Bill Kunkel (gaming)
| Bill Kunkel | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 21, 1950 United States |
| Died |
September 4, 2011 (aged 61) United States |
| Other names | The Game Doctor |
| Occupation | Editor, writer |
Bill Kunkel (July 21, 1950 – September 4, 2011) was the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine in the early 1980s.[1] Kunkel was also editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks magazine from January 2007 until August 2007 when it ceased publication. His nickname was "The Game Doctor" based on a column he wrote for several magazines (including both versions of Electronic Games, VG&CE, EGM, and CGW) and game sites (including HappyPuppy.com, PostalNation.net and J2Games.com).
Kunkel was a game journalist, author of numerous strategy guides, a game designer, expert witness and taught several courses in Game Design for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He remained active in the industry until his death, having served as editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks during its final year of publication (2007). He continued to be active as a member of Running With Scissors and EIC of Postal Nation (PostalNation.net) and wrote regularly for J2Games.com. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Classic Gaming Expo in 1999 along with the other co-founders of the original Electronic Games magazine, Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley-Katz. The trio revived the Electronic Games title for several years in the early 1990s for Sendai/Decker. As Subway Software, the trio were involved as designers on well over a dozen video and computer games, including Bart's Nightmare (Acclaim) and Batman Returns (Konami).
Dubbed "The Grandfather of video game journalism," Kunkel published his memoirs under the title Confessions of The Game Doctor (RolentaPress.com). The Society of Professional Journalists honored this role by naming their awards for video game journalism the Kunkel Awards.[2]
Kunkel is also well known for having been a ground-breaking wrestling journalist and cartoonist beginning in the 1970s.
He wrote several comic book stories which published by DC Comics in 1977–1978 including Action Comics, "Madame Xanadu" in Doorway to Nightmare, and "Vigilante" in World's Finest Comics. At Marvel Comics, he wrote two issues of Marvel Team-Up in 1978–1979.[3] Starting in 1979, he wrote Richie Rich for Harvey Comics.
He was the "must-read" columnist during the early days of Pro Wrestling Torch playing a key part in turning the small newsletter into a wrestling newsletter powerhouse. Kunkel later moved to Wrestling Perspective as a featured columnist and cartoonist. Along with the Phantom of the Ring, Kunkel's work for Wrestling Perspective attracted respect and prestige to the publication.
Sources
- Interview with Bill Kunkel at the Wayback Machine (archived November 3, 2005) Miner 2049er Information Page, 2001.
References
- ↑ Blackman, Mark L. (September 6, 2011). "Fan/writer/magazine creator Bill Kunkel dies". SFScope.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ↑ SPJ.org
- ↑ Bill Kunkel at the Grand Comics Database
External links
- Bill 'The Game Doctor' Kunkel Lets Loose. gamasutra.com, December 12, 2005.
- Bill Kunkel Bio at classic gaming expo
- Bill Kunkel Interview at good deal games.
- Bill Kunkel Interview at 8bitrocket.com.