In Memory of The Game Doctor

“And Bill Kunkel is most worthy of the praise, and respect, of every video and computer gamer. He’s in the Electronic Gaming Hall of Fame for a reason.

Or rather, many reasons.“ – Arnie Katz, foreword of Confessions of the Game Doctor.

It is extremely unfortunate to have to type this, but this weekend, Bill “The Game Doctor” Kunkel, one of the forefathers of modern gaming journalism, passed away. Bill, along with Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley, pioneered video game journalism, starting with the Arcade Alley column in Video magazine during the late 1970’s, then moving on to writing a full magazine on gaming, Electronic Games Magazine, in the early 1980’s. Bill had been heavily involved in the gaming industry as a journalist for Electronic Games Magazine, Tips and Tricks, Video Games and Computer Entertainment, J2Games, and EGM, among others, for the last three decades, but that wasn’t the only hat he wore during his time in the industry. Over the course of his life, Bill spent time as a game designer as a part of Subway Software, a gaming consultant, an expert witness, and perhaps most importantly, a fan and lover of gaming and the industry in general, and his impact on that industry is still felt today.

Outside of his time in the gaming industry, Bill was also a comic writer for Marvel, DC, Harvey and other publishers, as well as an accomplished wrestling writer, having written for both Pro Wrestling Torch and Wrestling Perspective. Bill also spent time as a college professor, teaching a class on game design at the University of Nevada at Los Vegas, and by all indications, he was a pretty solid musician as well. One thing that Bill certainly was, and still is, is respected; Bill was a man who made many friends throughout the industry, as well as outside of it, and it speaks well of him as a member of the industry and as a person that he left us beloved and ultimately poorer for the loss.

For those who may not be familiar with The Game Doctor, you can acquire his biography, “Confessions of the Game Doctor”, here.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to his friends and family.