Time Extension | Forum: General Discussion

Digital Eclipse and the Interactive Documentary

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:30:55 GMT

Hi all, I made a post on this topic over on the NintendoLife forums, not realizing that the forums and comments of Hookshot sites aren't unified, so I hope it's okay if I make one over here as well. I don't want to delete the other thread, as it got a thoughtful response from someone, but I also feel that it might generate more discussion over here. I also may be hoping for too much from a niche topic on a niche site, haha. Oh well. I just like talking games.

Here's the original post. I'll paste the contents below:

"I recently completed Atari 50 and its DLC and I gotta say, I'm so impressed with the whole "interactive documentary" idea. What an awesome concept!

If you don't know, Digital Eclipse has been in the emulation and game compilation business for years and they're rightfully acclaimed for their accuracy and attention to detail. With the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, they set the games on a timeline and provided bits of context like concept art and info blurbs to give the player a fuller, chronological picture.

Then in Atari 50, they incorporated video interviews, even more archival media, and a museum-like presentation. As you follow the timeline, you're given the option to jump in and play a multitude of games, unreleased prototypes, and even some reimagined entries and community-made homebrew titles! They give you piles of context and you decide how much or how little to take with you into the games. Personally, knowing the drama and genius behind some of this stuff made the games far more interesting, and thus the collection far more fun.

Now they have their Gold Master Series, which is currently comprised of The Making of Karateka, Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story, and Tetris Forever. Each title wants to add to this idea of comprehensive, engaging, completely rad game history education and I'm so down for it; I can't wait to check them out.

So I wanted to ask, for my first forum post (please let me know if I messed something up 🙏), who else has thoughts about Digital Eclipse, the Gold Master Series, and/or the preservation and curation of games this way? Are they going in a direction you like or do you have reservations? What series or companies would you like to see get this treatment?

Off the top of my head, I can think of two I'd love to see: HAL Labs and LucasArts (the adventure games, specifically). And I know what you're thinking: "How are they ever gonna get Sakurai on camera to talk about Kirby?" Tricky, yes, but if they can find a way, it'd be an utterly fascinating experience 😉. And the more ways I can learn about Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and SCUMM, the better, as far I'm concerned."

@Dogorilla responded:

Dogorilla wrote:

I haven't yet played any of these compilations but I definitely want to, I love the concept and it seems like the historical context would make things like early Atari games much more enjoyable. Lucas Arts would be a great addition! Bitmap Brothers would be good too, I've never actually played any of their games but they seem to have a good reputation.

That led me to this picture:

...and now I'd also be interested in knowing more about these guys, haha. Both to hear their stories and to fill in my (very lacking) knowledge of the UK home computer gaming scene.

Any thoughts?

hello from fellow retro game news website

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 04:48:31 GMT

Hi.

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-RGNAdmin

Are video games cool now?

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 17:06:15 GMT

Growing up in the ’90s, I was cautious about bringing up video games with other kids. Plenty of us played, but talking about it at school could get you labeled a nerd. It was like watching Pokémon or Dragon Ball Z—lots of kids did it, but you had to pretend you didn’t.

These days, social norms feel much more accepting. Rappers reference Naruto, PS5s are in living rooms instead of basements, and I have no problem telling my wife I’m playing Elden Ring for a few hours.

Do you think gaming and “nerd culture” have become more mainstream, or is it just about growing up and becoming more confident?

Windows USers Should Immediately Update their Computers.

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 05:53:40 GMT

Sadly, that's not fear mongering
An exploit rated 9.8/10 compromises all windows devices with an IPv6 adress
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38063

MS has issued a patch around 14 August.
So if you haven't updated yet now is the time.

Isnt windows marvelous ? (sarcasm)

Favourite sonic game

Sun, 12 Nov 2023 23:16:27 GMT

Everybody, what's your favourite sonic the hedgehog game.

I'll go first: Sonic advance 2

A question about modding

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 01:22:29 GMT

Well, actually, before I ask my actual question, let ask another: is modding discussion allowed on Time Extension? I know it's typically frowned upon on the other Hookshot sites but given this site focuses on emulation and emulator handhelds, I figured it was at least worth seeing if asking about modding was ok here.

SNES and GENESIS soundtracks, which are your favorites?

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 12:32:25 GMT

As a music composer and producer, these two systems give me such a rush when I listen to them. Each with their own strengths creating very strong music. Some of my favorites have to Be Natsuki Battle Crisis, Macross: Scramble Valkrie, Thunder Force IV, Mega Man X, and Phantasy star IV. Give the soundtracks a good listen one day! What soundtracks do you have favorited?

The Discounts, Sales and Deals Thread

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 14:09:00 GMT

I'm not sure if Time Extension are planning to do a Black Friday Deals article like the other 3 Hookshot sites but I thought it might be a good idea to create a thread like this anyway.

There's lots of neo-retro devices, content, collections and remasters available from normal stores, might be a good idea to post anything you see around in this thread. Even beyond Black Friday

(please don't post links to you own eBay page in this thread - i am pretty sure it's against the community rules)

When nwas the golden Age of Platformers

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 14:33:13 GMT

The golden age of platformers is thought to be the N64-era, but some might think that it was the PS2/Gamecube era. I mean the N64 had a lot of famous and classic games, but as the PS2 era started, companies started relying their franchises to other companies like with Crash and Spyro. Not all of those games are terrible I bet, but they aren’t though of as well as their original trilogies. New series emerged in the PS2 era and there were many action adventure games, but many classics are often thought to be on the N64 era. Which do you think was the golden age? It doesn’t have to be these eras. For example, it could be the SNES era even though I mainly mean the N64 and PS2 eras, but what do you think?

The Video Games Alphabet

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 08:13:01 GMT

Without further ado let's post one of the first forum games here at this Retro sister site of Nintendo Life and Push Square "Because it isn't a forum without some good forum games!"

As the name implies the video games alphabet is played by naming various video games in alphabetical order.
Ex: i say Alundra.
then some one else would post Bust A Move Plus.
and then another poster would say Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Makes sense, yes?

Rules would be to try not to post the same game everytime.
Don't make up names so all your game names must be legit.
Also don't use peripherals or consoles just games.

You can use games from any platform from Gameboy, to PC, to Cellphone games, to PS5, etc.

Okay since I'm the first poster I will start.

Alundra.

Summer reads

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 06:32:56 GMT

Reading is a good habit.

Especially during summer, I always tend to read at least a book and many people still enjoy reading on vacation, while travelling, at the beach, etc.

This topic is focused on what are we currently reading, what's your companion on holiday?

I chose Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance - The Novel and just started it. I love the series and I'm collecting novels and mangas, but I prefer the first ones since they cover all the games. I also find them a great way to refresh your memories about the "side" titles that you won't like to play again (I already finished it both originally on 3DS and with 2.8 collection).

Favorite Childhood Gaming Memories?

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 23:10:08 GMT

I thought it would be fun to share some fun and positive gaming memories from when we were kids. I have lots of them, but this one always comes to mind:

Before my family owned an NES, and they were new, during the summer we would rent one on occasion and different games from the local grocery store. Those summer weekends were incredible.

I was introduced to Metroid, Kid Icarus, Excitebike, Ikari Warriors, Castlevania, Mega Man...

Even once we owned an NES (like all of the other kids on my block), game rentals were like this cool gateway to the most amazing experiences ever!! My best friend and I rented Trojan for like 4 weekends straight trying to beat that game..

What are your memories?

Moments in Gaming History Discussion

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:12:50 GMT

This topic will be for the discussion of certain aspects of Video Game history, launches, advertisements, publications and the overall public response.

I'll start this off with Pokemon Mania from the late 1990's in my own country, Australia. While this relates to not only the games, I think it is relevant given that Pokemon began with the early GB games in Japan. I remember while the younger generation were crazy for Pokemon in the late 90s, the community response was not as pleasant. Some schools even had to place a ban on Pokemon trading cards. It's hard to describe just how crazy Pokemon Mania was back then.

https://youtu.be/l7_LyYTb8vg

What are some other aspects of gaming's very long history that stand out for you?

The General Chat - Retro Edition

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 09:04:04 GMT

This topic is for any general or random discussion on these forums. Here you can feel free to discuss anything!

If any moderators have an issue with this thread, or it's not permitted, please let me know and I'll remove it. It's just a continuation of what I have seen on the sister sites.

Retro Animation (Western) Discussion

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 08:52:44 GMT

Well just like the other animation thread, this topic can be used to discuss anything relating to Western Retro Animation. Feel free to discuss your favourites, what you dislike, what you missed or even make some recommendations.

I'll just start by saying I absolutely loved Dino-Riders when I was young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5reNoxq0Mk

Enjoy!

Retro Animation (Japanese) Discussion

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 03:13:03 GMT

I thought it would be appropriate to have a place where we can discuss classic animation. This topic can be used to discuss anything relating to Japanese Retro Animation. Feel free to discuss your favourites, what you dislike, what you missed or even make some recommendations.

Enjoy!

Game BGM/Soundtrack Discussion

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 02:29:50 GMT

This might make for an interesting topic. Feel free to discuss music from some of the many titles throughout gaming history.

Mitch Murder does some very good arrangements of classic soundtracks.

https://youtu.be/u7u_N6mgejY

https://youtu.be/yWvD5tdGN9c

I’m not sure whether the posting of YouTube tracks is permitted under fair use, maybe a mod can clarify, but please refrain from posting links to download pirated/copyrighted material.

Enjoy

The Dungeon and Dragons Thread

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 00:56:35 GMT

Not sure how popular this would be here but I figured I'd create this thread to discuss all things Dungeon and Dragons. Do you play a character in someone else's campaign? Are you Dming your own. Do you watch a webseries of people playing D&D discuss away.

Visual Novel Thread

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 00:30:44 GMT

With how popular they've become as of late (and how much I've been enjoying a particular series entrenched in this genre), I thought it'd be wise to create a thread to discuss all things visual novel. Whether it's your Ace Attorney's, your Danganronpa's or even some more obscure yet really interesting all the same ones like your Famicom Detective Club's or Zero Escape's, you're more than free to talk about all the good and bad surrounding them. I hope you all have a great time here and happy chatting!

Super Mario World vs. Super Mario Bros. 3

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 20:01:21 GMT

Which do you like better between Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3? There is a big debate about it.

Even if you don't agree with people, please don't get into arguments. Thanks.