iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Jaybee @jayb33.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Cole Dröws, with permission from the rights holder, released the unpublished UK English version of Blackout. Blackout is a 1997 non-linear point-and-click psychological horror game filmed on Beta with hand crafted sets and stop motion puppets. coledrows.itch.io/blackout

coledrows.itch.io

Blackout 97 by Cole Dröws

Escape your fate - if you can

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Hoje tirei a poeira do videocassete porque nessa casa valorizamos o trampo das minas, ainda mais quando é banda dos anos 90. ✨ Noodles - "Slow Coaster" Noodles Come True, Benten, 1998

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This reminded me to start watching the Sukeban Deka TV series. Found out about it years ago and it looked like the coolest thing ever.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Com pessa prévia, dá vontade de ter a edição física só pelo manual. Pena que eu não tenho o console.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Parabéns, Paulo. Espero que a edição física venda bem e rápido, para eu poder jogar a versão completa da digital. 😄

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

shmuplations.com @shmuplations.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Today we have something special: a newly translated interview from July 1996 between Shigeru Miyamoto and Kenji Eno! Conducted just weeks after the launch of Mario 64, Eno takes Miyamoto to task (in a friendly way) with several fascinating critiques of its design. shmuplations.com/miyamotoxeno/

shmuplations.com

Shigeru Miyamoto x Kenji Eno (1996) - shmuplations.com

In July 1996, Kenji Eno visited Nintendo HQ to speak with Shigeru Miyamoto as the first of his "cross-talk" series.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Bowl of Lentils @bowloflentils.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Absolutely love these photos of early game developers just chilling in their homes/offices.

Koichi Nakamura, creator of Door Door and founder of Chunsoft.

Makoto Ichinoseki (left), creator of Fruit Panic.

Kazuro Morita, creator of Moritan no Battle Field.

Akira Takiguchi (creator Olion) and his friend Masakuni Mihashi.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Early interview with Kowloon's Gate director and writer Nakaji Kimura, published in the August 1995 issue of Hyper PlayStation. CG designers Hijiri Taketomi and Kouki Inoue also share their insights.

Hyper PlayStation, August 1995, pp. 70-71. Sony Magazines Inc.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Morro toda vez que usam Cloud em vez de Chime como destaque. Enfim, estou confiante. 🥹

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Única época do ano em que o Either/Or supera o disco homônimo. 😺

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Marina @marinarodri.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Poxa, mas juraram pra mim que esta aí era independente quase fechando as portas toda vez que lançava um filme revolucionário na cinematografia dos EUA. (E teve gente pra legitimar a existência de perfil de fã de empresa)

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Ilustrações de Tooru Yoshida. Creditado no jogo como Yoshibon.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

VGDensetsu @vgdensetsu.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

2 box art by Yasufumi Fujii / 藤井康文 www.thedinosaur.tokyo _the Japanese and European versions of Wolchild for Mega-CD _Zeta for PC-98

front cover for the Japanese version of Wolchild for Mega-CD

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Is that the Switch version? The map alone seems to make it the best version to play.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

@notasaleatorias.bsky.social A mesma roteirista do jogo que eu tava falando ontem.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Chieko Aoki wrote Phantasy Star II, a deeply tragic and cautionary sci-fi story in which the Earthlings who destroyed their own planet tried to settle-colonize another through an environmental supercomputer. I'll always wonder what more Aoki would have written, had she remained in the industry.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Link da tradução: www.smspower.org/Translations...

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Cheguei bem atrasado nessa imagem. Pelo que eu pesquisei, é uma frase acrescentada por uma tradução não oficial de 2020. Tradução não precisa ser fiel e, nesse caso, diz em voz alta o que sempre esteve preso na garganta da personagem. Vai lá, deusa, nunca precisamos tanto de você.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Ah, yes, the nearly 18-minute epic "Gundam Falls on Hoboken."

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

This scan looks even more haunting than the film already is. Thank you so much Jon.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Jon W. @rarefilmm.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Here's a nice little curiosity, a Super 8 scan of George A. Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). Thanks a lot to Ripper's Archive @ Twitter for the source, I included the uncompressed scan and a smaller re-encode I did in a more friendly size as the original was 60+gb 😅 gofile.io/d/xSmZ7i

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Ainda tenho ele, mas faz uns 15 anos que não ligo. Imagino que os capacitores já foram pro brejo ou coisa pior, mas nunca tive coragem de vender.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Nos anos 90 eu era fissurado pelos jogos de Neo Geo. Ganhei meu NGCD em 1998 e mesmo pecando muito na velocidade de leitura, foi um console que rendeu muita diversão. Uma pena que deu problema no leitor em poucos meses de uso. Mesmo depois de um conserto muito duvidoso, nunca mais foi o mesmo.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

That Kenji Eno interview is one of the best ever. I still remember reading the full version on 1up.com around the time it was published. Such a shame that the Wayback Machine couldn't archive it properly. The timeline section was very well designed, much like how it appears on the magazine.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Eu vou começar a escrever sega, capcom e outros nomes abreviados em caixa baixa porque, convenhamos, empresa de video game não vale nem uma letra maiúscula hoje em dia.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Rieko Kodama's first producer role at Sega was on the System Sacom-developed underwater survival horror Deep Fear. While admitting to struggle with horror in general, she also realized that sound was the most important factor—and the one that really scared her—to consider in the project. (1/3)

Japanese cover for the Sega Saturn game Deep Fear. System Sacom/SEGA, 1998. Source: https://segaretro.org/File:DeepFear_Saturn_JP_Box_Front.jpg

Kenji Kawai and Rieko Kodama on the music of Deep Fear. Dengeki Sega Saturn, vol. 22(June 5, 1998), pg. 23. Publisher: MediaWorks.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

At the end of a brief interview for the Nov. 17, 1995 issue of The PlayStation magazine, Kenji Eno revealed that D no Shokutaku's protagonist Laura Harris was modeled after Sharon Stone's character Lori Quaid from the movie Total Recall (1990). "If you see that movie's pamphlet, you'll understand."

Japanese cover for the PlayStation interactive movie D no Shokutaku - Complete Graphics. WARP/Acclaim, 1995. Source: https://psxdatacenter.com/games/J/D/SLPS-00133.html

Sharon Stone as Lori Quaid in the movie Total Recall. Carolco Pictures/Tri-Star Pictures, 1990. Source: https://www.cap-that.com/total-recall/1990/index.php?image=total-recall%281990%29_cap2882.jpg

Japanese pamphlet for the movie Total Recall (1990). Source: https://paypayfleamarket.yahoo.co.jp/item/z538507772

The PlayStation magazine, vol. 16(November 17, 1995), pp. 146-147. SoftBank Corp.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Though Kimura's comment is not surprising at all, considering that the 1990s was the decade when world music and the fetishization of "simpler" and "tribal" lives and cultures became a global sensation.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

He probably didn't mean ill—it was his favorite film after all—but that kind of statement reminds me of the way Latin American countries and people used to be (and still are, even if things got better in that respect) portrayed in international media and popular culture: as exotic and savage.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

As a Brazilian, I must say it was very unpleasant to read Kimura's remark about Santa Sangre having a South American "intense mood." It gets even worse if you read his 「濃厚な匂い」 phrasing literally as "strong smell."

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Sexta-feira é dia de repostar minhas coisinhas.

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved (ADV/VN) @traindetective.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Before Detective Instinct, many members of our team collaborated on making games for GBJam, a Game Boy themed game jam. Great times. Learned a lot, and had the opportunity to compose a lot of music for GB limitations, one of my favorite things to do 😌 You can play 'em here: gallowaygames.itch.io

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Sorry to hear that. I had more early Kowloon's Gate magazine coverage to share...

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari is such an astonishing little game.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

They actually had animations ready for a 1994 trailer. Crunch must've been brutal. 😢

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Reposted by Alan Gimenez

robin (cyberia) 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸 @cyberia-mix.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

launch-era playstation promo features a kowloon's gate teaser too! (timestamp 11:11; and for the vapor girlies, fifteen seconds after that is where i capped the cover art for PURE TRANCE!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IQK...

youtube.com

1994 Japan Playstation Launch PV

YouTube video by sevenforcex

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Kimura, whose favorite film is or at least was Alejandro Jodorowsky's Santa Sangre, also mentions that Kowloon's Gate being fully 3D—quite a goal for such a project at the time—was planned from the beginning. Finally, he reveals that aspects of the story were informed by the works of Stephen King.

A still from Alejandro Jodorowsky's surrealist horror film Santa Sangre. Productora Fílmica Real/Produzioni Intersound, 1989. Source: https://www.cinemamoderne.com/en/films/details/santa-sangre/

First edition cover for Stephen King's horror novel Salem's Lot. Doubleday, 1975. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Salem%27s_Lot_(1975)_front_cover,_first_edition.jpg

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Considering that, I still think it's amazing that they already had so many things to show by early to mid-1995. CG production must have started right after Eastern Mind's release.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Nakaji Kimura's interview starts with him elaborating on the intricacies of the game's real-time dungeons and battle system, both of which are deeply connected and affected by the five basic elements found in Feng Shui and many other aspects of Chinese culture—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

Diagram of the interactions between the Wuxing, or Five Moving Ones. Jim McKeeth, 2025. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wuxing_diagram.svg

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I'm writing about some of the little-known aspects of D and also Enemy Zero, if you happen to be curious about this kind of info.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Regarding the game's JPEG dungeons, its characters and their way of living, pictures of the walled city itself, from an unspecified book mentioned by Taketomi, and the art of Hieronymus Bosch, are cited as key inspirations.

Kowloon Walled City—Alley View #2. Greg Girard, 1990, printed 2015. Source: https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/collection/objects/kowloon-walled-cityalley-view-2-20181

Hell panel from The Garden of Earthly Delights. Hieronymus Bosch, ca. 1480–1505. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_Hell.jpg

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Kowloon's Gate is without a doubt much more elaborate.

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Got yourself a new follower because you've mentioned D, even if unfavorably to Kowloon's Gate, and that's not something a Kenji Eno researcher sees every day. ✨

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Kouki Inoue and Hijiri Taketomi had previously worked on the opening for Osamu Sato's Eastern Mind, and they briefly talk about the challenges posed by Kowloon's Gate's greater cinematic scope, with Inoue saying that the amount of CG they were working on was enough for two or three feature films.

youtube.com

EASTERN MIND : THE LOST SOULS OF TONG-NOU - Intro

YouTube video by Adventure's Index

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Alan Gimenez @alangimenez.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The game's post-cyberpunk imagery is highly praised, although the magazine had this terrible penchant for using awkwardly pompous and elitist language in its columns, and it's no different here. Luckily, the interviewees had more interesting things to say.

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