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Front Page, Games

The father (and son) of Karateka: My interview with Jordan Mechner, creator of Prince of Persia

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August 29, 2023

In honor of The Making of Karateka launching on consoles and PCs this week, I got a chance to interview that game’s creator Jordan Mechner. The Making of Karateka is already a unique kind of “game,” in that it’s really more of a museum exhibit, so our chat digs into…

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digital eclipse, jordan mechner, karateka, prince of persia
Front Page

The Internet’s 4,000th Barbieheimer review

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July 21, 2023

…but I think my take turned out pretty decently. Enjoy a blow-by-blow, fully scientific breakdown of which simul-launched Summer 2023 film triumphs in which categories. A Purely Scientific Review of Two Very Different Films (The Stranger)

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barbie, film review, oppenheimer
Front Page

My reviews of a few Seattle Intl Film Fest 2023 entries

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May 11, 2023

Indie film reviews! Mine include incarceration, puppet blood, and hundreds of exposed male penises. You can ctrl+F my last name to see the films I blurbed, but the whole guide, as written by a number of esteemed Stranger staffers and contributors, is a fun read. We watched and reviewed 35…

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Front Page, Games

Article/interview: The history of games-emulation pioneer Randy Linden

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May 3, 2023

Really fun interview here with Randy Linden, whose claims to fame include the ambitious Super Nintendo version of Doom, an authentic version of the Laserdisc classic Dragon’s Lair on the lowly Amiga, and perhaps biggest of all, Bleem—the world’s first major commercial emulation platform. Linden confirmed a heretofore unknown story…

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Front Page, Games

Super Mario Bros. film review: It’s-a medicore, Mario!

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April 6, 2023

I wrote this for The Stranger in Seattle, ahead of what I assume will be a bazillion-dollar box office gross. Super Mario Bros. film review (thestranger.com)

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Front Page, Games

Article/interview: How Seattle’s weirdest arcade cabinet connects to a larger tech-arts scene

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March 28, 2023

I had a blast chronicling the creation of The Simpsons Colonoscopy Party, a bizarre arcade cabinet that resides at Seattle’s Time Warp bar in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Turns out, it’s a “butt-shaped iceberg” that hints to a larger tech-arts scene in the city. My latest for Seattle newspaper The…

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Front Page, Games

GDC 2023: Accessibility in video games, Spider-Man on PC, some cool indies

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March 22, 2023

Hi from the 2023 Game Developers Conference! I’m contributing to GameDeveloper.com’s coverage of the annual event in San Francisco this week, which means I’m attending panels and playing video games. Some highlights: If you’ve gotten all the way to the end of this list, I’d love to hear your thoughts…

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Front Page, Games

Chatting with Digital Foundry, February 6, 2023

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February 7, 2023

Thanks to the team at Digital Foundry for having me on once again to talk about the business of gaming and the art of higher-fidelity technology. This is my third time guesting on the YouTube channel’s weekly talk show (other Sam cameos can be found here and here), and this…

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digital foundry
Front Page, Games

Article/interview: The 15th anniversary of World of Goo

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January 30, 2023

My latest game-history retrospective at Game Developer tells the story of World of Goo, which turns 15 years old this year… or maybe 18 years old… or even further than that, if you account for the engineering puzzles and contraptions that its co-creator Kyle Gabler built out of real-world trash…

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Front Page, Games

Article/interview: The 30th anniversary of Ultima Underworld

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December 14, 2022

Head to gamedeveloper.com to learn, among other things, how John Madden Football ’93 changed the future of the “immersive sim” genre (yes, really). Thanks to Ultima Underworld director Paul Neurath for taking some time to chat with me on the eve of that PC classic’s 30th anniversary. Madden ’93 and…

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origin studios, paul neurath, ultima underworld
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