10 books about games, developers and the gaming industry
A selection of 10 books dedicated to significant events, personalities and titles in the video game industry.
The Developer Journals
The diaries of the famous game designer Jordan Mechner, in which the author of the cult franchises Prince of Persia and Karateka talks about working on the titles that made him famous.
The narrative covers the period from 1982 to 1993: from Mekner’s first projects in the basement of his parents’ house to millions of copies sold worldwide.
Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play
Journalist Morgan Ramsey spoke with the founders of the largest gaming companies: Atari, EA, Bethesda, Naughty Dog and others. The result of his work was a collection of 18 interviews in which the first persons of the gaming industry share stories of successes, failures and decisions, thanks to which their firms became leaders.
It’s Behind You: The Making of a Computer Game
An autobiographical book by game designer and programmer Bob Pape about his experience developing the R-Type scroll shooter for the ZX Spectrum home computer. Text It’s Behind You: The Making of a Computer Game is based on notes that Pape made in 1988 while working on the R-Type. The digital version of the book can be downloaded for free from the author’s website.
Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus “Notch” Persson and the Game that Changed Everything
The biography of the creator of Minecraft Markus “Notch” Persson (Markus “Notch” Persson), written by Swedish journalists Daniel Goldberg (Daniel Goldberg) and Linus Larrson (Linus Larrson). In addition to the history of development and the stunning success of Minecraft, the book tells about the dysfunctional youth of Persson himself — his parents suffered from drug addiction and often quarreled.
My Loser Phase: Tales of Video Game Retail 1992-1997
Memories of programmer and writer Hugh Johnson (Hugues Johnson) about working as a salesman in a video game store from 1992 to 1997. In his book, Johnson reviews in retrospect the events of the gaming industry of the 90s: from the launch of the Sega CD to the heyday of the popularity of Sony PlayStation.
Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America
The book by Jeff Ryan tells how the success of the debut game of the young Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto turned a small Japanese company Nintendo into one of the largest gaming companies in the world.
Stay Awhile and Listen: How Two Blizzards Unleashed Diablo and Forged a Video-Game Empire
The author of several books about the history of video games, David Craddock, tells about a turning point in the history of Blizzard Entertainment: the development and release of the role-playing action movie Diablo, the success of which largely determined the further growth of the company and the transformation of Blizzard into a real gaming empire.
Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971-1984
The editor of the online magazine Wired Van Burnham (Van Burnham) has created a book guide to the golden era of arcade machines, which lasted from 1971 to 1984. Supercade tells the stories of the most famous games and companies related to this time period.
The Final Hours of Mass Effect 3
A small e-book by Geoff Keighley, telling about the work of Bioware on the role-playing space opera Mass Effect on behalf of its creators.
The Final Hours of Portal 2
Another work by Geoff Keighley, this time dedicated to the history of the creation of the second part of Portal.
To write this book, Cayley went to Valve and personally asked the authors of Portal 2 about the nuances of working on the project.
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