High Score 244
| High Score: the illustrated history of electronic games | |
| author | Rusel Demaria and Johnny L. Wilson |
| pages | 326 |
| publisher | McGraw Hill/Osborne |
| rating | 8/10 |
| reviewer | Jon Katz |
| ISBN | 0072224282 |
| summary | history of e-games |
The authors take us through the making of Space-Invaders and Pac-Man up to Myst and Tomb Raider.
Apart from a chronicle of the early games, High Score focuses not only on the technological wizardry of e-games, but on the business and cultural context in which they appeared: when Sega introduced the Dreamcast, perhaps their best machine at the time, it was almost too late -- they were already up against PlayStation and N64. Even the Tamogochi-like memory card which incubated eggs for pet creatures in Sonic Adventure couldn't quite save them.
The book is succinctly organized. It's actually beautifully presented in a publishing context -- short, well-reported, informative and illustrated chunks. Section One is "Before the Beginning," a tour of the "pre-history" of video games, including an homage to some of the earliest pinball machines and the various breakthroughs like integrated circuits that ultimately made e- games possible.
Section Two focuses on the 70s, and the true birth of the gaming industry, sparked by Ralph Baier and Nolan Bushnell and Pong, one of the first games to become a household word. In the 80s, hit after hit spread through the country's video game arcades (many now closed due to the power of personal computing), and private homes were invaded by Atari, Intellevision and ColecoVision's gaming systems. As the authors point out, the PC and the floppy made it possible for anybody to become a game developer.
In the 90s, write DeMaria and Wilson, the CD-ROM, 3D graphics and broadband revolutionized gaming. "New rivalries" -- and enormous investments from giant companies like Sony and Microsoft -- "create rapidly escalating technologies, immersive realism, and and wide range of crossovers and tie-ins. Developmental budgets skyrocket, interactive games become very big business, and the companies themselves begin to merge and consolidate."
Many gamers are now old enough to appreciate that they have a history. But many people still don't grasp how significant gaming has become. Where else will you read about Dave Perry's launch of Shiny Entertainment in l993, after years of creating games overseas? Perry, who slept in the parking lot at Virgin, won Game of the Year on the Genesis with Global Gladiators.
The authors describe the rise of Tomb Raider and its journey to Hollywood, but that story is well-known. It's the game-by-game, breakthrough-by-breakthrough historical context that makes the book so compelling, and so important. Gaming isn't just about entertainment. It's a common language, value system and way of thinking for millions of younger Americans, something the older and more mainstream culture has yet to appreciate. It's way past time society recognized the astonishing creativity and technology that went into the making of e-games, both in terms of game creators and the games themselves. As you read through High Scores, you get the sense of a history that transcends entertainment. What you see is the birth of a culture. This book does, and in the most readable way imaginable. It's tough to imagine anybody under 40 who reads this site - gamer or not -- who wouldn't love it.
You can purchase High Scores from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
Please (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Please (Score:1)
Re:Please (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Please (Score:2)
Solitaire (with a real deck of cards)...
--
Garett
Re:Please (Score:2)
Well all the Final Fantasy games since FF8 and Metal Gear Solid 2 come pretty close...
Re:Please (Score:4, Funny)
Better?
Ahhh... (Score:2)
He isn't, is he? (Score:3, Funny)
Have you ever actually seen Jon Katz? Sure, there are a couple of photos on the web, but those could be anybody.
Using Concordance [cciw.com] (the software used to unmask Joe Klein as the author of primary colors; also used to classify works of literature) I have concluded that, in fact, Jon Katz IS Spike Lee. Or at least that these articles and the screen plays attributed to Spike Lee were written by the same person. It explains so much, I'm surprised it didn't occur to me earlier.
Re:He isn't, is he? (Score:2)
It's the monkeys stupid. (Score:2)
-Pete
Gazillion? (Score:2)
Hey Jon.. (Score:1)
Last time you wrote about him, he was watching Divx movies on it. I'm sure he's excited about Warcraft 3.
Earth Worm Jim (Score:1)
Re:Earth Worm Jim (Score:2, Interesting)
I mean c'mon--a superhero worm, an level in 'heck' with elevator music, a puppy dog that turns into a monster.
It was just so perverse that it immediately became fantastic
(and I still have vivid memories of literally holding my breath while doing the underwater bubble scenes)
Re:Earth Worm Jim (Score:2)
I loved video games (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know that I would call it a culture. I'd be more comfortable w/subculture.
Now that I have kids and a job I don't play much. When I do it is old games- if I'm at home I pull out my Sega Genesis and play Sonic or Dune.
If I'm feeling really crazy I head over to Castles and Coasters. Downstairs the arcade is all the latest games. Upstairs is where they put all the old machines. On a friday or saturday night you'll find 10 or 15 guys who are all 30 something years old (like me) up there playing Galaga, Tempest, Centipede, Red Baron, etc.
.
iD software. Hello! (Score:2, Interesting)
No mention of the company who helped define the 3D shooter plauge we call the games market today?
Decent Price (Score:1, Informative)
However, it's a paperback. Hm.
Value system? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, Pong's value systems have influenced an entire generation of youth. Whenever i'm faced with a really tough problem in my life, I sit down and think "What would Pong do?"
Then, I pick up something and throw it as hard as I can. Sometimes I angle it off the wall. My problem tends to be solved one way or the other.
Christ Katz, can't you ever have a SMALL point? Can't you ever just say "This is a pretty good book about video games, I recommend it."?
No, with you it has to be "Video games have had more effect on the evolution of mankind than oxygen. This book is so good, that if you hold it and make a wish, it will come true. Columbine."
Bah.
Re:Value system? (Score:1, Funny)
Bahahahahaha... I want a T-Shirt with that on it. WWPD?
Is this a book review or an editorial? (Score:5, Insightful)
Christ Katz, can't you ever have a SMALL point? Can't you ever just say "This is a pretty good book about video games, I recommend it."?
No, with you it has to be "Video games have had more effect on the evolution of mankind than oxygen. This book is so good, that if you hold it and make a wish, it will come true. Columbine."
Yeah, that was pretty much my feeling upon reading the review (although I was stunned that there wasn't a 9/11 reference anywhere).
Honestly, videogames have not made that much of an impact on world (or even American) culture. They sure as hell do not "embody a value system, mind-boggling inspiration, common language and experience". The majority of people over the age of 30 do not currently play videogames and only vaguely remember the games they played as kids. Look, I'm not making any value statements here (i.e., videogames are only for kids). I'm just stating the way it is. To be some sort of cultural phenomenon, there has to be a broad cross-section of the population (across several demographic lines) that is heavily influenced by it. Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon. Tomb Raider is not.
And I'd like to point out that it's really not necessary to try to put this book in some sort of global scope. Just tell us whether it's a good book or not. A book reviewer doesn't need to try to convince us of how the human race has been shaped and defined by videogames. The first couple of paragraphs of the "review" don't even discuss the book.
GMD
Statisticitis (Score:2)
Virg
No, get YOUR facts straight (Score:2)
I seriously do not know why someone moderated you as Informative. Take a closer look at those stats you quoted. The percentages add up to 100%. That's because it is showing the percentage of gamers in that age group. Not the percentage of people in that age group who are gamers. And even so, 22.8% + 15.4% + 5.6% = 43.8% which is less than 50%.
Before you start insulting someone in public, do a sanity check to make sure you don't say something obviously wrong.
GMD
No hard feelings (Score:2)
Thanks for the acknowledgement. As you can see from some of the other comments, you weren't the only one who misread the stats. And you're right: the stats are pretty interesting. I would have never imagined that 5% of gamers are over 55!
No hard feelings...
GMD
Re:Value system? (Score:2)
What about Rogue? (Score:3, Insightful)
games and stuff (Score:1)
Re:games and stuff (Score:1)
Re:games and stuff (Score:2)
Who, where, what was the cause of death, the date?
Please provide some reference to a credible news story or other source.
Was it an electrocution? I wonder how many pinball/jukebox/arcade service people have been electrocuted by entertainment devices?
You've trotted out a sensational story without even attempting to corroborate it.
This looks like a promising lead.
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=video+ga
Only in this story, the cause of death was a heart condition, and he died while playing Berserk. I don't think that implicates the game or the arcade, and to suggest otherwise would be quite irresponsible, if not libelous.
"Intruder Alert! Get the Humanoid!"
Mistakes... (Score:4, Informative)
The Dreamcast was Sega's next-gen effort at the time - it was the Saturn that was originally meant to compete with the N64 and PSX. The Dreamcast was intended to compete with the new systems on the horizon by getting a jump - this is what they did quite successfully with the sega genesis - filled the next gen niche with adequate hardware.
In the 80s, hit after hit spread through the country's video game arcades (many now closed due to the power of personal computing), and private homes were invaded by Atari, Intellevision and ColecoVision's gaming systems.
I hope "personal computing" means "consoles" in this context, because PC gaming is a small fry compared to consoles and would have little effect on arcades. Arcades will never be completely replaced - playing a mech game in a big simulated cockpit - you can't do it at home (well, maybe you can, but I am not that rich
Re:Mistakes... (Score:2)
As for arcades, heh, I'll take my computer over a console any day. You can't pilot an Atlas with some dinky little controller.
You haven't seen that XBOX controller, have you?
(i think it's for xbox, correct me if i'm wrong)
apparently... (Score:5, Funny)
And I'll second the "NO" vote on the term 'e-games'. E-gad.
I'd like to post something witty... (Score:1)
While you are at it... (Score:2, Informative)
For a better history, I reocmmend Steven L. Kent's "The Ultimate History of Video Games". While it has almost no pictures, it makes up for it by being a much more detailed history based on interviews with the people behind the industry.
Open letter to wife: (Score:5, Funny)
Always wondered (Score:3, Interesting)
And, Pac-Man isn't the only game like this. Look at all the "secret moves" in games. Does someone figure out you can do up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-select-start on Contra, or is that reverse engineered or leaked? Or, how you can flip-out Galaga to have FF ships. Or, how you can make a ghost Guile on Street Fighter.
Anyone?
Re:Always wondered (Score:1)
But I believe it was Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, Select, Start.
Now that's common language and exprience that I will never forget.
Its also the combination on my gym locker.
Re:Always wondered (Score:1)
Think about it, if you're the QA guy working on testing the Nth level of a game, would you like to play through the whole game every time?
Re:Always wondered (Score:2)
Yes, yes I do. [mameworld.net]
Re:Always wondered (Score:2)
[now, with my pants pulled up to my chest and as I shake my tee-handle cane at the kids...] "You young punks! I was the 9th key Shaolin master of PAC-MAN! In my day, I dominated the arcade. I'd walk in with $2 in quarters and by the time I left, my initials were at the top of all those machines! I was the top-dog, damnit!"
Sorry, had to get that out of my system. My teenage daughter got too embarrassed when I did that routine at Gameworks....I can't imagine why...
Re:Always wondered (Score:1)
Re:Always wondered (Score:2)
Wasn't it?
Maybe it would help you if you had it on a t-shirt? [game-skins.com] No? Ok, here's all the codes for Contra. [ign.com] As if you cared
Sega... (Score:1, Interesting)
People compare the Sega Genesis to the Super NES. The Genesis was released WAY before the SNES was, and was pitted against the NES for sales, not the SNES. Sega had 16-bit first, and fastest.
The SATURN was set to battle against the PSX and the N64, not the Dreamcast! They were all released about the same time (with the exception of the N64, because we all know how Nintendo likes to promise things on a certain date and deliver them a couple years later...) The Saturn failed miserably against the other two because for one, it was $399 at launch, and two it was so hard to program for. The only good games for Saturn came from AM2... Sega's in-house developer... with titles like Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Rally Champoinship, and Daytona USA 2.
The Dreamcast was released years after the PSX and N64, and was the first 128-bit console on the market.... WAY before PS2 or GameCube. The Dreamcast was an innovative console and graphics- and sound- wise obviously ate the PSX and the N64. If the Dreamcast would have been released at the same time as the N64 and the PSX, Sony's PSX would have flopped worse at the time than XBOX is right now.
Sega had always been my favorite, and always had the most amazing stuff out first... but let's forget the massive amount of failures that they also released besides the Saturn... namely Sega CD (although it was one of the first CD systems), Sega CDX, Mars 32X, and the Master System II.
Rogue? (Score:1)
Would this be a chunking vulnerability? I donno.
where is gaming going next? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, I play those same games on MAME or on arcade games in my basement (I have 4 games and a pin) and I feel like a loser. I have kids and a family, and don't get out a lot, but I miss being able to see high scores of people you knew.
Now, everybody plays games on consoles in their living room. If you get a high score, its like, so what. Sure, there is online gaming, but that scales out too big, then you don't know anyone.
What gaming needs is the equivalent of a bowling alley. Someplace to go be online, play games, hang out, drink beer, meet girls. Wired this month had a great article on how urban Korean has spawned a series of gaming parlor's where people would go an dplay warcraft or whatever in a social environment.
Until we can integrate gaming into the natural behaviour patterns of man, something will be missing. Until then, I am very sorry, but were just a bunch of losers playing video games in our living rooms.
Re:where is gaming going next? (Score:1)
Of course, they aren't my type of arcade games, too modern. But at least they have one Capcom vs. SNK machine for old guys like me, and a few older games ...
Rutgers used to have a killer arcade, I wonder if they still do? That was back when you had to stand in line for Street Fighter II.
Rutgers Arcades (Score:2)
Virg
We got it. Its the "net." (Score:2)
Can't the PS2 via TONY HAWK ]I[ internet up and play other consoles?
At the mall down the street they have a bunch of machines networked and when I'm there when the kids are, thats where they're playing.
When you have a high concentration of young'ins (i.e. college dorm) you get them crowding around arcade games, consoles in rooms, heck, even crowded around my mac going head to head on a tron light-cycles ripoff (called nort!). When you get older, and have a house, and move out, etc. etc. networking is where its at.
We are not losers playing video games by ourselves! We are losers playing videogames with other losers!
Re:where is gaming going next? (Score:2)
I heard of a few places in SFbay like the gaming parlors. Pretty much a dance club that's back room is a lan center.
Dave And Busters' (Score:2)
This is about as close as you are going to come to the old arcade days.
Unfortunately too, games now are different. Game makers no longer make games that increase in difficulty over and over, and allow you to play for long periods of time on one quarter. Most new games are tailored to require a coin drop within a few minutes, tops. If you don't believe me, try to name a new game that would let you play through it till the end on one play like Ms. PacMan or any of the other old-school arcade games... so now, the old "high-score" mentality is no longer there in my opinion. Now it's more of a 3-minute attraction that you pay 50 cents to a dollar to play, and then you move on.
But if you are looking for a place to (and I quote you here) "play games, hang out, drink beer, meet girls", Dave And Busters' is THE place you are looking for... check it out.
And no I don't work there, I just think it's a cool place to hang out and have fun.
Mark
Bowling alley babes? (Score:2)
What gaming needs is the equivalent of a bowling alley. Someplace to go be online, play games, hang out, drink beer, meet girls.
I dunno about that one, dude. Have you actually seen the chicks that hang out at bowling alleys? Many of them are shaped like bowling balls themselves! And talking to these chicks is your plan for not feeling like a "loser" anymore? I don't know about you, man.
All in gest, peteshaw .... :)
GMD
Re:where is gaming going next? (Score:2, Informative)
Kids (and when I say kids I mean teenagers, even though I'm 22 they seem like a completely different generation) have no concept of a high score. They can't understand a game that is impossible to complete.
I agree that there needs to be more social places to play video games (though I really like GameWorks). But first someone needs to build computers that can standup to a bar atmosphere.
As for home consoles there are some great party games: You don't know jack for PS1, Mario Party for N64, Warlords for Atari 2600.
Re:where is gaming going next? (Score:2)
Not at all. That's like saying that playing games in all the arcades in the world scales out too big. You're not in one room with 100,000 players at once. Once you get into an online game, you'll find your peers through realm, guild, profession, allegiance, or whatever the game has built in. The best online games have thought about the problem finding peers/friends, and it's part of the architecture. Ingame voice is only a year or two away, and it'll make things a little more personal.
Wired this month had a great article on how urban Korean has spawned a series of gaming parlor's where people would go and play warcraft or whatever in a social environment.
Get out much? There are "Counterstrike Parlors" in every major city.
Note: Only illustrated history, not definitive (Score:5, Informative)
I highly recommend looking also at Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of Video Games [rolentapress.com] which covers the history of console games more completely. There's also Game Over [amazon.com] which details the history of Nintendo from a playing card company to the giant it became in the early 90's. There are others, but more are needed.
The history of video games is sorely underreported and under appreciated. Already many electronic games are disappearing as hardware and platforms become unavailable. The Abandonware scene is alive and well, but quietly our gaming history is disappearing. I encourage all Slashdot readers to read up on your gaming history and try to preserve a great and thriving culture.
Don't worry (Score:2)
The history of video games is sorely underreported and under appreciated. Already many electronic games are disappearing as hardware and platforms become unavailable. The Abandonware scene is alive and well, but quietly our gaming history is disappearing. I encourage all Slashdot readers to read up on your gaming history and try to preserve a great and thriving culture.
You don't need to worry about losing videogame history. It is simply becoming a part of our contemporary value system, mind-boggling inspiration, common language and experience.
GMD
Re:Note: Only illustrated history, not definitive (Score:2)
The history of video games is sorely underreported and under appreciated. Already many electronic games are disappearing as hardware and platforms become unavailable. The Abandonware scene is alive and well, but quietly our gaming history is disappearing. I encourage all Slashdot readers to read up on your gaming history and try to preserve a great and thriving culture.
I have to agree with this. I'm a big fan of what "rom-dumping" projects are doing, even if most people consider them to be piracy in the short term. Culture or sub-culture, it's part of who most of us (on /. anyway) are. Maybe not to the grandoise scale that Katz makes it out to be, but none the less important to document.
I would like to see a similar book on the history of video games in Japan. It may seem to overlap a fair amount, but it is quite different. For instance the dominant system in Japan at the end of the 80's was the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 in the States), not the NES as it was over here. Also, the types of games that are popular in Japan are vastly different than in the US. Look through the screenshots of arcade games supported by MAME [mame.net] and try to count how man Mahjong games came out in Japanese arcades!
Also, for some great pictures of games from the late '70s to early '80s, check out Supercade [thinkgeek.com] (no, I am not affiliated with ThinkGeek.com -- buy it from where ever the hell you want!). Published by MIT Press, this book gets some of the facts wrong, but it's worth picking up just for the screenshots and pictures.
Sounds like an interesting book (Score:4, Funny)
If it's the former, I would'nt want to read it. Speculitive works on the cultural attributes of technologies that are still emerging are typically usless. It would be like writing a book in 1909 on the cultural impact of the automobile.
Somehow I suspect this is more of the reviewer inserting his own 'golly gee look how technology is changing our lives' world view... but you never know.
Re:Sounds like an interesting book (Score:1)
Wow! (Score:2)
A Gazillion-dollar business? Is this fancy new research techniques where you use child like number references instead of looking up the value yourself? "Multi-Billion" I would have bought. I even would have bought "Trillion." "Gazillion" seems a bit over the top.
Does anyone remember...? (Score:2)
Anyone?
Re:Does anyone remember...? (Score:1)
Rocky's Boots. (Score:1)
[I personally remember playing that game at school (on our single Apple ][) whenever I could get the chance. It wasn't until years later that I saw those symbols again and realized what the game had really been about!]
Re:Does anyone remember...? (Score:2)
It's worth playing now. It runs really well on VICE, and if I could, I would make a C64 ROM cartridge of it.
I wish there was a pc version; and I'd even like to see an updated take on the game...
R.O.B.B.?!?!?! (Score:1)
Does anyone know if there's a flash version somewhere, or anything outside of a C64 emulator that is playable?
Brings me back...
Re:R.O.B.B.?!?!?! (Score:2)
The emulators really aren't bad at all; try vice.
Since reading your post, I've installed and played it on the Vice that comes with debian. Can't wait to get home and run it on a real breadbox; thanks!!
Raid on Bungeling Bay (Score:3, Informative)
You really know its a small world, when your neighbors invent Myst. Video games has been part of my culture here in the Pacific Northwest, I have made many friends who are either directors of large game companies, owners, and some who are just hard core programers and gfx artists. Funny, most of my friends growing up are in the tech field, support, sys-admins, or programmers. Dont even get them started on the "Old Days" of computers, everything from vic-20s, tsr80s, apples2e/2gs converstations...
left, right, left, right, a, b, start
Who better to write this review... (Score:1, Troll)
E-nough is *enough*! (Score:3, Insightful)
First, I'll reiterate the call against the use of the term e-game. E-nough, thank you.
Second, I want to address this tendency that Katz has to assume that those of us who've been out of high school more than 5 years are clueless cretins totally out of touch with the current progress of (so-called) culture in this country. Here's a clue for you, Katz: I'm 38, I remember all too well what high school was like, and I've managed to survive quite nicely, thanks. I was not a member of the oppressed fringe that you clearly identify so well with, and I do not think that that oppressed fringe is going to have any greater impact on our society than any previous oppressed fringe did. Which is to say that yes, some of the fringe elements have had enormous impact, some have eaten a bullet before they turned 21, and the vast majority will join the great consumer-base that is the foundation of American society and culture. I know, it ain't pretty, but there it is. Now get off your high-horse and recognize that your 'audience' here on Slashdot includes more than lamers who couldn't get past the fact that they were hazed in high school (like I was, but I grew up).
At some point, games peak (Score:1)
If so, what are the games that accomplish this? Are there any game revolutions any more? I remember Doom, and then Duke Nukem changing the way I thought about action games, and FF2 changing the way I thought about RPGs, with Daggerfall later obliterating that standard (even though its complexity was maddening at times.) Games are looking more beautiful and more realistic all the time...but in my experience this isn't enough by itself. Are games generally getting better, or worse? Is GTA3 a game that "ups the gaming ante," so to speak? Neverwinter Nights? What are some others?
You are getting a bit jaded. (Score:1)
It's kinda like sex. The first few times you get some it's an amazing, life-changing thing. After (counts on fingers) 19 years of an active sex life, it's not quite so amazing anymore. It's still fun, and it still fills a need and all, but I don't think about the last tiime for weeks afterwords like I did 19 years ago.
JonKatz is a good reviewer (Score:2)
So many moderation points, so little time (Score:4, Funny)
They embody a value system, mind-boggling inspiration, common language and experience. Huh?
But then I figured it out. I realized that I just needed to run it through babelfish a few times and then I got the original decrypted message:
They include a worthy system, inspiration of lie-hesitate, common language and experience. And they finally receive their defeated.
I wonder if Katz writes all of his articles that way?
ABC - 1200000 (Score:1)
How can something so good be so bad [slashdot.org]?
"primitive pinballs"... (Score:1)
Becoming a big industry is a double edged sword. (Score:5, Interesting)
Not really.
Big business is a double edged sword. Game publishers will only fund games that they know will make money. So instead of a great new game, you get a clone of the current best sellers. Innovation gets the boot in favor of the same games with prettier graphics.
The only people that can really bring out innovation are major game gurus like the incredible Warren Spector, or Sid Meiers. The best chance for you to bring out innovation is to make a mod of a current game on your own time, and hope you can get enough attention for a publisher to take a chance on one of your ideas.
This is what is currently bugging me about the video game industry... FPS aren't doing it anymore. We need FPS/RPGs like Deus Ex. FPS with a MAJOR TWIST like the Thief series. Deathmatch is dull, CapTheFlag has been done everywhere. We need a new style of online gaming for FPS. I ahven't seen DoomIII, yet, only heard about it. What I've heard from E3 is that its REALLY SWEET graphics, but they only went around and shot one or two enemies. Booooring.
Innovation is what this industry needs. How do we get it??
Re:Becoming a big industry is a double edged sword (Score:2)
The industry doesn't need innovation, there is plenty of that. First let me say I am not a gamer. OK, so I grew up with arcades in the 80's, then Atari, then Nintendo, but it pretty much stopped there. I had better things to do. I don't play that many games on the PC, although I have spent many many hours playing Quake Team Fortress. I even created my own map. Create your own map!? That is innovative. But for some reason, that is boring now. You know what made the old arcade games (and Quake TF) fun? Good gameplay. It doesn't have to be innovative, it needs to be FUN. And when a game is fun, what do most gamers do? They spend an entire weekend playing the damn thing 24/7. A month after a game has come out, it has been played to death and people are waiting for the next great thing.
Now this isn't true with all games, of course. Some have staying power. But how many games do you have that you can play once you have "beaten" it. I'll bet not that many. The consumers are driving the industry.
Maybe I don't fully get it because I am not a gamer. I don't want to be, quite honestly. Games turned into a big business, just like arcade games did. Believe me, there were plenty of stinker arcade games too. But I can still play a few games on my Galaga arcade machine, have an absolute blast, and walk away from it.
They're bad (Score:2, Informative)
But don't forget that video games are bad for you. [slashdot.org] It was reported on Slashdot, so it can't be wrong!
The real reason Jon Katz posts articles... (Score:4, Funny)
CmdrTaco: Curse it all... Another slow news day. We must do SOMETHING to keep the traffic up.
Timothy: You aren't thinking....
chrisd: Please God no, not again.
CmdrTaco: Drastic times call for drastic measures boys... Release the Katz..
chrisd: *sobbing*
CmdrTaco: May God forgive my soul.
Give me a break (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Give me a break (Score:3, Insightful)
Video games rarely come anywhere near these things (I can't say they never do -- I haven't played all video games). They divert, they amuse. They un-bore. They move us several hours closer to death with only stimulation in return. Your life (and mine) are slipping away by inches. I would hate to think that I will die with my contribution to civilization being a high score in Halo.
None of this is meant to attack the games themsevles or the people who play them, but rather to point out Katz's hyperbole in grandly elevating video games to a cultural watershed.
AI in games (Score:1)
What they don't tell you is ... (Score:1)
Re:What they don't tell you is ... (Score:1)
My Jon Katz detector worked! (Score:1)
E-games are now both historic and significant...
And I was like E-GAMES??? Who the hell uses terms like that? And then I thought, "this has got to be Katz." Sure enough, it is.
Re:My Jon Katz detector worked! (Score:2)
I guess it still needs some work.
best book for old school computer games (Score:2)
PONG-Story (Score:2, Interesting)
Pt 2 (Score:2)
Hooray fanboy cash..
Double standard? (Score:2)
We have to remember that it is all related. The "values" of the video game industry are the same as those of the MPAA, RIAA, and Microsoft.
Gaming also added to good jokes (Score:2)
A Friend: Well my wife finally broke down and bought me a Thrustmaster.
Me: Cool, how is it?
Friend: Very good, responsive and configurable, but it is a really stiff stick.
(pause)
Friend: But what would you expect from a company called Thrustmaster?
{ I still chuckle when I think about that conversation... Games and innuendo...who'd a thunk? }
A Lost Art Form (Score:3, Interesting)
They don't make "primitive" pinball games anymore. "Primitive" meaning those astounding engineering marvels that look like giant Swiss watch conglomerations inside. Each game being an utterly unique piece of engineering art, with its "software" made out of gears and switches. "Primal" is a significantly better description, and in that sense, I think games have lost a lot since those days. You can feel a pinball game for real, it's not haptic, it's a hunk of metal that you can push and pound and "tilt". Keeping an eye on the butt end of a pinball player, watching him/her play shows that they move most of their entire body. It looks more interactive than Quake because from a physical reality standpoint it is more interactive. Modern games are incredible in their own right, but with primal pinball it is 100% reality, there is no abstraction. Something amazing will be lost forever when the last Midway mechanical pinball machine plays its last ball.
Author's comments (Score:5, Informative)
First, my goal in creating the book was to make it visual - a colorful journey through the history of games. To do so required some compromises. For instance, the stories (the actual text) had to be kept pretty short. It's amazing how much space it takes to write substantial text, and how often it came down to "more story" or "more and bigger graphics." I was constantly fighting with the publisher for more pages. However, since the retail price of the book is only $24.99, and it is all color and oversized, they quite legitimately refused to do a 500-page book. In my opinion, the book provides a lot for the price and McGraw-Hill was a great company to work with. They all worked really hard to make the book as good as it could be.
I also find some people recommending other books, such as Steve Kent's and Leonard Herman's books. I want to echo those recommendations. Steve and Leonard have done great jobs, and it was never my intention, or Johnny's, to redo what they had done. I'm really happiest when someone looks at High Score! and has happy nostalgic moments - which are mostly triggered by the pictures. In interviewing many of the pioneers of electronic games for the book, I was able to get some interesting facts, some cool quotes and, hopefully, the nugget of the history. I hope readers will find that material interesting. However, it is my belief that the greatest strength of High Score! is in the graphics, and that there are other books that have approached the subject with more depth, though none (that I've seen) covering the evolution of PC games. At any rate, I hope it's not "either/or" but more like "both/and".
And High Score! is far from perfect. There are plenty of omissions and even a few mistakes (I'm embarrassed to say). I'd love to do a future updated version of it with more pictures (I have plenty that weren't used), with some omitted games and companies added in, and with more coverage of the history in Europe and Japan. That will depend on the publisher and how well the book does.
Finally, it is my hope that people will enjoy the book. We don't really attempt to make all that many grand philisophical points in it (despite the tone of the review). Johnny and I each have our own opinions about the impact electronic games have had on our world. (And no, we don't use the term "e-games" anywhere that I know of. It's not in my vocabulary and I don't think it's in Johnny's, either.) But I think we kept our philosophy mostly out of the book. It wasn't our intention to do a whole lot of philosophizing - though maybe just a little.
I do think it's interesting to observe the idealistic philosophies of companies like Atari and EA when they started out, and compare them to the business as it exists today. But, again, the main purpose of the book was to have fun, and to share it with others.
Even though the book took a ton of work, and I really wanted it to be something great, in the end it's not a prescription for world peace or a deep exploration of human consciousness. It's a picture book, hopefully a pretty cool one, about electronic games - where they came from, some of the people who pioneered them and how they evolved. So, I hope people will enjoy it for what it is.
Thanks,
Rusel DeMaria
Why did Square request to be left out? (Score:2)
I'd understand if they also requested you not to explain why, but I'm curious, so if you can tell, please do!
Other than that, the most of the games I remember playing as a kid seemed to be in there, although you missed Scram and Ladder! (Really early DOS games - I wanna see if anyone else out there recoginizes them.) But Zork was in there, so that's good. I think Planetfall was too, but I'm not sure - I only got to glance through the book over my brother's shoulder and again on the way up to a store to get him Jak and Daxter for his birthday.
(And trust me, driving while having your little brother try and show you pretty pictures gets annoying very fast - although your book did shut him up :P (I'm kidding - he's usually a good passenger, except when it comes to trying to point to pictures while I'm changing lanes...) However, I'm pretty sure that he really likes your book - even if he doesn't recognize half the old games.)
The Ultimate History of Video Games (Score:3, Informative)
It leterally covers everything, from the beginings of pinball to the latest generations of systems, and everything in between. Steve Kent is widely recognized as the best gaming journalist there is and it shows in this book. Excellent read. If you're serious about gaming, I'd check it out.
Remember when... (Score:2)
-c
l993 (Score:2)
IIRC most keyboards have a 1 key. I recommend using it for greater readability.
Thought you'd like to know.
Re:first blasphemous post! (Score:4, Funny)
You still have to 'reply', but only to the original article. Just click the big REPLY button at the top of the page, just under Katz's drivel.
Re:USA-centric (Score:2)
All 3 Carmageddons came from SCI.
Demolition racer: no exit came from Pitbull.
Grand Theft Auto came from DMA.
Re:USA-centric (Score:2)
Ok, I'll bite. I've owned a PC (and used it for gaming) for 16 years and various consoles for even longer, but I've never even heard of any of these games. And I don't even live in the US!
Care to enlighten on us on why they are classics?