An award-nominated documentary and narrative audio series about video games and the video game industry — as they were in the past, and how they came to be the way they are today. History doesn't just vanish into the distance behind us; it casts a very long shadow that affects everything that comes after it, and so with The Life and Times of Video Games journalist and historian Richard Moss draws those through lines to tell fascinating stories about the past that link right back to the present.
https://lifeandtimes.games
episode 2: Airfight
The story of the one of the earliest flight simulator games, Airfight, a favourite among the PLATO community back in 1973, based on an interview with its creator. Airfight was a multiplayer flight combat sim with wireframe graphics and real-time chat, and it was an influence on the first home computer flight simulator, subLOGIC's fittingly-named 1980 game Flight Simulator for the Apple II and TRS-80.
Related links:
- Ars Technica article on PLATO games: lifeandtimes.games/arsplatofeature
- The Friendly Orange Glow by Brian Dear, out November 14 2017: friendlyorangeglow.com
- to order Kindle or physical editions from Amazon using my affiliate link, go to lifeandtimes.games/platobookamazon
- or to order the iBook edition from iTunes using my affiliate link, go to lifeandtimes.games/platobookapple
- Cyber1: cyber1.org
Music Credits:
All music written/composed by me, except:
- Evan Schaeffer - Riser from the album Glow
- Evan Schaeffer - Portal and Insurmountable from the album Big Splash
- Symphonie inachevee de Franz Schubert - archive.org/details/SymphonieInacheveeDeFrantzSchubert
- 1920s jazz recordings - archive.org/details/Free_20s_Jazz_Collection
The Life & Times of Video Games on the Web:
Official site: lifeandtimes.games
Twitter: @LifeandTimesVG
YouTube: lifeandtimes.games/youtube
Patreon: patreon.com/lifeandtimesofvideogames
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