Chris Chapman
@retrohistories.bsky.social
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
"Sound[s] bored and enthused at the same time" — YouTube commenter Hoodii
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Here's your lofi listen for the day to help you focus on writing. A wonderful two-hour compilation of classic Nintendo themes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspS...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspS...
Nintendo but it's lofi beats
YouTube video by bits & hits
www.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Here's your lofi listen for the day to help you focus on writing. A wonderful two-hour compilation of classic Nintendo themes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspS...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspS...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Now I heard there was a tiny box
Engraved with names like Minecraft Notch
And Brian Fargo and FourZeroTwo, yeah
But though it promised games for free
And mobile ports on your TV
It's a cold and it's a broken Founders' Ouya
Engraved with names like Minecraft Notch
And Brian Fargo and FourZeroTwo, yeah
But though it promised games for free
And mobile ports on your TV
It's a cold and it's a broken Founders' Ouya
November 26, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Now I heard there was a tiny box
Engraved with names like Minecraft Notch
And Brian Fargo and FourZeroTwo, yeah
But though it promised games for free
And mobile ports on your TV
It's a cold and it's a broken Founders' Ouya
Engraved with names like Minecraft Notch
And Brian Fargo and FourZeroTwo, yeah
But though it promised games for free
And mobile ports on your TV
It's a cold and it's a broken Founders' Ouya
Adventures in misbehaving websites: just looked at the GOG sale and all the prices are in Swedish kronor. The only currency options I can set it to are SEK, EUR and USD. I'm not using a VPN.
November 25, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Adventures in misbehaving websites: just looked at the GOG sale and all the prices are in Swedish kronor. The only currency options I can set it to are SEK, EUR and USD. I'm not using a VPN.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
I'll never forget the Gizmondo booth at Game Stars Live 2004. It had an "under construction" theme, and there was playable hardware - but for some reason, the PR people had it hidden away! You had to chat to them for a good while to play it. Even back then, it all felt weird - how little we knew…
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I'll never forget the Gizmondo booth at Game Stars Live 2004. It had an "under construction" theme, and there was playable hardware - but for some reason, the PR people had it hidden away! You had to chat to them for a good while to play it. Even back then, it all felt weird - how little we knew…
Reposted by Chris Chapman
I know I've Shirenposted a lot this year, but I am not exaggerating when I say Shiren is a vital series to study if you're at all interested in the history of console roguelikes. It's about as foundational as it gets and it's been king of the genre in Japan for decades for a reason and 6 is sublime.
November 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I know I've Shirenposted a lot this year, but I am not exaggerating when I say Shiren is a vital series to study if you're at all interested in the history of console roguelikes. It's about as foundational as it gets and it's been king of the genre in Japan for decades for a reason and 6 is sublime.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Shiren The Wanderer (and the whole Mystery Dungeon series/style as a whole) is basically Japan's answer to Nethack.
True old-school roguelike shenanigans with so many weird interactions and quirks to be learned over dozens of runs, but with some long-term progression mixed in.
Great series.
True old-school roguelike shenanigans with so many weird interactions and quirks to be learned over dozens of runs, but with some long-term progression mixed in.
Great series.
Shiren the Wanderer 30th Anniversary sale on Steam buff.ly/oYgd9k2
November 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Shiren The Wanderer (and the whole Mystery Dungeon series/style as a whole) is basically Japan's answer to Nethack.
True old-school roguelike shenanigans with so many weird interactions and quirks to be learned over dozens of runs, but with some long-term progression mixed in.
Great series.
True old-school roguelike shenanigans with so many weird interactions and quirks to be learned over dozens of runs, but with some long-term progression mixed in.
Great series.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
My @vanityfair.com oral history of PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES, released on this day in 1987:
'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' at 35: An Oral History of One of the Most Beloved Road Movies Ever Made
Starring Steve Martin and John Candy, the John Hughes road trip comedy had a nearly four-hour runtime at one point. Hear from cast, crew, and Hughes' family about the classic.
www.vanityfair.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
My @vanityfair.com oral history of PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES, released on this day in 1987:
While we're sharing Star Wars hot takes: there's nothing more annoying in the Lucas movies than C3PO in Empire. No, not even JJB.
It's exactly like having an annoying roommate next to you giving a running commentary and killing the tension. Shut the fuck up, Threepio, I'm trying to watch the film!
It's exactly like having an annoying roommate next to you giving a running commentary and killing the tension. Shut the fuck up, Threepio, I'm trying to watch the film!
November 25, 2025 at 4:21 PM
While we're sharing Star Wars hot takes: there's nothing more annoying in the Lucas movies than C3PO in Empire. No, not even JJB.
It's exactly like having an annoying roommate next to you giving a running commentary and killing the tension. Shut the fuck up, Threepio, I'm trying to watch the film!
It's exactly like having an annoying roommate next to you giving a running commentary and killing the tension. Shut the fuck up, Threepio, I'm trying to watch the film!
Reposted by Chris Chapman
NEW VIDEO: Phoenix Games is beyond notorious for releasing metric tons of garbage for the the PlayStations 1 and 2, sometimes in compilations of asset flips.
What if, though, one of these games was kinda... okay? And how would such a thing be possible?
youtu.be/EngHesUk2g8
What if, though, one of these games was kinda... okay? And how would such a thing be possible?
youtu.be/EngHesUk2g8
That time Phoenix Games accidentally released something kinda okay
YouTube video by Alien Bob
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 11:02 AM
NEW VIDEO: Phoenix Games is beyond notorious for releasing metric tons of garbage for the the PlayStations 1 and 2, sometimes in compilations of asset flips.
What if, though, one of these games was kinda... okay? And how would such a thing be possible?
youtu.be/EngHesUk2g8
What if, though, one of these games was kinda... okay? And how would such a thing be possible?
youtu.be/EngHesUk2g8
Oh hell yes. Tweetbot's Vintage theme, back in the driver's seat. I missed this.
November 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Oh hell yes. Tweetbot's Vintage theme, back in the driver's seat. I missed this.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Friends, we gather to honor the dearly departed icons of the early web. 🖥️⚰️ Though they have vanished from our screens, their spirit endures both in our memory & in the Wayback Machine, preserved across 1 trillion pages of web history.
Pay your respects ⤵️
archive.org/details/in-m...
#Wayback1T
Pay your respects ⤵️
archive.org/details/in-m...
#Wayback1T
November 24, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Friends, we gather to honor the dearly departed icons of the early web. 🖥️⚰️ Though they have vanished from our screens, their spirit endures both in our memory & in the Wayback Machine, preserved across 1 trillion pages of web history.
Pay your respects ⤵️
archive.org/details/in-m...
#Wayback1T
Pay your respects ⤵️
archive.org/details/in-m...
#Wayback1T
Wish there was more of a choice of good Bluesky clients like there are on Mastodon (and used to be on the birdsite till they killed the ecosystem).
The official iOS bsky app is underwhelming and it’s had a major bug (through several versions) where there’s no way to close a video once it’s playing.
The official iOS bsky app is underwhelming and it’s had a major bug (through several versions) where there’s no way to close a video once it’s playing.
November 24, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Wish there was more of a choice of good Bluesky clients like there are on Mastodon (and used to be on the birdsite till they killed the ecosystem).
The official iOS bsky app is underwhelming and it’s had a major bug (through several versions) where there’s no way to close a video once it’s playing.
The official iOS bsky app is underwhelming and it’s had a major bug (through several versions) where there’s no way to close a video once it’s playing.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
This was my white whale for a long time, but the sourced audio sample during Xenogears' "Blazing Knights" boss fight track was taken from Christian Brando's manslaughter trial in 1990!
November 24, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This was my white whale for a long time, but the sourced audio sample during Xenogears' "Blazing Knights" boss fight track was taken from Christian Brando's manslaughter trial in 1990!
Reposted by Chris Chapman
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
November 24, 2025 at 10:23 PM
We did something different with the credits for Demonschool. We used this format: name, title, lengthy description of what they did. Often you see credits in games where you don't know what the credited developer was actually responsible for. We wanted to give people proper, actual credit.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Let me (again) put this in the simplest possible terms:
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
November 24, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Let me (again) put this in the simplest possible terms:
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
If I subscribe or share a link to your substack, I'm supporting you, but I'm also complicit in funding Nazis.
I'd like to read your takes on music/animation/film/comics/culture/art/politics, but that's a hard line for me. Wish it was for you.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
A 1984 arcade game of a Jackie Chan movie kicked off the beat-'em-up genre. Then those who made it and its ports took what they learned to Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., and a Windows rival that briefly had Microsoft worried. New post on Kung-Fu Master:
www.superchartisland.com/kung-fu-master
www.superchartisland.com/kung-fu-master
Kung-Fu Master – “Martial arts experts and demons of every description”
In 1982, Takashi Nishiyama directed an arcade game called Moon Patrol, for Irem. It featured a moon buggy which moves constantly across a lunar landscape, where you have to jump over holes while sh…
www.superchartisland.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:01 AM
A 1984 arcade game of a Jackie Chan movie kicked off the beat-'em-up genre. Then those who made it and its ports took what they learned to Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., and a Windows rival that briefly had Microsoft worried. New post on Kung-Fu Master:
www.superchartisland.com/kung-fu-master
www.superchartisland.com/kung-fu-master
This makes me feel oddly... optimistic? Like a polluted river, maybe online communities slowly, naturally make their way back to health if we stop pumping toxic sludge in.
(Of course, that's no trivial problem while social media companies hold, at best, a neutral position on toxic sludge...)
(Of course, that's no trivial problem while social media companies hold, at best, a neutral position on toxic sludge...)
Seeing how much of the right-wing on Twitter is just bot farms, kinda lays bare how much hate and hatred is a project that needs to be constantly maintained, a fire that needs to be fed all the time lest it go out for a moment, so much time, effort, and resources to keep people angry and hateful.
November 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
This makes me feel oddly... optimistic? Like a polluted river, maybe online communities slowly, naturally make their way back to health if we stop pumping toxic sludge in.
(Of course, that's no trivial problem while social media companies hold, at best, a neutral position on toxic sludge...)
(Of course, that's no trivial problem while social media companies hold, at best, a neutral position on toxic sludge...)
Reposted by Chris Chapman
The video starts with the waitress, who clearly assumes that a white, three-dimensional man wouldn’t understand her language, asking the man what he wants to eat in English. She was visibly shocked when he responded “sherb baba arogaba swaybul charba sa cou shamoo.”
paletteswap.site/dif...
paletteswap.site/dif...
November 23, 2025 at 10:57 PM
The video starts with the waitress, who clearly assumes that a white, three-dimensional man wouldn’t understand her language, asking the man what he wants to eat in English. She was visibly shocked when he responded “sherb baba arogaba swaybul charba sa cou shamoo.”
paletteswap.site/dif...
paletteswap.site/dif...
Reposted by Chris Chapman
There are 1500 rules in the scripts governing NPC behaviour in a mostly forgotten open-world Amiga/ST/DOS game called The Adventures of Robin Hood. All affected in real-time by 32 characteristics, what you're doing in the game, your reputation, and the changing of the seasons.
i was going through my X archives and found this by @superpodsaga.com, which I qrt'd at some point years ago
so, let me bring the question back: what is the most useless piece of video game knowledge you know?
so, let me bring the question back: what is the most useless piece of video game knowledge you know?
November 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
There are 1500 rules in the scripts governing NPC behaviour in a mostly forgotten open-world Amiga/ST/DOS game called The Adventures of Robin Hood. All affected in real-time by 32 characteristics, what you're doing in the game, your reputation, and the changing of the seasons.
I am a podcast literalist. Existing in other formats in parallel is fine, but if it doesn't have an RSS feed with enclosures, it's straight up not a podcast.
Spotify exclusive? Only on YouTube? Not a podcast.
Podcasting isn't a format or a presentation style. It's a file delivery mechanism.
Spotify exclusive? Only on YouTube? Not a podcast.
Podcasting isn't a format or a presentation style. It's a file delivery mechanism.
November 24, 2025 at 10:12 AM
I am a podcast literalist. Existing in other formats in parallel is fine, but if it doesn't have an RSS feed with enclosures, it's straight up not a podcast.
Spotify exclusive? Only on YouTube? Not a podcast.
Podcasting isn't a format or a presentation style. It's a file delivery mechanism.
Spotify exclusive? Only on YouTube? Not a podcast.
Podcasting isn't a format or a presentation style. It's a file delivery mechanism.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
Another stupid one from the games I have on my Steam Deck: in WRC 2001, you can play as beloved racer FORD DRIVER due to the WRC license granting a full roster of drivers, teams, and tracks from the 2001 season but Colin McRae’s name and likeness already being snapped up for his own series.
November 24, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Another stupid one from the games I have on my Steam Deck: in WRC 2001, you can play as beloved racer FORD DRIVER due to the WRC license granting a full roster of drivers, teams, and tracks from the 2001 season but Colin McRae’s name and likeness already being snapped up for his own series.
Reposted by Chris Chapman
If you fail a mission in Timesplitters 2, the game over music eventually segues into slowed down voice clips that sound demonic. If you sit through THAT, a different ambient track starts playing and getting louder before a somewhat scared woman asks “is… is that too loud?” and the game goes silent
November 24, 2025 at 6:40 AM
If you fail a mission in Timesplitters 2, the game over music eventually segues into slowed down voice clips that sound demonic. If you sit through THAT, a different ambient track starts playing and getting louder before a somewhat scared woman asks “is… is that too loud?” and the game goes silent