We're going back to the beginning of the Fire Emblem series by looking at Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (1990). As part of its story, we'll look back at the beginning of its development studio, Intelligent Systems, and talk

Who Am I?

8 days ago 51m 50s

Today, we look at Thomas Disch's Amnesia, the 1986 text adventure that accurately modeled Manhattan in its time. As part of its story, we'll look at the career of science-fiction writer, Thomas M. Disch. Then, we'll talk about how he ended up

Capcom's Breathing Fire

15 days ago 55m 22s

Today, we're looking back at the original Breath of Fire, Capcom's first attempt in the role-playing genre. As part of its history, we'll talk about why Capcom decided to create a RPG, and who they asked to step up to the task. We'll then look

Read the Scrolls

22 days ago 56m 28s

Today, we're going to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Elder Scrolls series by looking at the development of its first title, Elder Scrolls: Arena. As part of its story, we'll look back at the history of its development studio, Bethesda

Super Samus

29 days ago 1h 2m

Today, we dive into the atmospheric world of "Super Metroid," a landmark SNES title from 1994. Our story begins with a recap of the origins of the Metroid series, itself, and we work our way through its history leading up to Super Metroid, itse

Join the Atarian Federation

Mar 14th, 2024 58m 10s

Strap in for a stellar voyage on this episode as we rocket through the history of Star Raiders, the 1980 Atari classic that redefined space combat simulations. We'll navigate the journey of its creator, Doug Neubauer, an engineer whose vision a

Get A Little Squirrely

Mar 7th, 2024 56m 26s

We take a look back at Conker's Bad Fur Day, originally released for the Microsoft Xbox in 2001. As part of its story, we'll briefly recap the history of its development studio, Rare. Our discussion on the game itself will focus on how the gam

Based on a Book

Feb 29th, 2024 58m 47s

Today, we're going to look at the Telarium Corporation, a software publishing company that develop interactive fiction in collaboration with well-establish authors in the 80s. As part of its story, we'll look at the publishing history of its

The Legend Begins

Feb 22nd, 2024 1h 2m

We're going back to the beginning of the Zelda series by taking a look at The Legend of Zelda, and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. We'll talk at length about the development of both titles, looking at the ideas that formed the creation of t

The Ages Beyond Myst

Feb 15th, 2024 53m 51s

Join us for an adventure as we look at the development cycle of Myst Online: Uru Live, originally released on GameTap in 2007. As part of its story, we'll revisit this point in the history of its development studio, Cyan Worlds. Our story wi

It's A Riot

Feb 8th, 2024 1h 3m

Get ready for a deep dive into the intriguing tale behind Vagrant Story, a game that has etched its mark in gaming history. We'll unravel the development history of Vagrant Story and shed light on the creative genius behind it, Yasumi Matsuno.

Here Comes An Avalanche with Ryan Shepherd

Feb 1st, 2024 1h 15m

In this episode, we embark on a captivating journey through the history of Final Fantasy VII, one of gaming's most iconic titles. Join us as we trace its evolution from a concept envisioned for the SNES to its groundbreaking release on the Play

Williams Reigns Supreme

Jan 25th, 2024 53m 57s

Today, we're going to tell you the history of Defender, the side-scrolling shoot em' up released in 1981. We'll cover its history as part of the career of Eugene Jarvis, its creator. Along the way, we'll look at some of his early work on pinbal

The Great Underground Empire

Jan 18th, 2024 59m 3s

We're looking at the history of Infocom, and its most successful title, Zork. Our story begins with the development of Zork, and talks about how the gaming community contributed to its development. It continues with the formation of Infocom, ta

With Great Power...

Jan 11th, 2024 59m 12s

We're looking back at the history of Spider-Man, the 1st Spider-Man game, and a few interesting games since for today's discussion. As part of our story, we'll look at how Spider-Man was created. We'll also talk about the creation of the very

Snakes and Patterns

Jan 4th, 2024 54m 7s

Today, we're going to tell you the history of the video game genre, Snake. Our story begins with the history of the Nokia Corporation, and then works its way through the history of snake-type video games. We'll then explore how Nokia and Snake

2023 - Year in Review

Dec 28th, 2023 30m 54s

Today, we take a look back at our podcast episodes in 2023 by remembering some of the stories we've covered and talking about some of the great things we've learned this year. We also take a look forward and give you a sneak peak at the upcomi

Custom Car-Makers

Dec 21st, 2023 1h 5m

Today, we're going to take a look at the history of Gran Turismo and its development studio, Polyphony Digital. As part of its history, we'll discuss the early history of Polyphony, and look at the games it developed before the Gran Turismo se

Poached Eggs

Dec 14th, 2023 57m 7s

Today, we'll all learn about Angry Birds, originally released for iOS and Maemo in December 2009. As part of its story, we'll explore the digital subculture known as the demoscene. We'll continue by talking about the creation of its development

The Great Betrayal

Dec 7th, 2023 1h 4m

Today, we're going to tell you the story of the Sony PlayStation. We'll start by looking at the early history of Sony. The story continues with the career of Ken Kutaragi, leading up to the SNES-CD project. We'll explore how that joint ventu

Educational Games of the 90s

Nov 30th, 2023 55m 37s

Today, we'll all learn about Captain Novolin, Rex Ronan: Experimental Surgeon, Packy and Marlon, and Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus, all released for the SNES in the mid 90s. As part of their story, we'll talk about the historical context in wh

Best Game on the Citadel

Nov 23rd, 2023 1h 1m

Today, we'll all learn about Mass Effect, originally released for the Xbox 360 In November 2007. As part of its history, we'll tell you about the early history of its development studio, BioWare. Our look at their early titles includes Baldur's

An Evolution of Combat

Nov 16th, 2023 1h 17m

Embark on a journey into the history of Halo: Combat Evolved with guest, Eric Ball. Explore the early days of Bungie, tracing its formation and early game library, featuring the Marathon Trilogy. Cap off the journey with our own personal experi

Can You Drive?

Nov 9th, 2023 1h 14m

Learn about Twisted Metal, the iconic game series that debuted on the Sony PlayStation in November 1995. Explore how a technology company that revolutionized computer simulations ventured into the video game industry. Discover the game's initia

The Midnight Dungeon Crawl

Nov 2nd, 2023 1h 3m

Today, we'll all learn about Gauntlet, originally released as an arcade cabinet in October 1985. As part of its story, we'll learn all about the career of its creator Ed Logg. As we follow Ed Logg's career, we'll also learn about the creation o