The Upper Memory Block Podcast from billybob

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 07:53:18 AM

So, like many others on these forums I've taken the plunge and started myself a podcast! It's called The Upper Memory Block and it is all about PC gaming in the DOS and pre-Windows XP era (roughly 1988 - 2001-ish). In each episode I'll cover a single game, game series, game company or technology of the time.

The podcast site can be found here: http://umbcast.com/

Right now I have a small "beta" episode 0 up to listen to from the site. It's a short clip of me chatting about what I intend to do with the show and a little about myself and my background. I'm planning to put up the first full episode this Wednesday. It will cover the 1993 LucasArts adventure game, Sam & Max Hit the Road.

I also hope to have the podcast RSS feed at the very least submitted to iTunes by then. I thought I should start getting the word out to my friends here first :)

I'm excited to finally throw my hat into the podcasting ring and I'll let everyone know when the first "real" episode goes live!

Jobydrone · March 27, 2012, 08:04:28 AM

Wow this sounds great, looking forward to listening! Let me know if you wan't a guest or some comments if you plan to cover the Wizardry series, any of the Sierra/Infogrames text adventures like Zork or Hitchhikers Guide etc., and/or any of the Star Trek Anniversary games.

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 08:07:53 AM

They are on the list! Right now I think ep 2 will be about 1998's Independence War (or I-War in the UK).

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/independence_war_deluxe

Also I definitely need to thank Rick Moyer for my intro/outtro/bumpers which you'll hear starting in episode 1.

Bryancd · March 27, 2012, 08:30:54 AM

Best of luck Joe!

Rico · March 27, 2012, 08:50:52 AM

Ah, another podcaster joins the fold! Good for you Joe. Just don't blame me when podcasting starts to consume your life! ;)

Dangelus · March 27, 2012, 09:01:10 AM

Nice one Joe!

And a very interesting subject too :)

I'll be listening.

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 09:10:48 AM

Thanks guys, the Sam & Max episode is already "in the can" so to speak, I had a really good time researching and recording it.

Bromptonboy · March 27, 2012, 09:51:03 AM

Cool, this is more in my era of gaming! Starflight, Ultima 1 - 10, Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest, Wing Commander, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, Kings Quest.....

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 09:58:20 AM

Yeah, there's definitely a lot of great games in the timeframe. I played quite a few of them but defintiely not all! For example, I haven't played any of the Ultimas nor have I ever played Wizadry. I wouldn't be opposed to a rotating second chair filled by someone that has specific memories of the games.

Gonna get a few solos under my belt to find my feet but then the possibilities are endless :)

Of course emails and audio comments will always be welcome at podcast@umbcast.com

KingIsaacLinksr · March 27, 2012, 10:28:02 AM

Hmm, I'll check it out when I can, bit unfamiliar with games of that time so it should be interesting!

King

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 11:47:51 AM

Well I hope people that haven't ever experienced some of these older games might want to give them a whirl! The advantage is that they are either very cheap or free. Most games on Good Old Games (gog.com) are around the 3 - 5 dollar mark.

KingIsaacLinksr · March 27, 2012, 11:49:00 AM

Quote from: billybob476 on March 27, 2012, 11:47:51 AM
Well I hope people that haven't ever experienced some of these older games might want to give them a whirl! The advantage is that they are either very cheap or free. Most games on Good Old Games (gog.com) are around the 3 - 5 dollar mark.

If I wasn't so busy I'd say yes I would, but....yeah ;).

King

Jobydrone · March 27, 2012, 12:04:27 PM

I just heard about a completely free, fan-made Wing Commander game with a storyline, over fifty unique missions, multiplayer dogfighting, made on the Freespace 2 engine. Supposedly takes place between Wing Commander 2 and Wing Commander 3. Wish I had bootcamp running Windows, I'd be downing some Kilrathi tonight!

billybob476 · March 27, 2012, 12:06:46 PM

Yeah I heard about that, it looks pretty good! I'm thinking of doing a little "old games news" section where I cover things like that at the top of the show. There's also that free to play Mechwarrior online video that I posted in the Battletech podcast thread. Lots of older franchises are coming back in different forms.

Rico · March 28, 2012, 05:06:40 AM

Listened to your betacast and most of Ep. 1 this morning on my drive to work. Great job Joe. I think your earlier practice guest hosting is showing. Very organized and complete job on the "Sam and Max" game. I'm a big nostalgia game guy too so this type of podcast really takes me back to the days of DOS and configuring autoexec.bat and config.sys files to get my latest game to run right. Keep the cool casts coming! :)