katewillaert

[katewillaert]

How The X-Men Logo Got Fixed

Did you know there are five different versions of the X-Men wedge logo? In this article I explain why they exist and how to identify them. (And then I create a sixth variation to test a theory.)

Also, which one was the basis for the '90s cartoon's title screen (except they cut off the bottom!).

#x-men #x men 97 #marvel #marvel comics #comic books #comics #logo design

[katewillaert]

What if EarthBound tribute, but it's The Wizard?

#the wizard #earthbound #nintendo #california

[katewillaert]

I just finished putting together a Spotify playlist featuring 3 hours of female-fronted hard rock from the '70s. It's a sequel to my previous playlist of female-fronted hard rock from the '60s. Enjoy. :-)

#rock music #'70s rock #women in rock #shocking blue #debbie harry #joan jett #girlschool

[katewillaert]

I used to do topics like these as threads on social media, but with the current state of things I'm thinking of drifting back to blog articles.

#tron #video games #arcade games #retro gaming

[katewillaert]

The colors of the heroes and villains in Tron was finalized a lot later in the process than you'd think, but personally I think they made a mistake settling on boring blue-on-gray for the heroes instead of the vibrant contrast of red-on-blue.

#tron

[katewillaert]

I like how I can say my Metroidvania video essay is going to have an auto-map and backtracking, and people think I’m joking.

[katewillaert]

Looking forward to an epic year of cranking out mind blowing forgotten history that will be criminally ignored until I run out of money once again and give up for good. :3

The current release plan for 2024:

- MED: Metroidmania #1 - MED: Mario/Popeye #2 (Patreon Preview) - S: Metroidmania #2 - MED: Mario/Popeye #3 (Patreon Preview) - S: Metroidmania #3 - MED: Mario/Popeye #4 (Patreon Preview) - MED: Metroidmania #4 - LARGE: Mario/Popeye #1-5 Complete - S: Metroidmania #5 - MED: Carmen #1 (Patreon Preview) - S: Metroidmania #6 - MED: Carmen #2 (Patreon Preview) - S: Metroidmania #7 - MED: Carmen #3 (Patreon Preview) - MED: Metroidmania #8 - LARGE: Carmen Declassified #1-4 Complete - S: Metroidmania #9 - MED: VideoDames #1

(The chapter previews are available at the $5 tier.)

#metroid #metroidvania #nintendo #super mario #popeye #carmen sandiego #videodames #metroidmania #a critical hit #critical kate

[katewillaert]

New Info About The Original Donkey Kong I updated the text version of my new Mario Origins video essay to include a few footnotes explaining in more detail why my version of the story differs from most versions you've probably heard. Maybe the most contentious new info is the question of who decided Donkey Kong should include four different stages. Based on new sources, I believe it was the programmers. But even more shocking is that Mario jumping wasn't Miyamoto's idea.

#donkey kong #super mario #miyamoto #nintendo #shigeru miyamoto #mario #ikegami

[katewillaert]

Sadly relevant.

[katewillaert]

I've already come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to survive to whatever the final stage of Capitalism is. I'll probably just watch the ending on Youtube.

#capitalism #gaming

[katewillaert]

[katewillaert]

Zelda Is Not An RPG

In this important contemporary document from Program Pochette No. 9, the author tries to correct people that Legend Of Zelda (and Druaga) are not RPGs, but adventures. The first person to offer a non-machine translation of this will be my hero.

(The author comes so close to finding his way to the term "action-adventure" in a later paragraph, but never quite gets there.)

#legend of zelda #zelda #nintendo #tower of druaga

[katewillaert]

Young Shigeru Miyamoto

Above: Shigeru Miyamoto pre-Nintendo holding a design concept for Ricoh's My Teacher.

Below: Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda at Nintendo posing with a prototype cabinet of their arcade game Sheriff.

Source: Weekly Toyo Keizai #5676 (Feb 3, 2001). Special thanks to Nintendo Memories.

#nintendo #shigeru miyamoto #before mario

[katewillaert]

I saw someone use "Elons" in place of "morons" and felt the immediate shift in my vocabulary.

#twitter #twitter meltdown #twitter drama #twitter implosion

[katewillaert]

Famicom 40th Anniversary Website

Nintendo has just opened a special Japanese-language website celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Famicom, that it sounds like they're going to continue to update throughout the month (or possibly year?).

Which is super cool for gaming historians like myself. But also kind of horrifying, because I was born on the exact day the Famicom was released. So I get to spend the next month (or possibly year) being reminded that I just turned 40.

#nintendo #video games #gaming history #famicom

[katewillaert]

Instead of Artificial Intelligence we should've named it Expeditious Stupidity.

#computers #technology #ai #artificial intelligence

[katewillaert]

Nintendo HQ in Japan circa 1984.

It's tricky to remove warping and a center crease from a photo in a spread, but I think I just about did it.

#nintendo #gaming history #retro gaming