Games, Gamers, Gaming: Nonfiction Works About Games and the People Who Love Them

"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."--Publisher.

Get transported back to the golden age of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the acclaimed run & gun game, Cuphead! Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the 1930's. Take a gander at the game's traditional hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead's characters, bosses, stages and more including never-before-seen content from the upcoming DLC! Relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman's adventure to reclaim their souls from The Devil, all in a way you've never seen before! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a one-of-a-kind trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover an all-new appreciation for Cuphead's animation style and challenging retro gameplay. Dark Horse Books and Studio MDHR are thrilled to present The Art of Cuphead! This vintage-style art extravaganza is the perfect book for fans of Cuphead!

A comprehensive overview of the evolution of video games covering topics such as, "Atari revolution;" "rise of cartridge-based consoles;" American video game industry; international video game industry; "Apple Mac;" "Nintendo Entertainment System;" Sega video games; PlayStation video games; and "girl gaming."

"Since the publication of the second edition, many changes have occurred in the games industry, from an increase in multitouch screen platforms to a rise in smaller teams and development companies and more independent designers. This third edition expands discussions of new platforms and genres of play as well as processes, such as agile development (SCRUM). This edition emphasizes how to work with analytics to improve game play experience and the commercial viability of games. It also includes interviews with a number of independent designers"-- Provided by publisher.

"In the tradition of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball, a behind-the-scenes business thriller about how the small, scrappy Sega, led by one unlikely visionary, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and changed the face of entertainment"-- Provided by publisher.

Traces the history and development of video games, providing information on the first games, influential developers, how the games have changed over the years, and the most popular games.

If you think a gang of real-life geeks can't take on the world and win big...think again. And whatever you do, don't sit down across a gaming table from Jon Finkel, better known as Jonny Magic. Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids is his amazing true story: the jaw-dropping, zero-to-hero chronicle of a fat, friendless boy from New Jersey who found his edge in a game of cards-and turned it into a fortune!

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history- Doom and Quake- until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry's greatest story, written by one of the medium's leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry - a powerful and compassionate account of what it's like to be young, driven, and wildly creative.

For nearly four decades, video games have captured the imaginations and drawn the ire of people around the world. Actors play them. Rappers promote them. Politicians want to control them. Even baseball legends make them. Video games are a cultural crossroads where business, entertainment, and technology converge. Sales of video games, hardware, and accessories reach upwards of $20 billion every year in the United States alone, and more than two-thirds of American households include video games in their daily lives. In a world that seems overflowing with fortune and success, the vicious truth of this booming industry can be easily forgotten: failure is tradition. And while there are a few businesses that have withstood the test of time, most startups exit as quickly as they enter. Many firms are outpaced by the explosive worldwide growth and economic realities of the industry. In this groundbreaking anthology, successful founders of entertainment software companies reflect on the challenges and how they survived. "This is the first time that a history of the video-game industry has been told through the personal stories of the entrepreneurs who pushed the business forward. [...] Gamers at Work is a critical resource for new and experienced business leaders—for anyone who feels unprepared for the demanding and seemingly insurmountable trials ahead of them." —Peter Molyneux OBE, Creative Director, Microsoft Studios Europe Featured Interviews Trip Hawkins , founder of Electronic Arts ( Madden NFL ) Nolan Bushnell , cofounder of Atari ( Pong ) Wild Bill Stealey , cofounder of MicroProse Software ( Sid Meier's Civilization ) Tony Goodman , cofounder of Ensemble Studios ( Age of Empires ) Feargus Urquhart , cofounder of Obsidian Entertainment ( Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II ) Tim Cain , cofounder of Troika Games ( Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura ) Warren Spector , founder of Junction Point Studios ( Disney Epic Mickey ) Doug & Gary Carlston , cofounders of Broderbund Software ( Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? ) Don Daglow , founder of Stormfront Studios ( Neverwinter Nights and Tony La Russa Baseball ) John Smedley , cofounder of Verant Interactive ( EverQuest ) Ken Williams , cofounder of Sierra On-Line ( King's Quest and Leisure Suit Larry ) Lorne Lanning , cofounder of Oddworld Inhabitants ( Oddworld ) Chris Ulm , cofounder of Appy Entertainment ( FaceFighter and Trucks & Skulls ) Tobi Saulnier , founder of 1st Playabl...

"You've got your dream job--making video games. You have a great project, great designs, and clever controls. One morning, you get a call from your producer. Turns out that wall-jumping trick won't work because the artists don't have time to design a separate animation just for the plumber to move that way. Also, your lead designer keeps micromanaging the programmers, which is driving them crazy. Your E3 demo is due in two weeks, and you know there's no way you can get it done in less than four. You'll have to cut out some of the game's biggest features just to hit your deadlines. And suddenly the investor is asking if maybe you can slash that $10 million budget down to $8 million, even if you have to fire a few people to make it happen? Welcome to video game development. In his years covering the industry, Jason Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Schreier takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. His reputation for great storytelling and fly-on-the-wall detail will provide readers with the clearest picture yet of what actually goes on behind the scenes. Each chapter will cover a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams. The chapters will also focus on a variety of subjects in the process, from building the basics to adjusting for fan reaction post-launch. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels will give readers an unparalleled inside look at one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world"-- Provided by publisher.

"The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and a very opaque one. Based on dozens of firsthand interviews and covering the development of landmark games including Bioshock: Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more, and through the studios'shocking closures, this book will tell the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns -- and how and if they recover. Jason Schreier has made a name for himself as gaming's preeminent investigative journalist. In PRESS RESET, through countless of insider interviews that cover hostile takeovers, abusive bosses, corporate drama, bounced checks, and that one time the Boston Red Sox's Curt Schilling decided he was going to lead a game studio that would take out World of Warcraft, Schreier covers not only why video games are so hard to make, he explores why it's so hard to make a living making games in the first place"-- Provided by publisher.

Insider's views highlight Brian Hersch, Richard Tait and Whit Alexander, George Parker, Mike Fitzgerald, Alan Moon, Jordan Wissman, Paul Randles, and various publishers.