Category Archives: Library

This appeared for an issue of Incredibly Strange Games prepared for an August 26, 2017 live event at Seattle’s The Fuse Box.

The ceiling above the arcade was tuned to the color of a carpet on the receiving end of a chainsmoker’s orgy.

I had not yet completed my chrysalis into an Ultima nerd in 1992, so like the rest of 1992 I was in thrall of the mighty Street Fighter II’. While the heshers argued loudly over whether using Ken’s light kicks was “cheap,” I shambled my proto-Britannian larval self over to another machine emblazoned with the Capcom logo, put in a quarter, and lost my mind.

Continue reading →

This short article appeared in an issue of Incredibly Strange Games as part of an evening of Strange Games held on March 25th, 2017 at Seattle’s Fuse Box.

Atari Games released Hard Drivin’ to arcades in 1989. It was one of the first solid-filled polygonal racing games with dedicated hardware that attempted (ahem) to realistically simulate actual vehicle physics. It was amazing for the time, and I first experienced it as a sit-down cabinet with force-feedback steering wheel and a real clutch and gear shift. It was also a hit, and 1990 saw a sequel called Race Drivin’ that added additional tracks and cars. Sweet!
Continue reading →

This short article appeared in an issue of Incredibly Strange Games as part of an evening of Strange Games held on March 25th, 2017 at Seattle’s Fuse Box.

“We’ll call it ‘Eric and the Floaters.'”
“It has a perfectly good name as it is, sir, I mean it says what it does on the tin.”
“No. ‘Eric…and the Floaters.'”
“But sir–”
“Eric. And. The. Floaters.”

From these humble roots, early 1980s Westerners were introduced to the unforgettable world of Eric and the Floaters.

Continue reading →

This short article appeared in an issue of Incredibly Strange Games as part of an evening of Strange Games held on March 25th, 2017 at Seattle’s Fuse Box.

Kelsey Grammer is a right-wing sociopath who hates his audience. On Frasier, he plays a liberal elitist who fumbles his way through life thanks to his pampered upbringing and thought himself a “doctor” who practices the “art” of “psychology” and never seems to be able to cure anyone, least of all himself. It is Grammer slyly mocking those he loathes. If you haven’t read the origin of the theme song, let composer Bruce Miller summarize it for you:

“Hey baby I hear the blues a-callin”-refers to patients with troubles calling into the radio show
“Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs”
“But maybe I seem a bit confused”-Frasier’s personality was a bit????
“Maybe, but I got you pegged”-Frasier does understand these people and helps them.
“But I don’t know what to do with those Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs”-it’s a tough business….gotta deal with these “crazies” every day.
“They’re calling again”-oh, oh….should be self explanatory.

Right, so Grammer hates his audience. And the character he plays, Dr. Frasier Crane, hates his audience, too.

Continue reading →