The Media Snatcher
The Media Snatcher

Author: Carl Therrien

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-10-08

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 0262042908

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An in-depth exploration of a neglected video game platform of the 1990s and a reflection on the way we construct the cultural history of video games. In The Media Snatcher, Carl Therrien offers an in-depth exploration of NEC's PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, a little-studied video game platform released in the late 1980s. The PC Engine was designed to bring technological expandability to the world of game consoles; The Media Snatcher's subtitle evokes some of the expansions and the numerous rebranded versions of the system released by NEC, including the first CD-ROM add-on in video game history. The platform makers hoped that expandability would allow its console to remain at the cutting edge and even catch up with such perceptually rich media as cinema and anime. More than a simple shape-shifter, the PC Engine became a media snatcher. Therrien examines the multidirectional interactions of video game technologies, commercial structures, and cultural dynamics. He considers, among other things, hyperbolic marketing and its impact on how we construct video game history; glitches, technological obsolescence, and the difficulty of conducting media archaeology of the recent past; the emergence of male-centered power fantasies through audiovisual rewards; the rise of original genres such as visual novels; and the sustained efforts to integrate PC Engine software in the sprawling media landscape of Japan (where the PC Engine found much of its success). Avoiding the usual techno-industrial glorification, Therrien recounts the bold technological aspirations of the platform makers and the struggles to make the actual technology realize its potential.

The Body Snatcher’s Wife
The Body Snatcher’s Wife

Author: Barbra Reifel

Publisher: Post Hill Press

Published: 2019-10-29

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1642933198

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Barbra Reifel, former wife of notorious Body Snatcher Michael Mastromarino, has appeared on Oprah, Nancy Grace, ID Discovery, and Lifetime. Never before has her raw account been laid so bare. Fairytale shattered, deceit and danger beyond her wildest nightmares, betrayal, addiction, abuse, ultimate crime, and utter destruction beyond reason—her riveting story is one of so many. To survive, protect her children and family, and combat the monster who was her husband, Barbra evolved…a dreamer turned badass, playing his game to the bittersweet end.

The Media in the Movies
The Media in the Movies

Author: Larry Langman

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-07-11

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 147660925X

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Cynical news hounds, grumbling editors, snooping television newscasters, inquisitive foreign correspondents, probing newsreel cameramen, and a host of others--all can be found in this reference work to Hollywood's version of journalism: from the early one-reelers to modern fare, over a thousand silent and sound films can be found. Each entry includes title, date of release, distributor, director, screenwriter, and major cast members. These credits are followed by a brief plot summary and analysis, cross-references and other information. The book is arranged alphabetically, and includes a preface, introduction, bibliography, a list of abbreviations, appendices, and an index of names. The detailed introduction covers an historical survey of the topic, with numerous film examples. The work also includes a selection of stills from various films.

Mainstreaming and Game Journalism
Mainstreaming and Game Journalism

Author: David B. Nieborg

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2023-09-26

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 0262546280

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Why games are still niche and not mainstream, and how journalism can help them gain cultural credibility. Mainstreaming and Game Journalism addresses both the history and current practice of game journalism, along with the roles writers and industry play in conveying that the medium is a “mainstream” form of entertainment. Through interviews with reporters, David B. Nieborg and Maxwell Foxman retrace how the game industry and journalists started a subcultural spiral in the 1980s that continues to this day. Digital play became increasingly exclusionary by appealing to niche audiences, relying on hardcore fans and favoring the male gamer stereotype. At the same time, this culture pushed journalists to the margins, leaving them toiling to find freelance gigs and deeply ambivalent about their profession. Mainstreaming and Game Journalism also examines the bumpy process of what we think of as “mainstreaming.” The authors argue that it encompasses three overlapping factors. First, for games to become mainstream, they need to become more ubiquitous through broader media coverage. Second, an increase in ludic literacy, or how-to play games, determines whether that greater visibility translates into accessibility. Third, the mainstreaming of games must gain cultural legitimacy. The fact that games are more visible does little if only a few people take them seriously or deem them worthy of attention. Ultimately, Mainstreaming and Game Journalism provocatively questions whether games ever will—or even should—gain widespread cultural acceptance.

The Child Snatcher
The Child Snatcher

Author: Aria Johnson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2016-10-25

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1501119141

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With the same gripping tension of The Girl on the Train and The Good Girl, The Child Snatcher tells the suspenseful story of a mother trying to save her lazy son from himself and then from an enigmatic woman of dubious character who seems determined to systematically destroy her small family. Claire Wilkins is at her wits’ end with her son, Brandon, a college dropout who spends his time lounging around the house. Claire, tired of seeing him waste his life playing video games and trolling the internet, gives him an ultimatum: get a job, get back to school…or get out. Brandon decides to move in with a total stranger that he met in an online porn chat room. This mysterious young woman, Ava, abruptly leads him down a dark path into a dangerous world. Terrified for her now distant son, Claire tries to entice Brandon to return home and discovers the true nature of his toxic and abusive relationship with Ava. But her world explodes when Brandon does the unthinkable. Her only glimmer of hope is discovering that Brandon and Ava are expecting a child. Claire believes she coddled Brandon too much and that she was a terrible mother. But maybe she can get a second chance and be a much better grandparent. Unfortunately, Ava’s plan for hers and Brandon’s child does not include Claire. In fact, Ava’s plan is so nefarious that Claire is willing to risk everything, including her life, to save her innocent grandson. A spellbinding race against time, The Child Snatcher is a timely and terrifying thrill ride that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the final page.

Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima

Author: Bryan Hikari Hartzheim

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2023-08-24

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13:

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An exploration of the influential work of Hideo Kojima, creator of cinematic titles such as the blockbuster Metal Gear Solid franchise, which has moved over 50 million units globally, as well as Snatcher, Policenauts, and Death Stranding. As the architect of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima is synonymous with the “stealth game” genre, where tension and excitement is created from players avoiding enemies rather than confronting them. Through the franchise, Kojima also helped to bridge the gap between games and other forms of media, arguing that games could be deep experiences that unearthed complex emotions from players on the same level as films or novels. Drawing on archives of interviews in English and Japanese with Kojima and his team, as well as academic discourses of social/political games and cinematic narrative/world-building, this book examines Kojima's progressive game design as it applies to four key areas: socially-relevant narratives, cinematic aesthetics, thematically-connected systems, and reflexive spaces.

The Mummy Snatcher of Memphis
The Mummy Snatcher of Memphis

Author: Natasha Narayan

Publisher: Quercus

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1623652952

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When Kit Salter and her friends peek at a famed mummy in a museum chamber, they are shocked to discover rattles and moans coming from the box . . . Inside is an Egyptian stowaway, determined to return a looted scarab and save his village. When the mummy is stolen too, the ensuing adventures puts the children fast on the heels of a villainous East End mob, and right into the heart of the Western Desert. But as the story climaxes in a temple, the villains and Kit find they have underestimated a stronger force--the terrible power of ancient Egypt . . . A fabulous first book in an exciting series set during the Age of Empire.

Intellivision
Intellivision

Author: Tom Boellstorff

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2024-11-05

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0262549506

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The engaging story of Intellivision, an overlooked videogame system from the late 1970s and early 1980s whose fate was shaped by Mattel, Atari, and countless others who invented the gaming industry. Astrosmash, Snafu, Star Strike, Utopia—do these names sound familiar to you? No? Maybe? They were all videogames created for the Intellivision videogame system, sold by Mattel Electronics between 1979 and 1984. This system was Atari’s main rival during a key period when videogames were moving from the arcades into the home. In Intellivision, Tom Boellstorff and Braxton Soderman tell the fascinating inside story of this overlooked gaming system. Along the way, they also analyze Intellivision’s chips and code, games, marketing and business strategies, organizational and social history, and the cultural and economic context of the early US games industry from the mid-1970s to the great videogame industry crash of 1983. While many remember Atari, Intellivision has largely been forgotten. As such, Intellivision fills a crucial gap in videogame scholarship, telling the story of a console that sold millions and competed aggressively against Atari. Drawing on a wealth of data from both institutional and personal archives and over 150 interviews with programmers, engineers, executives, marketers, and designers, Boellstorff and Soderman examine the relationship between videogames and toys—an under-analyzed aspect of videogame history—and discuss the impact of home computing on the rise of videogames, the gendered implications of play and videogame design at Mattel, and the blurring of work and play in the early games industry.

Encyclopedia of Video Games [3 volumes]
Encyclopedia of Video Games [3 volumes]

Author: Mark J. P. Wolf

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2021-05-24

Total Pages: 1365

ISBN-13: 1440870209

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Now in its second edition, the Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming is the definitive, go-to resource for anyone interested in the diverse and expanding video game industry. This three-volume encyclopedia covers all things video games, including the games themselves, the companies that make them, and the people who play them. Written by scholars who are exceptionally knowledgeable in the field of video game studies, it notes genres, institutions, important concepts, theoretical concerns, and more and is the most comprehensive encyclopedia of video games of its kind, covering video games throughout all periods of their existence and geographically around the world. This is the second edition of Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming, originally published in 2012. All of the entries have been revised to accommodate changes in the industry, and an additional volume has been added to address the recent developments, advances, and changes that have occurred in this ever-evolving field. This set is a vital resource for scholars and video game aficionados alike.

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher
The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher

Author: Molly Bang

Publisher: Turtleback Books

Published: 1996-05

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780785791461

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Pursued by the determined Strawberry Snatcher, who silently, steadily, stealthily stalks her on her way home, the Grey Lady manages to elude her pursuer in marvelously improbable ways