As their prominence in the news cycle - from Gamergate to the burgeoning
smartphone market to the VR realm and beyond - would indicate, video
games and gaming have rocketed from a fairly fringe existence to a
central position in the everyday lives of millions. Whether you're a
casual reader with an interest in the subject or an experienced gamer
scrounging for obscure facts and stories, Mark Wolf's Video Games FAQ:
All That's Left to Know About Games and Gaming Culture is an
indispensable resource touching on all aspects of this techno-cultural
phenomenon. Wolf's info-dense account traces video games from their
earliest renditions as blocky abstractions to the photorealistic worlds
of the present day, exploring the games, systems, technologies,
companies, and inventors who transformed a novelty into a worldwide
industry and major imaginative force along the way. In lively prose
intended for a general audience, the book examines the many ways video
games have entered our lives, impacted popular culture, and evolved
through innovations and technological advances. More than just a
history, this book, which can be read from cover-to-cover or a
stand-alone chapter at a time, is also packed with fun,
thought-provoking video game trivia touching on the origins of handheld
games, the first first-person shooting games, famous characters named
after a landlord and an attorney, the birth of third-party development,
and the best and worst selling systems of all time. Whether discussing
the pedigrees of games and systems, sequels, franchises, and series, the
console wars, the home computer revolution, or leading companies and
their strategies, Video Games FAQ serves as a fascinating, concise, and
comprehensive window into the past, present, and future of video games
and everything connected with them.
