NINTENDO'S MUSEUM, JEDI KNIGHT & GEX at Crystal Dynamics! - Electric Playground S1E5 (1997)
226#Nintendo #JediKnight #StarWars
Get ready we’re doing a little bit of everything in this classic episode of The Electric Playground!
We’re peering into the future of video games as Victor Lucas and Tommy Tallarico take a trip to SegaSoft’s Heat.Net and chat with Sarah Mason about Heat’s vision to get people playing games online. We also meet Heat’s president, Garry Griffiths, and Net Fighter producer and Sega vet, Erik Wahlberg. Even in 1997 Heat’s engineers were working on addressing lag in online fighting games on primitive low-bandwidth modems. And they were also looking at the permanence and inherent value of collectible digital objects—NFTs in the 90’s! Incredible!
Then Victor visits Crystal Dynamics to speak with Jeff Zwelling, producer of Gex: Enter The Gecko and we get the scoop on this ambitious amphibian’s sequel game. Next up Vic chats with Zak Krefting, the lead designer of Pandemonium 2 and we learn about how the game improves on the trippy original.
After the break EP Secret Agent, Kelly Benson hits the streets to dig up info on Nintendo’s Mario franchise. And then EP heads Nintendo of America and catches up with Nintendo Super Agent, Alan Belardinelli who tours us through the sensational Nintendo Museum at the facility. It’s very cool to showcase this 1997 perspective of a company’s already incredible achievements knowing how much Nintendo has accomplished since.
When we come back from the break we hear from EP’s Roger Earl as he lets know what Mario’s last name is!
In Reviews on the Run we look at:
Treasures of the Deep for PlayStation
Tetrisphere for Nintendo 64
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II for PC
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee for PlayStation
The Electric Playground episodes are digitized and upscaled by the University of Toronto Mississauga Library. The wider EP Media Ltd. archive is located at the Library where it is preserved and digitized for long term access. Inquiries regarding the archive and the wider digitization process can be sent to utml.cds@utoronto.ca.
Classic Episodes of The Electric Playground are brought to you by @PNPGamesOfficial
Support EP Classic by shopping at: https://pnpgamesonline.com
Save $5 on your purchase of $100 CAD or more* on http://PNPGAMESONLINE.COM with code SATURN97 until Apr 21st 2024. (*PRE-TAX)
EP on Facebook (for contests): Facebook.com/ElectricPlayground
EPN Live: Twitch.tv/EPN
EPN Shorts: tiktok.com/@theelectricplayground
Official EPN Merch: EPN.tv/Merch
If you'd like to support the EPN team by becoming a member and sponsoring our content, click the JOIN button! Thanks so much for your support!