Can you fit cable TV into a video game? (Claire L. Evans)

This September, following a successful run on the experimental gaming handheld Playdate, Blippo+ will release on Nintendo Switch and Steam. The game, created in collaboration with an iconic indie band, attempts to reproduce the feeling of channel surfing in the early days of cable television.

Its graphics aren’t graphics at all, but full-motion video. Actors bounced around shows that resemble episodes of Pee-wee Herman, the concerts of Klaus Nomi, and the “I can’t believe they made this for kids” programming of early Nickelodeon and MTV.

As I played Blippo+, flipping through the channels, I felt a deep nostalgia for something I'd nearly forgotten. And then I wondered: what inspires artists to try to recreate not just a show or a TV channel’s slate, but the entire TV experience.

This week on Post Games:

• Act 1: From Rockstar to Game Maker

• Act 2: The Birth of Blippo

• Patreon Bonus: A Guide to Metal Gear Solid: Delta

• Act 3: News of the Week

Blippo+

Act 1: From Rockstar to Game Maker

• Blippo+ (Steam, Switch, Playdate)

• This is YACHT (Spotify)

• Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet (Bookshop.org)

• Telefatnasty Studios (telefantasystudios.com)

• The Lost Art Of Cable Television (NationSquid)

• Watch what you read: 19 essential books about TV (AV Club)

Blippo+

Act 2: The Birth of Blippo

• A playlist of Public Access TV (YouTube)

• Pee-wee's Playhouse: Episode 1 - Ice Cream Soup | Full Episode (Shout! Studios)

• Klaus Nomi - Lightning Strikes (YouTube)

• Buckaroo Banzai End Credits (Textless Version) (YouTube)

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Patreon Bonus: A Guide to Metal Gear Solid: Delta

• The Complete METAL GEAR SOLID Timeline Explained! (GameSpot)

• Metal Gear Solid Delta - PS5/ PS5 Pro Tech Review - A Beautiful UE5 Remake With Frame-Rate Issues (Digital Foundry)

• ‘Metal Gear Solid 3,’ I Love You with All My Heart (Vice)

• Metal Gear Solid 3's moments are the franchise's pinnacle (Game Developers)

• Why Did Hideo Kojima Leave Konami? (The New Yorker)

• Hideo Kojima’s Mission Unlocked (The New Yorker)

• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (1UP/Archive.org)

• A rare negative review of Metal Gear Solid 3 (Detroit Free Press/Archive.org)

Act 3: News of the week

• Konami Hopes To Revive ‘Metal Gear’ Game Franchise (Bloomberg)

• Capcom settles it: No, Pragmata isn’t a secret Mega Man game (VGC)

• Capcom says it’s ‘considering’ how to make Mega Man games on a regular basis (VGC)

• Despite no new Mega Man in 7 years, Capcom says it’s ‘one of our most important IPs’ (VGC)

• Can't Decide Between Shinobi And Ninja Gaiden? This Steam Bundle Should Help (TimeExtension)

This week in video game links

• Militsioner isn't just a weird and ambitious immersive sim, it's a game of titanic emotional labour (RPS)

• Outrun… for GameBoy! (Bsky)

• Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World Review (IGN)

• This Japan-Exclusive Resident Evil Game Has Been Partially Resurrected, Thanks To A Recent "Labour Of Love" (Time Extension)

• How I Perpetuated An Internet Rumor About The Duck Hunt Dog (Thrilled Tales of Old Video Games)

• And the Peabody Goes to 1000xRESIST: An Interview with sunset visitor (Unwinnable)

Free game of the week:

Cheese Rolling: This game offers exactly what it says on the tin. “Chase a cheese wheel down a steep hill! Tumble with friends in this ragdoll recreation of an English tradition. Inspired by the centuries-old tradition of Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill.”

What else I’m enjoying

• I Bought 100 Copies of Mario Paint for the Art (Nintendo Life)

• The Tragedy of “Stomp Clap Hey” (Defector)

• The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made (Drew Gooden)

• Metal Gear Solid 3 Triangle: Dunk Eater Delta (videogamedunkey)

• Sandwich (1927) (Sandwiches of History⁣)