Veteran game designer and author Lawrence Schick shares stories from his early 80's work with the ColecoVision, Atari 2600, and Intellivision. With over four decades of experience in the industry, Schick details how he helped pioneer a multi-discipline, team-based approach to game development designing games like Smurf: Rescue and Tarzan while pulling from a wealth of experience in pen-and-paper RPGs. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early a...
Jul 10, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 135
Host Phil Salvador and guest host Colleen Barrett, Rare Books Librarian at UK Libraries, chat with David Carter, Video Game Archivist and Comic Librarian at University of Michigan Library Computer and Video Game Archive, about the work he does in archiving video game material within such a large and academic institutions. We discuss what tools are available, what problems typically arise, the pros and cons of institutional preservation, and so much more. Mentioned in the Show: MIDSAC Pool: https...
Jun 25, 2025•1 hr 10 min
On this special video episode of the Video Game History Hour, we sat down with Craig Stitt, retired game artist and designer. Craig worked on games including Sonic the Hedgehog 2 , Kid Chameleon , Ratchet & Clank , and Spyro the Dragon . He gave us a tour of his portfolio and talked about working at Sega in America, creating Spyro , dealing with burnout, and what it means for fans to connect with his work. Access the Craig Stitt art and design papers at the VGHF Library: https://archive.game...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 133
Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador host a discussion with Jez San, Jason Smith, and Mike Arkin from Argonaut Games about the development and remastering of the 1997 game Croc: Legend of the Gobbos . We touch on what went into the original game - incorporating 3D technology and character design influences from traditional animation - as well as enhancements for the remaster, improved controls and a virtual museum of bonus content showcasing the game's history and development process. The team’s disc...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 132
Hosts Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador chat with Mark and Michelle Flitman, a father-daughter duo, about Mark’s career, his donated collection at the VGHF, and his autobiography: "It’s Not All Fun and Games." As a semi-retired video game and toy producer, Mark shares his career highlights as a publisher producer throughout the 90’s and into the early 2000’s at Konami, Acclaim, Mindscape, Midway, and later, Atari. Most of his titles were licensed properties including The Simpsons ( Bart's Nightmar...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 131Ep. 2
Phil Salvador hosts Polygon’s Clayton Ashley and Simone de Rochefort to discuss a documentary they produced last year called The Great Game: The Making of Spycraft | Full Polygon Documentary about the 1996 FMV CD-ROM game, Spycraft . You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify , or on our website . A full transcript of this episode is available on our website: https://gamehistory.org/episode-130-spycraft/ See...
Apr 30, 2025•54 min
Phil Salvador and Robin Kunimune chat with Chloe Appleby, games curator at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, who shares how she turned her passion for games into a dream role blending community, culture, and quirky preservation. From Sydney’s post-COVID game scene revival to tracking down lost media and organizing a free indie games festival, Chloe shows how playful curiosity can power serious cultural impact. She emphasizes the importance of community engagement and the museum's effor...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 129
Phil Salvador and Kendra Albert, a partner at Albert Sellars LLP, digest, discuss, and dissect the 2024 DMCA exemption petition to make it easier for libraries and archives to preserve video games and the subsequent ruling by the US Copyright Office. Join us for an insightful look at the recent ruling, legal implications, and what it all means for the future of video game copyright and digital access. *This episode has a follow-up bonus episode available to our paid tier Patreon members. You can...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 128
In this episode of Video Game History Hour , Michael Mendheim joins host Frank Cifaldi and guest-host John Rairdin to reflect on his career, from early work on Fester’s Quest to cult favorites like Mutant League Football and Sarge’s Heroes . Mendheim shares stories about creative risks, industry shakeups, and the challenges of keeping games alive — with Rairdin diving deep into his personal love for Sarge’s Heroes , expanding the definitive Vikki Grimm lore, and discussing the development materi...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 127
Gail Tilden, Nintendo of America’s marketing mastermind, takes Frank Cifaldi on a trip down memory lane in a panel at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, reminiscing about everything from the early days of NES branding to the explosive rise of Pokémon. She shares behind-the-scenes stories about marketing mishaps (hello, Zelda Rap), strategic pivots like the iconic "Nintendo Seal of Quality," and how a quirky Game Boy RPG took over the world. From robotic flops to Pikachu-branded cars parachuting ...
Mar 05, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 126
Laine Nooney, an associate professor at NYU and managing editor of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories , joins Phil Salvador on The Video Game History Hour to chat about the journal’s mission to make game history more than just timelines. ROMchip is an open-access, independent journal that brings together academics, enthusiasts, and industry pros, supported by community fundraising instead of traditional academic publishing. They discuss ROMchip 's success, its growing community, and dreams of ...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 125
It’s finally arrived: our digital library archive is now open in early access! Our library team: library director Phil Salvador, director of technology Travis Brown, and artist and engineer Amanda Cifaldi all join foundation director Frank Cifaldi and show producer Robin Kunimune to celebrate and discuss the years-long project sampling just a portion of our physical collection. We highlight the library’s role in facilitating video game research, the importance of fair use, the novel tools and in...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 124
Guests Katrin Auch & Dan Amrich, formerly of GamePro magazine, discuss their time at the publication as well as the archival collection now housed by the VGHF. Kat and Dan recount their experience of transitioning from film to digital layouts, unintentional blunders, working under tight budgets and deadlines, and the creative process of creating content. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above) or on Spotify . A f...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 31 min•Season 2Ep. 123
We're joined by Director of Digital Preservation at The Strong National Museum of Play Andrew Borman to recap the events of the first ever Save the Games Symposium put on by the museum in August 2024, a conference dedicated to digital preservation and advancing the field of video game preservation. Chris Arneil, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia report: International Video Game Preservation Survey Report Game Availability Study (87% Study): Survey of the Video Game Reissue Market in t...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 122
In this field report from Mead, Washington, Cyan co-founder Rand Miller takes VGHF library director Phil Salvador on an exclusive tour of the "Cyan Vault." Together, they uncover rare game artifacts, prototypes, and cool behind-the-scenes treasures while diving into Cyan's rich history. Listen in to discover how thoughtful, meticulous preservation can not only tell a story but also breathe new life into a classic like Riven . You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on...
Dec 25, 2024•48 min•Ep. 121
In our very first episode of season two, university professor José Zagal and video game historian Benj Edwards, co-authors of Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy , join host Frank Cifaldi to educate us all on Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. Mentioned in the show: Benj’s original article on VB: https://www.fastcompany.com/3050016/unraveling-the-enigma-of-nintendos-virtual-boy-20-years-later José’s original academic article on the VB (from 2009): https://doi.org/10.1145/1690388.1690406 Jez San talking abou...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 13 min
We're thrilled to announce season two of the Video Game History Hour is finally here! We've been toiling away behind the scenes putting together a fun and interesting new line-up of guests and we can't wait to share them all with you. Keep an eye on your feed for our re-launch episode coming up next. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Spotify or one day early on Patreon ....
Dec 12, 2024•9 min
It’s been awhile so, let’s catch up. Plus, we’re right in the middle of our 2023 Winter Fundraiser and we can’t wait to tell you all about how it’s going. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @GameHistoryOrg Website: gamehistory.org Support us on Patreon: /gamehistoryorg...
Dec 14, 2023•56 min
With co-host Kelsey Lewin leaving the Video Game History Foundation, we will be putting the show on pause for the rest of the year. We want to thank Kelsey for everything she’s given to this show, to VGHF, and to our team and we all wish her great success in her future endeavors. As for the Video Game History Hour, we’ve decided to take the rest of the year to refresh, rethink, and redefine what this show looks like. You might still hear from us occasionally throughout the rest of 2023, but we w...
Oct 11, 2023•15 min
Game designer and creator of Karateka Jordan Mechner, joined by Chris Kohler of Digital Eclipse, shares a new interactive documentary The Making of Karateka exploring this 1984 karate classic title . In this episode: Jordan’s earliest work, perfect paper preservationist, Prince of Persia source code, hitting it rich in video games vs. going to class, celebrating old games, an inspiration train, a father’s love of his son, the lost leopard: found, and bringing a game back to life. See more from J...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 8 min
Documentarian Danny O’Dwyer of Noclip has been sifting through thousands of videotapes in a recent mass-acquisition of video game (and adjacent) recordings. In this episode: Burger King and Kellogg’s games, Danny can fix your VCR, conferences in 1080p, shop talk on uploading footage, BBC Domesday Project methodology, slow Sonic, is that Frank?, it’s lonely work, and (not) preserving live service games. Project: youtube.com/@NoclipArchive See more from Danny O’Dwyer: Twitter: @dannyodwyer YouTube...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Historian Racheil Weil returns to the show to discuss the Nintendo Knitting Machine, a never released knitting machine toy powered by the NES. In this episode: Sega Master System smack talk; flier breakdown; just…why?; dissociating like a TV doctor; analyzing the evidence: what’s real, how it might work, peripheral material, screen capture; and bless the Wayback Machine. Flier from Howard Phillips: Facebook post Image only See more from Rachel Weil: Twitter: @FemicomMuseum Website: femicom.org P...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 29 min
VGHF librarian Phil Salvador chats with longtime contributor to video game archaeology Misty De Méo, author of CD-ROM Journal: a blog exploring multimedia games and software. We discuss her recent article A Chronology of First CD-ROM Games answering the question: What was the first CD-ROM game? In this episode: the first adventure, the magical dinosaur tour, trivia vs. genuine artistic relevance, getting into game history research, and to ROM or not to ROM. See more from Misty De Méo: Website: c...
Aug 16, 2023•46 min
Travis Brown, our very own director of technology, gets technical as we talk about his role with VGHF and how he got started in preservation. In this episode: The Varsity vs The Vortex, scanning 14k pieces of optical media, scaling with Nimbies, Power-Up Baseball restoration and MAME, writing our API glue, and Frank forgets just how many projects Travis has been a part of over the years. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @Gam...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 14 min
We share the details of our recent field trip to The Strong Museum of Play to celebrate their newest video game focused expansion. In this travel log episode: travel woes; Wegmans toilet paper; Transformers’ shrieks at a cocktail event; a giant, playable Donkey Kong cabinet; video games ARE real; Level Up and High Score; touring the labs, vaults, and library; and finally what inspired us. Video Game History Foundation: Podcast Twitter: @gamehistoryhour Email: podcast@gamehistory.org Twitter: @Ga...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 58 min
Brandon Butler, Director of Information Policy at the University of Virginia Library and Law and Policy Advisor at the Software Preservation Network, joins us to talk about a major new study published jointly by the Video Game History Foundation and the SPN which shows 87% of classic games released in the United States are now out of print. In this episode we find out how these games have become critically endangered and why it matters. Blog post: https://gamehistory.org/87percent/ The Study: ht...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Author and historian Kevin Bunch returns to the familiar guest chair to educate us all on a somewhat obscure 1970’s consolputer from his recent video, The History of the Bally (and Astrocade) Professional Arcade: Archive Annex Episode 4 . In this episode, tears are shed, wrapping these things in useless metal, accidental historical revisionism, what’s in a name?, the toy industry was too small for undercutting, Dog Patch: shotgun volleyball, ironic corporate rewards for good behavior, and making...
Jul 05, 2023•1 hr
Frank gets a bit reflective and shares how he got where he is today; not just the video game stuff, but the life stuff, too. In this episode: a youth in Las Vegas, underage drinking and overage smoking, dropping out of school, the Wild West of game cataloging, Frank can do it better, how to get sh*t done, thanking your inspiring figures, being a kinder person, dreaming big(ger), trying to find boredom, looking toward Jerry Beck, comics historians are just killing it, and learning from your spous...
Jun 21, 2023•1 hr 17 min
Historian and game developer Andy Cunningham shares his fantastic new book The World of Nintendo Book, Volume One: A World of Wonders , a visual history of Nintendo merchandising. This first in a series goes deep into the creation of Nintendo of America's merchandising team of the late 80's and early 90's, something often overlooked in videogame history. In this episode: merchandising: the boring and the enticing, the logistics of collecting retail displays, creating a store within a store, the ...
Jun 07, 2023•56 min
Kyle Orland, author of the new Boss Fight Books’ Minesweeper , joins the show to talk about one of the most prolific 90’s games by the same name. In this episode: the Minesweeper generation, how Bill Gates got addicted to it, the ultimate time waster, it was a mouse tutorial, Microsoft’s internal conflicts, the moral panic around games like Minesweeper, and the clock is ticking. See more from Kyle Orland: Twitter: @KyleOrl Sr. Gaming Editor, Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/author/kyle-orla...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 5 min
