Books about video games can be enchanting and inspiring, and as easy to dive into as the immersive medium that inspired them. Whether you’re looking to enjoy your hobby from new angles or just need something to read while lounging on the sand in the last ocean-friendly days of summer, I’ve put together a short list of great video game books that span many interests and topics.
The console nerd’s almanac
The console nerd’s almanac
The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox by Evan Amos is a thick photo-forward archive of over 100 consoles sliced into shiny layers of plastic. Amos began producing and publicly disseminating high-quality images of consoles in 2010 after becoming “annoyed by low-quality images on Wikipedia”, as he wrote in a 2013 blog.
The game console 2.0 is a sweet presentation of the fruits of his labor – consoles large and small erupt into layers like bipartite models of the Earth. This may interest you : The Hidden Sci-Fi Gem on Main Video That You Must Watch. The illuminating context and extreme care with which Amos presents his archive will entice anyone interested in looking at consoles from the inside out.
The book that shows how the sausage is made
The book that shows how the sausage is made
Image: HarperCollins/Bungie/Kotaku
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Kotaku alum Jason Schreier is an intense behind-the-scenes look at video game development hell. To see also : John Cena called Nintendo in 2017 to play a new 2D Metro game.
Schreier delves into the ins and outs of how all game development, from indies like Stardew Valley to massive “triple-A” productions like Destiny, push creators to their limits. Through 10 captivating stories, Schreier builds a disturbing picture of how hard-working developers juggle nerves and well-being to ship a game. But it’s sobering – you’ll be reminded of how much we give up to work.
The book that dissects game history
The book that dissects game history
Image: Random House / Bethesda / Kotaku To see also : 10 Video Games with the Best Fantastic Languages.
Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner is another laser-focused look at what goes on behind video games’ coded curtain. This time we go behind the scenes of the development of one of the most significant games ever, 1993’s Doom.
Kushner, a journalist and professor, spent years researching the history of id Software and interviewing co-founders John Carmack and John Romero. His resulting narrative harnesses the reverberations of their ultimately fractured relationship, creating an eternally relevant document of youth, friendship and the tattered history of modern gaming.
The book that susses out the future
The book that susses out the future
Photo: Columbia University Press / Kotaku / David Ramos (Getty Images)
The Immersive Enclosure: Virtual Reality in Japan by MIT professor Paul Roquet is an intriguing analysis of virtual reality as a new vessel for a polluted kind of individualism, a product of people withdrawing deeper into personal devices rather than the larger, collective the world. The book, published earlier this year — a year when people are increasingly disturbed by Mark Zuckerberg’s dystopian vision for virtual reality — calls for a more global approach to dissecting VR.
Roquet explores VR’s most popular applications in Japan. What does it mean for people to enter a virtual world? What does it mean for an older cis man to transform into a teenage girl? Roquet goes through these questions to holistically assess this new technology and its future.
The (fictional) dystopia
Image: Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Kotaku
Plowing the Dark by Richard Powers is the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist’s foray into VR’s more militaristic implications. In the novel, published in 2000, memory and imagination function as both prison and opportunity – a VR researcher loses herself in the empty white of the virtual space she creates, while a prisoner of war around the world is locked up, alone, in another. white room.
Plowing the Dark isn’t as explicitly about gaming as the other books on this list, but it will force you to consider what passion and technology help create in your life, whether it’s escapism or something else.
The book about gender
Image: Free Association Books/Kotaku
Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature by researcher and author Donna Haraway is a collection of essays about nature and the strange creatures therein written between 1978 and 1989. Now it’s 2022, and nature continues to confound us strange, increasingly technological . added creatures. We cling to our daily technology, screens, consoles and headsets, but unlike modern finger-wagging essays, Haraway makes a compelling case in favor of our current form: boundary-and-science-defying cyborgs.
These essays are one big push against rigid, binary thinking—especially in response to race, gender, and science—and it still resonates decades later.
The book that maps imagination
The book that maps imagination
Photo: Countryman Press/Kotaku
Virtual Cities: An Atlas & Exploration of Video Game Cities is an exciting convergence of fan service and, unexpectedly, urban planning, created by urbanist and game designer Konstantinos Dimopoulos and visual artist Maria Kallikaki.
The book, a crowd-funded work of knowledge and love, documents the history of and maps 45 video game cities. It pays indulgent attention to iconic video game locations like Raccoon City and Silent Hill with beautiful ink drawings and cartographic skills you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
The ideal picture book
Image: Udon Entertainment / Capcom / Kotaku
Okami Official Complete Works by Capcom is out of print and hard to get a copy outside of eBay…sorry! I put it last so you wouldn’t get mad at me!
But I put it on this list because it’s devastatingly beautiful, with some of the most lavish and playful printed concept art I’ve seen. It’s a true ode to Capcom’s fantastic action adventure Okami, and, more generally, an immortalization of the games’ demonstrated artistry, rendered in jet black ink.
This is just a small chocolate box of the many fascinating books about video games out there. What are some of your favorite reads? I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments.
Novelizations are essentially book-length descriptions of movies, usually not written by the author of the screenplay. They are the complete opposite of the more familiar practice of turning a book into a film.
Do you need permission to write a book?
Q: Do I need permission to write about someone, living or dead? A: Permission is technically not required if the subject of the biography is/was a public figure, unless their estate has created some kind of legal stronghold. There are rare cases where permission must be obtained before sharing any likeness or representation.
Is it illegal to write a book about someone without their consent? Even if everything you write about someone is absolutely true, you still need to consider their privacy. Invasion of privacy occurs when you publicly disclose private facts unrelated to public concern. As with defamation, only living people can sue for invasion of privacy.
Can anybody write and publish a book?
Technically, yes. But you need more than just the ability to write and the money or time to do all the other things that come with it.
Can any person write a book?
Anyone can write a book. It may be bad or incomprehensible, but so what: it is still a book and many published authors have not done better.
Do you need permission to write a true story?
First, a simple rule. If what you write about a person is positive or even neutral, you don’t have defamation or privacy issues. For example, you can thank someone by name in your confirmations without their permission. If you’re writing a non-fiction book, you can mention real people and real events.
What skills do I need to make a video game?
10 Skills You Need to Become a Video Game Designer
- Cooperation. The creation of a video game is not a solo project. …
- Pastime. …
- Critical thinking. …
- Effective communication. …
- Creativity. …
- Narrative skills. …
- Knowledge of multimedia development software. …
- Programming knowledge.
What skill is used in game design? Strong IT skills (programming, video graphics, and hardware) Since graphics and animation play a large role in video games, game designers must be familiar with character design, landscape design, and user interface design.
Who is the Very First Avenger?
1. Captain America: The First Avenger.
Who are the 6 original Avengers? The original team consisted of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. They were brought together by S.H.I.E.L.D. to fight Loki, Thor’s adoptive brother.
Who was truly the first Avenger?
Therefore, as Captain America was the first of the Avengers to go around avenging things, he is the first Avenger.
Is Captain Marvel First Avenger?
Captain America is the First Avenger. Captain Marvel was the person who inspired Nick Fury to continue with the Avengers, teaming up with him to save the world. So Captain Marvel is technically the first Avenger as the first person to agree to join the team.
