The Video Game Book Thread
In addition to playing video games, I love reading about them. This thread is for sharing opinions on the ones I have read and receiving opinions on ones I haven't. More gaming books are being made than ever before, and I'm falling behind. Most probably aren't worth purchasing but it would be nice to know which ones are.
I didn't bother including books focusing exclusively on strategies or artwork but they're certainly welcome here (that upcoming Yasushi Suzuki book looks nice). I prefer the historical books but ones on design and other aspects interest me, too.
---Some gaming books I have read---
Zap: The Rise and Fall of Atari
Scott Cohen, 1984
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...deater/Zap.jpg
Not including magazines, this was the first gaming history book I read. I borrowed it from my college library in '94. It covers Atari history from its inception to its decline in 1983. It was very informative for me at the time, and I would like to read it again. Howard Scott Warshaw has said it doesn't tell the whole story of Atari though which makes me wonder what else we don't know about the company.
Phoenix: The Fall and Rise of Home Videogames
Leonard Herman, 1994
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This has had two more editions, the latest being the 2001 release. I only have the original. This was a groundbreaking work for gaming history books as it was the first (as far as I know) to try and cover over 20 years worth. It does not include computer gaming aside from a few references.
Leonard's a cool guy judging by his posts at digitpress but he still does not consider computer games to be video games which I totally disagree with. Still, it's a must-own book for gaming history buffs, and nicely covers console gaming, especially for pre-NES stuff.
The Ultimate History of Video Games (original version from 2000 was called The First Quarter: A 25 Year History of Video Games
Steven Kent, 2001
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If I had to choose one gaming book, this would be it. Like Phoenix, it's an overview of popular and significant events in early arcade and console history The writing quality is better and there is a lot of content taken from interviews. My opinions are based on the second edition. I read the original has a lot more errors in it.
Overall, Kent's book is really awesome and informative. Aside from minor inaccuracies, the only complaints I have is that it leaves out computer gaming, and it focuses almost completely on the US market. I understand the book would have to more than double in size to fix that, though.
Also, I think it's important to note that these kind of history books are surveys of big events on the business side. Don't expect them to talk about obscure and underrated games.
Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children
David Sheff, 1993
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Despite the menacing name of the first edition, this isn't really an anti-Nintendo book. This is, however, still the definitive Nintendo business history book for covering until the beginning of the 16-bit era. Some people reading it years later weren't that impressed but I think it's important to note the state of gaming writing at its time.
Back in '93, gamer household names like Miyamoto and Yokoi weren't even being mentioned by Western magazines. The extent of Nintendo's monopolistic internal policies was not known by the gaming public either. This book unleashed it all.
Still, even with the spread of Nintendo history info on the internet in the past decade, I totally recommend reading it even if it is partly to blame for console-centric Nintendo fanboys putting the company on a pedestal for "saving" the industry after the Atari crash.
Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games
Geoffrey Loftus and Elizabeth Loftus, 1983
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...0at%20Play.jpg
I don't remember this well enough to say much on it.
Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984
Van Burnham, 2001
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../Supercade.jpg
Arcade Fever: The Fan's Guide to The Golden Age of Video Games
John Sellers, 2001
These are nice picture-focused books for fans of classic arcade games.
Videogames: In the Beginning
Ralph Baer, 2005
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Although some of the technical details don't interest me much, I love this book. With scans of old pictures and manuscripts, and plenty of descriptions, Baer explains how he came up with the earliest console designs. I think he has a tendency to downplay the importance of the few video games older than his but at least he mentions them here. The man's a visionary, and he deserves gamers' respect and support.
Trigger Happy: Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution
Steven Poole, 2000
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This is an interesting read that focused on the psychological and philosophical aspects of game design.
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture
David Kushner, 2003
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This is a great book on the history of id Software, very informative and entertaining. I will probably read it again soon.
Revolutionaries at Sony: The Making of the Sony Playstation and The Visionaries Who Conquered The World of Video Games
Reiji Asakura, 2000
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ies%20Sony.bmp
It's everything you want to know about Kutaragi and the struggles within Sony. It's not as interesting as Game Over was for Nintendo but it's worth reading.
High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games
Rusel DeMaria and Johnny Lee Wilson, 2002
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../Highscore.jpg
I really like this book although it has some issues. There are tons of nice pictures but it concentrates too much on ugly box art instead of screenshots. Also, the console sections feel tacked on and have a lot of errors. For PC gaming it's good but keep in mind it focuses almost entirely on North American developers. I'm amazed by how ignored older European-developed games are in this since plenty came out here. My opinions are based on the first edition.
Inside Electronic Game Design
Arnie Katz
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I read this but hardly remember it. It was well written but I guess I'm not that into the technical side of game design.
Joystick Nation
J.C. Herz, 1997
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I read this almost a decade ago but from what I remember it was decent. It covers a variety of stuff from history to social aspects. Don't expect mega-historical detail like Phoenix or Kent's books, though.
What Video Games Have to Teach us about Learning and Literacy
James Paul Gee, 2003
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This one is certainly unique. Gee's arguments about using design principles from good video games and applying them to schooling are compelling. This book was written by a linguist and is very academic in nature. I like it but there are a lot of terms to keep track of. I can see this being used as a university textbook. There are some spoilers in it, though (like Deus Ex's main story).
Electronic Plastic
Jaro Gieliens, Lopetz, Buro Destruct, and Robert Klanten, 2000
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...%20Plastic.jpg
This is a beautifully presented German book with tons of cool pictures of obscure dedicated portable games from around the world.
Dungeons and Dreamers: The Rise of Computer Game Culture from Geek to Chic
Brad King and John Borland, 2003
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Western RPG fans will probably like this; others may not. It has a lot of background on Richard Garriott.
Video Kids
I forget the author and year but I think it was called this. It was the typical negative view of gaming held by many in the older generation. The author was retarded enough to claim games to be racist because you fight Asians in so many of them. I don't recommend this book.
The Video Games Guide: From Pong to Playstation3, Over Forty Years of Computer and Video Games
Matt Fox, 2007
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I only skimmed through this at Chapters and decided quickly it wasn't worth buying. It's a collection of short reviews with 5 star rating systems (I disagreed with a lot of scores I saw). I can get a wider variety of reviews for all these games on the internet.
The Book of Games: Volume 1 - The Ultimate Guide to PC and Video Games
Bendik Stang, 2006
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I only skimmed the one, too. It has lots of nice glossy pictures and descriptions for games on post-Dreamcast systems. I couldn't justify buying it though as it seems to stick to mostly mainstream info and pictures I can find on the internet. It's probably best for casual gamers but I will give it a more thorough look next time I'm at the book store.
---Some gaming books I have not read---
Video Games & Interactive Media: A Glimpse at New Digital Entertainment
Stephane Natkin, 2006
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I have it right beside me but haven't read it yet.
Video Games: A Complete Guide
Len Buckwalter, 1977
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I haven't seen this but I'm quite intrigued as it's one of the earliest books on gaming. Here's the paperback release - I love how '70s video game pics often show women abnormally excited about video games.
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Confessions of the Game Doctor
Bill Kunkel, 2005
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This is on my to-buy list. It's about the founders of gaming's first magazine, Electronic Games.
Electronic Games
Frank D'Ignazio, 1982
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This isn't related to the magazine of the same name as far as I can tell.
Video Games
Daniel Cohen, 1982
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The Encyclopedia of Game Machines: Consoles, Handhelds and Home Computers 1972-2005
Winnie Forster, 2005
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21st Century Game Design
Chris Bateman and Richard Boon, 2005
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Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling
Chris Crawford, 2004
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I like reading Crawford's stuff so I will get around to this some day.
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Chris Kohler, 2005
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Based on reviews, my gut feeling says this book will anger me which is why I never bought it. A example quote from a review:
Quote:
Donkey Kong was the first game to tell a story from beginning to end.
This hints at the typical pro-Nintendo/Japan false historical information that permeates the industry. I would still like to read the book in case I'm wrong about it.
Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution
Dean Takahashi, 2002
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...the%20Xbox.jpg
On the Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore
Brian Bagnall, 2005
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This has a lot interviews with ex-Commodore people, both engineers and businessmen.
Video Fever: Entertainment? Education? or Addiction?
Charles Beamer, 1982
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The A-Z of Cool Computer Games
Jack Railton, 2005
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This is focused a lot on UK releases from what I gather.
ABC to the VCS
Leonard Herman, 1996 (second edition in 2005)
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...eater/ABC1.jpg
A directory of Atari 2600 games. With the second edition adding pictures, it's another one I would like to get.
Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer
Gordon Laing, 2004
Video Invaders
Steve Bloom, 1982
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The Video Game Bible: 1985-2002
Andy Slaven, 2002
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I think this is a price guide but it might have other information.
Digital Press Collector's Guide
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Digitpress.com already has their price guide in online form so I don't need it in print form. It's very handy for quickly checking rarity and value of console games.
Plus there's NEOGEOman's book which has a TNL thread - http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/s...ad.php?t=42097
There are a bunch more listed at these places, especially for design.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...nd_video_games
http://www.cyberroach.com/vidbook/us.htm
http://my.execpc.com/~krieg/VGBooks.htm
So, what have you read, and what would you like to read?