ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories
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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories
@romchip.bsky.social
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ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories // www.romchip.org

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Editors:
@lainenooney.bsky.social
@daveparisi.bsky.social
@liebenwalde.bsky.social‬
Soraya Murray
Posts Replies Media Videos
romchip.bsky.social
📢 TODAY ONLY - @ 2PM ET 📢

🗡️📜🕹️ Cameron Kunzelman talks Assassin’s Creed, history, and how the franchise explores freedom, control, and conspiracy across time.

📺 Head to www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal to join the talk! 📺

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/3PQ2HDE
January 23, 2026 at 2:45 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📢 THIS Friday Jan 23 @ 2pm ET 📢

🗡️📜🕹️ Cameron Kunzelman talks Assassin’s Creed, history, and how the franchise explores freedom, control, and conspiracy across time. 🗡️📜🕹️

🎟️ TIX + Info: buff.ly/P2lVM1D

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/QUhQANh
January 21, 2026 at 6:02 PM
romchip.bsky.social
⚔️ And in our Materials section (ft long reads on game objects) Niklas Nyland’s “Contemporary War as Entertainment” examines how the 1918 Finnish Civil War was transformed into a contemporaneous historical war game, Punaisten ja valkoisten taistelu Suomessa 1918 🎲
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
A historical board game map titled Punaisten ja valkoisten taistelu Suomessa 1918 (The Reds and the Whites' Battle in Finland 1918), depicting southern Finland during the Finnish Civil War. The map is marked with a dense network of black lines and nodes representing railways and towns. The southern region is shaded orange to indicate contested territory. Red and white wooden playing pieces are placed across various nodes, symbolizing opposing factions. A white six-sided die lies in the lower left corner.
January 7, 2026 at 6:51 PM
romchip.bsky.social
🗣️ Pierre-Yves Hurel and Adrian Demleitner interviewed Swiss game dev and demomaker Paolo Baerlocher, creator of Piozone and Alderbaran 🚀🌱 We're dropping this in:

FRENCH (original)
romchip.org/index.php/ro...

ENGLISH (translation)
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
Scan of the Poizone (1991) game floppy disk, showing the contributors, the game title, and the distributor’s logo. (Paolo Baerlocher’s GitHub)
January 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
romchip.bsky.social
💻 ROMchip editor @lainenooney.bsky.social drops Part 1 in a 2-part interview series with narrative designer and former US game journalist @leighalexander.bsky.social in "Actor, Writer, Technology Spirit" ✍️💬 encounter the strange, heady time of 2010s game journalism
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
Screenshot of Alexander’s article “‘Gamers’ Don’t Have to Be Your Audience,” published at Gamasutra (now Game Developer). The article image depicts an angry, screaming white man in a gamer headset. Screenshot sourced using The Wayback Machine, snapshot dated August 28, 2014,
January 7, 2026 at 6:46 PM
romchip.bsky.social
🗾 First up, in our peer reviewed articles, explore how Japanese hobbyists built their own “at-home” superguns from 1980s and 90s magazine articles in Hanae Kramer’s "From Print to Play" ⚡🔫 plus, the author even builds their own!
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
Japanese print advertisement. Kyowa International regularly advertised on the rear cover of Technique of Backup magazine. This particular example comes from the March 1989 issue. The fully assembled KIC-045DX supergun cost ¥5,000 ($39) more than the unassembled kit. According to the advertisement, “this kit includes a case with precut holes and assembly instructions. Position the parts, solder the pieces, and tighten the bolts. An optional color VHF video converter [RF modulator] is available for purchase. Assembly time requires approximately two hours. Assembly requires tools such as a soldering iron, nipper, pliers, and multimeter. This project is recommended for people who possess skills in electronics, such as those who may have previously built a transistor radio.” (Courtesy of Sansai Books)
January 7, 2026 at 6:44 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📢 TODAY - November 21 @ 2PM ET 📢

⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻 TreaAndrea Russworm talks about what the Black arts tradition can tell us about The Sims, broken systems, and utopian possibilities⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻

🎟️ TIX + Info: buff.ly/DDUsvVm

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/3PQ2HDE
November 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📢 THIS FRIDAY - November 21 @ 2PM ET 📢

⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻 TreaAndrea Russworm talks about what the Black arts tradition can tell us about The Sims, broken systems, and utopian possibilities⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻

🎟️ TIX + Info: buff.ly/DDUsvVm

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/3PQ2HDE
November 19, 2025 at 3:53 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📢 NEXT FRIDAY - November 21 @ 2PM ET 📢

⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻 TreaAndrea Russworm talks about what the Black arts tradition can tell us about The Sims, broken systems, and utopian possibilities⚒️🏠🧑🏿💻

🎟️ TIX + Info: buff.ly/DDUsvVm

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/3PQ2HDE
November 12, 2025 at 2:31 PM
romchip.bsky.social
July 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📢 OUR NEXT ROMCHIP TWITCH TALK 📢
JULY 18 @ 1PM ET

@sparklebliss.bsky.social presents "Dolly Ludens: American Girl Dolls Playing Games"

FREE TIX here bit.ly/44AXuXv
JOIN US on TWITCH buff.ly/4hgQtAg

💸 Our talks are always FREE and PUBLIC. DONATE: buff.ly/3PQ2HDE
An American Girl doll styled in 1980s fashion—denim skirt, pink tights, side ponytail, colorful bracelets, and headphones—stands in front of a yellow Pac-Man arcade cabinet in a neon-lit arcade. She holds a pink Walkman cassette player.
July 3, 2025 at 4:23 PM
romchip.bsky.social
Go deep w/ an new original translation 🗾 @hiroiwasaki.bsky.social's doujinshi Legend 7: Why Do 2D Games Usually Go to the Right? ➡️ translated by @onemillionpower.com and @devilrei.bsky.social. Learn abt Hudson Soft, Menko cards, Mega Man and more thru Iwasaki's POV 👀

romchip.org/index.php/ro...
Cover of なぜ２Dゲームは右へ進むものが多いのか?, known in English as Legend 7: Why Do 2D Games Usually Go to the Right?, by Hiromasa Iwasaki (Image courtesy of cover artist, Hiroshi Aizawa). Cover features drawings of Luigi, Mario, and Toad running to the right, which right-facing arrow behind them.
July 3, 2025 at 4:12 PM
romchip.bsky.social
In Materials section is our 2024 fundraising commission winner @riquesampaio.com.br w/ a wild piece on the historical context of 🚫 Casseta & Planeta: Noite Animal in Post-Dictatorship Brazil 😬 Its a game with sex, racism, homophobia and more so why was it sold to kids?!

romchip.org/index.php/ro...
PC Multimídia magazine, containing two CD-ROMs: one with the game Casseta & Planeta: Noite Animal (ATR Multimídia, 1995), prominently featured on the magazine cover, and another with the game Betrayal at Krondor (Dynamix, 1993) along with demo versions of other games, including children’s games (Courtesy of Leandro Matioli) Screenshot of where players start in Casseta & Planeta, in the teen-aged protagonist's bedroom. It has orange walls and is full of electronics, a computer, a surfboard, and a poster of a topless model.
July 3, 2025 at 3:50 PM
romchip.bsky.social
🗣️ Pierre-Yves Hurel and Sophie Bemelmans interviewed Swiss game developer Daniel Roux, creator of the Blupi/Eggbert games 🥚 We're dropping this in:

FRENCH (original)
romchip.org/index.php/ro...

ENGLISH (translation)
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
Menu principal du jeu Blupi is Back (2024), disponible sur Android et Windows. https://www.maniabricks.com/games/blupi-is-back/ Main menu of Blupi Is Back (2024), a video game available for Android and Windows. https://www.maniabricks.com/games/blupi-is-back)
July 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
romchip.bsky.social
Our peer-reviewed article this issue is 📸 SCREENSHOTS OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN by @jacobgaboury.bsky.social 📺about the long history of screenshot photography within game culture 🏆
romchip.org/index.php/ro...
a photograph of a long-haired child, standing next to their TV, which displays the end screen of a video game
July 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
romchip.bsky.social
Glitzy glittery early donor perks, heading out soon to an Early Donor near you
June 22, 2025 at 8:17 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 ROUNDING US OUT @ 10PM 📣 @textfiles.com returns to wind down the stream and tuck us all into bed with Jason Scott's Sleepy Time Cave of Wonders.

$20+ donations during this hour are entered into a raffle to receive a voicemail from Jason!

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Internet Archivist Jason Scott wearing a top-hat and purple suit jacket.
February 23, 2025 at 2:55 AM
romchip.bsky.social
LIVE NOW 📣 @colleenmacklin.bsky.social is turning down the lights and turning up the rave--we'll learn how Rez (2001) intersects with their own DJ and music history.

​​$20+ donations = enter a raffle to receive a signed copy of The Metagame!

Check it out NOW on our Twitch page! buff.ly/4hgQtAg
February 23, 2025 at 2:23 AM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 THE STUPIDITY CONTINUES TIL 9PM ET📣 @philsalv.bsky.social honks his way through DOOM and Crazy Taxi on the Fisher Price Wonder Tools Cruiser.

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Photo of Phil Salvadore smiling and holding a black chicken. The box for the Fisher Price Wonder Tools Cruiser. The box reads "Turn any multimedia PC into a vehicle for creative learning adventures!" An image to the right shows a child playing with the Cruiser as cartoon rockets, submarines, and dolphins fly out of the monitor.
February 23, 2025 at 12:55 AM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 NEXT UP @ 7PM ET 📣 @philsalv.bsky.social brings us TWO HOURS of streaming stupidity on the Fisher Price Wonder Tools Cruiser 🕹️📞 🪙 🚘 a 1990s children's computer gaming peripheral

Multiple @mitpress.bsky.social giveaways during this 2 hour set

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Photo of Phil Salvadore smiling and holding a black chicken. The box for the Fisher Price Wonder Tools Cruiser. The box reads "Turn any multimedia PC into a vehicle for creative learning adventures!" An image to the right shows a child playing with the Cruiser, which has plastic controllers and elements like a steering wheel, a joystick, a telephone, and a cash register.
February 22, 2025 at 11:55 PM
romchip.bsky.social
how are you NOT watching the ROMchip Twitch Charity Stream rn? for that sweet sweet cube-o-rific game history

www.twitch.tv/romchipjournal
February 22, 2025 at 11:32 PM
romchip.bsky.social
NEXT UP @ 6PM ET 📣 @buttplug.engineer aka qdot streams Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest (2002) 🧊 for GameCube!

​​$20+ donations = raffle for Seeing Red: Nintendo's Virtual Boy from @mitpress.bsky.social !

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Illustrated portrait of qdot as a wolf wearing glasses and a leather collar. Box art for the Gamecube version of Cubivore. Several unidentifiable animals made of cubes leap toward the camera in front of a voxelated world.
February 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 NEXT UP @ 5PM ET 📣 @molleindustria.org aka Paolo Pedercini attempts a democratically controlled screening of Kinoautomat 📽️ the first interactive movie from 1967.

$20+ donation = raffle for Too Much Fun: The Five Lives of the C64 from @mitpress.bsky.social

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Headshot of Paolo Pedercini. He wears a black shirt with a pixel art image of the wagon and oxen from from the 1985 version of Oregon Trail. It says "You have died of colonization" underneath. The box art for Kinoautomat. It shows six red, green, and white squares showing the film's characters expressing confusion and anguish.
February 22, 2025 at 9:55 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 HAPPENING NOW 📣 @alt254.bsky.social performs WATER WATER EVERYWHERE, an improvised set of modular synth music ft samples from the water levels of games like Ecco, Chrono Cross, Mario 64, DK Country, Bioshock and more.

$20+ donation = raffle to request a track!

JOIN ON TWITCH buff.ly/4hgQtAg
February 22, 2025 at 9:13 PM
romchip.bsky.social
📣 UP NEXT @ 3PM ET 📣 @merrittk.com fires up Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002) ✨ a game "emblematic of the LAN party era."

​$20+ donations = raffle to receive a sign copy of merritt's book ​LAN Party!

JOIN ON TWITCH https://buff.ly/4hgQtAg
Headshot of merritt k. The North American box art for Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. The Star Wars logo stands above a stark white image of a stylized lightsaber. The box has the rating of T for Teen, and the LucasArts logo in the lower right corner. A tagline at the bottom of the box reads "Epic First-Person Action in the Star Wars Galaxy"
February 22, 2025 at 7:55 PM