Episode 200 :: The Oral History of Video Games – Nerd Celebs Share Their 1st Video Game Experiences
This is a Nerdy Show episode years in the making!
For the past two years we’ve been collecting interviews from every host on the Network and nearly every celebrity guest we’ve had on the show including “Weird Al” Yankovic, Futurama‘s David X. Cohen, The Protomen, The X-Files‘ Chris Carter, Skyrim composer Jeremy Soule, and many more (full list below); asking one simple question: what’s your first video game experience? In doing so, we unearthed a treasure trove bigger than the E.T. landfill: an oral history of video games. These are stories set against a backdrop of bowling alleys, Circle Ks, Christmas mornings, basement bedrooms, and the din of the arcade. Each formative tale sheds light on a seldom-shared moment in gaming’s nearly 50-year history, all of them wildly different – some even life and death.
Join the entire Nerdy Show Network and the nerdiest names in pop culture as we take a journey through video game history, from Pong to present.
THE GUEST LIST
MUSIC:
Claire Evans (YACHT, Omni Reboot) | Dr. Vern (Sci-Fried) | Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars) | K-Murdock (Panacea, Forever Famicom) | Level99 (Overclocked Remix) | Marc With a C | Mouth’s Cradle | Paul Haslinger (Tangerine Dream, Underworld) | Professor Shyguy | The Protomen | Random aka Mega Ran (Forever Famicom) | Schaffer the Darklord | “Weird Al” Yankovic
MOVIES/ TV:
Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks) | Chris Carter (The X-Files) | Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) | David X. Cohen (Futurama) | Jay Levey (UHF) | Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim)
COMICS / NOVELS:
Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo) | Joe Harris (Great Pacific, The X-Files Season 10) | Kurtis Wiebe (Rat Queens, Peter Panzerfaust) | Michael Grant (Animorphs, BZRK, Gone) | Rob Venditti (Green Lantern, The Surrogates) | Roc Upchurch (Rat Queens) | Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo) | Steve Murphy (TMNT: Adventures, Puma Blues)
SCI-TECH:
Mark Frauenfelder (WIRED, MAKE, Boing-Boing) | Neil Harbisson (The Cyborg Foundation)
GAMING:
Charlie Verdin (Fangamer) | Kilplix (Kilplixism) | Michael Mendheim (Mutant League Football)
THE NERDY SHOW NETWORK:
Atomic Robo: Nuts & Bolts | Bits, Rhymes, and Life | Derpy Show | Dungeons & Doritos | EPIC PIEcast | Flame ON! | Friday Night Fanfiction | Ghostbusters: Resurrection | The Nerd Groove | Nerdy Show | The Real Congregation | Wicked Anime
Profound thanks to Nerdy Show listener Benjamin Britt for this episode’s topic.
Tracks:
- Pac-Man :: Nuclear Bubble Wrap
- Ode to a Centipede [Excerpt] :: Buckner & Garcia
- Grow Up [Excerpt] :: Mega Ran
- The RPG Song [Excerpt] :: Professor Shyguy feat. Kyle Hebert
- Due Vendetta [Live 12.10.10] :: The Protomen
Links:
- Support The Nerdy Show Network on Patreon
- Discuss this episode on the forums
- Fangamer’s “You Are Now Earthbound” Kickstarter
- Watch the trailer for the Earthbound Documentary, Earthbound USA
- Cap’s Paul Haslinger Interview
- The Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device
- Moon Patrol, The TI-99 Moon Game Brandon Mentioned
- Sonic Creepy Pasta Video
- Dino: Lost in Bedrock
- HP-41C Calculator
- Unearthing E.T.
- Class of ’81 Pac-Man code
- Buy Dragon’s Lair
- Too Many Cooks
- Colin’s Mysterious 52-in-1 NES Cart
- Sesame Street ROM Hack : Ernie and the Muppets Take it All Off
- Play Blade Runner on PC
- Read Gazeteers Articles
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