer hoarder - teaches us a little about MS-DOS and QBasic through their How-To Geek article: GORILLA.BAS: How to Play the Secret MS-DOS Game From Your Childhood. Frank and Benj reminisce back to day zero, Snacks 'n Jaxson gets swatted, we hack a powerful secret instead of learning our lesson, and Frank sings the theme song for history.

Mentioned in the show:

Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California - https://computerhistory.org/

https://oldcomputers.net/

https://www.vintagecomputing.com/

See more from Benj Edwards:

Twitter: @benjedwards

Website: http://vintagecomputing.com/

How-To Geek: https://www.howtogeek.com/author/benjedwards/

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

A couple months ago we hosted a ticketed event as a fundraiser we called Nintendo Power Reunion - Stories from the Original Nintendo Power Staff. Nintendo Power was one of the most popular and iconic video game magazines in the US, and its original staff have gathered together for the first time to talk about it! Our panelists are Gail Tilden, Howard Philips, Leslie Swan, and Jeff Bafus. Please enjoy the audio from an incredible afternoon of stories and behind-the-scenes making of the classic Nintendo magazine.

Our Panelists:

Gail Tilden - Nintendo of America’s first VP of Brand Management, creator and first Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Power.

Howard Phillips - Nintendo of America’s Game Master, co-star of the Howard & Nester comics in Nintendo Power.

Leslie Swan - Second Editor-in-Chief of Nintendo Power, and first Localization Director at Nintendo of America.

Jeff Bafus -  Former Sales and Marketing manager at Nintendo of America, writer/editor for Nintendo Power and Nintendo Power Strategy Guide.

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Translator, localizer, and writer Nob Ogasawara shares highlights of his career working with the Pokémon franchise and at EGM. He shares his birthday with two funny coincidences, gets called a “god,” inadvertently creates a fashion legend, and laments a lost Brittney Spearow.

See more from Nob Ogasawara:

Twitter: @DougDinsdale

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Dimitris Giannakis, well-known for creating excellent videos on the technical aspect of video game preservation, explains. Luckily, he wears a T-shirt as a perfect example, we ponder at what point the code becomes Michael Jordan, and a boy dancing with a baguette solves a problem.

See more from Dimitris Giannakis:

Twitter: @ModernVintageG

YouTube: /ModernVintageGamer

Patreon: /ModernVintageGamer

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Join us in our celebration of the Video Game History Foundation’s 5th birthday! Let’s take a ride through history as we retrace the long road to how the VGHF came together, what we’ve been up to for these last 5 years, and where we’re going next. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to our dream; we hope we have made, and will continue to make, you proud. Everything we’ve done has only been possible because we’ve had the support of those around us, near and far, and we’re eternally grateful. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Phil Salvador - video game historian and librarian - has not only joined the Video Game History Foundation as its new Library Director, he’s also joined the show this week to tell us all about what he’ll be doing in this new role. Phil has quite the endeavor ahead of him getting our collection organized, cataloged (what we have, who it came from, why it’s significant, etc.), and eventually digitized. We talk about what makes up our collection, our hopes for its accessibility, and both the short and long-term goals on our roadmap.

See more from Phil Salvador:

Twitter: @itstheshadsy

Website: obscuritory.com

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Our guest this week, Yahel Velazquez from the Patreon funded YouTube channel Wrestling With Gaming, caught our eye with his recent video How Perfect Dark Surpassed Goldeneye On N64 - The Making Of The Nintendo 64 Classic. Yahel shares the story of the making of Perfect Dark - the Nintendo 64 game made by Rare as the follow up to its smash hit Goldeneye - as well as people who made it happen.

See more from Yahel Velazquez:

YouTube: /WrestlingWithGaming

Twitter: @WrestlesGaming

Patreon: /WrestlingWithGaming

Podcast: Obscurity Now!

Obscurity Now! YouTube: /ReptilianMedia

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Author and oral historian Brian VanHooker recently caught our attention with his very appropriately titled article, An Oral History of ‘The Simpsons: Road Rage’. Briefly putting aside his obsession with Ninja Turtles, Brian talks to us about The Simpsons: Road Rage, which many consider the first breakthrough game from the franchise since the Konami Arcade debut, as well as the people who made it.

See more from Brian VanHooker:

Twitter: @bvanhooker

Website: https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/author/brian-vanhooker

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/turtletrackspodcast

Comic: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barnum-elwood/barnum-and-elwood-issues-1-and-2/description

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Video game historian and documentarian Kevin Bunch is here to talk about the Fairchild Channel F: the greatest game console ever made by Fairchild. Creator of the Atari Archive series of gaming documentaries about the Atari 2600’s library, Kevin tells us the story of this “alternate universe Atari” console in his latest video The Fairchild Channel F Story - Archive Annex Episode 3. The channel F was the first ever programmable game console for the home; the first game system that you could program a game for and then sell said game on a cartridge, as opposed to everything already built into one unit.

Mentioned in the show: https://archive.org/details/olney-fairchild-documents/

See more from Kevin Bunch:

Twitter: @ubersaurus

YouTube: /atariarchive

Website: atariarchive.org

Patreon: /atariarchive

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Gaming Historian and friend of the show, Norm Caruso, joins us to expand on his recent video The Ultimate Guide to NES Light Guns | Gaming Historian about The Zapper and many other NES light guns. Learn the history of how these types of guns were even invented, how these toys worked (and how to cheat!), and how the late Senator Bob Dole was involved in this story.

Enteractive Advertisement mentioned in show: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BpBQmwIIgAA95pT?format=jpg&name=orig

See more from Norman Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

Website: thegaminghistorian.com

Patreon: /gaminghistorian

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Danny O’Dwyer of Noclip is here to talk about the latest episode in their Greatest Hits series, The History of Grand Theft Auto, Lemmings & DMA Design. Now ‘the’ Grand Theft Auto expert, Danny explains the European version of iconic American stereotypes present in this game compared to differing regional stereotypes found in other titles. We touch on how cultural perceptions play an unexpectedly influential role in game creation, especially when a studio is aiming for the global market. You won’t believe the strange and lengthy catalog of titles which were essential in the timeline leading up to the creation of GTA III.

See more from Danny O’Dwyer:

Twitter: @dannyodwyer

YouTube: /noclipvideo

Patreon: /noclip

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Andrew Borman, Digital Games Curator at The Strong National Museum of Play, joins us to discuss the roles, benefits, limitations, and approaches of institutional versus individual video game preservation. At the end of the day, the entire ecosystem is required: collectors, academia, fans, institutions, and non-institutions all play a necessary part in completing the picture.

See more from Andrew Borman:

Twitter: @borman18

YouTube: /ptoponline

Website: http://museumofplay.org

Facebook: /icheg

Video Game History Foundation

Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

It’s time, once again, to answer your burning questions! But first, a big thank you to all our listeners, supporters, and cheerleaders! And, thank you to all the wonderful guests who joined the show and the deluge of information they shared with us this year. We discuss the most important things which happened in 2021, both at the VGHF and in the world of preservation; how much data we currently store; how we pick our guests and topics; what’s the biggest project we’re currently blocked on; and so much more!

Video Game History Foundation

Twitter: @gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg

Website: gamehistory.org

Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg

Dustin Hubbard (Hubz), founder of Gaming Alexandria, and Robert Reeves (Phillyman), founder of Retromags, join hosts Frank and Kelsey in a panel discussion on preserving video game magazines, especially those published pre-internet. We discuss why creating a library of old magazines is particularly important to overall preservation efforts, how we all got started, and how anyone can contribute. That last one is crucial: you won’t believe how big our backlogs are!

See more from Dustin Hubbard:

Twitter: @GamingAlexandri

Website: www.gamingalexandria.com

Discord: https://discord.gg/YHZUVaAXw3

Patreon: /gamingalexandria

See more from Rob Reeves:

Twitter: @retromags

Website: www.retromags.com

Facebook: /RetromagsPreservation

Subscriptions: patron.retromags.com

Retromags 2005-2020 Collection: torrents.retromags.com

PushDustIn, aka Will, takes us on a journey through the past of Super Smash Bros. (read: Brothers). Sparing us only a small break from his rather busy work as a content creator, Japanese Translator, Community Manager, PR professional, Co-host of the Memory Card podcast, and creator of the Source Gaming website, Push is here to teach us about the SSB humble beginnings of Ohajiki-style gameplay, goofy 90’s commercials of Mario punching sweet Yoshi, and the brutal process of final character inclusion selection. Has your favorite Nintendo character made it into Super Smash Bros., yet?

See more from PushDustIn:

Twitter: @PushDustIn

Memory Card Podcast: https://www.memorycardshow.com/

Source Gaming:  https://source-gaming.com/

Jacob Salas, of the website Pop History, joins the show to tell us about an ambitious attempt at a Virtual Magic Kingdom CD ROM that, in a lot of ways, is also the story of Hollywood's odd attempts in the 90’s to try to get into the video game market more seriously. In his feature article One Name, Two Games: Virtual Magic Kingdom we learn the story of a massive virtual Disney theme park project which was shut down, revived into an MMO, shut down again, then subsequently revived again by fans and kept going to this day. You may also know this project as Disney’s Villains’ Revenge, the retail puzzle action game: this project certainly has a complex history.

Salas was the recipient of a writing grant from the Video Game History Foundation for the purpose of researching and documenting this history.

See more from Jacob Salas:

Pop History – https://pophistory.club

Pop history twitter: @js_pophistory

Patreon – /pophistory

Twitter – @js_jrod

YouTube – /czfjrod

Alex Smith returns to the show, this time to talk about Computer Space: a 1971 arcade game often considered the beginning of the commercial video game industry. Continuing the annotation series of his book, “They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. I”, Alex Smith has condensed down the history of this first coin-operated video game in his recent blog post: Worldly Wednesdays: A Timeline Of Computer Space. Always the thorough historian, Alex Smith treats us to an incredibly educational hour of video game history.

See more from Alex Smith:

Website: theycreateworlds.com

Blog: videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Podcast: podcast.theycreateworlds.com

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Cyberlaw Clinic tech lawyer Kendra Albert and librarian and video game historian Phil Salvador join the show to give us their professional insight into the U.S. Copyright Office's October 2021 ruling which affects how libraries are able to provide access to video games and other software. As we discuss this current event, we hope to provide context as to what this ruling means, how it was reached, and how we might approach the next round of exemption proposals to best serve preservation efforts.

Further Reading:

Cyberlaw Clinic (background material): https://clinic.cyber.harvard.edu/2021/03/12/clinic-spn-and-lca-fight-digital-deterioration-prepare-for-1201-hearings/

Final rule (10 page version): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-10-28/pdf/2021-23311.pdf

Register’s recommendation (300 page version): https://cdn.loc.gov/copyright/1201/2021/2021_Section_1201_Registers_Recommendation.pdf

See more from Kendra Albert:

Twitter: @Kendraserra

Harvard Law School Cyberlaw Clinic: https://clinic.cyber.harvard.edu/

Cyberlaw Clinic Twitter: @cyberlawclinic

Software Preservation Network: https://www.softwarepreservationnetwork.org/

Software Preservation Network Twitter: @SoftPresNetwork

See more from Phil Salvador:

Twitter: @itstheshadsy

Website: obscuritory.com

Rachel Weil started the FEMICOM Museum to catalogue, celebrate, and remix the history of girl games, girly games, and femme games. She joins us to provide insight into how this massive category of video games has been shut out of history preservation (hint: follow the money) and how she’s been countering this trend for the last decade. As Founder and Director, Rachel combines both an online museum experience with a physical archive of games, electronic toys, and software. We bask in the nostalgia of Barbie Fashion Designer, the Game Boy Sewing Machine, Hello Kitty games, My Little Pony games, Neopets, and so much more!

See more from Rachel Weil:

Twitter: @FemicomMuseum

Website: femicom.org

Personal Twitter: @partytimeHXLNT

Executive Director of Hit Save!, Jonas Rosland, joins us to showcase some of the amazing work this fellow 501(c)(3) non-profit does in preserving video game history, especially through community-driven projects. Hit Save! has brought together amazing resources in both their Scanning.Guide! and Dumping.Guide! to aid our community in digitizing existing materials as well as a program facilitating interviews with game developers to preserve that history which may not yet have been documented. Rosland also gives us a peek into many other current projects and we learn how any of us can get involved.

Mentioned in the show:

Scanning.Guide! (https://scanning.guide/)

Dumping.Guide! (https://dumping.guide/)

See more from Jonas Rosland:

Website: hitsave.org

Patreon: /hitsave

Twitter: @hitsaveorg

GitHub: github.com/hitsave

Personal twitter: @jonasrosland

Gaming historian and journalist Damiano Gerli shares the details of how exactly Nintendo marketed itself to the Italian consumer in the 80’s and 90’s as laid out in his article Selling Mario to Italians: the untold story of Nintendo in Italy. They really had their work cut out for them as they tried to bring their console into an environment already heavily favoring PC gaming as well as free of software copyright laws. How did they make it work and what byproducts still survive today as a result?

See more from Damiano Gerli:

Twitter: @damgentemp

Genesis Temple blog - dedicated to obscure gaming history and analyzing interesting elements of game design: https://genesistemple.com/

Patreon: /thegenesistemple

Facebook: /TheGenesisTemple

Author Tim Lapetino joins us to discuss his new book, Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon. After so many years, why are there still stories to tell about Pac-Man? During a time when shooting aliens was the hot gameplay on the scene, we find out why this game, with such a different experience, had mass appeal. Tim takes us down the rabbit hole of what is just so fascinating about this iconic character, the legendary franchise, and its creator.

See more from Tim Lapetino:

Twitter: @lapetino

Website: timlapetino.com

Instagram: @timlapetino

Book: Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon: Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon

Recommended Book: Art Of Atari

GlitchCat7, competitive gamer/ROM hacker/full time streamer/Kaizo Mario historian of record, joins us to discuss his extensive blog post, The Complete History of ‘Kaizo Mario’. GlitchCat7 helps us understand how ‘Kaizo’ was born from exploring glitched levels, wall clipping, and ROM warping. These rearranged, and quite difficult, Mario levels provide a jumping off point for a philosophical journey through what it means to go beyond the horizon of what’s explorable in a game and play out of bounds.

Mentioned in the show:

https://www.smwcentral.net//

See more from GlitchCat7:

Website: https://www.glitchcat7.com

Twitch: /glitchcat7

Twitter: @GlitchCat7

TikTok: @GlitchCat7

Instagram: @GlitchCat7

Patreon: @GlitchCat7

Mallow’s Instagram: @mallowspiraltail

Historian and documentarian Kate Willaert returns to the show, this time to discuss her recent article on “adult” games made under the Mystique banner for the Atari 2600: Porno Hustlers Of The Atari Age. Kate guides us through the very troubled history around these titles’ creation and release, including protests, legal suits, and attempted legislation. She also unravels the complicated company structures behind these games to figure out who was really involved in this story.

See more from Kate Willaert:

Twitter: @katewillaert

YouTube: /a critical hit

Website: acriticalhit.com

Patreon: /acriticalhit

Newsletter: criticalkate.substack.com

John Rairdin of Nintendo World Report joins us to discuss his ambitious documentary The History and Development of Star Fox Command (Ft. The Original Developers). He shares the previously undocumented history of this Nintendo DS title, its developers from Q-Games, and its many creators. As a side note: John has some pretty good ideas on how to make a game about space rodents, who may or may not have robotic legs, flying around saving the universe into a pretty fun racing game. Let’s get on this, Nintendo!

See more from John Rairdin:

Twitter: @jtsknight92

Website: NintendoWorldReport.com

YouTube: /NinWRTV

Patreon: /NWR

We’re joined, once again, by Norman Caruso to discuss the history of a unique 1990 Nintendo Entertainment System controller, the U-Force. All the rage when it was announced, this hands-free controller uses infrared emitters/detectors to locate your hands in 3-dimensional space for game control input. In his recent video Don't Touch: The Story of the U-Force | Gaming Historian we learn how this device came about and why, sadly, it didn’t perform very well, both physically and in the retail market.

Find more content from Norman Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

Patreon: /gaminghistorian

To celebrate the Video Game History Hour’s 50th episode we’ve invited friend of the show, Chris Kohler, to join a thoughtful conversation all about game prototypes. What are they, where do they come from, and what part did they play in forming the Video Game History Foundation? How does the existence of source code affect our feelings about prototypes? We share stories of cool prototypes we’ve come across in our past and what prototypes we’d loved to find someday.

Mentioned in the show:

https://hiddenpalace.org/Project_Deluge

See more from Chris Kohler:

Twitter: @kobunheat

Website: www.chriskohler.biz

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Kohler/e/B001IOFJPI%3F

Jimmy Maher, creator of The Digital Antiquarian, returns to the show to discuss his article on The Dig, a LucasArts point and click adventure. Jimmy takes us through the rich, but troubled, history of this title in a way that helps us understand how this project ever made it to the finish line and why it wasn’t more popular. Grab your shovel and get ready to solve some alien space puzzles!

See more from Jimmy Maher:

The Digital Antiquarian: filfre.net

Patreon: /DigitalAntiquarian

Twitter: @DigiAntiquarian

The Analog Antiquarian: https://analog-antiquarian.net/

Tomorrow marks the 22 year anniversary of the Dreamcast’s North American launch back on 9/9/99. To celebrate, we’re joined by Chase, one of the PR professionals charged with creating its memorable launch for Sega and who worked on the release of every single first party game for the console. We get a different perspective on this moment in history and hear stories of the memorable and wacky stunts Chase helped to put together to create media buzz. You can see some of his saved memorabilia and swag from these events in his Twitch stream, Highlight: Dreamcast Anniversary Stream.

See more from Chase:

Twitter: @chasejustchase

Twitch: /chase

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In our final week of our three week hiatus, we’re going back to a conversation we had with David L. Craddock back in episode 33. We covered the Resident Evil demo that had come out and other upcoming games, how our gaming styles have changed as we’ve gotten older, and what styles of game reviews we find useful. We hope you enjoy!

See more from David L. Craddock:

Website: shacknews.com

Twitter: @davidlcraddock

Book: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/monsters-in-the-dark-the-making-of-x-com#/

Website: davidlcraddock.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We’re continuing our brief hiatus, but this week we’re sharing a little after-show chat we had with Alex Smith talking further about the Smithsonian’s oral history project: Video Game Pioneers Archive.

See more from Alex Smith:

Blog: videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Video Game Pioneers Archive: https://invention.si.edu/node/20723/p/489-videogame-pioneers-archive

Project Transcripts: https://sova.si.edu/details/NMAH.AC.1498?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=&i=0

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Podcast: podcast.theycreateworlds.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The podcast is going to take a brief hiatus for a few weeks in order to better focus on projects at the foundation. But, don't worry; we're not leaving you with nothing! Back in episode 30 we hung out with Ben Hanson after the show and discussed the process of being an interviewer and the challenges that includes. We hope you enjoy this more into-the-weeds convo and look forward to coming back very soon.

See more from Ben Hanson:

Twitter: @yozetty

Website: www.Minnmax.com

YouTube: /minnmax

Patreon: /minnmax

Podcast: The MinnMax Show

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Greetings and welcome to some quality time with Clint Basinger of Lazy Game Reviews, his YouTube channel dedicated to computer history and software. We originally were inspired to bring Clint on the show to discuss his recent video, Unreal Tournament 22 Years Later: An LGR Retrospective, but we just couldn’t help but expand to the broader topic of 1990’s computer tech, his expertise. From Morrowind to Need for Speed, from Windows ‘95 to Direct3D, Clint joins us to share his passion and we couldn’t be more excited.

See more from Clint Basinger:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Lazygamereviews

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A behind the scenes look at one of our recent home preservation efforts. Sometimes we get the call from someone with a house full of items in need of preservation and we just can’t turn down the opportunity. This time, we traveled to the Chicago area for a couple different collections. We can’t wait to tell you some of the cool things we came across!

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Martin Robinson of Eurogamer brings us the history of the Neo Geo, an interesting console of its time owned by an interesting type of person. Referring to his recent article, When the arcade came home: a short oral history of the Neo Geo, Robinson lays out what it was like at SNK making games for this outlier of a console, longs for the freedom some of these developers had in their creative processes, and blows our minds with a revelation about Metal Slug.

See more from Martin Robinson:

Profile: https://www.eurogamer.net/authors/748

Website: https://www.eurogamer.net/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Once again, we’re joined by Kevin Bunch of Atari Archive, this time to talk about his 50th episode of said series: Stellar Track (Star Trek): Atari Archive Episode 50. We learn the history of this very early, very influential game, its many iterations, and its different names along the way.

See more from Kevin Bunch:

Twitter: @ubersaurus

YouTube: /atariarchive

Website: atariarchive.org

Patreon: /atariarchive

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Video Game History Hour:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Video Game History Foundation:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameHistoryOrg

Website: https://gamehistory.org/

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/gamehistoryorg

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We open up the mailbag and answer some of our listeners' burning questions! We cover emulation preservation, the definition of a gaming historian, growing pains of the organization, best dinosaur games ever made, plans for our personal collections, and so much more!

Quick note: this is episode 40, but we refer to it as episode 41 in the recording; sorry for the mix up. The producer will have her head on correctly again next week!

Video Game History Hour

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gamehistoryhour

Email: [email protected]

Video Game History Foundation

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GameHistoryOrg

Website: https://gamehistory.org/

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/gamehistoryorg

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com/) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fan turned archivist Mat Van Rhoon of Big Finish Games tells the story of the lost Tex Murphy series production tapes in a recent article, Tex Murphy and the Raiders of the Lost Tapes. We hear about the sheer elation, joy, and maddening frustration these adventures in preservation led to, as well as the odd places from which some of these tapes were excavated. From discovery to digitization, Mat really put a tick in the ‘Win’ column for game history preservation!

See more from Mat Van Rhoon:

Twitter: @MatVanRhoon

LinkedIn: /matvanrhoon

See more from Big Finish Games:

Twitter: @BigFinishGames

Website: bigfinishgames.com

Facebook: /bigfinishgames

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Norman Caruso is here to share the history of the Sega Mega Modem from his most recent video SEGA Mega Modem: Ahead of Its Time | Gaming Historian. Despite many of its drawbacks and pitfalls, this device pointed to a brighter future that wasn’t able to come to fruition until almost a decade after its lackluster release. Was online, social gaming an inevitability or did the Mega Modem pave the way?

See more from Norman Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

Website: thegaminghistorian.com

Patreon: /gaminghistorian

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Grace Kramer and Derek Alexander are this week’s guests discussing the Nokia N-Gage from their recent documentary, N-Gage: Cell Phone Gaming's First Big Flop | Past Mortem [SSFF]. While there is some debate on the pronunciation of Nokia depending where you live, there is little doubt to the N-Gage’s major DOA status. Find out what exactly happened, both inside Nokia and out in the marketplace, to put this side-talking cell phone in the Bummer Books of gaming history.

See more from Grace Kramer & Derek Alexander:

Twitter: @stopskeletons

YouTube: /StopSkeletonsFromFighting

Twitch: /stop skeletons from fighting

Patreon: /StopSkeletonsFromFighting

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Game historian, journalist, and content creator Kim Justice joins us to talk about the commercial and critical disappointment, though surprisingly influential, Jurassic Park: Trespasser. In her recent documentary Jurassic Park: Trespasser - A Failure That Stood The Test Of Time | Kim Justice we’re taken through her six part story of its development, its failings, and its lessons learned. While some of those lessons learned include how to hide your non-existent legs with massive breasts, they also include how counting out bullets can be valuable to the player and using one’s entire body to press a button is only accurate physics on paper. Through video game archeology we now have the ability to experience Trespasser for what it was truly meant to be, which in itself is essentially what Jurassic Park is all about.

See more from Kim Justice:

YouTube: /kimblejustice

Twitch: /kim_justice

Patreon: /kimblejustice

Twitter: @kimxxxjustice

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We sit down with Jimmy Maher, author of The Digital Antiquarian, to examine his recent four part series: The Ratings Game. This series takes a look at how games came to have age ratings, why it was inevitable and necessary, and the fascinating butterfly effects that came because of it. Maher draws a very clear throughline from a United States Senate hearing controversy over violence in video games in 1993 directly through the inaugural E3 show in 1995. And, spurred by the curiosity of his wife, he even wades through fistfuls of scientific studies on the effects of violence in video games. Do they cause harm to our children?

See more from Jimmy Maher:

The Digital Antiquarian: filfre.net

Patreon: /DigitalAntiquarian

Twitter: @DigiAntiquarian

The Analog Antiquarian:https://analog-antiquarian.net/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Felipe Pepe takes us through his collaborative, non-profit project to create a historical guide to computer role playing games: The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games. What CRPG’s around the world are cool, interesting, historically important, popular, meaningful, and why are they so? Each entry highlights a game’s eccentricities, context of the time to better understand it, and the straightforward reasons why you should play it (though, there are plenty of games they recommend you don’t play). What started as a six month, 72 item project quickly became a four year, 400 item effort, but only due to overwhelming participation from the community. While the PDF version is completely free for download, all profits from hardcover sales benefit an educational charity in Brazil.

See more from Felipe Pepe:

Hardcover Book: https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/the-crpg-book-a-guide-to-computer-role-playing-games

Free PDF Book: https://crpgbook.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/crpg_book_2.0-1.pdf

Twitter: @Felipepepe

Website: crpgbook.wordpress.com

Contact: [email protected]

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Diving into the history of the Xbox in his recent long read, Bet on Black: How Microsoft and Xbox Changed Pop Culture, Part 1, David L. Craddock goes back to the time of JezzBall, Age of Empires, and trusty ‘ol Minesweeper: the games that kept us entertained while someone else in the house was using the phone. We discuss the import of porting Doom to show off DirectX, the PC Magazine two level Diablo demo disc, and the PR disaster of The Lion King for Windows 95. Craddock, no stranger to suddenly massively expanding the scope of his research, takes us down this rabbit hole with tales of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and Halo’s Blood Gulch map.

See more from David L. Craddock:

Website: shacknews.com

Twitter: @davidlcraddock

Book: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/monsters-in-the-dark-the-making-of-x-com#/

Website: davidlcraddock.com

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Eric Switzer joins us to share the development and downfall of Darkwatch in his article The Untold Story Of Darkwatch. A vampiric haunted western, Darkwatch could have, in another universe, been a major franchise. But, through a series of acquisitions and mandated pivots, its storyline deadended after only one title. Will this long silent universe ever see its rebirth? Switzer gives us his exciting take on what may come down the line.

See more from Eric Switzer:

Twitter: @EpicSwitzer

Website: thegamer.com

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Our podcasting duo takes us back to the dawning of real-time computer games: Spacewar! Alex Smith joins us for round two, being our second second-time guest, to pairaphrase the history of this 2-player game of binary ships thrusting around a gravity-well star, who (reluctantly) wrote it, who modded it, who played it, and who created the first couple of video game controllers ever made. If necessity is the mother of invention, can we agree ‘fun’ is at least a cool aunt? The second generation of computer engineers doubled down on these machines simply being fun toys and spawned an entire industry which now generates more than twice the revenue of both the music and film/TV industries combined!

Play Spacewar!: Masswerk.at

See more from Alex Smith:

Blog: videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Video Game Pioneers Archive: https://invention.si.edu/node/20723/p/489-videogame-pioneers-archive

Project Transcripts: https://sova.si.edu/details/NMAH.AC.1498?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=&i=0

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Podcast: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/

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Ben Hanson returns to the show to bring us The Oral History Of PopCap Games, a not 4 hour long video in which we learn how the “colors game” spawned the casual juggernaut Bejeweled, the black sheep in the corner made all the money, the PopCap Burrito won’t give us Plants Vs Zombies on our Switches, and the final score is 3-4. Look, I know that doesn’t really make a lot of cents, but you really only need nine.

See more from Ben Hanson:

Twitter: @yozetty

Website: www.Minnmax.com

Patreon: /minnmax

Podcast: The MinnMax Show

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Dr. Sparkle, the creator of Chrontendo, takes us through his more than decade long project to analyze every commercially released game for the NES and Famicom in chronological order while simultaneously spinning off this already massive show into two more: Chronsega and Chronturbo. If you’re ever looking for something to do with your free time, this guy might have some ideas for you. But, you may just be committing years and years of your life to a ‘bad’ (read: admirable) idea.

See more from Dr. Sparkle:

YouTube: /Chrontendo

Twitter: @Chrontendo

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Raven Simone takes us down the research rabbit hole she fell into while making her video The Girl Games Of Lost Media - Documentary. With few clues to follow, she started researching the Mean Girls game, but soon found herself chasing down info on Clueless and Pretty in Pink as well, discovering that research can often take you in unexpected directions. Frank, Kelsey, and Raven bond over how satisfying and thrilling it feels hunting down the treasures of lost media, the anguish of knowing how much data we’ve already lost due to a lack of preservation, and how you always seem to get new information as soon as you ‘close the book’ on your project.

See more from Raven Simone:

YouTube: /RayMona

Twitter: @TheRayMona

Instagram: @theraymona

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Should Monkey Island be made into a movie? Could it be? Jack Yarwood lays out the history of how this project almost came to be as well as why it gave up the ghost, instead. He, Frank, and Kelsey cross swords over if this could have been a glorious triumph*, like Super Mario Bros.: The Movie, or a *mumble mumble mumble*, like The Watchmen. Either way, the beloved Monkey Island franchise could still find its way to the silver screen as you never know what lies just beyond the horizon. Find Jack’s more in-depth history in his recent Polygon article Spilling the secrets of the canceled Curse of Monkey Island movie.

*Producer’s Note: As the producer of this podcast and the writer of these episode descriptions, it is my prerogative to infuse my very personal, and very correct, opinion of Super Mario Bros.: The Movie into the official, and now forever historically archived, VGHF stance on said movie. “The VGHF” loved this movie when she was growing up and thinks people should give it more of a chance.

See more from Jack Yarwood :

Twitter: @JackGYarwood

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

David Haywood, AKA Haze, discusses the MAME software preservation project: a collaborative, encyclopedic haven and emulator for all those ‘forgotten’ games of our past. In December 2020, while most of us were cowering under a table feebly awaiting the fresh start of the new year, David took a look back at the community’s accomplishments within the project over the last seven years and what still needs attention in his article Looking Back at a List. He joins the Video Game History Hour to discuss the inner workings of recovering old code (including risky chemistry, dangerous plastic-melting acids, and literally reading 1’s and 0’s with a microscope), the value of Plug and Plays, and what can be learned from poorly designed games.

See more from David Haywood:

Twitter: @mamehaze

YouTube: /mamehaze

Twitch: /mamehaze

Website: mamedev.emulab.it/haze/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Author, documentarian, artist, guest VGHF blogger, and wild west gunslinger Kate Willaert claims the title of First FMV Game for this fast draw pistol duelling simulator in her recent article Wild Gunman ‘74: The Forgotten First FMV Game and video by the same name. She’s a straight shooter as we hit topics of the effect of the oil crisis on this game and bowling alley laser clay equipment. But, don’t holster your earbuds too quickly at the end! Kate also discusses her 50 part video series Video Dames: The History Of Playable Female Protagonists.

See more from Kate Willaert:

Twitter: @katewillaert

YouTube: /acriticalhit

Website: acriticalhit.com

Patreon: /acriticalhit

Newsletter: criticalkate.substack.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Musical Archeologist and Demo Stylist (professions we made up just now), The Brickster, explains how he and his colleagues collaborate to recreate music from some of our favorite retro games in a richer, uncompressed, true-to-each-instrument style. The recently viral music from Super Mario World Restored - Fortress brought this unique form of historical research, along with its potential for legal entanglements, to light. Look up what samples we know of, so far, in your favorite games in their living spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JJBlHHDc65fhZmKUGLrDTLCm6rfUU83-kbuD8Y0zU0o/edit#gid=1570468977.

See more from The Brickster:

YouTube: /thebricksterr

Twitter: @lebrickster

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

You and Diddy better jump inside that explosive barrel and get tossed into this minecart because we are going on a trip! This week we’re playing co-op with TWO guests at the same time. We meant to have artist Kev Bayliss and composer (not music engineer) David Wise join us to reminisce about Dinosaur Planet, as Kev did in his editorial “I was a lead on Dinosaur Planet and this week’s leak brought back great memories.” However, things went truly off the rails and we ended up looking back at their time working on not only Dinosaur Planet, later Star Fox Adventures, but also Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, Battletoads, Wheel of Fortune, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Killer Instinct and we’re just not sorry at all. Spoiler Alert: there may be a Dragonheart spoiler ahead.

See more from Kevin Bayliss & David Wise:

Twitter: @Kev_Bayliss

Twitter: @David_Wise

Website: dkcreationsltd.com

@dkcreationsltd

Website: https://www.playtonicgames.com/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Discussing his new book, Once Upon Atari: How I Made History by Killing an Industry, Howard Scott Warshaw takes us on a trip through his career starting with how he got to Atari (and how he almost didn’t), what he did there (including the Game That Shall Not be Named), and the amazing things he’s accomplished since. From learning that sometimes, in order to get better, you just need lots of people telling you what you made sucked all the way to realizing everything you touch is an expression of who you are and is perfect as is, we get our therapy session on with The Silicon Valley Therapist. Lie on the sofa and take a listen!

See more from Howard Scott Warshaw:

Twitter: @hswarshaw

Therapy practice: http://hswarshaw.com/wordpress/

All things Once Upon Atari: http://onceuponatari.hswarshaw.com/

Documentarian Bones joins us to discuss their directorial debut Mother to Earth. We dive into the mysteries of Earth Bound, the unreleased North American version of Nintendo's JRPG Mother. Now, this is not to be confused with the Super Nintendo game, Earthbound, which is actually the sequel; we know, it's complicated. Set to release in America in the early 90’s, Earth Bound didn’t come to the US until 25 years later. You may think you know the story...

See more from Bones:

Trailer:  http://vimeo.com/ondemand/mothertoearth

Website:  MothertoEarth.com

Twitter:  @MotherToEarthMV

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Journalist Liz Landau reminisces about the old days of text-based adventuring through MUDs (Multi User Dungeons) and how they’re the stepping stones to all current-day MMO’s and social media platforms from her Wired article, “How Old-School Text Adventures Inspired Our Virtual Spaces.” Though some thought the internet was just a passing fad, others dove head first into this game, Gemstone III, they saw on the AOL home page. Imagine: that text wedding cake tasting you held for your in-game wedding for your role playing character is the reason you can now claim Instagram Model as a career.

See more from Liz Landau:

Website: lizlandau.com

Twitter: @lizlandau

YouTube: /lizlandau

Podcast: Pod Paper Scissors - podpaperscissors.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Damian Rogers from Japan’s Game Preservation Society joins us this week to talk about their new documentary series: Geimu. Born out of necessity during the pandemic to replace their annual in-person summer event, Geimu episodes highlight well-deserving Japanese game developers who might not normally get as much media attention. Episode one, 芸夢 [gei·mɯ] File #1 - Yūichi TOYAMA〈外山雄一〉～Pioneer of Modern Real-Time Strategy Games～, puts a spotlight on Mr. Toyama, a pioneer in the RTS genre.

See more from the Game Preservation Society:

YouTube: /GamePreservationSociety

Twitter: @gamepresintl

Website: gamepres.org/en

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We uncover lost stories of the never released Power-Up Baseball, sometimes referred to as “MLB Jam,” with then programmer, now arcade game developer, Brian Smolik. Back in those days, Smolik lived the life only a young 25 year old could: programming and testing until 6 a.m. while riding a sugar high brought on by giant Slurpees. This breakneck paced work cycle was mirrored in the sweat inducing, get a running start for you pitch, maybe even break your hand on the screen style of gameplay involved in Power-Up Baseball.

See more from Brian Smolik:

Profile: Collector’s Call

Website: teamplayinc.com

Website: bigsquidrc.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Iain Simons from The National Videogame Museum, UK joins us to discuss their current project: Animal Crossing Diaries. We learn how the museum evolved itself into being over the years, ponder what video games mean, ask, “how do we preserve that meaning through history,” and learn how Animal Crossing may be the perfect vehicle to set that example.

The call for your stories and experiences in Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been made; submit your story: https://animalcrossing.thenvm.org/

See more from The National Videogame Museum, UK:

Website: thenvm.org

Twitter: @nvmuk

Twitter: @iainsimons

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In his recent video, WorkBoy: Lost Game Boy Add-on FOUND After 28 Years - Game History Secrets, Liam Robertson not only found possibly the only WorkBoy left in existence, but also got it working! This version is certainly a step up from our cardboard cut-out version we had on display at PRG in 2019 (you thought it was real, didn’t you? Gotcha!) If only we had our own Fabtek WorkBoy, we could listen to our 8-bit national anthem, look up the term ‘breakfast wine’ in other languages, schedule sniping times for our eBay auction shopping, and calculate how many more sets of ‘day pajamas’ we can afford (almost a year of quarantine has been...interesting).

See more from Liam Robertson:

Twitter: @Doctor_Cupcakes

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

THE speedrun historian and world’s fastest Mike Tyson’s Punch-out!! record holder, Summoning Salt, gives us an inside look at the niche, but expanding, world of competitive speedruns. His newest video, The History of Super Mario Bros. 2 World Records, depicts one of many yet unfinished dramatic battles for first place on the leaderboard. We learn how Summoning Salt got into researching speedruns, how he even goes about tracking down this information, and what he advocates for in the space.

See more from Summoning Salt:

YouTube: /summoningsalt

Twitter: @summoningsalt

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Alex Smith, author of They Create Worlds: The Story of the People and Companies That Shaped the Video Game Industry, Vol. 1: 1971-1982 and fellow podcaster, joins us to discuss the North American console crash of the early 80’s: its causes, its effects, and the lessons we’ve learned since then.

See more from Alex Smith:

Book: https://www.routledge.com/They-Create-Worlds-The-Story-of-the-People-and-Companies-That-Shaped-the/Smith/p/book/9781138389908

Podcast: http://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chicken owner and gaming historian, Kevin Bunch, joins us to share some of the lessons he’s learned by living the history of the Atari VCS by playing each game released in its chronological order. The Atari Archive gives the exact context needed to truly appreciate each game for what it really was at the time of its introduction.

See more from Kevin Bunch:

Twitter: @ubersaurus

YouTube: /atariarchive

Website: atariarchive.org

Patreon: /atariarchive

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Frank and Kelsey close out the year 2020 by answering your burning questions. We touch on topics of policy, found oddities, white whales, what we’ve accomplished this year, and what we’re looking forward to in the year to come. Thank you to everyone for all your support of the podcast, for sending in your questions, and for the amazing love and support shown during our winter fundraiser. Happy New Year!

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today’s episode features the bizarre origins of SimRefinery as well as other Sim titles which never came to be. Phil Salvador joins the Video Game History Hour to discuss a branch of Maxis, Business Simulations Division, which gives us a glimpse into a path-not-taken, alternate reality where Maxis might have only made a name for themselves in the world of business. A world where powerhouse franchises like SimCity and The Sims never existed. But alas, perhaps we could have had, but now never will have, SimArby’s. </3

See more from Phil Salvador:

Twitter: @itstheshadsy

Website: obscuritory.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Much the way we all set our status to not show when we’re in a game, the Game and Watch was originally created to allow Japanese sallarymen to play games at work while their boss was none the wiser. This week we’re joined by Matt Alt as he discusses his article, “How Gunpei Yokoi Reinvented Nintendo,” which is pulled from a chapter in his new book Pure Invention.

See more from Matt Alt:

Twitter: @matt_alt

Instagram: @altmattalt

Website: mattalt.com

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In his documentary, Insert Coin, Josh Tsui explored the good, the bad, and the ugly of Midway Games' Studio from varying management styles and their resulting culture to the magic formula for sequel games. Listen in with the guy who knows where all the skeletons are buried and learn how the NBA may owe much of its current popularity to NBA Jam.

See more from Josh Tsui:

Twitter: @insertcoindoc

Instagram: @insertcoindoc

Website: insertcoindoc.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-9-midway-games-as-seen-by-josh-tsui/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this turn-based interview, Sid Meier takes us from zero to 255 and brings the show nuclear! Well, at least that’s the rumor. Sid opens up his lifelong dev notes to discuss how he got started in games, why he decided to write his recent book, Sid Meier’s Memoir!, and how he’s better at Red Baron than an actual fighter pilot. On a personal note, we can officially say Sid agrees: dinosaurs are the coolest thing, ever! (We see you, Argentavis).

See more from Sid Meier:

Website: sidmeiersmemoir.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-8-sid-meiers-episode-of-the-video-game-history-hour/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Garry Kitchen joins the podcast to discuss his lifelong career in gaming and how spending his summer of 1982 porting Nintendo’s Donkey Kong over to the Atari 2600 was tedious, but worth it. He’d also like you to know he’s a hell of a good ROM hacker, Mario’s eye is just a void, and you’re darn right he slanted those ramps.

See more from Garry Kitchen:

Twitter: @kitchengarry

Medium: https://garrykitchen.medium.com/

Website: garrykitchen.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-7-donkey-kong-came-to-the-atari-2600-thanks-to-garry-kitchen/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Spoiler Alert: It’s a monkey wrench! You find a banana to put on the metronome to hypnotize the monkey to put in your pocket to take to the waterfall to use on the valve as a “monkey wrench.” *puff, puff* Oh, you don’t have monkey wrenches in your country? Mm okay, that may throw a spanner into the works… Pete Armour and Frank get pretty far into the weeds of The Making of Monkey Island (30th Anniversary Documentary).

See more from Pete Armour

YouTube: /onaretrotip

Twitter: /onaretrotip

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-6-pete-armour-and-the-scumm-of-monkey-island/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Though it’s the reason he was hired as a video producer at Game Informer, Ben Hanson back-burnered his documentary, Trailheads: The Oregon Trail's Origins Documentary, for 11 years on a game that took 5 days to create (don’t we all have some project like that?). And yet, the wait has been worth it: You’re gonna party like it’s 1999 when you find out what role the late Prince may have played in The Oregon Trail!

See more from Ben Hanson:

Twitter: @yozetty

Website: www.Minnmax.com

Patreon: /minnmax

Podcast: The MinnMax Show

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-5-ben-hanson-travels-the-roguelike-oregon-trail/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Video Game History Hour kicks off its inaugural episode with Mr. Gaming Historian himself, Norman Caruso, who recently published a nearly 45-minute long YouTube documentary about the 1992 Super Nintendo title, Mario Paint. By providing the context of history, Norm ‘paints’ us a full picture of how and why this classic title came to be, who it was made for, and what this program inspired to come after.

Find more content from Norman Caruso:

YouTube: /gaminghistorian

Twitter: @gaminghistorian

A full transcript of this show is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-1-norman-caruso-and-the-story-of-mario-paint/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Matt Leone, features editor of Polygon, recently published the second in a series of articles delving into the history of the Street Fighter franchise: Street Fighter 1: An oral history. Matt helps us understand the market conditions that made this game unique for its time and how it served as a foundation to a wildly successful giant in fighting game history.

Hear more from Matt Leone:

Twitter: @LattMeone

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/episode-2-matt-leone-and-the-making-of-street-fighter-1/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We sit down with Ally McLean to discuss her recent article The Incredible Story Behind The Barbie As Rapunzel Video Game to learn some behind-the-scenes stories of how Barbie as Rapunzel came to be. From being heckled at GDC, to stalking MC Hammer’s press tour, all the way to how this game even inspired Ms. McLean’s own career. In this interview, Ally takes us through her very personal journey into uncovering the whole story surrounding this not-so-strictly for girls title.

Hear more from Ally McLean:

Twitter: @allymcleangames

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/episode-3-ally-mcleans-barbie-as-rapunzel-journey/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Putting aside his ‘imposter syndrome’ feelings, video game journalist Elijah Lee asked, “Who was the first female video game designer” in his A First Lady of Gaming microdocumentary. Lee takes us through a bit of Muriel Tramis’ progressive and lightning-in-a-bottle career, laments the heartbreaking loss of history to the maw of time, and aims to support activism for young women.

Find more content from Elijah Lee:

YouTube: /theiconstream

Twitter: @theiconstream

Twitter: @elijahsbrain

Website: www.theicon.com

A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/ep-4-elijah-lee-finds-the-first-black-female-game-designer/

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Industry experts Frank Cifaldi and Kelsey Lewin, co-Directors of the Video Game History Foundation, bring on fellow content creators, game developers, video game historians, and story tellers to teach us a little bit about video game history. Our casual, “chatting over coffee” style interviews let us see the true life of a researcher: bang-your-head-against-a-wall dead-ends, “I can’t believe no one’s told this story before” moments, the thrill of sharing incredible history with the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join us!

The Video Game History Hour music is Blippy Trance by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/