Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

videogame history

@vghistory.bsky.social

18K followers 0 following 3.3K posts

a meditation on videogame (w/ occasional technology and web) history. donate to my ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/moshboy/ also find me on mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@moshboy nfaq: https://pastebin.com/vUmrYKx6

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 14

atari jaguar, print ad, excerpt (1994) archive.org/details/Vide...

black background, red bloody claw marks, two piercing jaguar eyes up the top.
white caps text font that slowly gets bigger:
64 exploding bits of raw power.
16.7 million brain burning colors.
and 3-d graphics real enough to make you blow chunks.
you've been warned.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 13

magazine screenshot (1991) archive.org/details/fami...

old man with cane opens up a chest and finds a set of chompers in there (within a maze?). other old men with canes are graphically displayed on the right hand side of the screen, wearing different colours.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 12

mario paint, magazine screenshot, snes, ação games, magazine (1992) archive.org/details/acao...

someone has drawn krusty the clown in mario paint, green side hair, red nose, purple bowtie, grinning, no clown makeup so regular skin tone.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 12

concept illustration, imagining what a super nintendo might look like, months before august release in north america, famicom tsūshin, magazine (april, 1991) archive.org/details/fami...

black and white illustration shows a 'super nes' that has a black strip on the right, ports at the front, also on the right, a pop-up cartridge slot on top on the left and also power and reset buttons. a controller is attached that has square corners and diagonal bits down the bottom.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 11

faceball 2000, print ad screenshot & caption, game boy (1992) archive.org/details/vide...

gameboy screenshot, first person, 3d maze, with floating happy faces, one looks like a ball, one has a round bottom but looks flatter on top, one looks more like a square but isn't smiling (straight mouth).
caption reads: watch out! they only look happy!

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · Jul 11

banjo-tooie, screenshot, n64 (2000) www.mobygames.com/game/3993/ba...

banjo the bear is close to a floating ghost corpse on a path on a mostly green 3d landscape
the ghost corpse is saying: taking an interest in my corpse...

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 6d

xbox odyssey tour, us (november, 2001) 'two 53-foot semi's pull into your town, setting up a humongous inflated dome. you enter the dome to the sound of cool tunes cranking. you see 52 game stations, a dj stand, overhead video screens for game play, and a vip lounge.' web.archive.org/web/20011102...

two black xbox branded semi's.

an massive inflated dome with an xbox branded entrance.

the dark inside of the doom with xbox kiosks setup in various places, a large xbox screen high up.

a closer view of the xbox kiosks (a row of at least 4 of them), each with a large screen and xboxes set-up below.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 6d

print ad (2000) archive.org/details/inte...

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 6d

gameplay, website, excerpt (2000) web.archive.org/web/20000815...

displayed down the right hand side of an online shop screen is this poll. it has a circle with a photo of bill gate's smiling head in there and polling question below:
would you buy a console from this man?
mo
yes
dunno
buttons: vote, results

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 6d

casio cassiopeia e-105 (2000) archive.org/details/inte...

silver handheld pda (one large button on the bottom left and three smaller button in a triagnular formation on the bottom right). the screen is displaying windows ce with menus open where you can find games. the pda pen is lying next to the device.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 6d

forecaster, bbc micro (1984) www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/26669/Fo...

neon blue outline of a bald human head. inside the human head is a reflective crystal? ball on a stand.
tagline:
a simple yet versatile approach to prediction
below imagery:
brainpower
applicationthroughlearning

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 19h

headbangers heaven, zx spectrum (1982) www.mobygames.com/game/146490/...

a black outlined figure is standing is hammers fall from the sky. there are protective red rectangles, however they are standing inbetween two of them and a red hammer is not far from hitting them. green bags are left and right of the protagoniist. title font is in blue. this is a llamasoft !! game.

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 20h

tony hawk's underground, magazine screenshots, ps2 (2003) archive.org/details/ops-...

face mapping screen where the game maps a character face to a facial photo.

screen that shows your in game character with the option to start a new face map or save the current face you have.
caption:
ugly truth: you may want to send in a picture of your better-looking mate if you’re lacking in the looks department

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 22h

baldur's gate: dark alliance, magazine imagery, xbox (2003) archive.org/details/xbox...

3d beholder, angry af, bloody face, very sharp teeth, one big eye, other eyes on the end of the tentacles protruding from the top and sides of its head.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 7d

magazine screenshot (1992) archive.org/details/tech...

blood splattered room, a disembodied face lying in in the middle of the floor.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 7d

elvira: mistress of the dark, floppy disk, commodore 64 (1991) www.mobygames.com/game/4050/el...

the label of the floppy disk has an imposed photo of elvira, puffed up long black hair, revealing dress, half laying in a provocative pose.

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 1d

wwf wrestlemania 2000, official wallpaper, from the official website (1999) web.archive.org/web/19991128...

wallpaper showing various in game shots of wrestler mankind aka mick foley, performing his moves in the ring.

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 1d

3dfx voodoo3 3000, graphics card (1999) archive.org/details/3dfx...

close-up of a set of eyes, top of nose ridge and bottom of forehead, creepy dark green skin tones, eyes pearcing white and also creepy. there is a sticker on the bottom right of the box stating that the graphics card comes with free software such as unreal and fifa 99.

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 1d

batman: dark tomorrow, print ad screenshot, xbox (2003) archive.org/details/xbox...

a screenshot that almost looks like a painting: batman is standing back to the camera, a bald ventriloquist, wearing black, holding a puppet wearing a hat is standing against a wall. the scene looks slightly misty.

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 1d

the hive, print ad (1995) archive.org/details/elec...

misty green and black background
foreground, big stylized yellow font:
buzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzz
zzz......
......... (dots look like splotched paint)
(splotched pink question mark behindthe uellow font)
(title font below this)
almost regular white type, not bold but still caps, inbetween the last two lines of dots: coming 10-15-96

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 8d

magazine screenshot & caption (1995) archive.org/details/Uned...

header: cdi is the best
3d screenshot of a woman reaching out and sticking her hand through the body of a man (spread fingers and partial hand can be seen out of the back of his top). he is looking down. she is looking concerned.
caption:
you won't see graphics like this on many other systems, for sure!

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 8d

illustration, login, magazine (1986) archive.org/details/logi...

a boy or young man with black hair using a computer with a hand device above attached to a circle that has hanging floppy disk covers with floppy disks in them. it can be spun around, as demonstrated by the illustration.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 8d

crazy cars III, game over screen, amiga (1992) www.mobygames.com/game/783/lam...

sleek red sports car has a yellow 'sale' sign attached to the front windscreen.
dark text:
you've gone broke!
your finances are exhausted
you'll have to sell the car!

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 8d

burn:cycle, in development, cd-i (circa 1994) archive.org/details/Uned...

darkly lit room with game development set-ups (x3?), 2 devs at one ste-up, one dev at another, concept art and cover art stuck to the wall. the studio is tripmedia. a small circular photo at the top right shows someone from the studio with some gear on his head and hands.

Reposted by videogame history

videogame history @vghistory.bsky.social · 8d

illustration, ahski!, magazine (1984) archive.org/details/AhSK...

an old styled illustration of a computer on an old style desk, propped up by two naked winged baby angels. on the desk along with the computer is a telescope, a spinning globe, books, a quill, a little standing cat toy. a moon and clouds is floating either side above the desk. a computer chip is illustrated either side at the bottom.