Some time ago, and being a LucasArts classic era fan, I bought the book Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts. Unlinke many LEC fans, I found the book incredibly interesting and the concept art is amazing. I was wondering if there are more book like these around, books either focusing on game industry history or cool concept art. Any ideas?
No sorry. But almost on topic. When Portal 2 - The Final Hours got released on Steam I did think it would be cool if Steam had a computer/video game book section.Originally Posted by sopabuena
Masters of Doom, of course. The book about id Software.
And Jim Rossignol's This Gaming Life: Travels In Three Cities which is available for free.
HL2: Rising the Bar is another good one. It's about the making of Half-Life 2.
Thanks for the recommendation, they look very interesting. I'm going to order them. There seems to be a book about Sierra games going on aswell: The Art Of Sierra
I would highly recommend "Trigger Happy" by Steven Poole.
You can pick it up from Amazon, or download a digital copy for free from the author's website.
I remember being particularly impressed by his chapter on how the "consistency" of games is far more important for immersion than any futile attempts to actually simulate reality.
I can offer an un-recommendation: Do not buy! Poorly edited (in actual fact not even proof-read - the same pieces of text appear in multiple chapters inexplicably), poorly thought out and composed entirely of weak criticism.
http://www.amazon.com/Video-Game-Art.../dp/2843237297
I clicked on this thread so that I could recommend "Ready Player One." But I guess that's not the type of book you're looking for. Regardless, I'm here and there it is.
i am also recommending masters of doom
just for the part in the book where john carmack takes a beloved cat to be put down because 'it was getting in the way'
a grumpy dude with a PHD in videogame debating
I kept looking for some videgame related books and came across this: Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissel. The book is amazing, even if you disagree with some of the author's opinions, I've never seen someone talk about videogames with this passion and maturity. The games talked about are: Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Bioshock, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Braid and GTAIV, among many others that are mentioned: MGS4, Fable II, Oblivion, Zelda, etc. It's full of interesting bits: visits to game expos, game companys and interviews with intersting people: Clint Hocking, CliffyB, Drew Karpyshyn, Peter Molyneux and Jonathan Blow. Really liked the book. The first chapter can be read on the amazon page if you find it intersting. I recommend it.
Didnt Half Life 2 special edition had a book about making the game,cut off concept and such ?
... I take the lives of a few to protect the lives of many. I commit acts of war to preserve the greater peace. I take no joy in killing, but make no mistake; I'll do what needs to be done. Because it's my job. It's my duty. My name is Sam Fisher, and I am a Splinter Cell.
Yes, that must be Half Life 2: Raising the Bar. I think the book is out of print, I could only manage to find a .pdf lying around.
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