A Trip Down Memory Card Lane

In 2003, Viewtiful Joe brought spandex, cel-shading, and superhero flair to the Nintendo GameCube as part of Capcom’s ambitious “Capcom Five” initiative. We revisit Hideki Kamiya’s early gaming inspirations, his path through Resident Evil 2 and Devil May Cry, and his collaboration with producer Atsushi Inaba, whose lifelong love of superheroes shaped the project. The episode highlights the game’s...

In 1983, Dragon’s Lair hit arcades and stunned players with Don Bluth’s hand-drawn animation, making it feel like a playable cartoon. We revisit Rick Dyer’s early dream project Shadoan, his Fantasy Machine prototypes, and how Sega’s Astron Belt inspired him to pursue Laserdisc technology. The episode highlights Dyer’s partnership with Don Bluth Studios, the creative shortcuts behind Princess Daphn...

In 1981, Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness brought open-world exploration, first-person dungeons, and even space combat to the Apple II. We look back at Richard Garriott’s high school programming experiments, including Akalabeth: World of Doom, and how they evolved into one of the first commercial CRPGs. The episode highlights Ultima’s tile-based overworld, quests from lords, stat-building, and...

In 1985, Tetris was born at the Soviet Academy of Sciences when Alexey Pajitnov turned childhood memories of pentomino puzzles into falling tetrominoes. We revisit how Vadim Gerasimov’s IBM PC port helped spread it across Moscow, where it was so addictive it had to be banned. The episode explores Robert Stein’s shady licensing faxes, the tangled web of Mirrorsoft, Spectrum Holobyte, Atari, Sega, a...

In 1988, John Madden Football debuted on the Apple II, a slow but groundbreaking simulation that insisted on 11-on-11 authenticity. We look back at Trip Hawkins’ journey from Strat-O-Matic fan to Harvard game theory graduate, Apple executive, and founder of Electronic Arts. The episode explores John Madden’s rise from Super Bowl champion coach to broadcaster and why he demanded realism in every de...

In 1992, Alone in the Dark crept onto PCs and laid the foundation for survival horror. We revisit how Frederick Raynal, inspired by porting Alpha Waves and his love of Poe and Lovecraft, created 3D tools that evolved into a haunted house mystery. The episode highlights Infogrames’ odd history, the “matches in the dark” pitch that sparked the idea, and how fixed camera angles, pre-rendered backdrop...

In 2011, Terraria launched on PC and quickly drew comparisons to Minecraft, but over time it carved out its own identity as a 2D sandbox adventure. We revisit Andrew Spinks’ early work on Super Mario Brothers X, how Nintendo shut it down, and how he rebounded by forming Re-Logic. The episode highlights Terraria’s inspirations from Metroid and Castlevania, its mix of mining, building, and combat, a...

In 1984, King’s Quest arrived on the IBM PCjr and transformed adventure gaming into something truly new. We revisit Roberta Williams’ journey from Mystery House and The Wizard and the Princess to leading Sierra On-Line through the turbulent early ’80s market crash. The episode highlights how IBM invested in Sierra to showcase the PCjr, how Roberta pushed for animated movement and simulated depth,...

In 1992, Wolfenstein 3D stormed onto PCs and laid the foundation for the modern first-person shooter. We revisit how John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack left Softdisk, experimented with Commander Keen, and eventually struck a deal with Apogee to release their groundbreaking work. The episode explores Carmack’s ray casting breakthroughs, Romero’s design push for fast and loud ga...

In 1995, Nintendo released the Satellaview, a peripheral for the Super Famicom that let players download games from satellite broadcasts. We revisit how Nintendo partnered with St. GIGA, a satellite radio company best known for ambient soundscapes, to bring a new kind of interactive service to living rooms. The episode highlights how players used the BS-X application cartridge to explore a hub tow...

In 2005, Psychonauts launched on PC and Xbox and instantly stood out with its quirky humor, surreal worlds, and heartfelt storytelling. We revisit Tim Schafer’s path from LucasArts, where he worked on Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, and Grim Fandango, to founding Double Fine and shaping a game where players literally step into the minds of others. The episode explores Double Fin...

In 1993, NBA Jam hit arcades and became a global phenomenon, mixing two-on-two basketball with exaggerated dunks, flaming balls, and hidden cameos. We revisit Midway’s history, from Arch Rivals and Total Carnage to Mark Turmell’s push for a wider-appeal sports game. The episode highlights how the NBA initially resisted licensing the game, how features like attributes and cheat codes took shape, an...

In 1994, Hotel Mario arrived on the Philips CD-i and quickly earned a reputation as one of the strangest entries in Nintendo’s history. We revisit how Nintendo’s broken partnership with Sony led to a deal with Philips, which in turn opened the door for Mario and Zelda to appear on a console Nintendo didn’t own. The episode highlights the CD-i’s origins as a multimedia device, the inexperience of P...

In 1993, The 7th Guest arrived on MS-DOS and became one of the first true “killer apps” for CD-ROM drives. We look back at how Graeme Devine and Rob Landeros, tired of licensed projects at Virgin, pitched a CD-ROM mystery game, only to be fired and immediately rehired under a new studio, Trilobyte. The episode explores how 3D Studio software, 19th century puzzle books, and blue-screened actors sha...

In 2004, Far Cry burst onto PCs with lush tropical environments, adaptive AI, and a technical showcase that pushed gaming hardware to its limits. We look back at Cervat Yerli’s unlikely path, from a bike crash inspired by Kick Off to forming Crytek with family support and bluffing his way into E3 1999. The episode highlights the NVIDIA-backed X-Isle demo that evolved into Far Cry, Ubisoft’s role i...

In 1999, EverQuest launched and quickly became the most popular MMORPG of its time, drawing inspiration from text-based MUDs like British Legends and DikuMUD. We revisit how John Smedley, Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost brought Norrath to life, blending 3D graphics with deep lore and expansive classes. The episode explores its record-breaking subscription growth, infamous downtime, and...

In the early 1990s, Color Dreams broke Nintendo’s copy protection and began releasing unlicensed NES games. We revisit how the company bypassed the 10NES lockout chip, published quirky titles like Baby Boomer and Raid 2020, and faced Nintendo’s retail pressure that forced stores to stop stocking their games. The episode explores how Color Dreams rebranded as Wisdom Tree , targeting Christian books...

In 2004, Ninja Gaiden returned on the Xbox as a modern reboot of Tecmo’s classic series. We look back at how Tomonobu Itagaki and Team Ninja, best known for Dead or Alive, spent five years reinventing Ryu Hayabusa for 3D action. The episode explores the game’s development journey from Sega arcade boards to Xbox exclusivity, its brutally fast combat engine, and the wide arsenal of weapons and magic...

In 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night redefined the franchise and helped cement the “Metroidvania” genre. We revisit how Konami scrapped The Bloodletting for Sega’s 32X and shifted development to PlayStation, with Toru Hagihara starting the project and Koji Igarashi stepping in to direct. The episode highlights Igarashi’s push for an explorable open castle, Zelda-inspired backtracking, and R...

In 2007, Professor Layton and the Curious Village arrived on the Nintendo DS and blended puzzle-solving with charming storytelling. We revisit Akihiro Hino’s childhood love for puzzle books, how he founded Level-5, and how Professor Akira Tago’s Head Gymnastics series shaped the design. The episode highlights the game’s mix of logic puzzles, sliding challenges, and riddles, and how Level-5 turned...

In 2012, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning burst onto the scene with big names attached—MLB pitcher Curt Schilling, fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, comic legend Todd McFarlane, Elder Scrolls designer Ken Rolston, and composer Grant Kirkhope. We trace how 38 Studios aimed to rival World of Warcraft while introducing a single-player RPG full of flashy real-time combat, sprawling customization, and a “Fat...

In 1989, SimCity transformed the Mac and Amiga into playgrounds for would-be urban planners, swapping high scores for mayors’ mansions and monster attacks. We trace how Will Wright’s fascination with level editors, short stories by Stanisław Lem, and even architecture itself collided with Jeff Braun’s publishing ambitions to form Maxis. Our story highlights quirky early rejections, the pizza party...

In 1982, Journey Escape hit the Atari 2600 and kicked off a wave of video games built around famous musicians. We look back at how Journey dodged groupies in a scarab-shaped escape vehicle, how Bally Midway followed up with an arcade game complete with digitized band heads, and how bands like the Thompson Twins, Papa Dance, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood experimented with flexi discs and cassette t...

In 1991, Action 52 promised fifty-two exciting games in one NES cartridge but instead delivered one of the most infamous disasters in gaming history. We look back at Miami businessman Vince Perri’s idea to legally replicate bootleg multicarts and how he recruited three young developers with just a week of NES training to make the impossible. The episode highlights broken games like Star Evil, Ooze...

In 1981, Frogger hopped onto arcade screens and became one of Konami’s biggest hits, though its journey to North America was almost cut short. We look back at how Akira Hashimoto’s traffic-jam inspiration turned into a game of dodging cars and crossing rivers, and how Elizabeth Falconer fought executives at Sega/Gremlin to secure Frogger’s release in the United States. The episode explores the bar...