Episode 612: Documenting Game History from Virtual Boy to J-Rock (Patreon)

Jeremy: This week, I turn to a topic I know quite well: Books about video games. Rather than talk about them myself, though, I speak to a quartet of authors whose work covers an impressive gamut of game history-related topics, from a wide array of perspectives.

First, Benj Edwards and Jose Zagal talk about their new Platform Studies book about Virtual Boy, Seeing Red. As the author of the best book about Virtual Boy published before Seeing Red, I was impressed by the very different angle Benj and Jose took to the topic—their effort has a lot more to do with the bigger-picture perspective and Virtual Boy's place in the history not only of video games but of visual tech and methods of play.

Next, I chat with Mark Flitman and Brian Clark about their respective books, which (omg conflict of interest) I helped edit and lay out. Mark, a former producer with Konami, Mindscape, Acclaim, Hasbro, and several other publishers, has written a personal memoir-slash-exploration of the production side of video games called It's Not All Fun And Games. Meanwhile, Brian's upcoming book, Gameplay Harmonies, explores the history of games based on Japanese musical artists. These are two very different works—one delves into a long career of overseeing best-selling games like Maximum Carnage and what it means to be a producer; the other explores a personal passion and traces the evolution of a form of games that rarely reached U.S. audiences.

The common thread for all of these book is the enthusiasm and commitment each author has invested into their work, and their determination to explore a different facet of the history of the medium. As for me? I'm just the Sicko over here peering through the window at their work, cackling, "Yes... ha ha ha... YES!"

Edits by Greg Leahy.

• 11:37 - Mario's Tennis: Doubles BGM 1

• 20:31 - Virtual Boy Wario Land: The Elevator

• 29:55 - Super Mario Bros. Wonder: Piranha Plants on Parade

• 39:07 - Virtual Boy Wario Land: Level 3 BGM

• 50:03 - Red Alarm: Opening

• 1:00:17 - Galactic Pinball: Gunpei's Voyage | The Simpsons (Arcade): Downtown Springfield

• 1:14:27 - Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School: Title

• 1:28:33 - Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (SNES): Story Interlude

• 1:39:31 - Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School: Mizuho

• 1:51:33 - MiniMoni. Eigo de Asobundapyon!: Title

• 2:06:24 - WWF Raw (SNES): Luna Vachon Theme

• 2:16:01 - The Simpsons: Bart & the Beanstalk: Stage BGM

• Closing - The Yellow Monkey: "Love Love Show"