A few days ago I posted about the music that you remember from back in arcades "Golden Age" and I got to talking about it with a friend. He immediately started jotting down a list of music that he remembers blaring out in the arcades back in the day. I was interested to see what he was going to come up with because the few songs he mentioned (which were great songs) I didn't have on my list.. and that's basically why I did the post in the first place.. to create the ultimate arcade era play list.

While he was recalling songs to add to his top 10 list he said, "Hey, remember the video to Tom Petty's: You Got Lucky?". It had been so long ago that I'd forgotten about it.. but now, thanks to the wonders of YouTube, we can all view Tom Petty's vision of a post-apocalyptic world that has discarded the technologies of yesteryear.

It's a great song and a great video, dating all the way back to 1982 (28 years ago on Oct 22nd). It's just a shame that Tom took some vengeance out on a Stern Electronic's Astro Invader cabinet which, at the time, was a mere two years old.

My, how time flies..

Embedding is disabled on the video, so just watch the video on YouTube.

-Gandalf42

This week, I look at the cult classic Deus Ex, one of the best first-person shooter hybrids. Designed by Warren Spector and funded by John Romero's Ion Storm, Deus Ex remains the top choice of countless enthusiasts of the franchise.

A brief video look at the major Armchair Arcade happenings for the "week". Filmed on location at a hotel room in downtown San Diego (Little Italy section). Yes, those are trains you hear in the background. They run regularly well into the evening here.

This week's video looks at one of my all-time favorite strategy games, Heroes of Might and Magic. Debuting in 1995 and based on earlier 1990 game called King's Bounty, HoM&M fused role-playing and turn-based strategy games. Hybrids of that sort typically fail, but Jon Van Caneghem is no ordinary mortal. The game is well polished, with great attention to detail and superb audiovisuals. I had a little fun with the video, so let me know what you think! I've also posted some personal notes below.

There's a viral video going around featuring some clever 3D effects on classic paintings. It's pretty funny, and has me wondering about the potential of 3D a well as ideas for fun video effects.

This week's episode is dedicated to Lori Ann Cole's Quest for Glory. One of a few truly successful "hybrid" adventure/RPGs, QFG is widely admired even today, with a huge fanbase and plenty of homebrew remakes and patches to enhance the experience on modern computers. Check it out and let me know what you think!

This week I interview R.A. "Ray" Montgomery, author and publisher of the famous Choose Your Own Adventure series. If you haven't ever read one of these books, I strongly suggest you get your butt to the local bookshop and pick up a few--they're still very fun today (and they've been updated and re-published by the author's own publishing company). In the video, Ray talks about the origin of the series, what makes them so fun, and also shares some moving personal history involving the loss of his amazing son (who also penned some of the books).

Hi, all. I'm back this week with an exclusive interview with Bob Jacob, co-founder of Cinemaware. Cinemaware is on my shortlist of best developers and made several of the Amiga's greatest hits. In the interview, Bob talks about everything from the importance of Deluxe Paint to his love for chesty women. It's great stuff for anyone even remotely interested in the Amiga or cinema-inspired games.

Hi, guys! I have a special treat for you this week--a SKYPE interview with Jeff McCord, author of Sword of Fargoal! This is one of my favorite CRPGs, and Jeff did a fantastic job detailing the history of his game and what makes it so special. Check it out, and also check out the awesome SoF contest--be the first to find the Sword of Fargoal, and win $500!