This book focuses on the history of video games, consoles, and home computers from the very beginning until the mid-nineties, which started a new era in digital entertainment. The text features the most innovative games and introduces the pioneers who developed them. It offers brief analyses of the most relevant games from each time period. An epilogue covers the events and systems that followed this golden age while the appendices include a history of handheld games and an overview of the retro-gaming scene.
Arcade Fever is a full-color illustrated history of video arcade games, with tributes to more than 50 classic games like Pong, Space Invaders, Pac Man, Q-Bert, Frogger, and TRON. Learn which game caused a yen shortage in Japan -- and which games inspired breakfast cereals, Saturday-morning cartoons, episodes of Seinfeld,and #1 pop-music singles. Meet the visionary musicians, writers, animators, cabinet artists, and other unsung heroes of the video game industry. The perfect gift for anyone who spent their childhood in video arcades, Arcade Fever is a pop-culture nostalgia trip you won't want to miss! John Sellers writes for Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, TV Guide, and other national magazines. He is also the author of Pop Culture Aptitude Test: Rad, 80s Version. He was the World Champion of Donkey Kong in 1983 and appeared on the television show "That's Incredible!"
In the early 1970s, video arcade games sprung to life in the form of Pong, Space Invaders, Asteroids, and Pac-Man, and if you were lucky enough to have an Atari system you could play Frogger or Galaga at home. By the 1980s, arcade and video games were entrenched as a pop culture phenomenon and were ubiquitous. But as quickly as the form took flight it began to change with the advent of hand-held games and more sophisticated home-gaming. Brian Eddy here traces the evolution of arcade video games, giving readers an inside look at the stratospheric rise-and transformation-of the industry.
Contributors examine the early days of video game history before the industry crash of 1983 that ended the medium’s golden age. Following the first appearance of arcade video games in 1971 and home video game systems in 1972, the commercial video game market was exuberant with fast-paced innovation and profit. New games, gaming systems, and technologies flooded into the market until around 1983, when sales of home game systems dropped, thousands of arcades closed, and major video game makers suffered steep losses or left the market altogether. In Before the Crash: Early Video Game History, editor Mark J. P. Wolf assembles essays that examine the fleeting golden age of video games, an era sometimes overlooked for older games’ lack of availability or their perceived "primitiveness" when compared to contemporary video games. In twelve chapters, contributors consider much of what was going on during the pre-crash era: arcade games, home game consoles, home computer games, handheld games, and even early online games. The technologies of early video games are investigated, as well as the cultural context of the early period—from aesthetic, economic, industrial, and legal perspectives. Since the video game industry and culture got their start and found their form in this era, these years shaped much of what video games would come to be. This volume of early history, then, not only helps readers to understand the pre-crash era, but also reveals much about the present state of the industry. Before the Crash will give readers a thorough overview of the early days of video games along with a sense of the optimism, enthusiasm, and excitement of those times. Students and teachers of media studies will enjoy this compelling volume.
Discover over 40 of the best-loved video games from the 80s and 90s and relive those awesome moments from your childhood. Discover over 40 of the best-loved video games from the 80s and 90s and relive those awesome moments from your childhood. Packed with creativity and charm, classic video games provide endless fun—one press of the power button and you’re instantly in pixelated paradise. But what are the ultimate games from this hallowed chapter in gaming history? Were you a Nintendo die-hard and Mario loyalist or seduced by Sonic and SEGA? Maybe you obsessed over GoldenEye or perhaps Tekken 3 on the Playstation was more your scene? Retro Games celebrates some of the most influential shoot-em-ups, platformers, role-players, and more that ripped up the rule book for what we believed video games were capable of. It’s a must read for anyone who has fallen in love with this golden age of gaming. How many have you completed?
For fans of Daniel Hardcastle's Fuck Yeah!, Videogames and Retro Tech by peter leigh. Equal parts hilarious and informative, Hey! Listen! should be in every gamer's library. - Lucy James, (Gamespot) An informative, accessible romp through the early years of the games industry. All hail Il pirata pallido; the gaming hero we never knew we needed. - Adam Rosser BBC Radio 5Live Steve McNeil is funny, knowledgeable, and a massive, shameless, nerd. His brilliant book reminded me just how much of my life I've wasted. If the Golden Age of Gaming is a horse, then Steve's book is the stable. - Paul Rose (aka Mr Biffo), Digitiser A thoroughly enjoyable look at the early days of video gaming - comprehensive and fun. Loved it! - Stuart Ashen (aka ashens) The 'A La Recherche du Temps Perdu' of the gaming community. The 'A La Recherche du Temps Pew-Pew-Pew', as it were. - Dara O'Briain If 'Games Master' was a Nobel title passed on through the ages like 'Duke of York' or 'Rear of the Year' rather than simply the name of a 90s magazine and TV show then Steve McNeil would surely be the current holder of the esteemed position. What I'm saying is, he knows a LOT about games... - Scroobius Pip Taking us on a historical journey from the very early days all the way through to the late 1990s the book tells the stories of the men and women behind some of the most wonderful (and occasionally awful) games of the golden age, the fierce rivalries, bizarre business practices and downright bonkers risks taken during the pioneering days of computer and video gaming. This informal yet extremely well-researched book manages to educate and entertain in equal measure and this - dare I say - well-informed retrohead actually learnt a good deal. A thoroughly enjoyable read! - Mark Howlett (aka Lord Arse) Hugely funny, and full of fantastic facts about the history of video games. But enough about me; Steve's book is also quite good. - Ellie Gibson, Eurogamer A hilarious history of the golden period of computer games from the creator of Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit. It is fair to say Steve McNeil likes video games. He took a Nintendo Wii with him on his honeymoon (obviously), and spent so much time playing smartphone games in bed in the dark that he got eye strain and had to wear an eye patch. The locals nicknamed him 'the pale pirate'. Steve's obsession with video games can be traced back to the golden period from the early 70s to the late 90s. In this book he will delve into these games - from the appallingly bad to the breathtakingly good. He will also take us through the nerdy geniuses who created them, their fierce rivalries and risks often leading to some of the most farcical moments in the history of entertainment. This is a story of obsession, full of tales of Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Mario, Sonic, Wolfenstein 3D, Worms and many more. It will also answer important questions about the golden age. Questions like: Why did Namco feel they had to change the name of Puck-Man to Pac-Man because they were worried about graffiti, when Nintendo were more than happy to bring out Duck Hunt? Joysticks at the ready. Let's do a gaming!
Atari is one of the most recognized names in the world. Since its formation in 1972, the company pioneered hundreds of iconic titles including Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command. In addition to hundreds of games created for arcades, home video systems, and computers, original artwork was specially commissioned to enhance the Atari experience, further enticing children and adults to embrace and enjoy the new era of electronic entertainment. The Art of Atari is the first official collection of such artwork. Sourced from private collections worldwide, this book spans over 40 years of the company's unique illustrations used in packaging, advertisements, catalogs, and more. Co-written by Robert V. Conte and Tim Lapetino, The Art of Atari includes behind-the-scenes details on how dozens of games featured within were conceived of, illustrated, approved (or rejected), and brought to life! Includes a special Foreword by New York Times bestseller Ernest Cline author of Armada and Ready Player One, soon to be a motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. Whether you're a fan, collector, enthusiast, or new to the world of Atari, this book offers the most complete collection of Atari artwork ever produced!
This book focuses on the history of video games, consoles, and home computers from the very beginning until the mid-nineties, which started a new era in digital entertainment. The text features the most innovative games and introduces the pioneers who developed them. It offers brief analyses of the most relevant games from each time period. An epilogue covers the events and systems that followed this golden age while the appendices include a history of handheld games and an overview of the retro-gaming scene.
A gloriously illustrated history of the videogame and its legacy for both our mindscapes and video technology. It was a time when technology was king, status was determined by your high score, and videogames were blitzing the world... From Pong to Pac-Man, Asteroids to Zaxxon—more than fifty million people around the world have come of age within the electronic flux of videogames, their subconscious forever etched with images projected from arcade and home videogame systems. From the first interactive blips of electronic light at Brookhaven National Labs and the creation of Spacewar! at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; to the invention of the TV Game Project and the myriad systems of Magnavox, Atari, Coleco, and Mattel that followed; through the rise of the Golden Age of videogames and forward into the imagination of millions, Supercade is the first book to illustrate and document the history, legacy, and visual language of the videogame phenomenon. Exuberantly written and illustrated in full color, Supercade pays tribute to the technology, games, and visionaries of one of the most influential periods in the history of computer science—one that profoundly shaped the modern technological landscape and helped change the way people view entertainment. Supercade includes contributions from such commentators and particpants as Ralph Baer, Julian Dibbell, Keith Feinstein, Joe Fielder, Lauren Fielder, Justin Hall, Leonard Herman, Steven Johnson, Steven Kent, Nick Montfort, Bob Parks, Carl Steadman, and Tom Vanderbilt.
In Extra Lives, acclaimed writer and life-long video game enthusiast Tom Bissell takes the reader on an insightful and entertaining tour of the art and meaning of video games. In just a few decades, video games have grown increasingly complex and sophisticated, and the companies that produce them are now among the most profitable in the entertainment industry. Yet few outside this world have thought deeply about how these games work, why they are so appealing, and what they are capable of artistically. Blending memoir, criticism, and first-rate reportage, Extra Lives is a milestone work about what might be the dominant popular art form of our time.
