Let the fumes of yesteryear take you on a billowing journey. Follow me on: X @ErnstKrogtoft, Instagram @retro365er. or YouTube @Retro365
Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this second part (of 3), we explore the creative inspiration, historical archives, and internal development team behind Cinemaware’sambitious project. Building upon the success of their early hits, founder Robert Jacob and designer John Cutter set out to move beyond beautiful graphics to find true emotional substance. Rejecting the sterile mechanics […]
Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this first part of Wings, we explore the origins of Cinemaware and the 16-bit revolution that arrived with the Commodore Amiga 1000. Building upon the technological breakthrough of the Amiga, entrepreneur Robert Jacob set out to bridge the gap between games and Hollywood. He partnered with independent talent and hired […]
By 1981, changes were on their way inside the Mountain View, California, offices of Automated Simulations. The company, which would soon abandon its nerdy, academic name for the slicker, more commercial branding of Epyx, found itself trapped in a bitter, corporate stand-off. For the previous two years, its legendary Dunjonquest series, anchored by the massive […]
In the early 1980s, an underlying anxiety began to ripple through the rapidly expanding video game market. While arcade halls glowed with teenagers pouring millions in quarters into flickering cabinets, a backlash was brewing in American homes. Parents, educators, and social critics viewed early games as little more than a digital epidemic, a collection of […]
Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this fourth and last episode of The Dynamix Adventures, we explore the development, release, and impact of The Adventure of Willy Beamish. Building upon the technology and cinematic techniques developed in Rise of the Dragon and Heart of China, Dynamix set out to tackle an entirely different challenge, creating a […]
Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this third episode of The Dynamix Adventures, we explore the development, release, and impact of Dynamix’s ambitious follow-up to Rise of the Dragon, Heart of China. Building upon the technology, tools, and cinematic techniques developed for its predecessor, Dynamix set out to create a very different kind of adventure. Leaving […]
It is the late 1980s, and Michael Kosaka, a black belt and instructor of Aikido, has been tinkering with an idea for some time. As both a practitioner of Japanese martial arts and an experienced game designer, now with Electronic Arts, he envisions a comprehensive martial arts game that not only reflects the real-world techniques […]
Welcome to another Mini-Documentary. In this second episode of The Dynamix Adventures, we explore the development, release, and impact of Dynamix’s first adventure game, Rise of the Dragon. Following its acquisition by Sierra On-Line, Dynamix entered a new phase, one defined by greater resources, new technology, and the opportunity to fully realize its ambitions for […]
This article is more show than tell, as little to no information is available on either the game or its developer, D. A. Decker Jr. The only substantial information I was able to find comes from The Wargaming Scribe, who published a short write-up on the game in 2022. By the end of 1982, Epyx […]
In 1982, home computers were still a curiosity for most people, but for those who owned an Apple II, they represented the wild frontier of American game development. The industry was yet to settle into commercial corporate structures and established business models. For now, it thrived on curiosity and hobbyist programmers doing after-hours experiments, while […]