Product Description

Vintage Games explores the most influential videogames of all time, including Super Mario Bros., Grand Theft Auto III, Doom, The Sims and many more. Drawing on interviews as well as the authors' own lifelong experience with videogames, the book discusses each game's development, predecessors, critical reception, and influence on the industry. It also features hundreds of full-color screenshots and images, including rare photos of game boxes and other materials. Vintage Games is the ideal book for game enthusiasts and professionals who desire a broader understanding of the history of videogames and their evolution from a niche to a global market.

*Explores the gameplay, history, development, and influence of the most important videogames of all time
*Includes material from interviews, contemporary reviews, manuals, and other primary and secondary sources
*Identifies and analyzes the key concepts behind each videogame
*Features hundreds of exclusive, full-color images

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10047 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

Review
"They say you can't go back again, but reading Vintage Games comes close. Open the book, and I'm back in the video arcades of my youth. Turn the page, and I'm in college again, discovering the secret joys of the early PC games. Turn the page again, and I'm back in my living room, playing Mario with my young kids. But Vintage Games is more than just a trip down memory lane, because the authors analyze each game in ways that bring fresh insights to those nostalgic memories."--Steve Meretzky, Veteran Game Designer

"An interesting and insightful trip down a gamer's memory lane, focusing on titles that have become benchmarks in videogame history."--Didi Cardoso, Managing Editor, Grrlgamer.com

"The video game industry has a poor track record when it comes to preserving its history. Fortunately, scholars and enthusiasts have stepped in to fill the void, and Vintage Games is an essential contribution to this effort. Loguidice and Barton are to be commended for documenting the history of gaming's greatest landmarks."--Michael Abbott, The Brainy Gamer Blog and Podcast, Professor of Theater and Film Studies, Wabash College

"Essential reading for video game fans and game studies scholars alike!"--Laurie N. Taylor, Digital Library Center, University of Florida

"A must-read for anyone even remotely interested in video gaming history - from the hardcore to the casual. A book that anyone that has ever held a joystick would enjoy."--Shane R. Monroe, Host of RetroGamer Radio/Monroeworld.com

"The book is smart and fun - much like the games it addresses."--Dr. Matthew S. S. Johnson, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended
I stumbled across this while trawling the game books on this site and decided to buy it. I'll admit that being neither a big fan of Super Mario and GTA I didn't expect too much but boy was I wrong.

The authors have done an excellent job of selecting the games in the book. The expected ones are all accounted for, Pac man, Space Invaders, Super Mario Bros, Tetris and Ultima. But amongst them are games like Alone in The Dark, Dune II, Castle Wolfenstein and Kings Quest not to forget one of the most influential games of all time, Doom. In total there are 25 games in the book plus a host of online bonus chapters like Elite (BBC Micro). It also covers many different genres so there is something for everybody.

All the chapters come with full colour screen shots of the game being discussed which is brilliant.
It describes the various game play elements and contains quotes from the game creators themselves on how they solved a particular problem or how they managed to achieve their vision. It also mentions which games it went on to influence and for those who perhaps aren't as well versed in the history of games, it's interesting to trace a family tree from the original right down to the current big budget production. There are also links to some other excellent books which just goes to show how well researched it is.

I would have liked more discussion on how certain later games borrowed from the original as opposed to just mentioning a list a games with similar game play mechanics. For example, a bit more coverage of Thief - The Dark Project (from the Castle Wolfenstein chapter)would have been nice. However, Resident Evil is discussed in more detail in the Alone in the Dark chapter. But this is only a small personal complaint and certainly not anything that would prevent the enjoyment of the book. If anything, it might encourage readers to investigate these titles further.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so that I have gone back and played through Dune II again (Diablo is begging for attention as well) and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially younger gamers (not kids mind you) who would like to know more about the history of video games.

Excellent book
Just received my copy, features many great stories about many of the classic games from Pacman to Space Invaders to Mario.

As the books american theres no mention of any Sinclair Spectrum/Amstrad type of games from the 80's but the games it does feature are an excellent choice.

A lot of full colour images to remind you of yesteryear for Doom/Street Fighter etc

A very good book

Will bring back lots of great memories
I thoroughly recommend this book. It is great for a trip down memory lane. Each chapter takes a classic game as it's starting point and then discusses it in historical context including the games that influenced it's creation and later games that used it for inspiration. There are a lot of full colour photos that really add to the experience.

25 classic games are covered in the book (Zork, Diablo, Sim City, Ultima, Doom, Space Invaders, Pac Man etc etc) and the authors also run a brilliant vintage game website where they have posted links to bonus chapters (Defender, Pong, Elite, Tony Hawks).

Check out the book and their website you won't regret it.