Matt Leone
@mattleone.bsky.social
I write stories about the games industry. Formerly at 1UP and Polygon. Now working on @designroom.site.
Beyond the NES is ready to share with the world!!! --Coming August 18th to Kickstarter-- www.kickstarter.com/projects/syn...
Coming soon: Beyond the NES: Rediscovering 8-bit on the Japanese Famicom
Discover the 8-bit games you missed. A curated, 300+ page collector's guide to the Japanese Famicom library.
kickstarter.com
With Galactic Racer on the way, I gathered the creative leads of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer together for an in-depth roundtable-style chat on the original Star Wars racing game.
Time Extension@timeextension.com · 2d agoThe Making Of: Star Wars Episode 1 Racer - "Maybe We Can't Make A Great Racing Game, But We Can Make An Excellent Toy".
Hi, we're a new video game oral histories site. Want to read the story of Shadow of the Colossus, as told by 11 people who worked on it? Or hear what Will Wright has to say about Spore in retrospect? Or see previously unreleased footage of Nintendo's Sound Fantasy? Check us out at designroom.site
I forgot to share this when it went live last week, but that's okay, because it's a great weekend read! I really enjoyed copy editing this piece. I've definitely played The Addams Family before, but I didn't realize how much of a phenomenon it was. Great quotes in here, as always!
Design Room@designroom.site · 2w agoFor our latest big story, @duncanfyfe.net dives deep the bestselling pinball game of all-time, The Addams Family.
For our latest big story, @duncanfyfe.net dives deep the bestselling pinball game of all-time, The Addams Family.
The Addams Family pinball: An oral history
We talk to the team behind the 1992 breakout hit to learn about licensing, magnets, and how it designed the most popular pinball game of all-time.
designroom.site
Following yesterday's Addams Family oral history, we have a story on how pinball licensing exploded in the '90s.
How licensing changed the pinball industry
Roger Sharpe, Ken Fedesna, Pat Lawlor, and others discuss how licensed games took over pinball around the time that The Addams Family released.
designroom.site
This story gave me the perfect excuse to stop by a few arcades and take a bunch of photos.
Design Room@designroom.site · 2w agoFor our latest big story, @duncanfyfe.net dives deep the bestselling pinball game of all-time, The Addams Family.
Valve's new Steam Machine was 14 years (and one big failure) in the making. Here's the twisty story behind the Steam maker's decade-long quest to bring PCs to the living room: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Valve’s 14-Year Journey to Make the Steam Machine
The company first began laying the groundwork for this year’s hardware way back in 2012
bloomberg.com
Very happy to see everyone enjoying the new Eno/Miyamoto interview! If you'd like to support our work at shmuplations, and vote on our upcoming translations (many more Eno pieces await), please consider joining our patreon! www.patreon.com/shmuplations...
July/August/September voting thread! | shmuplations.com
July/August/September voting thread! by shmuplations.com on Patreon. Join shmuplations.com's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
Today we have something special: a newly translated interview from July 1996 between Shigeru Miyamoto and Kenji Eno! Conducted just weeks after the launch of Mario 64, Eno takes Miyamoto to task (in a friendly way) with several fascinating critiques of its design. shmuplations.com/miyamotoxeno/
Shigeru Miyamoto x Kenji Eno (1996) - shmuplations.com
In July 1996, Kenji Eno visited Nintendo HQ to speak with Shigeru Miyamoto as the first of his "cross-talk" series.
shmuplations.com
Post Games is an NPR-style weekly podcast about video game culture. This episode is a tasting menu for newcomers. Hear about... The future of Nintendo! Growing old as a gaming YouTuber! How Silicon Valley metrics infected our games! A Dragon Quest monologue from Tim Rogers!
A Gaming Podcast Your Friends Will Love
A video game podcast for listeners who want something different
postgame.substack.com
📣 Happy to say that Pre-Orders for Issue 6 are NOW LIVE! 📣 Go reserve your copy now! 👇👇👇 shop.apwot.com
We've got a big one today. Almost 20 years after Maxis released Spore, we talked to eight people -- including Will Wright -- about the studio's big experiment.
Spore: An oral history
A wild bet in development for the better part of a decade, Spore reached for the stars — and, at times, got there. We recently spoke to eight team members, including chief designer Will Wright, to loo...
designroom.site
We also have a couple of Spore bonus stories today for paid subscribers, like this one on the game's Wind Waker connection.
The Wind Waker 'obsession' that influenced Spore
One of Spore's early influences came from an unexpected place: Nintendo's "toon-shaded" GameCube game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
designroom.site
Perhaps the most justified pun in publishing history.
ミルキー The Duke of URL@milkman.bsky.social · 2mo agoI can finally reveal the cover for Nobuo Uematsu: On The Record, coming from @viz.com this September, which is not far away. Cover portrait of Uematsu by Yoshitaka Amano, foreword written by Hironobu Sakaguchi, testimonials from awesome guest stars, and tons of surprises! Preorder: amzn.to/4g6Y9ai
I can finally reveal the cover for Nobuo Uematsu: On The Record, coming from @viz.com this September, which is not far away. Cover portrait of Uematsu by Yoshitaka Amano, foreword written by Hironobu Sakaguchi, testimonials from awesome guest stars, and tons of surprises! Preorder: amzn.to/4g6Y9ai
Trial of the Space Invaders: The Case that Changed Video Games The true story of Nintendo’s years-long legal battle to establish who invented video games, and the secret, never-before-revealed settlement that profoundly shaped today’s industry. I cannot wait to share it with you. Coming: Jan 2027
A reminder that our 'role-puzzling' game Arranger is 60% off on Steam/Switch, and also out/cheap on PS5, EGS, Itch, iOS, Android. It's everywhere, dammit! We're also not worlds away from an Overwhelmingly Positive rating, which would make me deeply happy. What if YOU left a review? arranger.quest
Arranger: A Role Puzzling Adventure
Find your way in a world of breezy, thoughtful puzzles, along a charming journey of self-discovery. The debut game from all-star indie team Furniture & Mattress.
arranger.quest
Namco's exercise bike-powered flying contraption is almost 30 years old, so we tracked down the game's director to look back.
How Namco built 1996's best arcade cabinet
We talk with the director of the bike-powered Prop Cycle about how the game came about, its international success, and sidelined sequel plans.
designroom.site
Thing I learned working on this story: Prop Cycle's soundtrack came with instructions for a dice-based card game.
Design Room@designroom.site · 3mo agoNamco's exercise bike-powered flying contraption is almost 30 years old, so we tracked down the game's director to look back.
Now up on Patreon early, the labor of love that is a new long form and in depth video on the classic beat em up that is Final Fight! Mechanics, history, interviews...it's all here! www.patreon.com/posts/final-...
Final Fight: The Brawler No One Has Ever Truly Beaten | Brian Clark | One Million Power
Final Fight: The Brawler No One Has Ever Truly Beaten by Brian Clark | One Million Power on Patreon. Join Brian Clark | One Million Power's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
Why you should try Post Games: - An NPR-quality weekly podcast on video games - Hosted by a 19-year games media veteran - Rare interviews with the most interesting people in gaming, from philosophers to CEOs, sex game designers to Dunkey - And scripts, editing, and music that respect your time!
5 Must-Listen Episodes: The Post Games Starter Pack
Where to start with your new favorite podcast
postgame.substack.com
"It's like trying to make three games within the budget for one. Realistically, it's not possible."
Yoko Taro looks back on his first directing job
We have a new book excerpt from Archipel's "The Worlds of Yoko Taro" looking back on the development of Square Enix's action-RPG Drakengard.
designroom.site
