Overview

Contributors examine the early days of video game history before the industry crash that ended the medium’s golden age.

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9780814334508

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One of our preeminent video game scholars, Wolf continues to break new ground with this fascinating collection. --James Castonguay associate professor of communication and media studies at Sacred Heart University Before the Crash is fascinating reading and provides valuable service to the entire game studies field by presenting detailed analyses of early video game culture. Covering the production, economics, and gameplay of video games produced in the 1970s and early 1980s, this book proves the value of historical perspective for understanding the basis of the present digital lifestyle. A leading academics in game history and professionals who themselves participated in the creation of the games industry, the authors bring together an impressive body of expertise from this important field.--Frans Mayra professor of digital culture and game studies at University of Tampere Finally, a book of scholarship on video games that acknowledges that they were made before World of Warcraft, The Sims, and Tomb Raider! This book offers insight into the design and technical history of games and systems you should be embarrassed not to know more about. --Ian Bogost professor of digital media at Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System In this smart volume on the early history of video games, the authors admit to their feelings of nostalgia, while bringing us new insights about old games and game hardware.--Jesper Juul assistant professor at New York University Game Center and author of Half-Real The variety of subject matter in Before the Crash is truly impressive, offering deep (relative to the subject matter), insightful commentary on such divergent topics as reading the Atari catalog, early video game audio, 'The Rise and Fall of Cinematronics, ' the Fairchild Channel F system (20 pages on the vilified progenitor of the Atari VCS!), and early online gaming in the form of BBSs and MUDs.--Brett Weiss

Finally, a book of scholarship on video games that acknowledges that they were made before World of Warcraft, The Sims, and Tomb Raider! This book offers insight into the design and technical history of games and systems you should be embarrassed not to know more about. --Ian Bogost professor of digital media at Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System Before the Crash is fascinating reading and provides valuable service to the entire game studies field by presenting detailed analyses of early video game culture. Covering the production, economics, and gameplay of video games produced in the 1970s and early 1980s, this book proves the value of historical perspective for understanding the basis of the present digital lifestyle. A leading academics in game history and professionals who themselves participated in the creation of the games industry, the authors bring together an impressive body of expertise from this important field.--Frans Mayra professor of digital culture and game studies at University of Tampere In this smart volume on the early history of video games, the authors admit to their feelings of nostalgia, while bringing us new insights about old games and game hardware.--Jesper Juul assistant professor at New York University Game Center and author of Half-Real One of our preeminent video game scholars, Wolf continues to break new ground with this fascinating collection. --James Castonguay associate professor of communication and media studies at Sacred Heart University The variety of subject matter in Before the Crash is truly impressive, offering deep (relative to the subject matter), insightful commentary on such divergent topics as reading the Atari catalog, early video game audio, 'The Rise and Fall of Cinematronics, ' the Fairchild Channel F system (20 pages on the vilified progenitor of the Atari VCS!), and early online gaming in the form of BBSs and MUDs.--Brett Weiss

Author Information

Mark J. P. Wolf is a professor in the Communication Department at Concordia University Wisconsin. His books include Abstracting Reality: Art, Communication, and Cognition in the Digital Age; The Medium of the Video Game; Virtual Morality: Morals, Ethics, and New Media; The Video Game Theory Reader; Myst and Riven: The World of the D'ni; The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond; The Video Game Theory Reader 2; and the forthcoming two-volume Encyclopedia of Video Games. He is also founder of the Landmark Video Game book series and the Video Game Studies Scholarly Interest Group within the Society of Cinema and Media Studies.

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