Digital Roadmap

An Old School Gaming Podcast

Exploring how the games of the past, brought us the games we love today.
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Rules Of The Road

How We Play The Games

Just like everything else in life, we work from a set of rules when playing our games. These are the core rules when playing for the show.

01.

Retro Rule

Play the game in the most old fashioned format possible.

One of the goals of this series is to see if the original version of the game holds up in today’s world. To accomplish this, we try to find the older version of the games. Avoid the remasters, avoid the quality of life mods, and often run it straight out of DosBox. If there are any mods used, they will be the resolution mods to make the game easier to view on modern screens.

02.

Reasonable Expectations

Get as far as possible. You don't have to complete the game if time isn't there.

Sometimes life gets in the way. Some games just don’t have a “victory” condition. The main goal is to get the best idea of how the game plays, not get 100%. This is a show by hobbyists, and we don’t always have the time to finish the game. As long as a decent amount of time has been put in, research and reading can help flesh out the missing details.

03.

Gaming's Rand McNally

Get the manual and supplement books

Nowadays, games include all their information in codex sections within the menu. This wasn’t the case years ago, space was precious. Manuals were vital to understanding how the game worked, how the world interacted, and who you were dealing with, not to mention the copyright protection methods.

Manuals were also a vital source of information on background lore that may not show up in the game itself, but helps explain some logic and behavior otherwise, so it becomes critical for this series to get the manual in one form or another.

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FAQs

Find some basic answers to common questions you might be wondering about.

Digital Roadmap is about playing older games to see if they still hold up to the memories.

For the sake of this show, “older” games refers to anything at least 10 years old. For example, the first game played for the show was “Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic” released in 2003. Not old by most standards, but within our rules.

As old as we can manage. If there’s a way to emulate it accurately on current hardware, it’s available for an episode. Even as far back as Rogue (which I’ve got working in multiple formats).

Never say never, but there aren’t any planned. There are loads of podcasts that deal with classic console games, but not many focus on PC games.

That’s not a question. But if you meant “How do I suggest a game you should play?” then you can reach out on twitter @roadmappodcast. We’re always happy to hear from the community.

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DIGITAL ROADMAP EPISODES

Follow along with the series. Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts.
Digital Roadmap: An Old School Gaming Podcast
Digital Roadmap: An Old School Gaming Podcast
01 Knights Of The Old Republic
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  • 01 Knights Of The Old Republic

    01 Knights Of The Old Republic

    Feb 13, 2017 • 31:24

    On this episode we look at Bioware & Lucas Art's Knights of The Old Republic (2003). See the trailer for the game here and purchase the game from GOG.com here. Music credits: Song - My cue to leave Artist - Steve Combs Album - The Green Album

  • 02 - Know Your Genre: Adventure Games

    02 - Know Your Genre: Adventure Games

    Mar 7, 2017 • 19:05

    On this episode we look at the adventure game genre. Starting at it’s early days of text only and ending at the modern Telltale iterations, we explore the cores of what makes and adventure game an adventure game. Included are some personal recommendations for each era. Remember to connect with…

  • 03 - Sam & Max Hit The Road

    03 - Sam & Max Hit The Road

    Mar 21, 2017 • 16:12

    On this episode we look at the adventure game “Sam & Max Hit The Road” (1993) from LucasArts. There’s no trailer from this game, but you can grab it on GOG.com. Also, check out the game soundtrack here for some midi jazzy detective fun.  Remember to connect with us on…

  • 04 - Know Your Genre: Real Time Strategy

    04 - Know Your Genre: Real Time Strategy

    Apr 3, 2017 • 18:20

    In this episode, we look at a brief history of the real time strategy genre starting with Dune 2 and all the way up to the juggernaut that is League of Legends. Join us next episode when we do a deeper look at the Westwood classic Command & Conquer. Check…

  • 05 - Command & Conquer

    05 - Command & Conquer

    Apr 17, 2017 • 25:55

    On this episode we look at the real time strategy game “Command & Conquer” (1995) from Westwood Studios. Here’s the trailer, but you can grab it on Origin. Also, check out the game soundtrack here, the song I refer to as “Mechanical Man” is on the soundtrack as “Target“.  Remember to…

  • 06 - Know Your Genre: Action RPG

    06 - Know Your Genre: Action RPG

    May 10, 2017 • 14:50

    On this episode we take a quick look at the action role playing genre. In case I missed mentioning it in the show itself, loot grinding plays a semi-important role in this genre. Next episode we take a deeper look into Blizzard North’s Diablo. If you’re looking to play an…

  • 07 - Diablo

    07 - Diablo

    May 31, 2017 • 24:04

    On this episode we look at the action role playing game “Diablo” (1996) from Blizzard North. In the episode I refer to the theme from Tristram that you can listen to here. If you want to read the manual for the game you can do that here thanks to Archive.org. If…

  • 08 - Know Your Genre: Sandbox Simulators

    08 - Know Your Genre: Sandbox Simulators

    Jun 14, 2017 • 17:30

    On this episode we take a quick look at the sandbox simulator or no-win genre. Coming up next episode we do a deeper dive in Cyberlife Technology’s “Creatures”. And I hope you look forward to our Summer Of Star Trek. Twitter – @roadmappodcast Site – RoadmapPodcast.com Here’s some links to the…

  • 09 - Creatures

    09 - Creatures

    Jun 28, 2017 • 26:56

    On this episode we look at the artificial life simulation, “Creatures” (1996) from Cyberlife Games. I very much recommend this game, doubly so  considering it comes with the sequel as well in “Creatures: The Albian Years“. Remember to connect with us on twitter @roadmappodcast. Don’t forget to come back next episode when we…

  • 10 - History of Star Trek Games Part 1

    10 - History of Star Trek Games Part 1

    Jul 12, 2017 • 14:27

    On this episode we look at the games based in “Star Trek: The Original Series”. Starting with teletype games and ending at the turn of the century, Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise have inspired almost every genre of game you can imagine, this is just a few. Remember…

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