Joystick Nation: How Videogames Ate Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Joystick Nation: How Videogames Ate Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds Book

This is a look at the revolution that changed the way we play video games. From the prototypical Space Wars, Hunt the Wumpus, and Adventure to modern shoot-em- ups, brain-busters and simulations. J. C. Herz examines what has kept us glued to screens and joysticks. It also explores how video games shaped the way those raised on them (like Herz herself) interact with their world. Joystick Nation gives an overview of video game history, interviews with the brains behind the most influential games, explorations of what makes various types of games work for various people, and even a peek into a major game development company during the critical countdown to a major release. Herz is a witty writer whose personal approach to the topic can resemble a riff by a stand-up comic. You'll find yourself nodding along with her reactions and smiling--maybe even laughing out loud. Read More

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  • Product Description

    In a scant fifteen years, video and computer games have grown into a $6-billion-a-year global industry, sucking up ever-increasing amounts of leisure time and disposable income. In arcades, living rooms, student dorms, and (admit it) offices from Ohio to Osaka, video games have become a fixture in people's lives, marking a tectonic shift in the entertainment landscape.

    Now, as Hollywood and Silicon Valley rush to sell us online interactive multimedia everything, J. C. Herz brings us the first popular history and critique of the video-game phenomenon. From the Cold War computer programmers who invented the first games (when they should have been working) to the studios where the networked 3-D theme parks of the future are created, Herz brings to life the secret history of Space Invaders, Pac Man, Super Mario, Myst, Doom, and other celebrated games. She explains why different kinds of games have taken hold (and what they say about the people who play them) and what we can expect from a generation that has logged millions of hours vanquishing digital demons.

    Written with 64-bit energy and filled with Herz's sharp-edged insights and asides, Joystick Nation is a fascinating pop culture odyssey that's must-reading for media junkies, pop historians, and anyone who pines for their old Atari.

  • 0316360074
  • 9780316360074
  • J. C. Herz
  • 1 June 1997
  • Little Brown and Company
  • Hardcover (Book)
  • 240
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