Chapter Listing

Foreword by Rob O'Hara

"I never could have imagined that the publishing of what Jason Scott referred to as "the world's first BBS Memoir" would have inspired other people to share their own stories, but I'm so very glad it did. One such email came to me from Rob Strangman, author of Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman..." Excerpt


-Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman-

Rob relates tales of the games, people and experiences that made him into the "Virtual Caveman" that he is today. From his first experiences with gaming, the lifelong friends he made, his first experience with the game that made him "internet famous" in some corners of the 'net, and much, much more, here are Rob's tales from the virtual cave.


  • Press Start

  • Origins           

  • The Duffel Bag  Free Sample Chapter!      

  • StubborNES          

  • The Futility of War         

  • Never Judge a Game by its Screenshots      

  • Friendship Through Contra       

  • My World Would Never Be The Same     

  • One Little Victory           Free Sample Chapter!  

  • Gradius And Me         

  • Now, There Are No Limits      

  • Meeting Mr. Taylor         Free Sample Chapter!  

  • The Kid Who Stole Mega Man III      

  • Gradius III And Me         Free Sample Chapter!   

  • The Dark Side          

  • The Compulsive Peripheral Destroyer       

  • The Apartment         

  • Gradius II And Me         

  • Undefeated         

  • Rediscovering The NES           Free Sample Chapter!  

  • The OPCFG         

  • The Mod Chip          Free Sample Chapter!  

  • Arcade Memories       

  • Syntax Error        

  • "The Box" and Other Tales      

  • Religion and Gaming       

  • Let The Buyer Beware       

  • The Harriers        

  • The Great Crash       

  • The Return of Mr. Taylor      

  • Reconstruction        

  • My Girls, Future Gamers?      

  • Virtual Caveman

        
-Dispatches from the Game Cave-

Arcade and video games pervaded life in the 70's, 80's and beyond. The world, while it didn't revolve around games, was certainly shaped by them and Rob is far from the only "Virtual Caveman" in existence. Rob's fellow "Virtual Cavemen" (and Cave-women!) share their stories and experiences in the Dispatches from the Game Cave section. Enjoy their contributions and see other perspectives on growing up in the world of gaming.


  • SHING! by Sam Roberts       

  • The Ghosts of Arcades Past by Rob O'Hara      Free Sample Chapter!  

  • How I Gave Up Collecting To Take Up Playing by Earl Green  

  • Shooting Quarters with Bigfoot by Cat DeSpira      Free Sample Chapter!  

  • The Legend of Zeliard by Rondal Scott III      Free Sample Chapter!  

  • The Day The Pirates Invaded Montreal by Sarah Szefer    

  • More Than Just Games by Kenny Winder     

  • The Battle for the Atari by Rick Kelsey     

  • The First Step by Jared Bottorff      

  • Why I Felt Like a Jerk on the Best Day of My Life by Rob Budrick  

  • Boys, BBSes and Batteries by Karry Blank    

  • The Tragic Clown of Happiness by Karry Blank    

  • Bitterness and Bombs by David Bird     

  • Waiting For Marty by David Bird      

  • Asteroids and Me by Brett Weiss     

  • Gotta Get Me a Colecovision by Brett Weiss    

  • Mega Memories by Samantha McComb     

  • Videogames and Family Bonds by Samantha McComb   

  • Mega Man and the Mystery Machine by Ian "Yan" Hook   

  • When Dreams Become Reality by Ian "Yan" Hook   

  • My Super Nintendo Genesis by Steven "RVG Fanatic"   

  • King of the Karts by Steven "RVG Fanatic"    

  • The Summer of Imports by Steven "RVG Fanatic"     Free Sample Chapter!  

  • My Sega Saturn Saga by Steven "RVG Fanatic"    

  • Super NES Resurrection by Steven "RVG Fanatic"   

  • Genie Gaiden by Mike Plasket      

  • That Scary Green Guy by Mike Plasket     

  • Give Me Sega or Give Me Death by Mike Plasket    

  • That Was Now, This Is Then by Mike Plasket      Free Sample Chapter!  

  • The Greatest Five by Mike Plasket     

  • Ain't What It Used To Be by Mike Plasket    

  • Thirty Games in Thirty Days by William Cassidy    


-Interviews & More-

Over the years, Rob has been able to interview several notable figures in the video game industry, as well as pioneers in the video game journalism field. Those interviews, along with several other articles that don't fall into the other two sections of the book, have been archived in Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman.


  • Fake Geek Girls Aren't As Annoying As You Are by Haleigh Yonish

  • A Visit With The Game Doctor      

  • The OPCFG Interview with Yuzo Koshiro    

  • The OPCFG Interview with David Crane    Free Sample excerpt!     

  • The OPCFG Interview with Howard Scott Warshaw   

  • The OPCFG Interview with Martin Alessi      Free Sample excerpt!  

  • The OPCFG Interview with Jay Moon     

  • The OPCFG Interview with David Siller       Free Sample excerpt!  

  • The West Mansion Interviews with Dave Wilkins and Dan Tovar  

  • The West Mansion Interview with Caitlin Oliver    

  • The LSCM Interview with Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui   

  • The LSCM Interview with Allan Findlay     

  • Better Than The Arcade by Sam Roberts


The paperback is 472 pages packed cover to cover with stories, photographs and interviews. The e-book has the same content formatted in flowing plain text that is easily handled by most e-book readers. Autographed copies are available on a limited basis, please drop us a line to inquire about availability and ship time.


Whether you lived during this golden age or just wish you did, it's time to take a trip down memory lane and come back home to the wonderful world of retro-gaming!