Vintage Games An Insider Look at the History of Grand Theft Auto, Super Mario, and the Most Influential Games of All Time

Chapter 1 Alone in the Dark (1992): The Polygons of Fear; Chapter 2 Castle Wolfenstein (1981): Achtung! Stealth Gaming Steps Out of the Shadows; Chapter 3 Dance Dance Revolution (1998): The Player becomes the Star; Chapter 4 Diablo (1996): The Rogue Goes to Hell; Chapter 5 Doom (1993): The First-Person Shooter takes Control; Chapter 6 Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (1992): Spicing up Strategy in Real Time; Chapter 7 Final Fantasy VII (1997): It's Never Final in the World of Fantasy; Chapter 8 Flight Simulator (1980): Digital Reality; Chapter 9 Grand Theft Auto III (2001): The Consolejacking Life; Chapter 10 John Madden Football (1988): Modern Sports Videogames Kickoff; Chapter 11 King's Quest: Quest for the Crown (1984): Perilous Puzzles, Thorny Thrones; Chapter 12 Myst (1993): Launching Multimedia Worlds; Chapter 13 Pac-Man (1980): Japanese Gumption, American Consumption; Chapter 14 Pole Position (1982): Where the Raster Meets the Road; Chapter 15 SimCity (1989): Building Blocks for Fun and Profit; Chapter 16 Space Invaders (1978): The Japanese Descend; Chapter 17 Street Fighter II (1991): Would you Like the Combo?; Chapter 18 Super Mario 64/Tomb Raider (1996): The Third Dimension; Chapter 19 Super Mario Bros. (1985): How High can Jumpman Get?; Chapter 20 Tetris (1985): Casual Gaming Falls into Place; Chapter 21 The Legend of Zelda (1986): Rescuing Zeldas and Uniting Triforces; Chapter 22 The Sims (2000): Who Let the Sims Out?; Chapter 23 Ultima (1980): The Immaculate Conception of the Computer Role-Playing Game; Chapter 24 Ultima Online (1997): Putting the Role-Play Back in Computer Role-Playing Games; Chapter 25 Zork (1980): Text Imps Versus Graphics Grues;

Biography

Bill Loguidice, Matt Barton

"Vintage Games is an impressive and entertaining read if you are interested in the video game industry. Reading about how such an interesting industry came to where it is today is very fun, and seeing how it got here on such specific levels such as genre and mechanics is even better. The easy to read categorization of the information works. Whether you're a new gamer yearning for a history lesson on your favorite hobby or a veteran wanting to read up on your favorite classics, Vintage Games has what you're looking for."--GameIndustry and GameInformer.com

"A study on video games - particularly those video games which have had the greatest influence on the market today, whether they were big successes at retail, genre-defining or even genre-creating. Vintage Games has a superb layout - each chapter is accompanied by a variety of screenshots, promotional materials and other paraphenalia, all in full colour. The text is masterfully written; it's sharp, insightful and to-the-point and doesn't suffer from the stuffiness of other academically focused video game publications.. Vintage Games is highly recommended reading. If you are looking to learn more about the origins of some of the most influential video games to date, then Vintage Games' wonderful layout and clear, concise and insightful writing make it a vital resource."--RetgroGamesAus.com