Chris Chapman
@retrohistories.bsky.social
1.9K followers 640 following 590 posts
Old videogames, cross stitch, and other nerdy pursuits. Occasionally makes short documentaries about stories from videogame history. Somehow they've had a million views?! "Sound[s] bored and enthused at the same time" — YouTube commenter Hoodii
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Reposted by Chris Chapman
bhaalspawn.bsky.social
Happy birthday to Wood 2! Not to be confused with the lesser known, Doom 2, also released on this day in 1994. ❤️

Criticised at the time for being too similar to the original Wood, Wood 2 is a stone cold classic for the more inventive forest design, new trees and double chainsaw alone.
retrohistories.bsky.social
New resurrected podcast feeds, and it's a special RPG drop in honour of @katbailey.bsky.social!

1UP's Active Time Babble and GamePro's Roleplayers' Realm can once again be added to your podcast apps: savestate.site/podcasts/

(Their successor, @bloodgodpod.bsky.social, is essential listening!)
Screengrabs of Pocket Casts playing an old episode of ATB and an old episode of Roleplayers' Realm.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
headfallsoff.com
how we feeling about the font lads. ready to ship?
Reposted by Chris Chapman
sharkabytes.bsky.social
Happy 25th birthday, Alien Resurrection! A game that clawed its way out of development hell three years after its planned release date. Released to mostly middling reviews, including its legacy: Gamespot's, who criticised it for what would soon become the standard: modern controller FPS controls.
A photo of Alien Resurrection for PS1 with a little xenomorph statue next to it A snap of Gamespots website with its review of Alien Resurrection and 4.7 score.

The game's control setup is its most terrifying element. The left analog stick moves you forward, back, and strafes right and left, while the right analog stick turns you and can be used to look up and down. Too often, you'll turn to face a foe and find that your weapon is aimed at the floor or ceiling while the alien gleefully hacks away at your midsection. Add to the mix a few other head scratchers - such as how the triangle button controls item and health use - and you'll be wondering how Sony let this get by without requesting a few different control configuration options.

Beyond the control issues, Alien Resurrection is gruelingly hard. That is, it's hard to the point where you'll spend as much time reloading your save file as you will spend playing the game. The near-mythical PlayStation mouse peripheral is supposed to solve many of the game's control problems, but the 99.9 percent of PlayStation owners who've never even seen the device will find the game almost unplayably difficult to control and unreasonably hard to enjoy. It's a dramatic answer to a problem far more easily solved by adopting the control scheme from EA's Medal of Honor.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
jackgyarwood.bsky.social
Feral was a game in development for PC (and potentially Xbox and PS2) in the early 2000s at Lost Toys (a studio comprised of ex-Bullfrog staff) before the studio was shut down. Here's a taste of some of the new concept sketches we were able to dig up, thanks to one of its artists David Cathro.
Concept illustrations of a market building from Lost Toys cancelled video game 'Feral' (2003) Concept illustrations of a Cathedral building called the "Church of Souls" from Lost Toys abandoned werewolf game 'Feral' (2003) A concept illustration of an area called the "District of the Damned" from Lost Toys' abandoned werewolf game 'Feral' (2003). It features a rough drawing of a portal, an extravagant building, a wooden rope bridge. A concept illustration of a fantasy-style blacksmiths from Lost Toys' abandoned werewolf game 'Feral' (2003)
retrohistories.bsky.social
Hopefully taking time to do it properly rather than panic again and pour fuel on the flames.
retrohistories.bsky.social
have Bitmap U-turned on their U-turn yet?
Reposted by Chris Chapman
transparency.bsky.social
Oh, I get it. It's called Castlevania because it's a metroidvania set in a castle!
retrohistories.bsky.social
Not sure why Amazon is asserting that two items, though undispatched from their warehouse at twenty past nine in the evening, are somehow going to teleport to me before day's end
Reposted by Chris Chapman
onemillionpower.com
This is the story of Sega's R360: The legendary arcade cabinet that spun players around and left arcade floors far too early. Exclusive interviews, developer quotes, and more!
I'd appreciate not only everyone watching, but also sharing this post and the video!
youtu.be/I-LnKFILB5I
Sega R360: Spinning Dreams in the Arcade
YouTube video by One Million Power
youtu.be
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Reposted by Chris Chapman
konstantinosd.bsky.social
'Night and the City' by Chris Donlan remains one of the finest online articles on game urbanism ever. Somehow simultaneously personal, historical, and objective it is an excellent read, and a reminder that L.A. Noir remains truly unique.

Find it here: www.eurogamer.net/night-and-th...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
tyreforhyre.bsky.social
5 people in lab coats hunched around a briefcase for twelve hours straight until one of them has the 2001 a space odyssey monolith epiphany to open the latches. fat stacks of cash burst out like the fake snake in a peanut can gag; everyone is screaming.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
cabel.panic.com
the one thing i like about generative ai is when it is wrong. because it is always very, very funny. it is so confident and so enthusiastic while failing, like the very best clown.

so, i'm here to tell you that there MAY be NOTHING FUNNIER than asking ai to do ASCII drawings.

here's donald duck:
"please make an ascii art drawing of donald duck"

"here's a cute lil' donald-inspired ascii (sailor hat, pouty beak and all)" an absolutely incomprehensible ascii art drawing of what seems to be a… maybe a robot with a baseball cap and long arms, with another… telephone robot on his head? i don't even know. there's a space ship underneath? maybe? what is this
Reposted by Chris Chapman
retroachievements.org
Our founder, Scott, would like to discuss the recent situation that happened on RetroAchievements as well as the measures we will be taking going forward to ensure a healthy, welcoming community for all enjoyers of retro games and achievements.

retroachievements.org/forums/topic...
Clarifying RetroAchievements’ Goals
TL;DR RetroAchievements supports openness and celebrating retro gaming, but we will not provide a platform for games that contain illegal, hateful, or otherwise abhorrent content. Achievement sets for...
retroachievements.org
Reposted by Chris Chapman
clydemandelin.bsky.social
From my book about #Undertale 's official English-to-Japanese translation

I'd like to expand on this for an article on my site, so if you have any examples of "imprinting" situations in fandoms, please let me know

Some quick examples include FF4, FF6, Trails in the Sky, what else?
Reposted by Chris Chapman
punchystream.bsky.social
"if you account for inflation, game prices used to be m-"

silence. "accounting for inflation" is for economists and/or perverts and I will do no such thing.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
gamehistoryorg.bsky.social
Anybody remember when Sonic Team's next big franchise after the hedgehog was... Billy Hatcher? (Here's a teaser ad from 2003, in case you forgot...)
Reposted by Chris Chapman
rpgfan.bsky.social
Dengeki Faminico Gamer surveyed ~2,900 readers about what games they'd "eternal sunshine" to forget, and enjoy like it's the first time. 🧠 We've covered 9/10 titles on this great list (but this editor does recommend 'em all!👍).

Article DL: news./kikakuthetow...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
garyalexander.bsky.social
Walton Goggins, best known for his role as Border Worlds Pilot #3 (callsign "Moose") in the video game Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995).
A young Walton Goggins flying a space fighter, his face mostly obscured by a helmet with the label MOOSE.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
cdrom.ca
A REQUEST: If you own a French CD-ROM computer game called "Pop Anim'", please let me know. I could use it for some research but haven't been able to find a circulating copy yet. (It's at the BnF but I can't get there right now.)
Reposted by Chris Chapman
jeremyoduber.com
Antique games: 1985 and before

Vintage games: 1986 - 1998

Retro games: 1999 - 2015