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Great books on classic video games
41–50 of 64 posts
Re: Great books on classic video games
#42I’m enjoying Once Upon Atari about ‘the game that caused the collapse of the video games industry’ in the early 80s
Some fun descriptions/stories of early life at Atari
Re: Great books on classic video games
#43Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings by Ken Williams is another interesting one. It's more focused on the business side of the early game industry (especially the end of Sierra, and the author's side of the story relating to all the shenanigans involved), but it's a quick, interesting read. Probably people who weren't around in the 90s have forgotten how huge Sierra was in PC gaming.
Re: Great books on classic video games
#44Not sure what's in them because I can't find their Table of Contents, but if you're looking for other great books on specific games: 1. Masters of Doom 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book
> 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book I'd temper one's expectations on this one. It's a massive, unwieldy book, mostly speaking to old PC VGA graphics programming techniques, in pages taken verbatim from Abrash's previous Zen of Graphics Programming book. It definitely isn't focused on a specific game, but it does go a bit into the BSP tree stuff used in Doom, if memory serves. Maybe it's just because…
Abrash wrote about Quake in Dr. Dobb's Journal while he was working on it. These columns weren't in the earlier printings of the book but were added as Chapter 62 onwards in later printings (by which point it'd be fair to label the earliest chapters historical). PDFs at: https://www.drdobbs.com/parallel/graphics-programming-black-...
Re: Great books on classic video games
#45I highly recommend both Wolfenstein3D and Doom black books, from Fabien Sanglard, which are very technical and describe really well a ton of things around those games: how they have been developed, the tools they have been developed on / with, the context, ... Wolfenstein 3D Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ Doom Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/
What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) or as a free but bitmapped Pdf, so bloated that it used to crash my iPad. I did not mind paying, but would like to get some more flexible format.
> What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app)
It is a DRM free book.
I am using another app to read it.
Re: Great books on classic video games
#46I realize now that I would read a book on half life or counter strike and its inception.
For half-life you might like: http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/rd_hl_1.html
Re: Great books on classic video games
#47I highly recommend both Wolfenstein3D and Doom black books, from Fabien Sanglard, which are very technical and describe really well a ton of things around those games: how they have been developed, the tools they have been developed on / with, the context, ... Wolfenstein 3D Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ Doom Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/
What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) or as a free but bitmapped Pdf, so bloated that it used to crash my iPad. I did not mind paying, but would like to get some more flexible format.
Good thing you're using the past tense, as he's published source code for both black books:
Re: Great books on classic video games
#48Appreciate the suggestions in this thread. Adding recommendations for Blake Harris's "Console Wars" on 90s Sega vs. Nintendo competition, and Jason Schreier's "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" for more of the development angle. It looks like he has a new book out just last week, "Press Reset" -- seems to be on studios/projects that shut down and the aftermath. Adding that one to my reading list. For the link to Boss Fight b…
Console Wars has some interesting reporting in it, but it's otherwise a terrible book. Absolutely filled with cliches, invented dialogue and business speak. It's also very clear that this book emerged from getting access to Sega of America chief Tom Kalinske and cannot solve the problem of getting anything meaningful out of Nintendo.
Re: Great books on classic video games
#49Appreciate the suggestions in this thread. Adding recommendations for Blake Harris's "Console Wars" on 90s Sega vs. Nintendo competition, and Jason Schreier's "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" for more of the development angle. It looks like he has a new book out just last week, "Press Reset" -- seems to be on studios/projects that shut down and the aftermath. Adding that one to my reading list. For the link to Boss Fight b…
Console Wars has some interesting reporting in it, but it's otherwise a terrible book. Absolutely filled with cliches, invented dialogue and business speak. It's also very clear that this book emerged from getting access to Sega of America chief Tom Kalinske and cannot solve the problem of getting anything meaningful out of Nintendo.
And perhaps unintentionally the Nintendo folks come out looking cool, authentic and passionate about making great games while the Sega folks seem like a bunch of cargo cult marketers who happen to be trying to sell games.
Re: Great books on classic video games
#50I was checking the description of the books and I can't resist rolling my eyes at the idea that KOTOR offered" complex morality choices". I mean the game follows the binary morality system from Star Wars with its Light/Dark sides, which were translated in-game as being a nice guy or a jerk.