Factual America examines America through the lens of documentary filmmaking. Guests include Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy-winning documentary filmmakers and producers, their subjects, as well as experts on the American experience. Find out more about the current and upcoming documentaries on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Sky Documentaries and other platforms directly from the creators. Whether we discuss true crime, music, burning social and political topics, history, or arts, Factual America is your #1 documentary film podcast. Factual America is produced by Alamo Pictures, a London- and Austin-based production company that makes documentaries about the US from a European perspective for international audiences.
https://www.factualamerica.com/
episode 24: Insert Coin: Revolution In The Arcade Video Games
For those of us who grew up in the 1980s and 90s, the arcade was a home away from home. And most likely we were playing a video game that was the creative genius of a scrappy group of renegade designers in Chicago.
In his film Insert Coin (2020), director Josh Tsui captures what it was like for the fellows at Midway Games to revolutionize the video game industry. And along the way, Josh perfectly captures 1990s pop culture.
Insert Coin is an interesting take on the arcade gaming world, showing us its business side and how games were designed to be addictive and suck in quarters.
“Once you make a game you can’t get that out of your system. It’s one of the most fulfilling and frustrating creative mediums out there and it’s intoxicating. ” – Josh Tsui
Time Stamps:03:39 – How things are going for Josh in Chicago.
04:49 – Where you can see the film right now.
06:40 – A brief synopsis of Insert Coin.
07:56 – What arcade games were like when they first came out and how they evolved.
09:21 – Eugene Jarvis’s influence on the gaming industry.
10:20 – The creation of ‘Narc’.
12:14 – Our first clip showing how Narc revolutionised the gaming industry.
14:35 – How Narc was the kickstarter to live-action animation gaming.
16:47 – The creation of Mortal Kombat.
19:23 – How Josh made contact with so many of the game developers.
20:16 – A clip from the film showing what Mortal Kombat was all about.
24:16 – A clip showing the success of the game NBA Jam.
26:17 – What made the arcade industry obsolete.
28:16 – Our last clip from the show showing the economics of arcade games.
29:24 – How the business model for arcades worked.
32:30 – What the film is really about.
35:41 – How management of gaming companies has changed over years.
37:49 – How Josh got started making video games.
40:31 – What drove him to make this film.
44:55 – What it’s like working in the gaming industry.
46:29 – Why they couldn’t interview Ed Boon.
47:50 – How they’ve had to adapt the film’s release because of the virus.
52:23 – The projects Josh is working on next.
Midway Games
Insert Coin Website
Follow Insert Coin on Twitter and Facebook
Eugene Jarvis
Narc
Mortal Kombat
NBA Jam
Alamo Pictures
Connect with Josh Tsui:
Twitter
Connect with Factual America:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Connect with Matthew Sherwood:
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter