Brett Weiss's Blog, page 24

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #36 -- Charis Weiss and Ryan Weiss

Ninety-nine percent of the SNES Omnibus contributing writers are industry folks, including authors, reviewers, programmers, developers, store owners, YouTubers, convention organizers, etc. However, there are two exceptions: Charis Weiss, my wife, and Ryan Weiss, my son. As members of my family, they are insiders by default, but they are more than that. They each had really cool, really interesting stories to tell for Volumes 1 and 2. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made the cut. In short, their inclusion in the books was much more than mere nepotism.
To get away from the books for a moment, and at the risk of turning this into a cheese fest, Charis is the most loyal, most devoted wife I can imagine. Not only that, she’s a great adventurer—rivaled only by Lara Croft—but instead of raiding tombs, she plans the perfect vacations and business trips for us to go on. We always have a great time together. Ryan is a terrific son: kind, compassionate, and respectful. Plus, he’s a fun movie-watching buddy. I couldn't imagine life without them (or my daughter Katie).
Both Charis and Ryan are excellent school teachers, and they can “write like the wind.” In fact, you could argue that I’m only the second or third best writer in the family. You can read Charis’s Donkey Kong Country story from The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and ItsGames, Vol. 1 (A–M) HERE.

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #35 - Alex McCumbers

Alex McCumbers, who, like me, anxiously anticipates Vol. 2, was a supporter of the SNES Omnibus project from the get-go. His enthusiasm for the books and his excitement at the prospect of being involved as a contributing writer are infectious. When Vol. 1 shipped, he blew it up on social media, which of course helps get the word out. Since I’m not a famous YouTuberwith a built-in audience, this support really is important. Thanks, Alex, for your terrific write-ups, and for your energy and passion for writing about video games. This type of vibe keeps me going when I get bogged down and feel like I can’t type another word. You rock!
Here's Alex's bio as it appears in The SNES Omnibus Vol. 1:

Alex McCumbers hails from the mountains of West Virginia. Always in the pursuit of video game academia, and fighting against all odds to be a writer, he sharpens his mind and skills with daily practice. Find him on Forever Classic (YouTube, Twitch, podcast), Marooners’ Rock and Giga Geek Magazine.

The SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #34 - Christopher Pico

When I sent out the call for contributors to the SNES Omnibus project, Christopher Pico enthusiastically hopped on board. He loved the idea of writing about his favorite console, the Super Nintendo. His stories in both volumes show that he knows his stuff. Not only is Christopher involved with the project on a creative end, he’s helped promote it by hosting a book giveaway and creating a review for his Old Ass Retro Gamer YouTube channel. He reviewed my Sega Genesis book as well. Chris is also an expert on movies, and it’s fun to read his Facebook posts about film. I hope to hang out with Chris at a video game convention soon. He’s a cool cat. Thanks, Chris!
Here's Chris's bio as it appears in The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 1 (A–M):


Christopher “The Old Ass Retro Gamer” Pico is a filmmaker and has been a die-hard gamer since his parents purchased an Atari2600 when he was a child. When he lost his job of 11 years in 2011, he was forced to sell his video game collection, which he had been amassing since the late ’90s, to pay the bills. When he returned to the hobby in 2013, he created The Old Ass Retro Gamer YouTube vlog to document his quest to reclaim his collection. He counts the Super Nintendo as his favorite console of all time, followed by the Sega Dreamcast and the PlayStation 2.

Family Guy - Tecmo Bowl, Double Dribble, and ColecoVision

The writers of Family Guy have an obvious love for retro gaming. Check out Peter and the boys playing Tecmo Bowl and Double Dribble:

And in this clip, Peter finds his long-lost ColecoVision:

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #33 - Holt Slack

As with my buddy Delf Meek, I met Holt Slack in Tulsa, Oklahoma well over a decade ago at the late, lamented Oklahoma Video Game Expo. Over the years, we’ve become good friends, hanging out at video game and comic book conventions and meeting up at the National Video Game Museum. I recently interviewed Holt for an article for AntiqueWeek about The Transformers, and his answers were fun and informative (surprisingly, he didn’t say a single sarcastic thing during the entire interview—LOL). We are about the same age and have a lot in common, including an interest in cycling, comic books, and 1980s rock ’n’ roll. Holt, who is clearly devoted to his wife and boys, turned in some fun stories for The SNES Omnibus project. Thanks, Holt!
Here’s Holt’s bio as it appears in The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games,Vol. 1 (A-M):
Holt Slack discovered his love of video games via a friend’s home Pong console in 1975. Soon after, other friends introduced the Odyssey, Atari, and Apple II computer before Holt finally got his own Atari 2600 for Christmas in 1979. He began reading magazines like Electronic Games and Creative Computing and video game tip books in the school library. Now the father of two competitive gaming sons, he remains an avid collector and exhibits at regional gaming conventions like the Let’s PlayGaming Expo in Dallas and the late, great Oklahoma Video Game Expo in Tulsa. Holt’s greatest gaming achievement is getting a letter to the editor published in the June, 1983 issue of Electronic Fun with Computers & Gamesmagazine—look it up!

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #32 - Delf Meek

I’ve been attending video game conventions since 2003. During that time, I’ve met many cool people, including friends I never would have met otherwise. One of my best friends I’ve met through gaming is Delf Meek, who has helped me set up and run my booth at shows, manned the table so I could be freed up to do panels, and let me crash at his place in Oklahoma to save on travel costs. We always have a lot of laughs at gaming cons (he's funny and often sarcastic--he's probably puking at the sight of this post). We’ve also been known to kick back a brew or two, eat way too much, and throw down on some classic arcade games. He’s become a friend of the family as well. Delf contributed a couple of fun nostalgic stories to The SNES Omnibus project, and I was glad to include him. Thanks, Delf!
Here’s Delf’s bio as it appears in the books:
Delf Meek has been gaming since he begged his parents to buy him an Atari 2600 back in 1981, when he was just five years old.  Since then, he has evolved through every gaming system up to modern consoles, but his true love is for the classics.  An exhibitor at various gaming conventions in Texas and Oklahoma, Delf enjoys collecting and restoring old game consoles and arcade machines.

Click HERE to pre-order The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games Vol. 2 (N-Z) with pre-order bonuses.

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #31 - Patrick Scott Patterson

One of the cool things about working video game conventions is that I’ve gotten to know many people in the industry, including Patrick Scott Patterson (a.k.a. PSP), who works to preserve the history of video games, both in terms of physical cartridges, discs, consoles, and documentation, and in terms of recording their history in print, including in The SNES Omnibus volumes 1 and 2. He also works as an advocate for gaming, frequently speaking to the media on behalf of the industry. Scott, the name he prefers to be called, is a devoted family man, a talented gamer, and an all-around cool guy, and it’s always good to see him at trade shows. We’ve even done a few panels together. Thanks, Scott!

Here’s Scott’s bio as it appears in The SNES Omnibus:
Patrick Scott Patterson is a video game advocate, historian, and preservationist. Gaming since 1981, Patterson works full time in his efforts to ensure the legacy of the industry and culture are not lost to time. Check out his work at www.patrickscottpatterson.com.


The SNES Omnibus Vol. 2 is now available for pre-order. Check it out HERE.

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #30 - Jerry Bonner

Jerry Bonner gets paid to write stuff. A whole lot of stuff, as you can see by his bio below. Yet he, like many other "industry insiders," gladly volunteered to contribute stories (good ones at that) to the SNES Omnibus project to help preserve the history of the Super Nintendo and the 1990s in general. Jerry is also a devoted family man and by all accounts a valuable asset to his community, working for the Camden County Police Department.

The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 2 (N-Z) is now available for pre-order. Check it out HERE.
Jerry Bonner is a writer who lives in New Jersey. He’s had a love affair with video games since the dawn of Pong. Jerry has written for Gentleman’s Quarterly, IGN, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Ars Technica, Yahoo!, 1UP, Playboy, GameCrate, What They Play, GamePro, Imagine Publications (NOW Gamer, X360, Play tm, Retro Gamer, etc.),  Gameranx, Geeks of Doom, Deep Silver/Koch Media, Twist-Ed Games, Manwin/SuperHippo Games, Indie Gamer Chick, GameFront, Next Media Animation, Artistry in Games, Geekadelphia, Bitmap Books, The Sims Magazine, Pixelkin, Cosplay Culture Magazine, WaterMelon, and Little Player magazine. Check out his random nonsense on Twitter: @jbonner71.

SNES Omnibus Writer Spotlight #29 - Jon D. Harrison

Jon D. Harrison is an enthusiastic supporter of and true asset to The SNES Omnibus project. Not only did he contribute some cool stories, including memories of playing Final Fight 2 for Vol. 1 and Street Fighter Alpha 2 for Vol. 2, he frequently helps promote the books on social media. As you can judge by his bio below, which will appear in the books, he’s also wicked smart. More importantly, he’s a nice guy and a devoted family man. Thanks, Jon!
Jon D. Harrison, MBA, ODCC is a TEDx Speaker, author, blogger, and podcaster. His unique approach to teaching business, leadership, and life lessons with video game analogy and metaphor has appeared on FastCompany, Entrepreneur, Lifehacker, The Good Men Project, Monster, The NY Daily News, NG4, IGN, The Computer Games Journal, and his site, ClassicallyTrained.net. His book Mastering The Game: What VideoGames Can Teach Us About Success In Life is available on Amazon.com.






Click on the pic for a closer look:

New Podcast! - Procedurally Generated Show

I was on a recent podcast, the Procedurally Generated Show, where we discussed The SNES Omnibus and other topics. Advance to the 1:06 mark to hear my interview. You can listen HERE.