tThere’s a persistent misconception about video games that they exist entirely in their own sealed subculture, completely untranslatable to books or movies. But this has never been the case: in the ’80s and ’90s, games (and by extension, virtual worlds) became a major theme of cyberpunk fiction, from the connected hacker dystopia of William Gibson’s Neuromancer to the narcotic alternative reality of Jeff Noon. Vurt.
The history and culture of video games has also been widely explored in book form, whether it’s the How to Beat Pac-Man manuals of the 1980s or current investigations into the game development process by journalists like Jason Schreier. and Tom Bissell. Avid gamers and newcomers alike will learn a lot about video games and our modern digital world from these five books.
Kushner, a seasoned New York Times and Rolling Stone journalist, brought sharp journalistic skills and cultural knowledge to this analysis of the influential 1993 shooter Doom and the young people who starred in it. Masters of Doom captures the messy, anarchic process behind game development in the 1990s (the late nights, the pizza, the questionable personal hygiene), but it’s also a thrilling, emotional story about inspiration, friendship, and, yes, genius. creative.
A surprise bestseller upon publication in 2022, Zevin’s beautiful and gripping novel follows a trio of young game designers as they fulfill their dreams and fall apart in the process. Although there are many precise details about game creation, this is really a novel about love, care and inspiration, which happens in a development studio.
First published in 1982 and cruelly out of print for many years (a close friend of mine is still wracked with guilt for stealing a copy from his local library), this strange artifact is an examination of nascent arcade culture written with playful humor and Amis’s expressionless expression. ingenuity and detached intelligence. The author, once a gaming addict, recounts his experiences in the seedy coin palaces of New York and provides tips and advice for beating the best titles of the time. Now available in a modern edition packed with historic photographs and screenshots, it’s an absolute delight.
Gamish by Edward Ross
Video game histories can often be somewhat insular and professional, glossing over the cultural impact of the medium while obsessing over the release timelines of game consoles. Gamish is different: an accessible and fascinating graphic story written and illustrated by comics artist Ross. It brings together all the historical moments, but also reflects on what games mean to players and the world at large, as well as the issues around sexism and representation that still plague the industry and its fanbase.
An absolutely vast labyrinthine techno-thriller, Reamde travels around the world from Idaho to Cambridge to Taiwan, recruiting an army of hackers, misfits and criminals along the way. It is primarily about a massively multiplayer online game called T-Rain, which becomes infected with the computer virus of the same name to devastating effects. Combining scathing observations about computer culture and the sociopolitical weirdness of the digital age into one fun book, Reamde is to gaming what Infinite Jest is to tennis.