Video Game History Hour

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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org 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: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg