Investigating the history of videogames, an in-depth look into their obscure, untold and often troubled development story, trivia and everything else interesting.
The evolution from Nirvana to Nirvana X-Rom begins… well, quite a few years before the release of the movie. Sweltering summer of ‘92. Italian director Gabriele Salvatores is shooting Puerto Escondido, together with actors Diego Abatantuono and Fabrizio Bentivoglio. Taking a break from the set, the three sit around a table for a quick match…
In my Interview with Larry Ahern Part 2, with the former Lucasarts graphic and designer we discuss the failed Full Throttle follow-up, his decision (and subsequent regret) to work with Microsoft, the indie experience with Insecticide and, finally, his time at Disney. Click here for the first part of the interview. Following up a success Hello…
In the 90s, Italian software houses struggled: from Simulmondo to Trecision, everyone was trying their hardest to stay afloat and Light Shock Software was no exception. The Italian market, despite the overall okay sales numbers, was always small, providing little funds and visibility to those that tried their hand at developing games. Also, even after…
John Holder was the founder of Leader, in 1987, which would go on to be among the major publishers of video games in Italy. But Holder had been working earlier than that, being the first to bring Mastertronic games in Italy and trying to organise a legitimate distribution of software, something that – at least…
In 1986 the Friday the 13th movie series was already old news, having joined the ranks of classic Summer horror releases (even though some were released in April). Paramount Pictures had gone through the first reboot already: the original arc of classic masked killer Jason Vorhees was supposed to end with the fourth entry into…
After its first steps in a difficult industry plagued by piracy, as observed in the second part of the retrospective, Trecision managed to release two titles internationally, Nightlong and The Watchmaker, but crisis seemed to strike the studio between 1999 and 2000. In the history of Trecision part III we will see how, with making a fully…
Sega was having a weird 1993. It was a moment in the Japanese company’s history where the shift towards the West had never been stronger, since the smash-hit sequel to their strongest franchise was developed by designer Yuji Naka, working with a team of mixed American and Japanese devs, the Mark Cerny-led Sega Technical Institute.…
In the first part of the retrospective for Trecision, the software house tested the water of the Italian gaming market of the early 90s by releasing two titles for Amiga, then moving on to PC. In the history of Trecision Part II we will see how the decision to branch out internationally was indeed the…
Liguria, on the western part of Italy and resting close to France, is home to several immensely popular culinary specialties, like pesto, and wordly-celebrated landmarks the likes of Cinque Terre and, naturally, Portofino. Along with being home to Dynabyte software and, years later, Artematica, the coastal region was also part of the history of Trecision,…
Interview with Larry Ahern – Part 1 of 2 – From The Dig to The Curse of Monkey Island In December of 2020 I had the opportunity to talk with Larry Ahern via Skype, we made time for a lengthy conversation on his overall career, from his first interview at Skywalker Ranch all the way…