Today’s podcast topic is retro games and retro gaming as a whole, a subject near and dear to my heart as The Punished Backlog’s resident Old Games Guy. As much as gamers constantly look to the future for the newest and coolest experiences, revisiting and revering the past remains a crucial part of gaming culture.
When I was growing up, the difference between what was modern vs. “retro” was fairly stark and easy to identify: pixelated, 2D arcade games or blocky, early 3D titles were easy to call old and retro (or, in some ways, “dated”) compared to things like Mass Effect, Skyrim, and Gears of War. As time has gone on, however, the lines have blurred, as it still feels weird to call games from the mid-to-late-2000s “retro” when they’re not quite as different from their modern counterparts.
In the latest Punished Podcast episode, we discuss the definition of retro, what retro games still hold up, what game companies owe to preserving game history, and much, much more. Plus, we even have a little WHO YA GOT competition based on retro gaming later in the episode!
– Sam Martinelli, Editor
The Punished Podcast Episode 16
MP3 Download |
Spotify |
Apple Podcasts
Sam Martinelli |
David Silbert |
Vaughn Hunt |
Amanda Tien
Timestamps
* 0:00 – Introductions
* 3:49 – What Do We Define As Retro?
* 11:17 – How Gameplay Helps Define Retro
* 25:34 – Should You Play Older Games on Their Original Hardware?
* 29:40 – Retro vs. “Modern” Games
* 38:32 – Arcades, Culture of Retro, and Co-Op
* 46:00 – Many Games Don’t End These Days!
* 52:12 – Preservation in Games
* 1:01:35 – Who Ya Got: Retro Edition
* 1:20:00 – Outro: What’re You Playing Now?
Excerpts: Retro Video Games Podcast
Here’s a few quotes from throughout our conversation:
David: “I think there’s a public necessity to preserve these games and a way to partner with private companies to make it happen. But I would also argue that for the big publishers of the world—Amanda, you and I, we’re in marketing—it helps your brand to assure gamers that you care about your history because then gamers give a shit about your future.”
Vaughn: “It’s honestly embarrassing that big game companies lose source code. I’ve seen this stat that like 90% of source code from before 2010 is lost. Like, if you’re Square Enix, and you don’t have the source code for Final Fantasy VIII, and you have to rebuild it from someone’s copy? Like these games have won multiple awards. You don’t just have a copy of it on a disc in a case on a frame on...
