Diary of an Arcade Employee Podcast

Friends, we have a very special episode for all three of the podcasts, a bonus episode as it were, that is meant to act as not only my official announcement but explanation for why I am retiring. I hope you will understand that for the past 12 years that I have been fortunate enough to be considered a blogger, writer, and podcaster…I have realized recently that I am very tired. I need more however than just a break or vacation from writing daily articles and producing podcasts – I truly need to step away from the laptop and microphone – it is the appropriate time to look back at what I, as well as my fellow Pop Culture Retrorama colleagues have accomplished.

As I state on the podcast itself, I am very proud of what Allison Venezio-Preston, Ashley Thomas, Rockford Jay, Earl Green, Brett Weiss, IseeRobots, Javier Ojst, Rob O’Hara, and Gary Burton have accomplished with this site. And while I will soon shutter the Pop Culture Retrorama site and step away from writing in general, I am extremely happy to announce that Earl Green has generously offered to host not only the content on this site – but any future articles that the Pop Culture Retrorama colleagues might decide to write – on theLogBook.com. So, while I am slipping into the shadows, Pop Culture Retrorama will most assuredly live on.

I do hope that those of you who have been so kind as to visit this page, or even remember my work on the Retroist, understand that I did not come to the decision to retire lightly. Having said that, it feels like this is right path to take, thanks in no small part to my new career.

Many thanks to all of you. You have made something that I originally tackled as a hobby feel far more important, giving me a desire to write over 6000 articles and produce over 300 podcasts in the past 11 -12 years. I am grateful for your time and support, but more importantly your friendship.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

“Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!”

Feel free to keep in touch with me on Facebook or even Twitter. Or perhaps check out the Saturday Frights Facebook Page, and Diary of an Arcade Employee!

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Episode Mirror #1 (MP3)

Friends, thank you as always for taking the time to join us for a new episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – although this marks the last show for Season 2. Which is why I hope we are going out on a high note, as we will be discussing Q*bert – that classic 1982 platformer from Gottlieb. As I try to do with every episode of the show, I not only share my first experiences with the subject of the episode, but do my level best to attempt to shine the spotlight on those talented people responsible for bringing the game to life. In the case with Q*bert we have three co-creators to thank, those are Warren Davis, Jeff Lee, as well as David D. Thiel. I actually talked about the last two in the Krull episode of the podcast – but I was able to find an interview with Davis in addition to one with Lee, that when you have a moment you will want to read for yourselves.

Personally I have always thought that Q*bert was and is a pretty tough game – plus the difficulty seems to ramp up rather quickly. Which is why I was surprised to learn that Warren Davis had been working on a sequel to the hit game he co-created – one that managed to raise the bar for difficulty even higher!

I am extremely happy to report that Earl Green was able to join me once again on this episode, in his segment he discusses the many ports of Q*bert to the popular home consoles and computers of the day – plus the staggering amount of merchandise that was created for the character. While Gary Burton wasn’t able to appear on this last show of season 2 – as you will hear for yourself, he had a very good reason to miss submitting a segment. Furthermore I make mention on the episode itself that the Retroist has an amazing personal story about Q*bert that he shared on his very own podcast.

While this season of the Diary podcast is coming to a close, after a brief two week hiatus, I will return with the first episode of Season 3 of the Saturday Frights podcast. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with us over these past 12 weeks and for all of the wonderful comments about the show. Now then, it is time you get hopping on those cubes along with Q*bert – just keep an eye peeled for Coily and his goons!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

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Friends, thank you as always for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to a new episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – this week we are tackling 1983’s Krull, the action adventure twin-stick shooter released by Gottlieb. As is standard with the Diary podcast I have shared my first encounter with Krull – in this case both the film as well as the arcade game tie-in. In addition I have done my best to shine the spotlight on not just the long history of Gottlieb but those responsible for bringing Krull to the arcades back in the day. If you have not have had the pleasure of playing the game yourself – while pretty faithfully following the events of the 1983 film – it is a game that is in all honesty pretty tough. Perhaps not as hard as actually attempting to face off against The Beast, the otherworldly villain of the film… but close!

As I mention in the show itself, I was able to locate an interview with Jeff Lee – courtesy of Good Deal Games. A brief excerpt where the co-creator of 1982’s Q*bert is able to share his contribution to the Krull arcade game – speaking of the former… you will be hearing more about Lee on next week’s episode.

I am afraid that Gary Burton was unable to join us for this episode of the podcast, quite frankly he has his hands full helping to get the Arkadia Retrocade back open. However we do have the esteemed Earl Green back for a new segment, this time talking about the equally difficult Atari 2600 game version of Krull.

I truly do hope that you have enjoyed the second season of the Diary podcast so far – I am extremely grateful for your support of the show, taking time out of your precious schedule to give us a listen. So without further ado I hope you will grab your glaive and then prepare to face The Beast for the fair hand of the Princess Lyssa on the Planet of Krull!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

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Episode Mirror #1 (MP3)

Friends, thank you for checking in with us for a new episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – this week we are headed back to 1981 to discuss Exidy’s Venture, what many consider an early dungeon crawler. As I seem to always do with the Diary podcast I share my memories of first encountering the game that is the subject of the show. But in addition I have tried my best to shine the spotlight on those personally responsible for bringing Venture to life – and in this case a little history of Exidy as well. Having said that I was able to locate a quote by Venture designer and programmer, Howell Ivy, from the Retro Gamer magazine – you might want to check it out for a glimpse of what it was like in the early days of creating video games.

As I point out in the show itself, Venture is an arcade classic that tasks the Players with taking on the role of… Winky? No matter the name or even the fact it looks like a big red smiley face – Winky is most definitely a hero – and with the Players help will manage to brave a dungeon filled with Dragons, Ettins, and worse. Venture is a pretty tough game and after listening to the podcast, you might understand why Players at the Arkadia Retrocade decided to give it a wide berth.

On this show I am afraid that neither Gary Burton or Earl Green were able to join me – real life matters as well as around the clock work on the arcade prevented it for this episode. I am sure they will be back for the next episode though!

I truly hope you are enjoying this second season of the Diary podcast and I am very appreciative that you have taken time from your busy schedule to check out the show. I do know there are thousands of gaming podcasts out there for your listening pleasure – far more detailed and knowledgeable than myself. Now pick up your bow and snatch up your quiver of arrows… you are heading into the dungeons of Venture!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

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Episode Mirror # 1 (MP3)

Friends, it really is hard to believe but we’ve reached the 50th episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – when I started out on the Retroist with the show I could only dream we would make it this far. Having reached the 50th mark – I think I can honestly say there might even be an episode or possibly two that managed to be good. As I hinted at with the Kung-Fu Master episode last week – this week we are tackling Starcade – that iconic arcade video game show that aired on WTBS the Super Station beginning in 1982 and with it’s last first-run show broadcast in 1984. I have done my best to shine a spotlight on the creation of the series – which is thanks to James Caruso as well as Mavis Arthur of JM Productions. You might be surprised at just how many obstacles the duo had to overcome before Starcade was picked up by Ted Turner for his cable TV station – broadcast on December 27th of 1982. When all is said and done this is a television game show that can claim to have had four hosts – beginning with the original pilot in 1981 until it’s first broadcast on WTBS.

I am happy to say that Starcade has an official site where you can watch many of those classic episode – in addition they also have an official YouTube channel you can enjoy as well. As I mention in the show itself – I owe a great deal of thanks to Bleeding Cool, The Golden Age Arcade Historian, and Dragon’s Lair Project sites – as they managed to collect information and interviews with the likes of James Caruso and Mavis Arthur of JM Productions. Giving us fans of Starcade a glimpse behind the curtain of just how much work they put into the show to get it on our television sets. Thanks to this information we also learned why the game show managed to have so many hosts – including Mark Richards and of course Geoff Edwards.

On this show we have the return of Earl Green, who not only provided a clip from his Best of the Classic Gaming Expo 2003 DVD that features Richards, but also shares the time he attempted to become a contestant on Starcade. We also have Gary Burton with a new segment – not focusing on any one arcade title this go around but sharing a personal memory of how we became the best of friends.

As always I thank you one and all for supporting the podcast – I know there are hundreds of shows out there that tackle classic arcade and home console games – so the fact you would take the time out of your busy schedule to listen to mine is an absolute gift. So I hope you will enjoy this 50th episode of the Diary podcast and are ready to find out all about the Starcade TV series!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

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Friends, as always I want to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to check out the latest episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast. This week we are going to be tackling Kung-Fu Master – that classic arcade beat ’em up produced by Irem – although released in the States by Data East. As I mention in the show itself this was a title that I didn’t have the pleasure of playing in any of the arcades of my youth – not Showbiz Pizza or even Games People Play. I first came upon Kung-Fu Master at a local grocery store – although it quickly became one of my favorite arcade games to play when making a trip there. As always on the podcast I have made sure to do my level best in shining a spotlight on those iconic creators who brought the game to life – although in this case we have two gentlemen who would go on to help start the Street Fighter franchise as well as scoring two of the most legendary games of all time.

On this episode I have provided what I hope is a brief breakdown of the gameplay for Kung-Fu Master in addition to adding a few choice audio treats related to the game. While I am sad to say that Earl Green wasn’t able to join us for this particular episode – we do have Gary Burton back with us – who gives you a glimpse at the fighting games we are lucky enough to have at the Arkadia Retrocade.

Remember to check out the Old School Gamer magazine if you too are a fan of classic arcade and home console games.

I thank you once again for being kind enough to listen to the show – now prepare to storm the Devil’s Temple pagoda and rescue Sylvia from the dreaded Mr. X and his legion of minions with Kung-Fu Master!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

Download the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

Episode Mirror #1 (MP3)

Friends, thank you for taking the time to join us once again for an episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – this week we are doing something different from the standard show. A few months ago on the Diary Facebook page I asked if the listeners might not want to break from the podcast focusing on a video game each week – the requests were for some shows to be on individual creators or even game companies. That is why this week I am tackling the career and legacy of Howard Scott Warshaw – the iconic game designer that created three successful Atari 2600 titles with Yars’ Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. As I mention in the episode itself – Warshaw has the distinct honor of being credited for ‘The Worst Atari Game Ever Created’ as well as ‘The Best Original Atari Game Ever Created’. I have a few things to say about the falsity of the former statement in addition to Howard Scott Warshaw being responsible for the decline of Atari.

While on this episode of the podcast I have refrained from going into all the details of the three games that Howard Scott Warshaw designed and programmed – I naturally included my memories of the games themselves. I also was able to include some exceptional quotes from Warshaw thanks to an interview by Scott Stilphen of the excellent Atari Compendium – in addition to an excerpt from Patrick Hickey Jr.’s fantastic book entitled The Minds Behind The Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers.

I am joined once again by the esteemed Earl Green – who not only met Warshaw in person but has a few things to say about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial supposedly being the worst game Atari produced. I am happy to say that Gary Burton joins us on this episode and shares some of the hard work he had to do to bring the Atari 2600 back to life at the Arkadia Retrocade. By the way there are some wonderful articles by Howard Scott Warshaw on Yars’ Revenge in some of the Old School Gamer magazine.

As always I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to check out the podcast – it is very much appreciated. So go and grab your favorite snack and beverage and let us tell you a bit about Howard Scott Warshaw!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

Download the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

Episode Mirror #1 (MP3)

Friends, as always I thank you for joining us for another episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – although I have to admit right up front that the subject of this show had to be changed at the last minute. I mention this all on the show itself but originally this episode was going to be shining the spotlight on Howard Scott Warshaw – the iconic game designer from the Golden Age of Atari. The fact of the matter is two things threw a monkey wrench into that original plan, the first was that I had a co-worker at my day job go on vacation and I had to cover all week – which didn’t allow me the necessary time to do proper research. The other element that reared it’s head is I am now under the weather – I have no fear of it being COVID-19 or the like – I just think I have sadly caught a stomach bug. In fact I would be surprised if you can’t tell that I am a little off on this show… well, more than normal I mean. Having said all of that however the subject for the podcast became Games People Play – that arcade of my youth before Showbiz Pizza rolled into town.

It would probably be best to kind of think of this as a bonus episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – it’s a little more loose than the standard show as well as being a bit shorter. I did my level best to attempt to share with you what it was like to not just walk into my first video game arcade – but the first arcade to open up in my neck of the woods. In addition I do share some of my first arcade game experiences on this episode – although a few of them in truth have been covered in past episodes.

On the last couple of episodes I have pointed you to the Old School Gamer magazine – while there wasn’t any need for this episode – you should still check them out. Normally I am joined by both Gary Burton as well as Earl Green – although they sit this show out as it is a more personal episode – they’ll be back on the next show though!

Friends, as always I do hope you will enjoy the show and I truly thank you for taking time out of your schedule to listen to the podcast. So let me tell you about the electronic Xanadu that was Games People Play!

Remember that for even more pop culture related goodness – make sure to check out Earl’s own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

Download the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

Episode Mirror #1 (MP3)

Friends, thank you for joining us once again for a new episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – for this show we are tackling Smash TV – that twin stick multi-directional shooter from Williams that was originally released in arcades back in 1990. As I mention in the show itself, Smash TV was released long after the beloved Showbiz Pizza of my youth had gone away although at the very least I did play it in an actual arcade – just not one in my neck of the woods. As always I have done my level best to shine the spotlight on the talented individuals who are responsible for bringing the subject of the show to life – in this case it was an incredible team who have worked on the likes of NBA Jam, Defender, Mortal Kombat, CarnEvil to name just a few. One of the lead designers for Smash TV is none other than Eugene Jarvis – who was also responsible for Robotron 2084 – another memorable twin stick shooter. In fact I was able to find a fantastic article with Jarvis courtesy of the Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network – I included a small excerpt from the interview in the show itself but it’s totally worth your time to follow that link and read the entire thing. I also mention on the show that one of the things that attracted me to Smash TV is the obvious influences of 1987’s The Running Man!

On the last couple of episodes I have pointed you to the Old School Gamer magazine – before recording this show I wasn’t able to find time to go through their back issues. I am glad to say that I am joined once again by Earl Green – who not only talks about the ports of Smash TV to the popular home computers and consoles of the day but reveals a little of the difficulties of replicating a twin stick shooter on them. Gary Burton was not able to join us on this particular show but I do hope he will be back for next week’s podcast.

Friends, as always I do hope you will enjoy the show and I truly thank you for taking time out of your schedule to listen to the podcast. So gear up and prepare to enter the most popular game show in 1999 – the deadly Smash TV!

For even more pop culture related goodness by Earl – make sure to check out his own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

Download the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

Episode Mirror (MP3)

Friends, thank you for joining us again for a new episode of the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – on this show we tackle Bosconian, the space-themed multi-directional shooter released by Namco back in 1981. Unlike last week’s episode, Bosconian is an arcade title that I was able to experience at that Showbiz Pizza of my youth – sort of – although as I point out in the show itself, the Arkadia Retrocade does sport the game in it’s collection. As always I have done my level best to shine the spotlight on those individuals we have to thank for bringing the game to life – in this case that was a little tougher than usual as multiple sources online have claimed a handful of different people were responsible for Bosconian. In addition I was able to find a few helpful articles online that shed some light on the possible popularity of the Namco title, in particular on this episode I quote from Galaga Boss Fight Books #4 by Michael Kimball. As usual I have included some of the memorable sound effects of the game itself as well as a few vintage audio treats for your listening pleasure.

On the last couple of episodes I have pointed you to the Old School Gamer magazine – before recording this show I wasn’t able to find time to go through their back issues. However I am grateful to have both Earl Green and Gary Burton back on the show with two brand new segments. Earl goes into detail on the handful of Bosconian ports to the home computers of the day – to say nothing of a recent and unexpected port to the Atari 2600 thanks to the resourcefulness of the homebrew community. Gary on this episode shares another behind the scenes look at his work at the arcade – although in this case it has to do with another Namco title.

Friends, as always I do hope you will enjoy the show and I truly thank you for taking time out of your schedule to listen to the podcast. So strap into your nearest star destroyer fighter ship and blast off to face the threat of the onslaught of the galactic armada known as Bosconian!

For even more pop culture related goodness by Earl – make sure to check out his own website, the Logbook.Com – absolutely one of the best and longest running sites for all your retro needs.

If you have a moment, why not help us reach new listeners? Not only subscribe but leave us a rating and review for the Diary of An Arcade Employee podcast – whether that be on iTunes, Google Podcasts, or Spotify?

If you possibly have suggestions for future episodes or want to chat about the current show – you can reach me at [email protected]. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter and make sure to check out the Arkadia Retrocade Facebook page. Or for daily updates you can hop on over to the Diary of an Arcade Employee Facebook page – heck -you can see videos and more fun a couple of times a week by checking out my Instagram page!

Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast.

Download the Diary of An Arcade Employee Podcast:

Episode Mirror (MP3)