Games

A thrilling deep dive into the creation of the revered PlayStation RPG. Comprising over thirty interwoven voices, this beautifully produced book offers unprecedented insight into the craft and ambition behind the revered PlayStation RPG. An extended adaptation of Matt Leone's celebrated 27,000 word history, published online by Polygon in January 2017, this physical version has been designed by Rachel Dalton and features sixteen specially commissioned illustrations by sparrows, eight new standalone interviews, and a foreword by series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.

Game design legends like David Braben (Elite, Frontier, Elite Dangerous), Julian Gollop (Chaos, Rebelstar, XCOM) and Matthew Smith (Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy) share their memories, from their first dalliances with the computers of the late 70s and early 80s, via their first published games to the increasing encroachment of consoles in the 90s. There are also contributions from Julian Rignall, the videogame champion who soon became one of the best-known journalists of the period, legendary chiptune composers Rob Hubbard and Martin Galway, and pioneering publishers like Rob Cousens. Together, the interviews create a patchwork account of an extraordinary period of change. It's remarkable to think that an industry that barely existed at the start of the 80s, with games largely sold via mail order, had exploded into a multi-million-pound concern by its end.

From Ants to Zombies is a showcase for the remarkable range horror gaming has achieved, across six decades, from the 1970s to the 2020s, and over 70 hardware platforms, from the ZX Spectrum to the Xbox Series X.  More than 130 horror titles are analysed and contextualised across thirteen thematically-divided chapters, covering a variety of genres (from rail shooters to open-world RPGs), settings (from haunted mansions to infested space stations) and shades of fear (from creeping existential dread to stomach-churning outbursts of violence). The discussion is enlivened by exclusive commentary from pioneering horror developers such as Keiichiro Toyama (Silent Hill), Jane Jensen (Gabriel Knight), Ken Levine (System Shock 2), Sandy White (Ant Attack), David Riordan (It Came from the Desert), Paul Norman (Forbidden Forest), Graeme Devine (The 7th Guest), and many more.  panning 600+ beautifully-illustrated pages, From Ants to Zombies offers an opportunity to revisit venerated classics and discover unfairly overlooked gems, tapping into the inexhaustible riches of six decades of video game horror. 

From early classics like Contact to marvels like High Speed, gaming publisher Williams dazzled arcade goers with its diverse range of quality pinball games. The age of video games catapulted the company into legend with blockbusters like Defender and Joust, and by the end of the 1980s it was the largest coin-op publisher in North America. Williams' acquisition of Bally/Midway began a period of hits that included Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, as well as the best-selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family. The history of Williams spans nearly six decades and is filled with great games, huge gambles and technical innovations that impacted every aspect of pinball and arcade video games. With interviews of 40+ former designers and executives from Williams/Bally/Midway, as well as information from hundreds of contemporaneous news reports and documents, this book presents a never-before-seen chronology of how the small company became a coin-op juggernaut. Thirty pinball and 26 video game classics are examined in depth with direct input from the people who made them, along with the story of the events that shaped one of gaming's greatest publishing houses.

A retrospective of the early Japanese videogame industry, comprising over 30 interviews with developers of the era, and including never-before-seen period photographs, rare press adverts and an illustrated hardware guide. Comprising interviews with lesser documented developers at companies including Sega, Enix, Capcom, Hudson Soft and Nihon Falcom, Japansoft: An Oral History offers fresh and diverse perspectives on many of the defining games of their time. A re-edited digest of game journalist John Szczepaniak's three volume series, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, this edition adds brand new, specially conducted interviews with figures including Giles Goddard (Star Fox programmer), Richard Garriott (originator of Ultima), and Robert Woodhead (co-originator of Wizardry). A companion to the critically acclaimed Britsoft: An Oral History, this publication sees editor Alex Wiltshire and leading design agency Julia return with a multilayered and eclectic publication that offers a unique reading experience through interlinked interviews that can be read in any order.

A comprehensive collection of enemies and items, potions to poes, an expansion of the lore touched upon in Hyrule Historia, concept art, screencaps, maps, main characters and how they relate, languages, and much, much more, including an exclusive interview with Series Producer, Eiji Aonuma! This, the last of The Goddess Collection trilogy, which includes Hyrule Historia and Art & Artifacts, is a treasure trove of explanations and information about every aspect of The Legend of Zelda universe!

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."

From the one-bit beeps of Pong to the 3D audio of PlayStation 5, this book examines historical trends in video game sound and music. A range of game systems sold in North America, Europe and Japan are evaluated by their audio capabilities and industry competition. Technical fine points are explored, including synthesized v. sampled sound, pre-recorded v. dynamic audio, backward compatibility, discrete and multifunctional soundchips, storage media, audio programming documentation, and analog v. digital outputs. A timeline chronicles significant developments in video game sound for PC, NES, Dreamcast, Xbox, Wii, Game Boy, PSP, iOS and Android devices and many others.