false 5435210 1 The Atari Video Computer System dominated the home video game market so completely that "Atari" became the generic term for a video game console. The Atari VCS was affordable and offered the flexibility of changeable cartridges. Nearly a thousand of these were created, the most significant of which established new techniques, mechanics, and even entire genres. This book offers a detailed and accessible study of this influential video game console from both computational and cultural perspectives.<br /> <br /> Studies of digital media have rarely investigated platforms—the systems underlying computing. This book (the first in a series of Platform Studies) does so, developing a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms and creative expression. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost discuss the Atari VCS itself and examine in detail six game cartridges: <i>Combat, Adventure, Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Pitfall!,</i> and <i>Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.</i> They describe the technical constraints and affordances of the system and track developments in programming, gameplay, interface, and aesthetics. <i>Adventure,</i> for example, was the first game to represent a virtual space larger than the screen (anticipating the boundless virtual spaces of such later games as <i>World of Warcraft</i> and <i>Grand Theft Auto</i>), by allowing the player to walk off one side into another space; and <i>Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back</i> was an early instance of interaction between media properties and video games.<br /> <br /> Montfort and Bogost show that the Atari VCS—often considered merely a retro fetish object—is an essential part of the history of video games.<br /> <br /> <i>Platform Studies series</i> 5502796 31 3 2009 Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (Platform Studies) total:13|5:3|4:8|3:1|2:1|1:0| 13 52 32 5 4 1 false false Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 11:57:10 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 19 12:00:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 22:34:51 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 22:34:51 -0700 2009
This book focuses on the technical design of the Atari 2600 (nee VCS) and its impact on future gaming systems, told through a deep investigation into six classic games. It goes into thorough detail, to...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 22 20:20:36 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 20:26:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed May 06 21:25:42 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 21:34:08 -0700 2009
Simultaneously dense with information and easy to read, "Racing The Beam" is a self-proclaimed--and convincing--manifesto for future technology writing. Montford and Bogost's tales of guerrilla programming for the Atari VCS (2600) approach a profound ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 08:07:14 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 08:31:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Nov 27 11:36:45 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 11:42:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 11 15:52:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 15:52:00 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Oct 11 15:51:40 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 15:51:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 07 22:20:13 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 22:20:13 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 23 22:16:06 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 22:16:06 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 12 12:43:42 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 12:43:42 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 12 00:08:27 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 00:08:27 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Aug 25 11:55:12 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 11:55:31 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 28 03:41:51 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 17:52:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 13 19:30:55 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 19:30:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jun 28 23:38:48 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 23:38:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 22:14:19 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 10:15:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jun 22 11:26:05 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 11:26:05 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jun 12 02:03:06 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 02:03:06 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jun 11 20:38:40 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 20:38:40 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=5435210