Jolt Country

video game history article on CNN

A form of legitimacy, I will post highlights now.


Ottumwa, Iowa, recently became home to the International Video Game Hall of Fame, with help from historian Walter Day, of "The King of Kong" and "Chasing Ghosts" fame, and celebrated game-scorekeeping organization Twin Galaxies.

Road trip!

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Rochester, New York's, Strong National Museum of Play maintains a catalog of more than 20,000 artifacts devoted to computer, console, arcade, hand-held and electronic gaming in its collection.


Too bad they aren't on display


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"Get Lamp," a documentary about classic text adventures, further debuted earlier this month, offering fans an unprecedented glimpse at the history and culture surrounding the field's earliest smash hits.


Everyone see this yet?


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"Thousands from foreign countries have told me that they learned English because of our games," Lowe said.


All your base are belong to us!


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"Many early games introduced fundamental new technologies, inventions and themes and did crucial pioneering work that laid the foundation [for today's hits]," he explains. "Older titles will be remembered for their craftsmanship and timeless elegance.


Like E.T. for the 2600, right?
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Check it out, it's a good article!


THE HEADS UP
AARDVARK

Whoa! A Spellcasting 101 / Bob Bates mention! I consider it a good year when someone at CNN thinks about Ernie Eaglebeak for even a moment. 2010? YOU'RE A KEEPER!

Nice.

I met Walter Day at CGE2K7. He seemed like a really nice and genuine fellow. If you've only seen King of Kong, see Chasing Ghosts. It's a much more positive view of Twin Galaxies, I think.

Looks like that place is about 600 miles away from me, although the driving directions aren't bad: take I-35 north, hang a right on US-34. I like 600 mile road trips that only involve one turn.

Walter's awesome. I don't know how you meet THAT many people at a convention and still have time to talk to people and get to know them and be great. It's draining.

The hardest part for me is not repeating myself. I can't tell you how many times I've started in on a story only to get a puzzled look and realize, I've already told this person this story. And it's even worse when you're promoting a book because if they've ready the book then they already know all your stories.

I love telling stories and I hate it when I start in on one and then someone goes "Oh yeah I read that!" It's not their fault though. Sometimes I feel like just saying, "Page 52" and then we can all laugh together about that story.

The most awkward thing is when people come up to me and act like I should know them because they have seen my picture on the internet and/or they read my blog (but never respond). And these are all people that once I DO meet them typically end up being pretty interesting people, but it's just that awkward moment when they say "HI!" and I respond with "SECURITY!" (Just kidding.)