Mechanical amusements have long been a mainstay of theme parks and travelling fairs. In the 1980s, this technology entered the realm of the arcade, most notably through Chuck E. Cheese and since then, has merged with the traditional dark ride to become the interactive dark ride, a mixture of animatronics, motion, lightguns and video games. Our guest today, John Wood is the head of Sally Corporation, a pioneer of animatronic entertainment and especially the interactive darkride. John tells us how...
Jun 30, 2025•1 hr 18 min
Nintendo owns CES, The future belongs to the internet & EA disses Sega These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in September 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: ht...
Jun 17, 2025•4 hr 8 min
From a bedroom coder to Game Developer's Conference OG to the creator of one of the greatest one-on-one action strategy games of the 8 bit era, Jeff Johannigman worked for some of the most legendary companies of the 80s, Epyx, Electronic Arts, and Origin and beyond. In Part 2, we talk about working on Ultima for the Gameboy, porting Dynamix titles to the Amiga, rediscovering his strategy roots at Microprose and finally deciding to exit the industry on moral and personal grounds. Jeff's insight a...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 37 min
From a bedroom coder to Game Developer's Conference OG to the creator of one of the greatest one-on-one action strategy games of the 8 bit era, Jeff Johannigman worked for some of the most legendary companies of the 80s, Epyx, Electronic Arts, and Origin. In Part 1, we talk about those early days, including the making of games such as G.I. Joe and Savage Empire and working with important figures like Ihor Wolosenko, Dani Bunten, Chris Crawford, Warren Spector, and Richard Garriot. Jeff's insight...
Apr 29, 2025•1 hr 47 min
PCs get upgraded, MSX comes to Europe & Coinop goes cartridge These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in August 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.th...
Apr 25, 2025•3 hr 43 min
Few developers have had as long and prolific a career as our guest, Graeme Bayless. From working on mainframes, to selling Kaypros, to playtesting Accolade's launch titles, to producing games for SSI, Sega Technical Institute, Hyperbole Studios, Dynamix, EA, Eidos, and NetherRealm Studios. In Part 5, we talk about Graeme's winding up of Fierce Wombat, looking for a new position and being offered a position at NetherRealm Studios, where he worked on Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat...
Mar 16, 2025•2 hr 25 min
30 years ago: Computer industry booms as consoles slump, Nintendo announces Ultra64 & The internet gets scary These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in August 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreatewor...
Mar 01, 2025•4 hr 18 min
Few developers have had as long and prolific a career as our guest, Graeme Bayless. From working on mainframes, to selling Kaypros, to playtesting Accolade's launch titles, to producing games for SSI, Sega Technical Institute, Hyperbole Studios, Dynamix, EA, Eidos, and NetherRealm Studios. In Part 4, we talk about the decade that Graeme spent in the wilderness of the game's industry, during which he worked on titles such as Tomb Raider Legend and Anniversary at Crystal Dynamics, tried to salvage...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 35 min
Commodore buys Amiga Jack Tramiel declares war on competition Nintendo announces US NES launch plans These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in August 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and ...
Jan 30, 2025•5 hr 6 min
Few developers have had as long and prolific a career as our guest, Graeme Bayless. From working on mainframes, to selling Kaypros, to playtesting Accolade's launch titles, to producing games for SSI, Sega Technical Institute, Hyperbole Studios, Dynamix, EA, Eidos, and NetherRealm Studios. In Part 3, we talk about job hunting in the games industry at the end of the 90s and his time at EA's Tiburon subsidiary working on Madden 2001 and 2002 as well as developing the NFL Street franchise. What is ...
Jan 06, 2025•2 hr 6 min
Sega's Saturn premiere flops Nintendo goes for cheap VR Commodore bankruptcy gets messy These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in July 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book ...
Nov 30, 2024•3 hr 28 min
Sega's Saturn premiere flops, The Game Industry ditches CES for E3 & Nintendo goes for cheap VR These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in July 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and ord...
Nov 22, 2024•3 hr 22 min
Few developers have had as long and prolific career as our guest, Graeme Bayless. From working on mainframes, to selling Kaypros, to playtesting Accolade's launch titles, to producing games for SSI, Sega Technical Institute, Hyperbole Studios, Dynamix, EA, Eidos, and NetherRealm Studios. In Part 2, we talk about his time at Dynamix, a Sierra subsidiary. We find out how he met his wife in the early days of online geekdom, finally put down roots in Eugene, OR, ventured into online game development...
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 15 min
Jack buys Atari Imagine goes belly up Nintendo's Famicom gets Zapped These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in July 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.t...
Nov 02, 2024•4 hr 47 min
Few developers have had as long and prolific career as our guest, Graeme Bayless. From working on mainframes, to selling Kaypros, to playtesting Accolade's launch titles, to producing games for SSI, Sega Technical Institute, Hyperbole Studios, Dynamix, EA, Eidos, and NetherRealm Studios. In Part 1, we talk about his early years, the evolution of the industry, moving from computers at SSI to consoles with Sega and getting up to the boom of FMV games. Recorded: December 2023 Get us on your mobile ...
Oct 27, 2024•2 hr 33 min
Hollywood welcomes Siliwood, Saturn and Playstation begin fight for Japanese consumers & 3DO declared DOA These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in June 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.co...
Oct 05, 2024•4 hr 17 min
The boom of home computers and electronics in the 1970s and 1980s was as much a success of entrepreneurial endeavor and technological innovation, as it was of the blossoming worldwide supply chain. One of the company's that made it all possible was WONG's International and our guest today, Raymond Yap was their representative in the UK. He helped make sure that the BBC Micro got into UK schools and traveled the world securing suppliers for all manner of electronics. How did that business work? W...
Sep 23, 2024•1 hr 31 min
The home computer market implodes, Atari announces 7800 & Console software dries up. These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in June 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book...
Sep 14, 2024•3 hr 49 min
The dawn of the home computer seemed to usher in the death of computing's networked past dominated by dumb terminals connected to mainframes, but a few visionaries foresaw a world in which the microcomputer technology invading millions of homes could be connected and the data networks already in consumer hands, such as cable TV and telephones, could usher in a new way of connecting people and distributing software. Our guest, Larry J. Dunlap, was one such pioneer. The company he cofounded, The G...
Sep 06, 2024•4 hr 4 min
Nintendo and Sega financials dissapoint Sony gets ready for NextGen Venture money goes ga-ga over silliwood These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in May 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ ...
Aug 22, 2024•3 hr 52 min
Sinclair ships QLs, Atari looks hopeful & Jack is BACK! These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in May 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: https://www.theycreatew...
Jul 22, 2024•2 hr 34 min
In the earliest days of the gaming biz, Human Engineered Software was a trailblazer, bringing big names like Jeff Minter to the US. The company's founder, Jay Balakrishnan, is a serial entrepreneur who not only would help create the mass market for software at retail but would also have a long and storied career in games beyond Hes ware with such companies as Radical Entertainment and Dynamics. I spoke to Jay in November and December of 2023, and after a few technical hiccups we finally got a co...
Jul 14, 2024•4 hr 50 min
Nintendo bows to Blockbuster, Commodore enters liquidation & Acclaim-Midway divorce gets messy! These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in April 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and or...
Jul 05, 2024•3 hr 23 min
Nolan Bushnell, the PT Barnum of games, left indellible marks on the industry, some greater than others, and among the big hits like Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, were also many misses and could-have-beens. Our guest, Joneva Barry, was witness to one of them, Kadabrascope, an attempt to use computers to bring down the cost of traditional 2D animation. An accomplished artist and educator, Joneva tells us of those heady days of high tech, great hopes, the comradery with Sente, the fall of Pizza Time ...
Jun 29, 2024•1 hr 38 min
Acorn and Commodore soar, as Coleco and Atari falter Software takes center stage in PC clone world UK game prices hit rock bottom These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in April 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://ww...
Jun 18, 2024•3 hr 11 min
Sega previews Saturn at CES, Commodore warns of bankruptcy & Doom brings corporate networks to their knees These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in March 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds....
May 29, 2024•3 hr 24 min
Pizza Time goes bust, Amiga announces a computer & Nintendo launches the VS These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM! This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in March 1984. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ and order his book here: h...
May 18, 2024•5 hr 6 min
The history of 80s and 90s game magazines is filled with big names like Computer Gaming World, Weekly Famitsu, Computer and Video Games, Micromania, and, a name that makes German speaking gamers of a particular vintage extremely nostalgic, Power Play. In this second part of our interview, Michael tells us how he left Power Play to join a major German games publisher, founded a hint guide and magazine publisher of his own making guides of Eidos' Tomb Raider series and Nintendo's Legend of Zelda M...
May 13, 2024•2 hr 18 min
The world goes ga-ga over game violence; Sega reports horrible losses & Doom redefines PC gaming! These stories and many more on this episode of the VGNRTM This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in February 1994. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Alex Smith of They Create Worlds is our cohost. Check out his podcast here: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/ an...
May 04, 2024•2 hr 53 min
The history of 80s and 90s game magazines is filled with big names like Computer Gaming World, Weekly Famitsu, Computer and Video Games, Micromania, and, a name that makes German speaking gamers of a particular vintage extremely nostalgic, Power Play. Michael Hengst was a mainstay at the mag and gives us a fascinating insight into how the business worked, how games were reviewed, and sets up a career in the industry that lasts to this day. Recorded: January-February 2024 Get us on your mobile de...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 18 min
