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A Trip Down Memory Card Lane

A Trip Down Memory Card Lane

Written by: David Kassin and Robert Kassin
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 Would you like to learn new things about your favorite video games, and the people who create them? A Trip Down Memory Card Lane is a weekly video game history podcast that uses the current week in gaming history as a guide to tell you interesting stories about the history of video games, gaming consoles, game designers, the gaming studios they've founded, and more. Join hosts David Kassin and Robert Kassin as they take an often-chronological look at the people, companies, technologies, and developmental processes that have helped bring your favorite video games to life on each week's trip down Memory Card Lane.Copyright 2026 Science Fiction World
Episodes
  • Ep.282 – A Notebook Full of Secrets: The Story of Hotel Dusk: Room 215

    Ep.282 – A Notebook Full of Secrets: The Story of Hotel Dusk: Room 215
    Jan 22 2026
    In 2007, \Hotel Dusk: Room 215\ arrived on the Nintendo DS and quietly proved that handheld games could tell slow, moody, adult stories. This week, we explore how the studio Cing used Nintendo’s family friendly system to deliver a noir inspired mystery built around conversation, atmosphere, and trust. We trace Cing’s roots through Riverhillsoft, Glass Rose, and Trace Memory, and how those experiments shaped their vision of interactive novels. Our conversation dives into the game’s book like presentation, sketchbook art style, interrogation driven dialogue, and clever use of DS hardware that made the system itself part of the puzzle. Join us as we flip the screen sideways, open our notebook, and revisit Hotel Dusk on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.

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    1 hr
  • Ep.281 – Loyalty for Sale: When Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction Turned War Into a Sandbox

    Ep.281 – Loyalty for Sale: When Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction Turned War Into a Sandbox
    Jan 15 2026
    In 2005, \Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction\ dropped players into a warzone that cared less about heroism and more about chaos, contracts, and consequences. This week, we explore how Pandemic Studios built an open world sandbox where loyalty was optional and destruction was the main attraction. We trace the studio’s rise from strategy hybrids like Dark Reign to breakout hits like Star Wars Battlefront, and how that experience shaped Mercenaries into a game driven by systems rather than scripted story beats. Our conversation dives into its faction system, Deck of 52 targets, cinematic hijacks, and technical ambition, along with the controversies and legacy that followed. Join us as we call in airstrikes, switch allegiances, and revisit Mercenaries on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.

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    55 mins
  • Ep.280 – Racing on a Tiny Scale: The Legacy of Micro Machines

    Ep.280 – Racing on a Tiny Scale: The Legacy of Micro Machines
    Jan 8 2026
    In 1991, Micro Machines turned kitchen tables, school desks, and pool halls into racetracks, proving that racing games did not need realism to be unforgettable. This week, we explore how Galoob’s tiny toy cars became a cultural phenomenon and how Codemasters adapted that spirit into one of the most inventive multiplayer games of the 1990s. We trace the game’s unusual development, from reverse engineering the NES without Nintendo’s blessing to shipping cartridges with built in hardware fixes to solve last minute bugs. Our conversation follows the series expansion through Turbo Tournament, the J Cart, and the leap into 3D, while also reflecting on why the games outlasted the toys themselves. Join us as we race across breakfast tables and relive Micro Machines on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.

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    53 mins
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