Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Elford Stephens, Phil Thomas, and Andy Hunter. This time around, we look at Thrill Kill, an unreleased 3D fighting game created by Paradox Development for the Sony PlayStation that was supposed to come out in October 1998. We look at its surprising evolution from Mesoamerican-themed sports game to BDSM-themed fighting game, its cancellation by Electronic Arts, and its afterlife as a game starring the Wu-Tang Clan.
Topics discussed include: Why people think Electronic Arts is worse than a bank; how Harvard Bonin is a hilarious name; and if hell exists and we all go to it, what will be the manifestations of our worldly vices?
For more on the history of Thrill Kill from the people who made it, see: Steven T. Wright, “The Secret History of Wu-Tang Clan’s Bizarre Hip-Hop Fighting Game,” Variety, February 15, 2019, https://variety.com/2019/gaming/features/wu-tang-shaolin-style-thrill-kill-1203140669/
Theme Music: Occam's Sikhwee by Sikh Knowledge (Free Music Archive: https://bit.ly/33G4sLO), used under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US (https://bit.ly/33JXogQ)
More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.
