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Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 1,332 ratings · 285 reviews

Tom Bissell is a prizewinning writer who published three widely acclaimed books before the age of thirty-four. He is also an obsessive gamer who has spent untold hours in front of his various video game consoles, playing titles such as Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, BioShock, and Oblivion for, literally, days. If you are reading this flap copy, the same thing can probably be said...more

Hardcover, 204 pages

Published June 8th 2010 by Pantheon (first published 2010)

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Sep 06, 2012 Elle M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This was a fun read. Its like the conversations you have with your friends. You'll find yourself say 'Oh yeah! I remember that!" often. He talks about the more common games that we gamers play so its easy to relate. Any games that he talks about that you haven't played makes you want to! We ended up going out and buying Fallout 3 right afterward. It was really refreshing to hear someone appreciate the world of games, the place they take you. The only negative thing I have to say is that it gets...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I think I come to this book from a much different direction than a lot of people: I'm not a gamer. Or rather, not any more. My days of gaming ended when I got married and had babies and I never ever got back into that scene in the same way, probably because I just didn't have time, and I enjoyed the human-interactive element of computers too much, chat rooms and discussion boards and the like. Also there's the whole book-reading obsession. I was never going to find the kind of time for games tha...more I think I come to this book from a much different direction than a lot of people: I'm not a gamer. Or rather, not any more. My days of gaming ended when I got married and had babies and I never ever got back into that scene in the same way, probably because I just didn't have time, and I enjoyed the human-interactive element of computers too much, chat rooms and discussion boards and the like. Also there's the whole book-reading obsession. I was never going to find the kind of time for games that I have for books.

So there's this whole evolution of gaming that sort of passed me by, and curiosity about what exactly was going on in those games kind of drew me to this book and I wasn't disappointed. The author talks about all the different console games he has obsessed over and spent huge chunks of his life on, and in doing so brings about a very fascinating discussion of the elements of those games and what works and doesn't work. I really enjoyed the whole analysis of "story" and why it is so difficult to incorporate it well into a game, and which games attempt it and fail and which games have broken new ground in that area.

He talks about the killing and the violence in a very matter-of-fact way (which I guess if you've spent days and months killing people in-game you can get pretty matter-of-fact about it.) He pretty much bypasses discussing the Mario's and Donkey Kong games because those are mostly memorization; he discusses titles like Grand Theft Auto, and Left 4 Dead, and other various first person shooter games where you play a character that is more than an entity that hits bricks with their heads to get coins.

There's a lot of discussion about "agency"; the ability of the player to choose what happens next in a storyline as opposed to just "playing through the level" or from the beginning of the story to the end.

I wish I didn't have to read the last part, about where he loses himself inside cocaine addiction for awhile. But in the end it totally makes sense because he admits that gaming, to him, was like cocaine and became inextricably tied up with cocaine, so that now when he replays the games they feel flat and lifeless because he isn't high. The author also talks about his connections to certain game characters, especially Niko in Grand Theft Auto, and that to me was the most fascinating part of the book. He connected less with the heroic, world-saving characters than he did with Niko, a misfit out-of-his-element guy trying to get a leg up and mostly not doing it very well. After all, we can't imagine ourselves saving the world every day, but we sure can relate to making mistakes and haplessly stumbling through life.(less)

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Dec 01, 2010 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary, memoirs

I'm a gamer, plain and simple. And what I find funny and part of the reason why I wanted to read this book is that, unlike movies and books and music, I can very seldom find myself in a position to have a conversation about games without feeling like a child or just plain awkward. For the life of me, I really don't know why. I have played games which have entertained and moved me just as deeply as some movies, books, and music. So why are Video games still the bastard child of entertainment?

Extr...more I'm a gamer, plain and simple. And what I find funny and part of the reason why I wanted to read this book is that, unlike movies and books and music, I can very seldom find myself in a position to have a conversation about games without feeling like a child or just plain awkward. For the life of me, I really don't know why. I have played games which have entertained and moved me just as deeply as some movies, books, and music. So why are Video games still the bastard child of entertainment?

Extra Lives attempts to touch upon this question as well as analyze the media's strengths and weaknesses in character design, narrative, etc. in comparison to the other medias. The writing is very analytical and intellectual, giving me flashbacks at times to my days as an English Major, reading through literary journals for paper ideas. The book does a great job of introducing concepts to readers who have not played alot of games, so anyone interested in the topic can walk away with something, regardless of background knowlegde. But what I think I was most impressed with is Bissell's ability to help me look at games I have played in a brand new way. Many of the games he discussed in the book I have played, and he brings up so many fascinating questions that have really changed how I look at some of the experiences.

In the end, I am really glad that I read this book and am glad that books like this are simply out there. Video games are really the weird kid in the class when it comes to respected medias and it really shouldn't be the case. Just like there are mindless movies and mindless books, there are, ofcourse, mindless games. But also just like books and movies and music, there are real things that can be taken away from video games. Because it's still a relatively new media, this idea really isn't understood by the masses. But as the gamers of old become adults and the media continues to become more widespread, I think a time will come where a conversation about Animal Farm will be just as respected as a conversation about Bioshock. And it will come thanks to books that point out the importance of the media, just like Bissell's extra lives.(less)

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Jun 09, 2010 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: staff-selection, signed, nonfiction, memoir-biography

It's possible one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was to learn that I am not alone. I am not the only person in their mid (okay, late) thirties that still loves video games, often loses sleep because of them, and may have even called in sick to work once to finish a "mission". One of the reasons I have such a fondness for the author Mary Roach (Stiff, Spook, Bonk) is her ability to write about non-fiction subjects, specifically science, and entertain and amuse the reader at the same t...more It's possible one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was to learn that I am not alone. I am not the only person in their mid (okay, late) thirties that still loves video games, often loses sleep because of them, and may have even called in sick to work once to finish a "mission". One of the reasons I have such a fondness for the author Mary Roach (Stiff, Spook, Bonk) is her ability to write about non-fiction subjects, specifically science, and entertain and amuse the reader at the same time as educating her. Tom Bissell has this ability too. I caught myself laughing out loud and often, in complete mental harmony with his love/hate relationship with the video game.

Extra Lives reads like a collection of essays, each section focusing on a specific game or company. The author sticks with console games, mainly first-person shooters and other fighting games. I myself am strictly a PC gamer, playing RPG's and adventures. This seemingly opposite attraction in no way detracted from my enjoyment, understanding and identification with so much Tom Bissell has to say. I actually think he may have piqued my interest in some areas I would never have looked at before. His emotionally wrought "Headshots" section discussing his first Resident Evil experience was hysterical! He painted such an accurate picture that I read over 10 pages with a big stupid, understanding grin on my face before I realized that a couple at another table were beginning to stare. The interviews and conversations with game designers were some of my favorite parts. There are people & companies out there who are not all just money-hungry capitalists churning out game after game with no thought or innovation. They have a real love of the video game and the technology and are constantly striving to expand the capabilities of games.

I'm not sure Extra Lives actually proves the statement that video games matter, but it brings up compelling discussion points on the video game as art, as a medium of story-telling and as an ubiquitous, even important, cultural staple. I found the discussions on narration and ludology especially interesting and enlightening. The video game has so many similarities to a narrative story or a film, but can't do exactly what they do, and can do what they can't (the author puts this much more eloquently). He examines the beauty of games and the experiences they can help to create along with their faults and short-comings.

"We're going to change the world and entertain in a way that nothing else ever has before." - Sir Peter Molyneux

Excerpts from a 2009 interview between game designer Sir Peter Molyneux and author Tom Bissell:

MOLYNEUX: I think the expression wheel worked because it allowed people to make their own stories up without it being totally encapsulated by what I wanted to do. And that is an amazing place for us to get to.

BISSELL: I can tell you that when I played Fable II I became a slutty lesbian bigamist who had tons of children, all of whom I abandoned.

MOLYNEUX: That's fantastic!
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Sep 20, 2012 Abbe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-library

EDITORIAL REVIEW: Tom Bissell is a prizewinning writer who published three widely acclaimed books before the age of thirty-four. He is also an obsessive gamer who has spent untold hours in front of his various video game consoles, playing titles such as *Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, BioShock, *and* Oblivion* for, literally, days. If you are reading this flap copy, the same thing can probably be said of you, or of someone you know.Until recently, Bissell was somewhat reluctant to admit to his passion...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Robin Kirk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: craft

This is an extremely thought-provoking and well-written book and could be read by any writer looking for insights into writing (and not just for video games). What can story-tellers learn from the gaming world? The question of story is increasingly occupying the video game industry, as was made clear by a resent NYT piece on the new Gears of War release that features this author as one of the game creators (he is apparently getting less into playing and more into game-creation). Some take-aways:...more This is an extremely thought-provoking and well-written book and could be read by any writer looking for insights into writing (and not just for video games). What can story-tellers learn from the gaming world? The question of story is increasingly occupying the video game industry, as was made clear by a resent NYT piece on the new Gears of War release that features this author as one of the game creators (he is apparently getting less into playing and more into game-creation). Some take-aways:

1. Writers of fiction devolve action out of character; writers for games devolve character from action, essentially imposing character on top of code. As Bissell writes, gamers resist having any predetermined character set that will “interfere” with “total play,” essentially being the “agent of chaos in the video-game world.”

2. Bissell praises some game writers for “narrative minimalism,” where a player left (for example) in a zombie-infested world has no greater goal than survival. These games refuse “to explore the who, what, why, or how of its zombie citizenry” (41-42).

3. Bissell also makes a distinction between a set frame (zombie apocalypse) and the “ludonarrative,” the modifiable steps a character takes between points A and Z, always changing and shifting but inevitably ending up in the preset terminus. Perhaps there’s a parallel with genre, in which a thriller is a set frame with a ludonarrative that shifts given the protagonist and setting. There are certain things genre narrative must doi, just as there are limitations (at least for now) in on-line games.

4. One of the most interesting points Bissell makes is that players can feel real emotion and engagement with a game. But often, that doesn’t come from the game itself but through the experience of playing and bonding with other players while game-playing. After a particularly harrowing sequence of “Left 4 Dead,” when Bissell abandons his on-line teammates to a savvy zombie horde, he is shamed into risking his character’s life to save surviving players. “At great personal risk, and out of real shame, I had rescued two of my three friends and in the process outfaced against all odds one of the best Left 4 Dead teams I had and have ever played against. I realized, then, vividly, that Left 4 Dead offered a rare example in which a game’s theme (cooperation) was also what was encouraged within the actual flow of gameplay… all of the emotions I felt during those few moments – fear, doubt, resolve, and finally courage – were as intensely vivid as any I have felt while reading a novel or watching a film or listening to a piece of music. For what more can one ask? What more could one want?” (46-47)

5. For the most part, the characters in games don’t change through play; they are the vehicles of exploration (80). However, players can change as a part of their interactions with other players. So the story unfolds in the space of the player as a character within the framed narrative, because of his "ludotropic" and unpredictable actions.

6. The act of playing with others is profoundly different from reading, even if you read the same book and discuss it later in a class or with a friend or in a book club. A key part of gaming is increasingly that it is not only a shared experience, but that a central part of the experience is the competing against or bonding with others, even those you only know by their silly online names.

7. Games don’t pose arguments, they present systems with which to interact” : Video game critic Chris Dahlen. But fiction starts with the variables, not the system (Bissell). These are “very different formal constraints" (86).

8. Until recently, games have lacked the “stickyness” comes with emotion, when characters really stick with you. That, though, is also morphing with games like Bioware's Mass Effect and Rock Star's Grand Theft Auto IV.

9. I wonder if the new motion consoles, like the Kinect, will lead to players actually inhabiting and speaking for their online avatars?

Ludonarrative (from Wikipedia): a portmanteau of ludology and narrative, refers to the aspects of video game storytelling that are controlled by the player. It is contrasted with fixed or embedded narrative which are the purely narrative, non-interactive aspects of the game that are determined by the game's designers and told through cutscenes or other related devices. Ludonarrative is considered an essential concept in videogame theory

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Feb 09, 2013 Paul JB added it

A more accurate title would be 'Why Video Games Matter To Me, Tom Bissell' because this is mostly a tedious procession of anecdotes about the author's favourite game-playing moments, which benefit to anyone who isn't Tom Bissell measures exactly zero. I'm amazed and perplexed that any publisher would allow him to spend page upon page of what is, after all, a fairly slim volume, telling us what he was wearing the time he shot a zombie in Resident Evil. Obviously the intention here is to use perso...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Ob-jonny rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a no nonsense book about the nature and significance of video games with an emphasis on games that have come out in the past decade. It's interesting to hear someone analyze these games in detail to determine why people enjoy them and what it means to be controlling characters who often do unspeakable things in the games they are playing. It allows people who are out of touch with recent gaming to know some of the better games in detail and how game have changed since the days of Super N...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

Extra Lives is essentially an argument that video games are a unique art form. It is mostly intended for people who don't play video games. Most of the games he covers are big releases that most people who actually play video games have played and probably agree with him on most of his sentiments. I think this set of games (Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Braid, etc) is covered because they are all games that would be good introductory material for someone getting into the medium. As a per...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Adam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: artsycarap, truetales, nerdery

An attempt at serious critique of video games. The author looks at a handful of the bigger titles, some industry personalities, and gets some things off his chest.

I take exception to the method in approaching critique of video games herein. The author treats video games as a genre vs. a medium and then breaking out into genres. Result is trying to get "hardcore" games to speak for the whole. Better would have been to discuss the medium then focus on genre and explain why these are important are...more An attempt at serious critique of video games. The author looks at a handful of the bigger titles, some industry personalities, and gets some things off his chest.

I take exception to the method in approaching critique of video games herein. The author treats video games as a genre vs. a medium and then breaking out into genres. Result is trying to get "hardcore" games to speak for the whole. Better would have been to discuss the medium then focus on genre and explain why these are important areas to look at. What I've been hoping for in game critique is for someone to start to break these down and build collections of thoughts such as seen in Kitses & Rickman's "The Western Reader," a fantastic anthology of crit pieces about Western films. Speaking of such, I get the feeling that film crit folk come from a broader base of academia, professional critic, &c., whereas the game critic is a social scientist or kid w/ a pen and an agent. Too, in a earlier this year interview w/ Ken Rolston via Game Informer, I tend to agree w/ Ken in that games are fluff currently--which would stymie real critic--and who knows, maybe they always stay that way?

Anyhow...

The author talks about himself quite oft and in high horse terms. Then in later segments he'll give out more detail about these claims, and his character falters significantly, and credibility with it. Such as his time in the peace corps which turns out to be a few weeks till he packs it in because he can't hang with it. Man, best to either not mention in the first place, or go ahead and let me think you actually made an effort to help the world. Too, some of his descriptions of games generate questions of "did you even play this title?" This is a problem I've not rarely encountered in these types of works. And he lacks capacity to explain why a game is so awesome, and we're left w/ an embarrassing "dewd it wuz teh cool!" type of acct.

Much better portions are snippets from industry pros. He's got a wide range from industry rebel, Johnathan Blow creator of Braid, to mundane "business something something" at Sony. Going by what he is able to draw out of these folks, and what to distill unto us the reader, I wager the author is far better suited to interviews than critique.

The book does shine in the very last chapter, however, it's cringingly necessary to have read everything else to get the full weight. We're talking about several pages supposedly devoted to the analysis of Grand Theft Auto as a series and focusing in on IV. By far the best analysis in the entire book, but more interestingly is the odd story the author tells about his drug addictions. Early in the book he talks about being an unashamed partaker of marijuana, but that's it nothing else! However, as he cracks open GTA IV he describes his friend cuttin' several lines of coke... and the sprial downward he personally makes as he becomes hookt on the happy dust; spending all waking hours doin' coke, playin' GTA, and waiting in various shady E.European alley ways for his dealer to (hopefully) return a dose of the goods in exchange for all those wads of cash handed over.

Unfortunately, the author never really gets into his abuse issues, or directly confronts why his personality is flawed, weak, and he needs to do this (tho he does hint heavily). And this could have made for a far more interesting read. But after finishing this final chapter the reader realizes the book was not so much about games, but the author's attempt to do some therapeutic talking to... i guess the world at large? Many of his pompous personal claims are later pulled down, his strict drug policies are found to be anything but, he has security issues needing workt thru, but never brings himself to such; always skirting that bush, but breaking off several branches during the circlings.

A book less about games, and more about personal demons. Fails at both, but encourage a re-write focusing on the latter.

Epilogue:
Jacket design by Chip Kidd, basically the "it" man for 90's book designs. His work here is shamelessy careless to the point of insult, and herein I agree. The utter lack of care by such a talent speaks volume to the quality of the content, and seen in such light... it's a small genius that will be greatly appreciated by attentive lovers of graphic design; surely this choice was no accident.(less)

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May 17, 2012 Shara rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was really enjoying this book, and having a great time thinking about the video games I play and why I love them when Bissell suddenly pulled the rug out from under me. All along he had mentioned bits about his personal life during discussions of video games but it was just commentary that anchored the game in a particular time, and it illustrated the role games play in our lives -- welcome distraction from tragedy, a means of working out stress and anxiety, or a vehicle for cementing friendsh...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Courtney Johnston rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: big-ideas-made-accessible, borrowed

I read Tom Bissell’s Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter and Pippin Barr’s How to Play a Video Game in one long binge over Waitangi weekend. I realised at the end of the weekend that I had read the books in what would seem to be the wrong order - Bissell’s longer memoir first, Barr’s slim primer second - but I think this accident brought more depth to both.

Let’s start with autobiography. Barr uses autobiography as a framing device, taking us through his near life-long history of gaming, from pla...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Mae R added it

I read "Extra Lives: why video games matter" several months ago along with the "spinebreakers" podcast for thatguywiththeglasses.com, so forgive me if this review is a little hazy on specifics. For the most part, this book is a trip through video game history, chronicling the changes that took games from a single screen of black and green to the visually stunning sandbox games of today. What makes this book is not so much what its telling. but how, and the personal ancedotes blended with intervi...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Read it for research at work, but it's effect stretched into personal life as well, which is sort of the nature of the book. Bissell's a great writer anyways, and he doesn't approach this from any sort of streamlined or overtly researched angle. Instead they're lengthy essays, thoughtful and entertaining, and by the end of it, he had me wanting to play video games and feeling all-around less baffled by my husband/man-friend's video gaming. I'm waiting for a free chunk of time to try out BioShock...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Ryan I rated it 3 of 5 stars

Video games are in the same ghetto as comics seem to have a lot in common. They both suffer from the ghetto attitude, perpetually hoping to viewed in the same league of culture as books, film and now, tv. (Pretty much says the same thing on page 34)

Comics, or at least the comic book industry will need dramatic changes to survive, while video games are poised to probably be the Medium of The Future.

'Extra Lives' is an interesting critique of notable and recent-narrative video games - and having...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Brook Bakay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting and surprisingly personal book that doesn't have answers so much as questions. I have long struggled with the same problem as Bissell, namely, "Are video games even a good thing". I have gone through many of the same addictive, self-destructive behaviours that he has. When I finish a video game, I usually have had an engrossing, good time, and I feel a sense of accomplishment, but I don't feel better for it.

He makes a fairly half hearted argument as to why video games matter - h...more

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May 03, 2011 Johnny rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: game-criticism

The title of this book is Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. I normally wouldn’t begin a review with such a mundane sentence, but it is vital to understanding my reaction to the book. The eponymous question is never answered in this volume. The question appears to be an “excuse” for publishing the most self-indulgent essays I’ve read since some of my reviews on this site. At least, Bissell is honest about his bias against PC games. I can understand that. It’s very clear from the games that he...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Yune rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the answer to Roger Ebert's claim that video games can't be art.

I think this is an incomplete subtitle; I'd call this "Why Video Games Matter to Me [Tom Bissell]." This doesn't invalidate it in any way -- in fact, it makes for a more interesting read, intertwined with personal anecdotes as it is.

I've never been a huge gamer, particularly on the console, but I've, uh, dabbled and had a binge or two. (Oh, Halo...) I suspect that non-gamers who haven't felt the visceral urgency of gunning d...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Colin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you ever had an intelligent conversation about video games? Out of all my friends there is only one who I can talk to in video games that goes beyond the basic “Did you beat (game title here) yet?”. When I say intelligent conversation I’m talking about a serious critique of a game. With this one friend I can tell him about that part in Mass Effect when I had to choose between Ashley and Kaidan. They were both pinned down by enemy forces but I could only get to one of them in time. The one I...more Have you ever had an intelligent conversation about video games? Out of all my friends there is only one who I can talk to in video games that goes beyond the basic “Did you beat (game title here) yet?”. When I say intelligent conversation I’m talking about a serious critique of a game. With this one friend I can tell him about that part in Mass Effect when I had to choose between Ashley and Kaidan. They were both pinned down by enemy forces but I could only get to one of them in time. The one I failed to choose would be killed. My jaw hung there as I stared at the screen. To lose a character after spending 20 hours is devastating, let alone having to pick between the two. Sophie’s Choice anyone? Anyway, that’s the kind of event that I like talking about when it comes to video games. When I try talking about Portal and my relationship with the Companion Cube, he kind of just gives me an unsure glace, not knowing the emotional turmoil I faced before dropping the Companion Cube in to the fire. In all fairness, I probably give him the same look when he talks about the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Extra Lives by Tom Bissell is an entire book made up of intelligent essays about video games and the emotion/psychological impact they have on players. He covers all the big games: Grand Theft Auto, Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Far Cry and more. He discusses how players identify with characters they can custom create like in Mass Effect versus characters that are build by the publishes such in Grand Theft Auto IV. It was really interesting because he present ideas and concepts that make sense and seem obvious but had never crossed my mind because I never thought about it in that particular way. This book will appeal to the college student who, in between studying, will take a break for a few quick rounds of Halo. Like Halo, it’s easy to lose track of time and you’ll find yourself saying “just one more chapter” until hours of have passed and you discover that you’ve spent your whole day reading/playing video games.

This book was a fond trip down memory lane for me. All the games he talked about I would get distracted thinking about them. The Mass Effect chapter was particularly hard because I have spent many, many, many hours in that game, and I consider it one of my favorites. I can not recommend this book enough. Even if you don’t play video games, you’re bound to know someone who does and Extra Lives would make a great gift.
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Jan 24, 2011 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not a gamer. I picked this up in the hope of better understanding why some people are, and I think Bissell does succeed in explaining why video games matter to people who play them. I'm not sure he's very successful at explaining the significance of video games to our culture in general, and, despite the title, I don't think he's trying to. He has a lot to say about how he thinks the gaming experience could be improved and how game design could be an art form, and I have to admit I am intrig...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had high hopes for this book, though I'm not a gamer. I was very interested to see Bissell's argument. Although his argument wasn't very strong as to why video games truly matter within the cultural landscape, he did a great job of showing why video games matter to the people to whom they matter.

The only huge problem I had with the book was that I was loving every single chapter...until the last one. And it still bugs me how much I just truly disliked that chapter. In fact, I didn't hate it st...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

I found this book about the narrative achievements and deficiencies of video games frequently thought-provoking and amusingly written. The author describes gameplay in a way that's rarely boring and effectively explains the differences in style between games I've never played. His descriptions of even the furnishings in people's offices can be entertaining. I don't need much convincing to find video games an interesting/important medium (in another life I might spend all my free time playing Ass...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Matt rated it 1 of 5 stars

Though I don’t play as often as I used to, I consider myself a gamer. I like the idea of someone unpacking the idea of why video games matter, and I think that topic would make for a good book. Unfortunately, Extra Lives is not that book. The problem is not that I necessarily disagree with Bissell’s opinions on whether or not games matter – the problem is that the book really isn’t about that topic at all.

The title is more than a little misleading. While Bissell doesn’t spend much (if any) time...more

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Sep 30, 2010 Ed Wagemann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Extra Lives

My soon to be five year old son wants a Star Wars light saber something or other video game for Christmas this year. The first problem with that is that this game is for the Wii game system and I only have a PlayStation 2. The second problem is that I have not yet been sold on this notion that video games aren’t just a waste of time and they are turning the youth of America into dumb, fat and happy drains on the purse strings of their hard working parents. Just like most every other p...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Christopher Litsinger rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010, non-fiction

So a book about video games by an author with an impressive resume sounded pretty interesting to me. And it even has a chapter called "Little Big Problems", which I assumed would be about Little Big Planet (by far my kids' favorite video game ever).
I should have known from this bit in the intro what I was getting into:

There are many fine books about the game industry, the theory of game design, and the history of games, overmuch discussion of which will not be found here. I did not write this bo

...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Ethan Gilsdorf added it

BOOK REVIEW

‘Extra Lives’ asks: What’s in a game?

By Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe Correspondent | June 17, 2010

These are potent days for video gamers. The baby steps taken by Pong, Space Invaders, and Doom have become the thundering footfalls of Halo, Gears of War, and Mass Effect. The industry rakes in billions. Production budgets for some games rival those of movies.

The problem is, no one knows how to talk about gaming — these Xbox and PlayStation binges that nervous parents worry could turn the...more

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Jul 10, 2010 John Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's a tough sell. The author has to make his book accessible enough for non-gamers, but still interesting enough for gamers of all levels. As a result, this book veers erratically between a genuinely entertaining 'experiential' account of the author's video gaming habits, and a boring, dime-a-dozen primer on video games. For example, the blow-by-blow recounting of the opening minutes of Resident Evil might be interesting to someone who has never played the game before, but as someone who has pl...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Andy rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'll admit that I'm not a huge video game player. I play a couple of games on my computer, and played video games a lot as a kid and teenager, but it's been almost 20 years since I played many games and haven't spent much time playing anything since the PlayStation came out. So, if you're really a gamer, you might get more out of this book than I did.

With that said, I saw this author speak and picked up his book at the speaking engagement. He freely admitted that while the subtitle of his book w...more I'll admit that I'm not a huge video game player. I play a couple of games on my computer, and played video games a lot as a kid and teenager, but it's been almost 20 years since I played many games and haven't spent much time playing anything since the PlayStation came out. So, if you're really a gamer, you might get more out of this book than I did.

With that said, I saw this author speak and picked up his book at the speaking engagement. He freely admitted that while the subtitle of his book was 'Why Video Games Matter,' one critic had stated that the book more accurately described why video games matter to the author.

In fact, there are a number of reasons that video games are really important. The author alludes to some of them. Video games, especially first-person shooter games, are very popular among members of the military. The video game industry is huge, rivaling other media, like movies. Video games can be used to simulate a lot of different scenarios. Video games are incredibly violent and encourage people to be violent (or don't, I don't know).

Great. So analyze those reasons. Why are video games popular among the military or how do video games help members of the military develop needed skills? (Or how do video games prevent members of the military from developing needed skills, if that's the case.)

What we get instead is a retelling of some of the author's favorite game playing moments. At times, we get a somewhat self-righteous account of why the author decided not to make a particular video game character take unnecessary violent actions since that would have violated the vision of the game developers.

Ultimately, instead of getting an explanation of why video games matter, I think we get a portrait of a life in which too much time was spent wasted playing video games and taking drugs, with one habit seeming to fuel the other. The author seems to have been frequently more concerned with whether his female video game characters would consummate their relationships than whether he would consummate his own. By the end, I was a bit depressed and actually felt like I disliked the author.(less)

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Jun 24, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a really really good book, on a subject I'm fascinated-repelled by.

Part of Bissell's accomplishment, to me, is how upfront he is about what he wants out of games-- an emotionally rich experience, one that is worth something in terms of how it casts his own life in a new light. I think this is pretty well understood as what most of us want, but I think if Bissell left it unsaid, as most people would, he'd have circles run around him by designers telling us the other interesting but peri...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Danny rated it 2 of 5 stars

To review Tom Bissell's latest work, it seems one must start off with a little personal background, so as not to be dismissed out-of-hand as an outsider. Here, I can readily admit to my great fondness of games and all things gamey and thereby actually hope to increase (for once in life) your estimation of my worth as a book reviewer. To be more specific though, Bissell's 'research' does cover an awful lot of first-person shooter games, which he lumps together with many action/adventure games as...more To review Tom Bissell's latest work, it seems one must start off with a little personal background, so as not to be dismissed out-of-hand as an outsider. Here, I can readily admit to my great fondness of games and all things gamey and thereby actually hope to increase (for once in life) your estimation of my worth as a book reviewer. To be more specific though, Bissell's 'research' does cover an awful lot of first-person shooter games, which he lumps together with many action/adventure games as being about "narrative stories". I personally have never gotten too excited about first-person shooters, but I do love a good story woven into my game.

At the outset of Extra Lives, it was apparent that the differences in my personal taste in games would not matter and that Bissell's own skill with narrative could transcend the fact that we will likely never cross paths in an online game forum. The first few chapters of the work were excellently written: though I have never played Fallout 3 or Resident Evil, and have only fleeting acquaintance with Left for Dead, I was still transported and engaged. I shared Bissell's frustration with the often teeth-grindingly-terrible dialog in games and was breathlessly beside him as he tiptoed his way past hordes of zombie minions in Left for Dead. I found myself openly laughing at Bissell's wit and excited about his apparent insights into gaming. Even while discussing fairly specific experiences, Bissell was speaking to the heart of gaming in general.

Bissell has clearly thought deeply about gaming; how it could be improved and how impactful it already is on even the casual gamer. He repeatedly discusses his ideas on how gaming should be improved and how it can be elevated as an art form. He makes the argument that games, rather uniquely as an art form, can achieve a level of interactivity that places the gamer in situations they would never encounter in life. The engagement of the gamer can involve them much more deeply than observing a fixed story like those in books/film, and can challenge them to make ethical decisions that are personally meaningful. With such a strong base, I was hooked and excited to hear what Bissell had to say on this matter.

Unfortunately, as I progressed past the first third of the book, it seemed as though Bissell lost his way. I found myself unexpectedly slogging through obscure details about the way that a controller handled in this game, or how annoying the inventory/encumbrance system(s) were in that game. In an odd parallel to 'game rage' I found myself periodically becoming actively angry with Bissell throughout the second half of the book, even exclaiming aloud in disbelief/annoyance. Frequently, the text was so specific that it left me imagining Bissell giving a shrug of the shoulders and saying “guess you had to be there” in the way that one does after delivering a terrible anecdote. A good portion of the middle section of this book seemed more appropriate for a magazine game review and was just plain frustrating to anyone who has not specifically played the game in question.

I soldiered on anyway, kept from total madness by the occasional interviews that Bissell had with various game designers – all of which were excellent and revealing. Armed with more information than I cared to know on the realistic pleas for mercy programmed into the computer characters within Far Cry 2, I approached the final chapter – wherein Bissell discusses his addiction to cocaine and (we are assured) completely unrelated addition to Grand Theft Auto IV. Yet, even here, in a deeply personal period of Bissell’s life, the narrative was flat and uninvolving. All of the formidable powers of insight that Bissell displays in dissecting the minute flaws of story or gameplay vanish when he turns his gaze upon his own life.

The central problem of this book became apparent to me only once it was finished: Tom Bissell is far too personally involved with the games and gamer culture that he is reporting upon. In his book Bissell approaches the edge of the most important and interesting questions facing the gaming industry and any self-aware gamer. Having brought the reader to this vantage point, Bissell merely dances distractingly in place for hundreds of pages.

I agree with Bissell that it would be great to elevate the art of game design – making games more insightful, impactful and involving. But the next obvious discussion following this is one of content. Bissell appears to yearn for even better “sandbox-style” games where the environment is even more interactive and the player is free to do whatever they want. Yet what does it mean that when Bissell (and many other gamers) are free to pursue these impulses, they are mostly destructive? Why, among the dozens of blockbuster games that Bissell highlighted, were almost all of them exceptionally violent? In a discussion of the meaning of games, why was there only fleeting reference to scientific studies suggesting games impact the user in significant ways?

For example, Bissell spends a great deal of time discussing his disappointment that “politics” seem to have prevented Ubisoft from including innocent civilians in the world of Far Cry 2 – as inclusion of these citizens would force the player to confront some thorny ethical dilemmas. Yet, in the very next chapter, Bissell gleefully recounts his in-game actions upon the citizens programmed in Grand Theft Auto IV; namely, finding thousands of clever and gruesome ways to massacre them. He then hollowly reassures us that “the really violent stuff that I did I did in games … I did not save so as to preserve my character’s moral integrity.”

Statements like this and the entire weirdly disconnected treatment that Bissell gives in his final chapter on drugs and GTA IV reveal an author this is deeply conflicted about games. I think many serious gamers (myself included) are conflicted in a similar manner; amazed at the power and imagination of games – yet a little frightened of the emotional sway those games can hold over them. It would be presumptuous of me to assume that one could (or should) try to dictate the exact content of an entire art form - and to be clear, I’m not attempting to make any direct connection between Grand Theft Auto specifically and violence/drug use/whatever. But surely in a book about the meaningfulness of games, a discussion on the broader impact of game content on their users is relevant?

Bissell is clearly an intelligent and (usually) insightful guy. He speaks of what a powerful force gaming can be, what an influential force it has been in his life, then speaks of how he dreams of a future where such games are even more inspiring and engrossing. Given his significant personal experience wrestling with the darker side of games in his life, the absence of any substantial discussion on the ethics surrounding game design is particularly glaring. I am personally convinced he has many thoughts on this issue and many thoughts on the impact video games have had specifically on his personality/lifestyle. Unfortunately, he cowardly lets himself, and the entire gaming industry, off very lightly in this book.
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About Tom Bissell

Tom Bissell (born 1974) is a journalist, critic, and fiction writer.

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“More than any other form of entertainment, video games tend to divide rooms into Us and Them. We are, in effect, admitting that we like to spend our time shooting monsters, and They are, not unreasonably, failing to find the value in that.” — 4 people liked it

“And so, my beloved Kermit, my dear little Hussein, at the moment America changed forever, your father was wandering an ICBM-denuded watseland, nervously monitoring his radiation level, armed only with a baseball bat, a 10mm pistol, and six rounds of ammunition, in search of a vicious gang of mohawked marauders who were 100 percent bad news and totally had to be dealth with. Trust Daddy on this one.” — 3 people liked it

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