When you think of influential video games, names like Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Doom, Grand Theft Auto come to mind. You know, the hits. But what about a game that failed upon its original release yet came to influence an awful lot? Such is the history of Trespasser, a 1998 PC game and pseudo sequel to The Lost World Jurassic Park film. Watch this documentary from Kim Justice … [Read more...] about Kim Justice Looks At Jurassic Park Trespasser—An Influential Failure
documentary
A Deeper Look At The History Of Virtua Racing W/Pandamonium
YouTuber PandaMonium's channel aims to review every game released in the US for the Sega Saturn. Two years after the channel began posting videos, they've landed on the 28th release—Virtua Racing. Instead of just being a review, the game takes a deeper dive into each release. This episode in particular goes into the game's arcade history and the controversial Saturn port from … [Read more...] about A Deeper Look At The History Of Virtua Racing W/Pandamonium
Slope’s Game Room Presents The Complete History Of Pac-Man
Slope's Game Room is a fantastic resource for retro game history videos. Recently, Slope has turned his sights to Pac-Man, and produced an extensive two-part history video series that goes through the life and times of Namco's mascot—from his illustrious beginnings in arcades to the ups and downs of various spin-offs and side games. It's a great trek down memory … [Read more...] about Slope’s Game Room Presents The Complete History Of Pac-Man
Noclip Doc Goes Behind The Scenes Of Astro’s Playroom
Anyone that's been able to procure a PlayStation 5 since its November launch knows what a gem of a game Astro's Playroom is. It's simultaneously a great platformer and a perfect demonstration of what the Dual Sense controller can do. Now, Noclip provides a behind the scenes look at the making of this awesome game in their latest documentary—their first in 4K. Told via interview … [Read more...] about Noclip Doc Goes Behind The Scenes Of Astro’s Playroom
Don’t Miss MinnMax’s Oral History Of PopCap Games
Ben Hanson's been one of the best interviewers in gaming for a long time now, previously with Game Informer and now with MinnMax. His latest work is a doozy of a piece: an oral history of PopCap games, collecting interviews with former employees, designers, etc. for one big four-hour-long video (or in podcast form if you're a MinnMax Patreon patron). I have obviously not … [Read more...] about Don’t Miss MinnMax’s Oral History Of PopCap Games
Gameplay Tells The Story Of NBA Jam
"He's heating up! He's on FIRE!" You didn't even have to be a basketball fan in the '90s to recognize these quotes from NBA Jam, Midway's iconic coin-op hoops game. Get the story behind the making of the arcade hit in this week's episode of Gameplay, an extremely well-produced documentary podcast that covers games and their impact on culture and community. In this episode host … [Read more...] about Gameplay Tells The Story Of NBA Jam
A Look At Nintendo’s Pioneering First FMV Arcade Game, Wild Gunman
When someone says "Wild Gunman" I think only of the NES Zapper shooter and maybe Back to the Future Part II. I had no idea that years before Dragon's Lair and Mad Dog McCree landed their first tokens, Nintendo made a little FMV arcade gun game called...Wild Gunman. In A Critical Hit's latest video, game historian/preservationist Kate Willaert explores the original game's … [Read more...] about A Look At Nintendo’s Pioneering First FMV Arcade Game, Wild Gunman
The Life & Times Of Video Games Tracks Down The Ghosts Of Games That Never Were
This week, Richard Moss' excellent video game documentary series The Life & Times Of Video Games wraps up its fourth season with a look at the stories behind why games get canceled and some of the more well-known cancelations from the last 30 years. That includes the Mac port of Half-Life (canned just 3 weeks from its final milestone), Desert Bus, and Tomb Raider 10th … [Read more...] about The Life & Times Of Video Games Tracks Down The Ghosts Of Games That Never Were
Archipel Interviews Toshihiro Nagoshi About The Origins Of The Yakuza Series
It's hard to imagine that the exceedingly popular Yakuza series was close to not happening at all—but as you'll hear in this interview, director Toshihiro Nagoshi had to pitch the game THREE times, and he attributes Sega's merger with Sammy as the main reason it ended up happening at all. That's just one of the super-interesting anecdotes in Archipel's interview with the … [Read more...] about Archipel Interviews Toshihiro Nagoshi About The Origins Of The Yakuza Series
Director Of Midway Documentary Insert Coin Stops By Video Game History Hour
Insert Coin, Josh Tsui's behind the scenes documentary of '90s-era Midway arcade development comes to iTunes today (it's already available on Amazon Prime and a few others). Last month, Tsui dropped by the Video Game History Foundation's Video Game History Hour podcast to discuss the film and working at Midway during its coin-op heyday. This episode is a great intro to the … [Read more...] about Director Of Midway Documentary Insert Coin Stops By Video Game History Hour
New Podcast Week: Bits N’ Bricks Documents Canceled LEGO/Minecraft Collaboration
Bits N' Bricks is a fantastic new and officially sanctioned podcast chronicling 25 years of LEGO video games—and to say that this podcast goes to some fascinating places right off the bat is an understatement. In their first episode, hosts Brian Crecente and Ethan Vincent uncover the details behind a pretty big secret project between The LEGO Group and Minecraft creators … [Read more...] about New Podcast Week: Bits N’ Bricks Documents Canceled LEGO/Minecraft Collaboration
Noclip: Tim Schafer Breaks Down 20 Years Of Double Fine Games
You should watch this Noclip video of Tim Schafer talking through Double Fine's 20-year history and gameography. And then if you haven't, dig into the rest of Noclip's documentaries because they are all great stuff. Noclipby Danny O'DwyerWebsite / YouTube / Twitter / Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Patreon … [Read more...] about Noclip: Tim Schafer Breaks Down 20 Years Of Double Fine Games