shmuplations is a repository of translated Japanese game developer interviews, focusing on games from the 80s and 90s. Although the site began with a focus on shoot ’em ups (hence “shmuplations”), in the last year the founder has broadened the scope of the site to include retro games from all genres. It now contains over 300 translations, spanning from 1985 to 2014. Developer Interviews – Primary Sources for Video Game History There is an amazing wealth of information about Japanese video games that has never been shared with the West. This lamentable state of affairs has started to change in recent years thanks to the internet and the efforts of games journalists, but before 2000, only a minuscule fragment of information reached us. The founder spent last summer organizing the vast amount of untranslated materials she had available to her. You can see the results in this list: Those who pledge $2.00 or more a month can participate in bi-monthly posts where the founder solicits feedback about which interviews to translate next. The founder can do an average of 3 translations per month, updating about once a week. With more funding, the founder can increase that number proportionally, and if the Patreon campaign really takes off, the founder will be able to start doing new original interviews with game developers.
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