Game lore

[Oleksandr]

The only one I've read was Empires of Eve: A History of the Great Empires of Eve Online which is more a documentary than fiction, but for a sandbox game that is Eve Online the difference is less meaningful

[Jim]

I've seen a lot of books on games & have read that the universes are quite intricately developed. Not being a gamer myself, I'm at a real loss as to which are good or where to start reading. I seem to recall seeing a lot of Battle Bot or something like that. Kind of reminded me of Robo Tech. I liked those cartoons & the novelizations that McKinney did of them.

My kids played Halo some & it looked pretty cool. I've seen that there are some movies & books, too. Not having played the game much myself, I don't know anything about the story or where to start with the books. Can you fill me in some?

[Ed]

The only book that I've read that would count as "game lore" would be BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley. I don't play lots of video games, in part because I'm not very good at them, but I *loved* BioShock. Such a beautiful art-deco inspired underwater world. And an interesting back story.

The main idea is that some eccentric rich guy sometime around 1920's (I think) retreats from the world above ground to live by his own rules under water. (Remind you of anything? 20,000 Leagues, maybe?) He forms a society based on absolute freedom. Very much inspired by ideas of Ayn Rand and libertarianism.

People are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want. And that means scientists are allowed to go mad and create drugs that give people super powers, but also addict them and gradually lead them toward violence to get their fix.

The game mostly involves killing the evil mutants, and either killing or rescuing (your choice!) the little girls that are being experimented on.

By the time the game begins, the society has already collapsed. So, while there is a museum explaining the evils of governments and taxation, the museum is falling apart.

The book fills in more of the backstory of how the underwater city gradually changed from utopia to dystopia. How, for example, complete freedom for businesses leads to monopolies that enrich the few and doom the many.

On the whole, it was a well done book, but I enjoyed the game more.

I've not read any of the Halo books, but I notice that Shirley wrote one of those as well.

[Jim]

Forthenco Pacino wrote: "...Holy heck, I still remember all this.
I need to get a life."

That's one reason I haven't played games in years. I have too much going on in my life. I loved a lot of the first person shooters like Wolfenstein, Duke Nuke'em, & Doom, but games began to become too complex. I really liked the first Tomb Raider & got through the second one, too. By the third one, I was getting lost on levels even with a cheat sheet. I just didn't have the time to devote. When I spent over an hour getting set up in one fantasy game my daughter loved & then lost the character, I just threw up my hands. I haven't tried any since.

[Oleksandr]

oh, I recalled other game lore books! I've read a whole bunch based on Warhammer 40.000 universe + Necromunda (a hive world in wh40k, Judge Dredd like setting). Also if we include fantasy, Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman were great for what is now called YA

[Ed]

Forthenco Pacino wrote: "Holy Chief there's books on Doom"

There are even books based on Zork: The Zork Chronicles, because, why not!

And of course The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

So, what are the Halo books like? I don't know the story of that game. I've watched friends play it, and I didn't see any real story, just a bunch of shooting.

[Ed]

By the way, Humble Bundle is currently offering a bundle of books on philosophy including Bioshock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book and Final Fantasy Philosophy.

[Gregg]

I would recommend that you add Fallout and Cyberpunk. Fallout has been around awhile as a video game and had the release of Fallout 76 (set in West Virginia) just last year. It is a form of techpunk focused on a slipstream based on vacuum tube technology, genetic engineering, and nuclear war driven mutation.

Cyberpunk is a highly acclaimed paper and dice roleplaying game that is coming to video in April 2020 as Cyberpunk 2077. It is based on Neuromancer and Mirrorshades works. it maybe the most anticipated game of 2020.

A good time for all things 'punk!

[Gregg]

Cyberpunk:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59...

Fallout:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

[Ed]

I've spent a good bit of time recently playing "Yoku's Island Express". Lots of fun, but I don't think I'd want to read a book about it. The main character is a dung beetle, and I don't really want to read about that!