Past Pixels
From 8-bit to 64, Past Pixels sends current UMW students into gaming history by pairing a modern favorite with a predecessor the students have never played.
Episodes
Season 1
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Episode 1: Adventure to Breath of the Wild
Dr Zach Whalen, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Digital Studies, and Communications and Digital Studies major Eli Osborne compare 2017’s Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with 1978’s Atari “Adventure.” Don’t be fooled — simple gameplay doesn’t necessarily mean an easy game!
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Episode 2: Super Off Road to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Students Kuri Benitez and Sonia Joshi race from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the 1989 arcade game Super Off Road. While Off Road has a static camera angle and full map view versus Mario Kart’s active, mobile camera and split maps, both games have their own charm.
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Episode 3: Marathon to Valorant
Communications and Digital Studies major and Twitch streamer Kuri Benitez plays the 1994 iMac game Marathon and discusses how it compares to 2022’s Valorant. Games preservations enthusiast Alyssa Brown adds her thoughts on the meaning of preservation for something like a video game.
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Episode 4: Silent Hill to Resident Evil 8
Sonia Joshi (UMW ’23) plays through the genre-changing 1999 survival horror game Silent Hill and its spiritual successor Resident Evil 8. More than twenty years apart, with wildly different levels of graphics and controller development, the games still share a sense of tension and creeping desperation.
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Episode 5: Super Smash Bros. to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Jessica and Eli go head to head in Super Smash Bros. and Smash Bros. Ultimate, two games in the same series but nineteen years apart. The games are different in a lot of ways, but both have the same party energy!
