Friday 24 February 2012

History can be fun.

Today I would like to do something a bit different and recommend a book to you. Now this might seem a bit strange, a gaming blog pointing people towards a book. However this is no ordinary book. It is called Replay: The History of Video Games and is written by Tristan Donovan and published by Yellow Ant media Ltd. But why, I hear you ask, should we read such a book?

As a history buff I have always been interested in the early development of the games industry; the characters behind the major players in the late seventies and the eighties. So naturally I sought to find a book that would give me a bit more insight into this period. After several searches on Amazon, Waterstones and Google I found that there wasn’t much to choose from, and most of what there was either out-of-stock or available for around £30. Now I like my history, but I was unwilling to fork out such a large amount of money for a book that I had no idea about whether it would be any good. One title though did catch my eye–the book in question–and I suddenly remembered reading a glowing review of it in a back issue of Edge magazine. Unfortunately it was out-of-stock on Amazon, but my lovely, beautiful wife was working in a Waterstones store at the time and I asked her if she could see if she could get hold of a copy. My luck was in as there were copies available, so I duly asked her to order me one in and was soon in possession of my first book on the history of the gaming industry.

The book itself is a weight tome with around 500 pages stuffed full of facts, anecdotes, and interesting comment which gives a real insight into how our great industry was born. After reading it I really felt that I knew a lot more about the birth and evolution of gaming. It’s not without its faults. I felt that the Personal Computer didn’t get as much recognition as it deserved, especially in respect to the birth of 3D graphics, and the last third motors through the Playstation/Saturn/N64 era where it finishes. But even these bits are a good read and when you factor in the depth and detail that is given over to the very early years then you have a very wide-ranging history of the period.

This piece isn’t really a review though, other than to say it’s great, more of a call for people to find out more about the history of video games. The reason I say this is because not only were the formative years of our hobby characterised by, at times, shear madness which makes for a cracking read, but also because without everything that has happened previously, the trials and missteps, the hits and the breakthroughs, the industry would not be where it is now. By having a better understanding of this story you appreciate more what we have today. This is what books such as Replay can do. They help enrich our industry and remind us of what has come before, and for a sector that is constantly looking towards the future, it does us good to stop for a while and look back at our past and the journey video gaming has taken.

To that end I think that anyone who has an interest in gaming should go out and buy Replay: The History of Video Games. It’s currently in stock on Amazon for just £12.65, or if you are more technically minded you can get the ebook version from Waterstones.com for £7.67. I highly recommend the book itself and guarantee you will learn something you didn’t know already, but above all I think it will increase your understanding of gaming and ultimately your love. 

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