Bit by Bit: How Video Games Transformed Our World

by Andrew Ervin

An acclaimed critic argues that video games are the most vital art form of our time

Video games have seemingly taken over our lives. Whereas gamers once constituted a small and largely male subculture, today 67 percent of American households play video games. The average gamer is now thirty-four years old and spends eight hours each week playing -- and there is a 40 percent chance this person is a woman.

In Bit by Bit , Andrew Ervin sets out to understand the explosive popularity of video games. He travels to government laboratories, junk shops, and arcades. He interviews scientists and game designers, both old and young. In charting the material and technological history of video games, from the 1950s to the present, he suggests that their appeal starts and ends with the sense of creativity they instill in gamers. As Ervin argues, games are art because they are beautiful, moving, and even political -- and because they turn players into artists themselves.

Genres: Nonfiction, Video Games, History, Games, Audiobook, Cultural, Gaming

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Telthor · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf at 41%. I just...can't.

This book is a disaster. It's part memoir, part history, part philosophical meandering, part sucking up to favorite video game developers (seriously, it reads like he's down on his knees in front of the Adventure dev, kissing up in every way imaginable, and that's just humiliating). There's no focus, no sense of direction. One minute we're talking about Chrono Trigger and the limitations of video game graphics, the next we're talking about Budapest and how he moved their with his soon-to-be-wife, and then a few pages later we're talking about Hinduism.

I cannot handle this chaos. It does get a second star for the hope that the later half of the book is better than the first half, but I quietly doubt it. Without a definite thesis, this nonfiction book just isn't worth the effort.

It does, ever so briefly, mention a question that I've always wanted to discuss about games, but it does it SO BADLY that I just had to stop there. One of the things I love thinking about is how players and avatars merge and twist and blend. I am Ezio, and Ezio is me. I make the decisions about where characters move and how they jump and where they go, but they still have to act out their prescripted games: even if there's multiple endings, I'm still constrained by what the game devs have inserted. I have agency, but not that much agency. I can say, "Why does that character hate me?" in the same breath as "why does that character hate Graham of Daventry?" and it /works/ because you are in the moment when you play a game and are part of the decisions. And Ervin looks at that question and maybe kind of starts to discuss it, but only through a haze of self-importance and bragging about how cool he is for being clever and relating it to religion.

No more.

[Kelsqi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was about the author and how self absorbed he is. Video games take a back seat here, seriously.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a breezy little book, we go through a 15 chapter survey tour of both the history and the impact of video games on our culture, exploring the role they have served in our lives, debating the big questions like: are video games an art form? Ervin has provided a decent background and set up for a uniquely modern phenomenon and laying out it’s legacy, as we now have entered a phase where people play video games in leagues, for money (actually, that’s been going on for a while now, this book came out in 2017).

As a former casual gamer, I was excited to check this out. I came up with the Atari 2600; had a dalliance with a Coleco; moved on to the Original Nintendo Entertainment System --which I got bored with after a month and sold to a friend-- played A Sony PlayStation 2 for about a year in 2004. My last serious gaming came more than a dozen years ago with the Nintendo Wii. I have been out of the game for a while now, mostly due to lack of interest.

Bit by Bit starts even before what I had initially believed to be the first video game (SpaceWar!) and starts us at Tennis For 2, which he argues is really the first video game, though others consider it a quasi-computer game. We move on the SpaceWar! as a logical product of the Cold War, finally moving up through Pong and the Atari system, the video game crash of 1983 and then the rebirth of the industry with Nintendo and beyond. It’s stuff I’ve read before, but nonetheless I still find it enjoyable.

Bit by Bit is not an exhaustive history or analysis, but it is a journey through a world that exists just under our noses.

[Greg Bem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun memoir that tours the history of video games. Not extensive but presses all the right buttons!

[Tyler Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting anecdotes about the history of video games and their relevance in our society today, but other than that it was a little difficult to slog through. Very dry but informative; bonus points for the phrase "testoster-troll" in referring to awful male gamers.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of the book: “how video games transformed our world” is probably a bit too ambitious and overstates what the book is really about. It is far more of a memoir of the author’s, Andrew Ervin, jaunt through the history of video games. I get the sense the point of the book changed over time: that at first Ervin was looking to write a history of the video game — and the book largely tracks that history. Ervin tracks down original versions of old games to play them. He talks with some of the original designers. But along the way, we get more and more of Ervin’s experiences—not just of the game but of his life story. Not a lot, mind you, it’s not an autobiography. But his life forms the context of much of the storytelling about video games, just like the way such narratives set the backstory for many video games.

The other layer is the cultural impact of video games. Ervin weaves in cultural, art, and literary criticism into the discussion of video games. These parts were uneven. Sometimes insightful, other times insipid, and occasionally pompous or overwrought.

The book is definitely at its strongest on the first two fronts: as a history and a memoir of a gamer. Ervin’s own experiences playing Minecraft or Adventure resonated more with me than discussions about Dadaism, Moby Dick, or militarism. Much of the history can be gathered elsewhere, but Ervin’s conversations with the creators and designers added a novel aspect to the standard histories. Lastly, some of the games Ervin plays and discusses are ones that are outside of the mainstream (or are at least ones I had never heard of). This broadens the subject to include different kinds of video games to show how varied and diverse the genre really is.

Overall, the book is interesting and worth a read if you are interested in gaming.

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one delves into video game history for a bit, but also brings in literature, art, philosophy, theology, and game theory to provide context to tell us where these games have been and where they’re going. It can’t quite decide whether to be informal and memoir-ish or academic, but I’m not going to subtract too many points from the overall score for that.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed Bit by Bit.

As someone who grew up on videogames it really spoke to me. The weaving of history and art in relation to the creation of videogames fascinate my brain. The personal narrative Ervin puts in every now and then gives us a real world view of videogames.

The language in the book is very accessible and invites readers in. I also liked the literary references throughout. I think what I felt most about the book was the faith in videogames as a piece of evolving art. That they will keep going on an growing as long as we do.

This is a smaller an subtle thing the book does that is pulled off seamlessly--soulful meditation on what videogames mean to the players themselves. How do we see ourselves when we play these games? Is it pure fantasy? Is it an escape? Those questions linger throughout the book and again that's what I enjoyed about it. There aren't many books that build an interesting narrative about videogames so I was glad to see someone finally do that.

It's an exciting read.

It also does not participate in the erasure of women designers from videogame history like most traditional histories. Maybe what I like most about the Bit by Bit was the unique approach it took to telling its tale. It recreates the feeling of history without losing the facts.

So, I just enjoyed it and so you will, too. Trust me.

Now go use your master sword and get this book at the library or local bookstore.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't exactly grow up on these, but they began to appear when I was probably 18 or 19 in 7-11's and arcades in my town. I grew up playing pinball! But the new video games were enticing...! I loved playing Asteroid, Donkey Kong, Pong, and Space Invaders. I lost touch with the games as I entered my 20's, college, family, raising kids, etc... but reconnected when My 7 year old began computer classes and I bought a IBM! Games were not long in appearing! Those early ones, for me anyway, were frustrating... Indiana Jones, then Sonic the Hedgehog, among others. The only way to advance to each level was to win the 1st one! Hated it! Then my daughter came home with cheats! Ahhh! Much better! Years later- I love playing these stupid little games on my computer and when commuting on my phone! It just never really got old at all! My daughter, and her husband, and all their friends found WOW, which I never got into, but hey! I still love the old games! This was a nice trip down memory lane and had lots of back ground info into the video game and it's development and it's effects on society. Nicely written book! Very informative.

[Jeremy Strickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It filled in several gaps in my knowledge about the history of my favorite hobby and pastime. I really enjoyed getting to relive some of my childhood video games through the authors eyes. I also look forward to trying several of the games that he mentions and recommends throughout the book.

However, the chapter “trigger warning” is aptly named in that it does a very good job of making those of us who enjoy FPS games feel guilty for enjoying any small bit of masculinity in the games we enjoy. He spends every chapter after this chapter, proclaiming his perception of how video games, drive social behaviors, and how many of them are bad, simply because he perceives a connotation within the games that may not be inherently provided.

It is especially interesting that he takes aim at Call of Duty for being too militaristic, too masculine and something to be avoided while he fails to mention any of the same issues with games like Leisure Suit Larry or Conker’s Bad Fur Day.

[Behrooz Parhami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the unabridged 7-hour audio version of this title (read by the author, Hachette Audio, 2017).

Tracing the 6-decade development of electronic-games (video- & computer-games), beginning with the late 1950s, when "Tennis for Two" appeared on an oscilloscope, Ervin discusses hardware technology, programming, artistic aspects, and addictive nature of these games, now played by 2/3 of American households. Whereas early gamers were predominantly young men, today, the average player's age is 34 and 2 in 5 players are women.

To write the book, novelist/critic/gamer Ervin visited labs and game-designers, as he tracked down original versions of old games. Early on, games were text-based or had rudimentary graphics, such as using a square to represent a game character. As hardware speed and memory capacity increased, game designers took advantage of the new capabilities to create more realistic characters and larger game-worlds. In fact, some advances in hardware capabilities were motivated by gaming applications.

As game realism and complexity increased, game-controllers also became bigger and were endowed with more buttons. Ervin maintains that at some point, controllers became too complex to operate, leading to some gamers losing interest. On the other hand, the artful design of some game-worlds, the variety of experiences they offered, their sophisticated narratives, and hidden elements/worlds to be discovered by die-hard players attracted great interest.

One of Ervin's interesting observations is that the theme music of electronic games have always been highly-developed and quite attractive, thus evolving less than the visual and story aspects over the years. Another observation is that the introduction of depth and 3D features proved quite tricky at first, causing some disorientation. Ervin considers well-designed electronic games as art, a position that is somewhat controversial. In support of Ervin's position, one may note that some museums of modern art now have electronic games on display.

As a non-gamer, I found the book interesting and absorbing. I was familiar with some of the games, particularly those that ran on the original Nintendo game-console and NES that I bought for my children. I can imagine that gamers will get more enjoyment out of Ervin's detailed descriptions of both popular and lesser-known games.

[Nick Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born in 1979, and as far back as I can remember, there was a video game console in my house. At first, it was Atari. When I was 7 or 8 it was a new Nintendo Entertainment System. That's the one that really blew the lid off for me. I also just created a miniature computer system to play all of the old Nintendo, Genesis, SNES, Atari, and arcade games. And I also recently saw the new movie "Ready Player One" at my local cinema. Interestingly, the author of the book that that movie is based on also read and reviewed this book.

This book goes way back before 1979, to the dawn of the first individual game, then the progress since. Games have certainly evolved over the years. Andrew Ervin wrote about games he found affecting, that were more than just first-person shooters, that touched his soul or felt enlightening. Sometimes the games created regret or pain, sometimes mastery and accomplishment, sometimes an enrichment of the soul, or an experience of "Zen-ness" (Ervin's term).

Along the way, he also tackles the question "Are videogames art?" I think that's a very interesting question, and that chapter is good enough to want to read even if you dislike playing video games. He also writes about literature and books a great deal, including this:

"Nabokov once said, 'One cannot read a book: one can only reread it.' The second time through a book or a game, I notice much more, details and leitmotifs that had been hidden to me the first time."

I experience the same sentiment of noticing the details the second time around. Re-reading has led to great joy for me: from "Crime and Punishment," "The Stranger Beside Me," and so on to "All the President's Men." Sometimes, when I re-read, I more fully comprehend the point the author is trying to make. Sometimes, I more fully understand our history. It's always something positive, which is why I don't understand if someone balks at re-reading something they loved. Four stars, I liked it.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit by Bit: How Games Transformed our World (2017) by Andrew Ervin is a take on video games by a serious writer and critic. Ervin has written a number of books that have been well received as serious literature. In this book he's writing about something he is clearly passionate about and reflects on his game playing past and the history of computer games. He is also someone who is familiar with how serious art critics have addressed art in writing. If you read the New Yorker and play games, this book could well be for you.

The book mixes Ervin's life and a history of games. Ervin selects Adventure, Pong and a number of Nintendo games as significant and writes about how they were developed and the impact that they have had. He writes like someone who takes things seriously and writes in a manner that shows how he regards various items like old game consoles like some would regard relics.

He also visits a museum to see a game done as serious art and writes about a number of games. The book has lots of good points in it as Ervin reflects on how sport wouldn't be seen as an art but is the subject of quite a bit of serious writing. Ervin also addresses the issues of sexism and violence in games and trots out fairly pedestrian left wing views on the subject.

Ervin certainly writes well about an appreciation for games. I feel sorry for friends and family who don't really appreciate what a fantastic medium games are. It's like feeling sorry for people who don't particularly like music. But this is a hard thing to convey.

Bit by Bit is interesting but it's not really satisfying. Games are clearly an important artifact of our age and one where essentially the whole history of the form is still within memory. Ervin writes well but something is lacking in the book that makes it a really compelling exploration of games and their impact.

[Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent but flawed survey of the history of video games, as others said, the 1st half of the book is where the writing shines, because the author does what the book description says he will do, which is tell the history of video games.

The 2nd half of the book is where things get derailed as the author trips over himself many a time to virtue signal again and again and again, while also purporting to discuss "current gaming". Yes I want to hear about Gamer Gate as it does pertain to the history of gaming, but I would rather not hear the author's personal views on it, as well as the author's personal views on "masculinity" and how it affects his ability to enjoy First Person Shooters.

Trying to pinpoint Left or Right political leaning meanings from recent games was also pointless and went way off the topic of the book, plus author conveniently avoided interviewing designers of said games that he speculated on their political meanings.

If he wanted to get into politics and gaming, he should have had a chapter or 2 on the video game ratings board, and the Congressional hand wringing over games like Doom, Night Trap, and Mortal Kombat in the mid 1990s, as again, this is part of the history of gaming, yet its omission was glaring.

Lastly, the last 10-15% of the book was devoted to a rather pointless argument over whether games were "art or not". My take on art is that it really is in the eye of the beholder, and really does not need a diatribe or yes or no. It was telling that one of the quotes he used from a recent pop culture critic was from, I kid you not, Roger Ebert! I'm sorry but posting a quote about whether video games are art or not from a movie critic seems like a reach at best.

Maybe the author would be better served writing newspaper editorials on politics than writing books about video games.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

(rounded up from 2.5 stars)

I normally reserve ratings in the 2-star family for truly heinously bad books... but because this one should have been so wonderful and interesting and then just... didn't do it for me, I'm lumping it in!!

I took a video game class in college and it was absolutely fascinating. We talked game theory. There was a weekly demonstration of a new game, chosen by the students. We each had to play, for homework (!!), 40 hours of a game we wouldn't normally have picked up. It opened my eyes to the value of video games beyond pure enjoyment or nostalgia (because I certainly feel those things for my beloved Spyro the Dragon and Sly Cooper ) and was one of my favorite academic experiences in college.

So that's the feeling I was hoping to recapture with this book, with its cute cover and clever title and tantalizing book jacket mentions of Minecraft and Pokemon Go. Instead, I got the world's biggest (and only?) Moby Dick fan waxing philosophical about how much it sucks to play games these days because they're not as good as Adventure, and also, playing Halo is probably like what doing cocaine feels like, right?

The author's explorations of video games went in all of the directions I cared about least to ignore the things I actually did want to read more about. Okay, you mentioned that video games are important to the US's military recruitment and that there's something problematic about first-person shooters where the targets are vaguely Middle Eastern "terrorists." Let's talk about that! Oh, wait, no, we're talking about Nabokov instead. Okay, yeah, GamerGate! That was awful! Should we explore the endemic sexism of the video game industry? Or... I guess we could talk about Plato's cave metaphor again.

[VicariousShaner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great piece of nonfiction about games. The author makes impressive parallels between many other mediums, something that's absolutely necessary for games writing in any capacity. Additionally, I am also impressed by the scope and breadth of the research, choosing a small but broad selection of topics to choose, and usually has interesting things to say about most of them. I particularly enjoyed Ervin's chapter on "Games as Art", a topic that started out exhausting and has only become more so every time some jackass writes a "Video games aren't just for kids!" headline. Despite this heavy burden, Ervin's makes salient points, especially in his examination of art's institutional systems smoothing down the "rough edges" of games. I really can't reiterate how much a good fresh take on this subject is really an achievement.

That being said, as a possible consequence of the scope, some chapters based around popular games (namely, the first person shooter and especially Minecraft segments) feel unnecessary. While the author is under no obligation to like either thing, the points about either subject feel strangely hollow, like an editor forced him to include these two takes on very popular things even if Ervin wasn't terribly interested in them. They aren't necessarily misinformed or lazy, Ervin does his research and gives both a fair shot, but the end result is not terribly interesting, and in the case of Ervin's odd mention of a cocaine-like reaction to Halo, somewhat off putting.

Aside from those elements Bit by Bit is a great combination of history, celebration, and critical examination of a medium that does not have much in the way of good literature on the subject.

[Helen Cho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very disappointed to be disappointed in this book. Was really looking forward to reading this book because interested in learning about video games since just started playing them in my old age. The introduction was encouraging as the author described the distinct sounds of a particular video game and a friend figured out which game the author was describing. The author ends the chapter with "Let's play, shall we?" which sounds promising.

But then we start the book which is by turns history, descriptions of game playing, author's feelings, takeoffs on random samples of poetry or observations about art by various writers and worst of all, lectures on how video games can teach us to live and be better people. Oh my goodness.

Before I want anyone to give me lectures about life, they would need to prove to me they have something to teach me and afraid this author is nowhere at that point. He shows me that he is one of the educated, pretty much useless class proud of his trips to Hungary, Sweden, and his world-class flutist of a wife right before he tells me how much he cares about diversity, the poor, etc., etc., etc.

About the only thing he shows me is that he does not have much knowledge of himself after he's spent an entire book telling me how much the video games has taught him about himself. Not much of a recommendation.

Gave the book four stars because I did learn about video games. Could have skipped all the useless navel-gazing author engages in. Think the author needs to work on "Know thyself." Pretty sure that's advice from somewhere.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Music may be the one aspect of games that has not improved since the days of NES and SNES. The compositions in contemporary games are often more elaborate and sonically rich than their predecessors, and some video game soundtracks are truly marvelous in their own rights, but the limitations of those early 8-bit and 16-bit technologies prompted the creation of a musical vernacular that cannot be replicated, not even by the chiptune composers and musicians working with old machines and tones." (100)

"[E]ven the most fleeting personal bonds established in a digital world can influence how we behave outside of games." (145)

"'One might call it an "academy," i suppose, except that it upholds no standards and proposes no secular agenda beyond its own soothing assurance that the "experience of art" under its politically correct auspices will be redemptive -- an assurance founded upon an even deeper faith in "picture-watching" as a form of grace that, by its very "nature," is a good thing for both our spiritual health and our personal growth -- regardless and in spite of the panoply of incommensurable goods and evils that individual works might egregiously recommend.'" (quoting Dave Hickey, 215)

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads as part memoir, part history and part philosophical essay. Although an interesting read in parts I don't think the author really knew what he wanted to write or if he did it morphed into other things part way through. I don't think it hit the mark given the sub-title of "How video games transformed our world". In the historical context there is some interesting information about the development of early computer games with some well-known names and some way more obscure. The book delves way too deep into the philosophical debates about computer games, are they Art or not? Should they be collected in museums and if they were do they become more objects controlled by popularity. There is a lot of information about the authors own life which was not involved so much in video games but more as a journalist and it goes into a lot of information about his research over the two years of writing the book.
What I expected was a book that concentrated more on the video games, the genres, and the history of the game development, the companies involved etc. but what I got was a mixed-up book that is not one thing or another, with small parts of everything.

[Brian Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An affable journey through some of the seminal video games from rougly 1970s through 2010s. The author managed to get a hold of almost all of the games and played them (bribing friends and neighbors with sandwiches to play with him), giving the game descriptions a lived in feeling that sets it apart from more sterile works.

The author accompanies the themed chapters with quotes from interviews with some of the important designers who worked on the games, or digressing on some philosophical tangent about what the games mean. The digressions ranged from good (a chapter in which he discussed his discomfort with Halo, Call of Duty, and similar first person shooters, contrasting them with Populous and Spore style simulation); to wobbly, as in discussing video games as art and Ebert's famous essay declaring them forever separate; to downright unsatisfying or bad, as when the author discussed Ms. Pacman as sexist endeavor.

A fun but non-essential read.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads Giveaways.

This was an ambitious book that unfortunately falls a little flat. It would have benefitted from a little clearer direction--it should either have been the author's memoir via video games, or a history of video games with some personal recollections thrown in. As it stands now, it tries to be the best of both worlds and fails. The chapter endings feel forced, like he's trying to pack a whole lot into too small a space, and the flow between chapters is stunted because instead of the profession of the history of video games, we get the author's journey through video games, but split by platforms. It's frustrating because what I did learn was really enjoyable, and I feel the whole book was so close to being great. Still, it's a quick read and you can pick up some good games out of it--Monument Valley is stellar--so it's worth a read if you come across it.

[Jordan Magnuson]

Part history lesson, part analysis, part personal reflection, part interviews... this book reads a bit like a cross between
Replay: The History of Video Games, Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, and Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made.

Not a bad offering, but it doesn't present much that is new if you've read those other books (which arguably do a better job in their respective more focused approaches).

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the Book Riot 2017 Harder Challenge. Completes the challenge: Read a nonfiction book about technology.

I feel like I am cheating a bit with this pick. I looked into a lot of books about technology and a lot of them were not on topics I was interested in. However, I adore video games, and technically they are a piece of "technology"! I know, I could have tried harder, but whatever. Bit by Bit is a history of video games, a memoir about some of the author's connection to games, and it focuses on titles that pushed boundaries during the early years of the industry. There's lots of discussion surrounding Nintendo's beginnings, or Tim Schafer's games which challenge the genre in changing the way we think about puzzles. The book was good, a bit dry, and some of the titles were games I admit to not enjoying, but I still appreciate a lot of the context Ervin provides. A good read!

[Dan Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about videogames and videogame culture, skimming through the decades of specific games and their creator and/or developers, and their respective history. As a person who loves learning about the topics I love (in this case, videogames), I very much enjoyed reading this book.

However, I never got the sense that the author succeeded in relating how videogames actually transformed our world, as the subtitle implies. Instead, the focus seems to be more about how the author's world was transformed. While that's absolutely fine, the book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. That said, if you love video games and want to read up on a few things you may not have known about, then I recommend this book to you.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book. I'm not any kind of gamer so I read this to get a sense of a world alien to me. It was interesting as he traced the evolution of games and some current issues with it. It's an easy read, though at times he gets a little too much into his personal favorite games so you learn less about video games and more about the author. Interesting, though. I especially found it interesting at the end when he notes the rise of spectator-viewing team video game contests and all the money that can go into them. There are now even professional video game players. Ervin might have a point when he says it's possible these things will displace team sports. Maybe not - but I've also heard reports about how youth sport participation is down due to the rise of video games.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read that complements other books on video game history and culture. It's a bit jarring how the author shifts from personal narrative, to interviews, to abridged history, to asides about art and aesthetics; the end result feels very stream-of-consciousness, or like a compilation of magazine articles. I particularly liked the author's descriptions of his personal experiences with games at key moments or milestones in his life -- especially a section where he compares playing "Adventure" on the Atari 2600 to playing it on modern devices. I also rather like a section towards the end that analyzes and criticizes the very nature of video game criticism. That said, even these sections (and others I liked) don't always connect or go into enough depth.

[Viewpoints Radio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are video games just for kids? Apparently not! Andrew Ervin discusses in this book about the mass popularity of video games and how they have transformed into legitimate artistic expression. We spoke with Ervin on our radio show Viewpoints Radio about the transformation of video games throughout the years. If you are a video games fan, we definitely suggest this book followed up by listening to our podcast! Check out the link HERE! https://viewpointsradio.wordpress.com...

[Luca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written and super interesting read up to 2 thirds, gets tired and a bit pretentious when starting to deal with the "game as art debate". Also, it looks like the author could not get an interview with the legendary (but self-proclaimed "grumpy") game designer Ron Gilbert (only mentioned for his seminal work Maniac Mansion), and for this reason decided to erase him from his narration even when taking about and praising his most important games. Not cool. :(

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will probably have the most appeal to a casual gamer or someone who knows somebody who plays lots of video games but doesn't play themselves. It does a great job at not only covering the basic history of video games but their staying power and cultural impacts. It was nice to have the occasional woman in video game history mentioned as this information is usually left out. It was well written, articulate, and non-alienating.

[Jeni Burckart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My favorite parts were the history of video games through about the N64 era then I somewhat lost interest in computer games and the psychology of video games. Personally I wasn't into the art debate (are video games art). Despite those differences in my personal interest and the author's it was an incredibly interesting book!