Video Game History Hour

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/