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Microsoft’s Hover! and the Multimedia Craze of the 90s
In the mid-90s, “multimedia” was the word when it came to personal computers. The concept of a home machine that could play music and video via compact disc was still relatively novel, and hardware companies routinely bundled software with their products designed to show off these capabilities. One such piece of software, developed by Microsoft…
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Breath of Fire II and the Afterlife of Digital Ghosts
A version of this piece originally appeared at ZEAL in 2017. It is the mid-90s and you are at the video store on a Friday night, the air swirling with the smells of buttered popcorn and plastic VHS cases. CRT screens suspended from the ceiling play one of the latest releases, the list of titles enumerated…
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The Shrouded Origins of “The Helicopter Game”
If you’re of a certain age, there’s a good chance you’ve played the Flash helicopter game. You know the one — you’re piloting a helicopter down a tunnel, avoiding obstacles and seeing how far you can go. It’s extremely straightforward, using only one button. You hold the mouse to ascend, and release it to let…
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Lessons from Running My First Game of Vampire: The Masquerade
I only ever played Vampire: The Masquerade once growing up. It was disastrous — I mean, we were in junior high, and none of us were emotionally mature enough to handle the game. We were used to playing games like Rifts, more straightforward titles about powerful heroes going on daring adventures. I’m not even sure how we got…