Hi Nicolas. Thanks so much for reaching out and for the kind words about the book—I really appreciate it!

A bootleg Game Pak inserted into the Nintendo Game Boy showing that cartridge is too tall for the manual power slider to fit into a notch in the plastic.

A pink Game Boy Pocket running Donkey Kong Land 3. The screen is backlit and shows the game in four shades of teal.

What I find fascinating is that both games were released prior to the Game Boy Color yet neither can be played on the DMG. The bootleg can’t be inserted far enough, so the power switch won't slide all the way on (not unlike Nintendo’s design for GBC cartridges). But they work on the Game Boy Pocket!

The ROM is, in fact, Donkey Kong Land III, which was developed by Rareware and published for the Game Boy in 1977. But the sticker on the face of the cartridge seems to be the one used for Makon Soft’s Super Donkey Kong 3 bootleg, an unlicensed game based on Donkey Kong Country 3.

I have two of these, which I bought at a flea market in Lisbon when I was 12 years old and didn’t know any better.

The cartridge labelled The Incredibles actually houses Titus’s 1997 Superman game (a tremendous disappointment at the time). The Donkey Kong 3 cartridge is even more confusing.

I’ve felt a lot more murderous playing Monopoly than I ever did goofing off in Among Us.

Video game history in action! 2024 was a big year for moving the conversation forward, preserving important artifacts, and building tools that make access easier for everyone. As our annual Winter Fundraiser heats up, let's look back at the year that was: gamehistory.org/our-2024-in-...

✨ Meet Christine H. Tran! ✨ (Playful Horizons Speaker Series) YouTube video by UAlbertaArts

Now Live™️ (and asynchronous)! My interview with UAlbertaArts’s Playful Horizons featured speaker series about the past, future & artificial present of ✨🔮 livestreaming✨

🔮 youtu.be/gB7lhBAzE6M?...

💾 Meet Michael Iantorno! 💾 (Playful Horizons Speaker Series) YouTube video by UAlbertaArts

Now online: my interview for the Playful Horizons featured speaker series at the University of Alberta!

💾Game hacking + preservation!
✊Industry labour!
🎮Creative modding in the university!

Thanks to @persephone.blue and @kenzitronic.bsky.social for having me in to talk about my research.✨

This massive review doesn't once mention that it's funded by Palmer Luckey, and it's not an oversight, considering the author (and site owner) is ignoring comments about it. This is the same author who gave Tommy Tallarico a big fluff piece to promote his Amico scam. I'm detecting a pattern.

An illustration of a Nintendo Switch. On the screen is the Animal Crossing logo, but it has been modified to read "Cannibal Crossing."

Need a reason to attend the last panel of CGSA? @hanine.bsky.social and I are presenting a paper on the troubling fact that you can cook squid in front of your octopus villagers in Animal Crossing and nobody bats an eye!

Come for the slides full of memes, stay for the critique of anthropocentrism.

PTP Pink Paper - Pink Triangle Press Many Canadians don’t see themselves reflected on screen. When they do, it’s often through stories that focus on stereotypes, trauma, or painful coming out

So proud to have worked with @ginahara.com and the team at Pink Triangle Press on this foundational research project.

The PTP Pink Paper is a first-of-its kind report looking at on-screen and behind-the-scenes 2SLGBTQIA+ representation in Canada's screen industries. 🏳️‍🌈

pinkpaper.ca

Game changer: A labour group in Québec is pushing for a province-wide video game workers’ union No video game workers are currently unionized in Québec, but a new labour partnership is looking to change that.

New piece up for The Conversation, where I contextualize the recent partnership between GWU Montreal and CSN and what it could mean for the Quebec game industry!

An advertisement for the Open Hardware Summit, featuring a photograph of hand hovering over a small electronic device. The text above it reads: "Open Hardware Summit, May 3+4, Montreal, Canada. Get Tickets Now!"

A photograph of a Game Boy, modded with a solar panel, sitting in a planter in the sun.

Join me and @alexcustodio.com at this year's Open Hardware Summit in Montreal!

We'll be tabling on May 3 with some cool modded Game Boys and showing folks how to swap the batteries on their cartridges.

Tickets and details available here: 2024.oshwa.org

A poster that reads: "I'm presenting at the 2024 Open Hardware summit May 3rd & 4th in Montreal, Canada." There is also a picture of a robot who is spewing out cables and chips and stuff (it's super rad).

Come join me at the OHS, where @alexcustodio.com and I will teach you how to fix/break/mod Game Boys!

www.oshwa.org/2023/08/21/o...

Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra taken offline as collateral damage in Yuzu lawsuit settlement Yuzu's developers also founded Citra in 2014, forcing them to discontinue "Yuzu's support of Citra" after Nintendo lawsuit.

While I'm not surprised to see Yuzu down, I'm sad to see 3DS emulator Citra go down with it. The 3DS was discontinued in 2020 and the eShop in 2023. On April 8, Nintendo will close their online features, leaving few avenues to play or study 3DS games as they are now.

www.pcgamer.com/software/nin...

Ottawa Green Software Foundation Meetup (Hybrid Event) - Feb 2024, Tue, Feb 13, 2024, 9:00 AM | Meetup This is the 3rd Green Software Foundation meetup in Ottawa. The event will be hybrid (in-person or online). Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn, connect, and engag

Tomorrow morning, I'll be talking about solar-powered Game Boys and eco-modding practices as part of the hybrid Green Software Foundation meetup. Join us online (or in Ottawa) for some larger conversations around greener software practices.

www.meetup.com/gsf-canada/e...

Playing with the Past - Panel Discussion from "Time in a Bottle" Symposium This panel discussion is one of four panels from "Time in a Bottle", a symposium and research-creation showcase featuring works related to nostalgia by stud...

Dissatisfied with the way a retro past is remade? Feeling a nostalgic disjuncture? Want to mod a new past the way it was? Where is hometown in nostalgia?

Listen to @alexcustodio.com @marclaje.bsky.social and @bowmanspartan.bsky.social’s panel at TIME IN A BOTTLE

youtu.be/HZolsjRhqi0?...

New modding guide! This time, @michaeliantorno.com and I tackled the GBA Consolizer.

This was the most complex mod we've done so far and a great learning experience. Here, we document the process and reflect on the mod's technical and aesthetic priorities.

www.alexcustodio.com/mod-guide-gb...

A pink modded game boy with a teal screen sits on a white background. Pokemon Green is being played.

New modding guide up this morning, this time for the FunnyPlaying IPS LCD for the Game Boy Pocket!

@alexcustodio.com and I have been making these to document our work at the Residual Media Depot and to question what makes a "good" mod tutorial.

michaeliantorno.com/mod-guide-ga...

Excited to be talking about eco-modding practices alongside the Green Software Foundation next week!

Join us online or stop by in person if you're in Montreal. Details below! 👾

www.meetup.com/gsf-canada/e...

Change the Rules Launch We will be launching our comic and white paper on alternative modes of videogame production Friday Sept. 29 4-6pm in Montreal at Concordia (LB-103, 1400 De Maisonneuve Blvd. W.) (Facebook event). Phys...

This Friday is the MTL launch event for "If You Don’t Like the Game, Change the Rules", a comic and white paper that discuss worker co-ops, unions, and labour issues in the game industry.

Join @omarieclaire.bsky.social and I as we host a panel with @seemo.bsky.social, Jess Marcotte, & Carolyn Jong!

Ever wanted to backlight your Game Boy Pocket?

@michaeliantorno.com and I have you covered! As part of our research at the Residual Media Depot, we're writing a series of straightforward tutorials.

Our first post walks you through backlighting an MGB: www.alexcustodio.com/mod-guide-mgb-backlight

Alex Custodio

Hi Bluesky!

I'm a PhD student who researches handheld videogame platforms and the communities that hack, modify, and play with them.

Recent projects also include cataloguing early home computing systems and exploring the affordances of solar energy in gaming.

You can find more at alexcustodio.com