Ars Technica • 8th October 2022

The actor who claims he co-created Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat‘s digitized martial artists went to court for more credit in the ’90s.

Ars Technica • 2nd April 2022

The punch that changed Mortal Kombat history

A punch-filled excerpt from upcoming history book Long Live Mortal Kombat.

Apogee Entertainment • 29th January 2026

Duke Nukem 3D 30th Anniversary Tribute - FPS: First Person Shoter

On the 30th anniversary of Duke Nukem 3D, Apogee Entertainment posted the Duke Nukem 3D segment from the FPS: First Person Shooter documentary co-written and directed by David L. Craddock

22nd October 2025

24 Til Launch: The Making of Borderlands 4 Documentary

In the hours before Borderlands 4 launched on September 12, 2025, Shacknews visited Gearbox Software to interview developers about the game's development.

Shacknews • 15th February 2024

Perfect Run: The Quest to Master Resident Evil 2 and Make GDQ History

For all the speedrun records set and broken at Games Done Quick (GDQ), no one had ever finished a game without taking damage. One speedrunner set out to change that.

John Romero • 10th December 2023

DOOM's 30th Anniversary Stream with John Romero, John Carmack, and David L. Craddock

Watch as David L Craddock moderates a chat between John Romero and John Carmack about Wolfenstein, DOOM and Quake. One hour of great conversation on DOOM's 30th Anniversary.

IGN • 9th May 2022

Wolfenstein 3D Devs Remember How Nintendo's Strict Censors Made Their Lives 'Miserable'

A new clip from FPS: First Person Shooter, an upcoming documentary about the rise of the genre with words from more than 45 well-known developers, showcases the origins of Wolfenstein 3D.

FPS: First Person Shooter • 28th April 2022

FPS: First Person Shooter (Indiegogo Trailer)

Check out the film’s Indiegogo campaign here: https://igg.me/at/fpsdoc. From the genre’s first tentative steps in Maze War to the first time your modem screeched at your friend’s computer and dropped both of you in a Doom deathmatch, to Half-Life, Halo, and the shooters of today, FPS: First Person Shooter celebrates classics of the genre and their creators. Now in post-production, FPS: First Person Shooter features interviews with over 45 gaming legends.

Kotaku • 18th March 2021

X-COM’s Beloved Tactical Gameplay Took Months To Get Just Right

In this excerpt from Monsters in the Dark: The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense, Julian and designers from publisher MicroProse UK reveal how the atmosphere of the game (known as UFO: Enemy Unknown in the UK) added even more tension to the blink-and-you’re-dead tactical gameplay.

Shacknews • 13th November 2020

Bet on Black: How Microsoft and Xbox Changed Pop Culture, Part 1

From Adventure and Minesweeper to Age of Empires and Halo and beyond, explore Microsoft's history in the PC and video game industries. Based on over 100 hours of interviews.

Google Docs • 10th November 2020

Green Machine: Launching the Xbox - Script

Complete script for "Green Machine: Launching the Xbox," a 30-minute feature production scripted and directed by David L. Craddock and produced by Shacknews.com.

Shacknews • 10th November 2020

Green Machine: Launching the Xbox

Following a disastrous showing at E3 and posttraumatic stress stemming from 9/11, Microsoft's Xbox team pushes forward to launch its premiere game console. A 30-minute documentary produced by Shacknews chronicling the launch of the original Xbox game console.

Shacknews • 11th September 2020

Never Forget: Traveling with the Xbox team on 9/11

In the home stretch to release the original Xbox, Microsoft developers find themselves in an America forever changed by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Shacknews • 15th May 2020

Work From Quarantine: How COVID-19 Has Upended Game Development

Developers from Amazon Games, Techland, Behaviour Interactive, and more discuss the pros and cons of making games during a global pandemic.

9th March 2020

Where in North Dakota is Carmen Sandiego? – Video Game History Foundation

You all know Carmen Sandiego, but do you know about her most obscure caper? Back in 1989 – somewhere between her jetsetting adventures Where in Europe and her chrono-conquest in Where in Time, Carmen took an odd detour to the Peace Garden State – North Dakota.

Ars Technica • 14th September 2019

How a basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600

Kitchen gritted his teeth. His replica of the construction site, Donkey Kong's first level, was almost perfect. Steel girders, a flaming barrel, a little man in red-and-blue overalls, an ape at the top. There was just one glaring, maddening difference. His platforms refused to bend. That was going to be a problem.

Polygon • 13th September 2019

Nearly 30 years ago, Mortal Kombat’s blood forever changed the video game industry

Two engineers from Midway pulled their truck up to an arcade, threw open the shutter door, and rolled out a plain black cabinet. They wheeled it into the cool, dimly lit den of flashing screens and plugged it in near two of Capcom’s Street Fighter 2 machines. Then they waited. “It was like stepping into a ring against Mike Tyson at his prime. But, we flipped the switch and sat back and watched,” said John Tobias, co-creator of Mortal Kombat.

Youtube • 12th June 2019

Live @ E3 2019: Arcade1Up's new Marvel and TMNT cabinets

E3 2019: Shacknews Long Reads Editor David L. Craddock interviews Arcade1Up's Aaron Wade, Director of PR, about the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel Super Heroes arcade cabinets.

Shacknews • 5th October 2018

24 'Til Launch - Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

24 'Til Launch is a new, recurring series of documentary-style videos created, scripted, and edited by the Shacknews staff. Each video goes behind the scenes to follow developers in the hours before a game’s launch. The inaugural 24 'Til Launch was shot over May 7 and 8 at this year at Obsidian Entertainment in Irvine, CA, ahead of the release of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.

Shacknews • 5th October 2018

Beneath a Starless Sky: Pillars of Eternity and the Infinity Engine Era of RPGs

From the Sword Coast to the Deadfire archipelago, Beneath a Starless Sky explores the making of the Infinity Engine RPGs, the history of Black Isle Studios, and the development of Obsidian Entertainment's Pillars of Eternity franchise.