The Video Game History Hour

Host Phil Salvador and guest host Colleen Barrett, Rare Books Librarian at UK Libraries, chat with David Carter, Video Game Archivist and Comic Librarian at University of Michigan Library Computer and Video Game Archive, about the work he does in archiving video game material within such a large and academic institutions. We discuss what tools…

On this special video episode of the Video Game History Hour, we sat down with Craig Stitt, retired game artist and designer. Craig worked on games including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Kid Chameleon, Ratchet & Clank, and Spyro the Dragon. He gave us a tour of his portfolio and talked about working at Sega in…

Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador host a discussion with Jez San, Jason Smith, and Mike Arkin from Argonaut Games about the development and remastering of the 1997 game Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. We touch on what went into the original game – incorporating 3D technology and character design influences from traditional animation – as…

Hosts Frank Cifaldi and Phil Salvador chat with Mark and Michelle Flitman, a father-daughter duo, about Mark’s career, his donated collection at the VGHF, and his autobiography: “It’s Not All Fun and Games.” As a semi-retired video game and toy producer, Mark shares his career highlights as a publisher producer throughout the 90’s and into…

Phil Salvador hosts Polygon’s Clayton Ashley and Simone de Rochefort to discuss a documentary they produced last year called The Great Game: The Making of Spycraft | Full Polygon Documentary about the 1996 FMV CD-ROM game, Spycraft.  Blog post mentioned in show: https://www.filfre.net/2023/03/spycraft-the-great-game-part-1-or-parallel-spies/ You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday…

Phil Salvador and Robin Kunimune chat with Chloe Appleby, games curator at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, who shares how she turned her passion for games into a dream role blending community, culture, and quirky preservation. From Sydney’s post-COVID game scene revival to tracking down lost media and organizing a free indie games festival,…

Phil Salvador and Kendra Albert, a partner at Albert Sellars LLP, digest, discuss, and dissect the 2024 DMCA exemption petition to make it easier for libraries and archives to preserve video games and the subsequent ruling by the US Copyright Office. Join us for an insightful look at the recent ruling, legal implications, and what it…

In this episode of Video Game History Hour, Michael Mendheim joins host Frank Cifaldi and guest-host John Rairdin to reflect on his career, from early work on Fester’s Quest to cult favorites like Mutant League Football and Sarge’s Heroes. Mendheim shares stories about creative risks, industry shakeups, and the challenges of keeping games alive —…

Gail Tilden, Nintendo of America’s marketing mastermind, takes Frank Cifaldi on a trip down memory lane in a panel at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo, reminiscing about everything from the early days of NES branding to the explosive rise of Pokémon. She shares behind-the-scenes stories about marketing mishaps (hello, Zelda Rap), strategic pivots like…

Laine Nooney, an associate professor at NYU and managing editor of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories, joins Phil Salvador on The Video Game History Hour to chat about the journal’s mission to make game history more than just timelines. ROMchip is an open-access, independent journal that brings together academics, enthusiasts, and industry pros, supported…