Bill Kunkel

Bill Kunkel (July 21, 1950 – September 4, 2011) was a graphic novelist as well as pioneering professional wrestling and video game journalist and critic from the 1970s until his death in the early 2010s. During his time working with the video game industry, Kunkel authored numerous strategy guides, co-designed several video games, served as an expert witness in three court cases, and taught courses in Game Design for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Kunkel served as the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine and the editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks magazine, writing columns and comics for several magazines and game sites. He often wrote under nicknames, the most common of which were "The Game Doctor" (for video game topics), and "Potshot" (for professional wrestling topics).

Graphic novels and zines Coming from a professional music background in the 1960s, Kunkel met and became friends with fan newsletter/fanzine writers Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley in 1971 in New York City. Katz and Worley hosted monthly science fiction fanzine parties at their apartment and these were attended by several notable figures in the fanzine and comic scenes. At one of these parties, Kunkel met Denny O'Neil and their friendship led to Kunkel writing comics for DC, Marvel, and Harvey. Kunkel wrote several comic book stories which were 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. By the late 1970s, Kunkel's freelancing efforts for Harvey had led to his becoming the primary scripter for the Richie Rich comics. and hosted weekly broadcasts of The Main Event Radio Show from New York. Main Event was mimeographed in the apartment of Katz and Worley, and sold through WWWF concession stands at prominent East Coast venues including Madison Square Garden and The Philly Spectrum. Kunkel soon became a "must-read" columnist and played a key part during the early days of Pro Wrestling Torch in turning the small newsletter into a wrestling newsletter powerhouse. Adopting the moniker, "Potshot", 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.

During the late 1980s, Kunkel co-designed the first professional WWF-based wrestling video game, MicroLeague Wrestling (C64, Subway Software), and in 1989 he co-hosted a local Las Vegas professional wrestling radio show with Ric "Hotline" Carter. with Katz writing under the pseudonym "Frank T. Laney II".

Although Video publisher, Jay Rosenfield (of Reese Publishing Co.) had initial concerns over whether there was sufficient reader interest to justify Arcade Alley, the column proved to be of significant interest to readers. Working in direct consultation with game designers, Kunkel, Katz (who began writing under his real name starting in April 1982 and by 1981 they had secured the blessing of Rosenfield to launch a new magazine under Reese Publishing that would be entirely dedicated to video games. The first issue of Electronic Games, and first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States, was released in October 1981.

Bill Kunkel was the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine in the early 1980s. Kunkel was also editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks magazine from January 2007 until August 2007 when it ceased publication. Following staff cuts at Reese Publications in 1984–1985, Kunkel left Reese to join his two lifelong friends, Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley (who had both been laid off) and formed Katz Kunkel Worley, Inc. (KKW) to focus on journalistic content,

Video game design In the mid-1980s, subsequent to their departure from Reese Publications, Kunkel formed Subway Software with Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley and provided design for over 15 video games. Borrowed Time (1985) MicroLeague Wrestling (1987) The Three Stooges (1987) - Kunkel credited separately for Game Manual and Documentation Ringling Bros. Circus Games (1988) Star Trek: First Contact (1988) 1st Person Pinball (1989) Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (1989) Mayday Squad (1989) MicroLeague Baseball II (1989) Roller Coaster Rumbler (1989) Superman: The Man of Steel (1989) Beverly Hills Cop (1990) Omnicron Conspiracy (1990) Orb-3D (1990) Bart's Nightmare (1992) Batman Returns (1992) - Kunkel credited separately for Game Design Blood Bowl (1995) - Kunkel given Special Thanks Postal (1997) - Kunkel credited separately for Story and Cutscene Text Earth & Beyond (2002) - Kunkel credited separately as a Writer

Expert witness Kunkel's credentials as an expert in the field of video games was recognized in three US court cases from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, where Kunkel served as an expert witness in three seminal video game copyright cases: Atari, Inc. v. North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp. - Kunkel testified that Philips K.C. Munchkin was a significantly different game from Atari's Pac-Man—evidence suggesting that a copyright violation by Philips had not occurred. Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. - Kunkel provided dollar estimates for the amount of damage Nintendo had done to Galoob in enjoining the release of the Game Genie cheat cartridge until after the 1990 Christmas shopping season. Capcom U.S.A., Inc. v. Data East Corp. - Kunkel testified that Data East's Fighter's History was significantly different from Capcom's Street Fighter II—evidence suggesting that a copyright violation by Data East had not occurred.