Popzara Podcast

Historian Chris Kohler Talks The Making of Karateka and Preserving Games History

Our guest on this episode of the Popzara Podcast is a veteran of the gaming industry who knows a few things about remembering (and collecting) classic games, Digital Eclipse’s editorial director Chris Kohler, whose career as a journalist, historian, presenter, and, naturally, an actual game player, make him uniquely qualified to talk about The Making of Karateka, the first title in his company’s planned Gold Master Series of “interactive documentaries”.

Last year’s Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration signaled a momentous change in what a collection of older games could be: using the medium to let players experience and interact with both the games and their history. The Making of Karateka narrows this focus to a single title, telling the story how a teenaged Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia), inspired by his love of Bruce Lee and martial arts films, would innovate game design by applying cinematic elements and a greater emphasis on story with 1984’s Karateka on the Apple II computer. There was more to the story, of course.

Our own amateur archivist Nathan Evans and Chris deep dive into the creation of Digital Eclipse’s groundbreaking series, the “gamification” of gaming history, how the relationship between Jordan and his father Francis Mechner may be the real story behind Karateka’s success, and how Nintendo’s year of unparalleled successes in 2023 may be the catalyst for others to start taking the preservation of gaming history more seriously.

Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi Talk Funny Things, Peanuts, and Cartooning the Life of Charles Schulz

Joining our resident blockhead Nathan Evans on this episode of the Popzara Podcast are the writing/cartooning duo of Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi to talk about  their new book Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz, a unique look at the life of the cartoonist that uses comic strips to illustrate his Midwestern roots to creating the world’s most beloved comic strip, Peanuts.

2022 was the centennial of Charles Schulz (1922 – 2000) birthday, and what better way to celebrate the creator of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and Woodstock than with a lovingly created look at his life through comic strips? The guys discuss the world’s love of Peanuts, finding the right moments of Schulz’s life to share with fans, giving lesser known cartoonists (Jim Sasseville) their due, similarities with Bill Watterson’s Calvin ‘n Hobbes, how finding the right partners (Bill Melendez, Vince Guaraldi) helped bring Peanuts to life, and so much more.

The State of Gaming August 2023: Baldur’s Gate 3, Armored Core 6, Immortals of Aveum, Atlus Fallen, Sea of Stars, Quake 2, Gran Turismo Movie, PlayStation Portal and Circana

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: Baldur’s Gate 3, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, Immortals of Aveum, Atlas Fallen, Blasphemous 2, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles, Sea of Stars, and Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy.

Other notables include: Quake 2 Remastered, Red Dead Redemption Remastered, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, WrestleQuest, and Vampire Survivors (Switch).

Circana remains the gaming industry’s best snapshot of what’s moving and shaking up both physical and digital retail shelves across the country. All estimates are for entertainment purposes only. Total sales of new gaming hardware and software topped $4.18 billion, a slim 1 percent uptick over last year.

The software charts get interesting as Remnant II debuts in first, Diablo IV takes second, Final Fantasy XVI in fifth, Pikmin 4 debuts in sixth, and Exoprimal in sixteenth.

But there’s more! Nintendo’s Switch surpasses the lifetime sales of the Wii in the US! Was the Gran Turismo movie really the weekend’s number 1 at the box-office? You really shouldn’t sell stolen copies of Starfield. PlayStation Plus is getting a hefty price hike! There’s a new PSP coming – the PlayStation Portal! And Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks like the trippiest Mario adventure yet.

Filmmaker James Flower Talks The Final Game of Death and Honoring Bruce Lee’s Legacy

For Bruce Lee fans 2023 marks two anniversaries; both his untimely death and the release of Enter the Dragon, which would have catapulted him to worldwide superstar status had he lived to enjoy it. But Lee had been working on another project prior to his passing, surviving only in video fragments and notes. The version of “The Game of Death” released in 1978 exhibited little, if any, of Lee’s original vision.

Joining our own grandmaster Nathan Evans and returning champion Kevin (YouTube’s StoryDive) on this episode of the Popzara Podcast is James Flower, writer, editor, and director behind The Final Game of Death, a mammoth 223 minute analysis of both the surviving footage and the philosophical methodology behind Bruce Lee’s final film as part of Arrow Film’s exquisite Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest Limited Edition, which also includes beautifully remastered 4K editions of The Big Boss, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, commentaries, interviews and so much more.

Nate, Kevin and James gather on the field of (podcast) battle to chat about what it’s like to undertake such a project, the love/hate relationship fans have with Clouse’s original “The Game of Death”, how Lee’s film would revolutionize and influence martial art films and videogames, shameless “Bruceploitation” clones, “sanitizing” Asian content for Western audiences, physical media vs. streaming, the importance of proper film restoration, and the timeless appeal Bruce Lee still commands around the world.

The State of Gaming July 2023: Remnant 2, Exoprimal, Pikmin 4, Legend of Heroes, Atelier Marie, Double Dragon Gaiden, Ratchet & Clank, Twisted Metal, and Circana

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: Exoprimal, Remnant 2, Pikmin 4, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie, Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg, Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise Of The Dragons, and Disney Illusion Island.

But there’s more! Sony’s Twisted Metal series debuts on Peacock! Are you ready for the Mortal Kombat 1 beta? The PlayStation 5 hits a huge 40 million milestone (the Xbox Series X/S hits a different, less positive one). Is Nintendo’s next console already circulating among developers? Missing Netflix’s Castlevania animated series? Get ready for the Nocturne spinoff coming this September!

Movie Time! The Last Starfighter and Cloak & Dagger: The 1984 Videogame Dream Team

It’s Popzara’s Movie Time! Podcast!, where our own movie nerds Ethan Brehm and Nate Evans take you on an unscripted journey yakking and chatting about some of their favorite movie moments and cinematic scenes, from past and present, presented without snark and snobbery for your listening pleasure.

On deck for this episode are two classics from 1984 (perhaps the greatest year ever for pop cinema) that use videogames as a framing device that take our heroes into larger worlds they could have never possibly imagined.

First up is The Last Starfighter, directed by Nick Castle (Halloween’s original Michael Myers) and starring Lance Guest, Dan O'Herlihy (RoboCop), and Robert Preston (The Music Man) in a sci-fi fantasy that’s more Star Wars-lite than Buck Rogers. One of the first movies to extensively use CGI, it’s a perfect encapsulation of Joseph Campbell’s Hero's Journey, only with space combat and an entire race of aliens with male pattern-baldness (even the women).

Next is Cloak & Dagger, Richard Franklin’s Hitchcockian thriller starring Henry Thomas (E.T.) and Dabney Coleman (in a dual-role) in what could be the best 1980s kids movie you don’t hear enough about. Latchkey kids race from blood-thirsty terrorists as an Atari tape (yeah, tape) may hold the key to an international espionage plot. What more could you expect from writer Tom Holland, creator of Fright Night and Child's Play?

Even in a year overflowing with an embarrassment of riches, both movies managed to stand out. Did The Last Starfighter inspire Pixar’s Toy Story? Is Cloak & Dagger the most violent movie (made for kids) ever? Could either be rebooted and/or sequalized in today’s sensitive times? These questions and more will be answered - no quarters required!

The State of Gaming June 2023: Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy 16, Diablo 4, Ghost Trick, Asus Rog Ally, Xbox vs FTC, Super Mario Wonder, BlizzCon, and Circana

It’s The State of Gaming Podcast, Popzara’s in-depth look at what’s shaking up the gaming landscape delivered on a monthly basis. Our hosts Cory Galliher and Nate Evans guide you through the best, worst, and everything else making headlines and headway in the world of interactive entertainment.

The biggest games of the month include: Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy XVI, Diablo 4, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, Aliens: Dark Descent, Sonic Origins Plus, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life, Pikmin 1 + 2 Remastered (Switch), and even new hardware with the release of Asus’ Rog Ally, the first mainstream Windows 11 gaming handheld.

Article: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

I have to be honest and admit that I wasn’t looking forward to another Indiana Jones film, as Harrison Ford isn’t getting any younger, and it feels like we’re in an age where movies are all about remakes, reboots, and digging up old franchises to make money off nostalgia. But after seeing Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, I can say I had a good time watching Mr.

Article: John Mulaney: Baby J (2023)

Today, it often seems like stand-up comedy is only quantified by how quotable it is. You watch a 60-minute set waiting for the funniest bits so you and your friends can repeat them to each other ad nauseam over the next few months - maybe even years.

Article: Maggie Moore(s) (2023)

Unlike most troubled movie detectives, Jon Hamm’s Chief Jordan Sanders isn’t listless, or jaded, or even all that troubled. Aside from his wife passing away a year ago, Sanders is relatively content, if not clear-headed.

Article: Final Fantasy XVI

Long-running franchises form a sort of cultural backdrop that inspires other media over the course of years. What would the entertainment landscape look like without Star Wars, for instance? That said, what happens when a property gets long enough in the tooth it becomes a little intimidating for folks who haven't kept up with it? When you tell someone who isn't a long-time Final Fantasy fan that we're up to Final Fantasy XVI, for example, there's a pretty good chance they'll wonder if they need to play the other fifteen to figure out what's going on.

Article: AEW: Fight Forever

One of my favorite times from my teens was watching wrestling back in the late 90s with my best buds, especially the crazy rivalry between then WWF before becoming WWE, and the infamous WCW which sadly slumped in the early 2000s and was bought by WWE. Nearly twenty years later in 2019, AEW (All Elite Wrestling) came out of nowhere and rose to become a new challenger to WWE that features previous WWE and WCW superstars to give them a nice run for the money.

Article: Retroid Pocket Flip

Welcome to the future! We don't have flying cars, teleportation devices or replicators, but what we do have is a vast variety of tech toys to distract us from the ever-deteriorating state of society. That ought to be good enough for anyone, right? But what if part of that magical future means looking back at the past? And by past I mean retro gaming.

Article: Asteroid City (2023)

It seems fitting that Asteroid City is Wes Anderson's first film that he directed since the beginning of the pandemic (The French Dispatch was filmed prior). In many ways, he’s crafted a movie about grief and trying to find meaning in a world that often feels chaotic and unpredictable.

Article: Yomi 2

I'm a big fan of fighting games, which should come as no surprise if you're familiar with my past work. There's a meditative aspect to learning and improving that's hard to find in too many other forms in gaming; Dark Souls-like adventures can offer something similar, but there's something special about battling other players on the same level.