Confessions of the Game Doctor, Bill Kunkell

Bill Kunkell helped create “Electronic Games Magazine” in 1981, the first magazine dedicated to video games. It seemed a great research resource for Chip Shop to get some anecdotes and atmosphere for the era.

Being born in 1981, I remember the 80s, but not in any great detail, my first real memory being the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hence I am aware of the hedonism of the era, but sometimes reading about it is still a surprise.

It would be hard to imagine computer journalists of the present having access to the same level of expense accounts and celebrity status as those of the 80s. This makes for some entertaining stories about parties, substance consumption and working in an industry in its infancy.

There are many tales of working on the magazine, convincing advertisers, interactions with famous personalities and the difficulties with capturing the spirit of a game in print in the 80s.

I struggle to know how I would replicate a lot of this ‘feeling’ in the game, but it’s something I will consider over time. What I would most like to capture for the game is that pioneering spirit when everything was unknown, unproven and uncertain. Legal cases were the first of their kind as were some products and markets. Companies came and went quickly and I feel this essence is something I would most like to try and capture through the event and personality cards in Chip Shop.

An easy and entertaining read for anyone with an interest in early gaming History. Earn me a few cents and buy a copy from Amazon here