History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction

by Andrew Williams

Overview

The growth of videogame design programs in higher education and explosion of amateur game development has created a need for a deeper understanding of game history that addresses not only "when," but "how" and "why." Andrew Williams takes the first step in creating a comprehensive survey on the history of digital games as commercial products and artistic forms in a textbook appropriate for university instruction. History of Digital Games adopts a unique approach and scope that traces the interrelated concepts of game design, art and design of input devices from the beginnings of coin-operated amusement in the late 1800s to the independent games of unconventional creators in the present. Rooted in the concept of videogames as designed objects, Williams investigates the sources that inspired specific game developers as well as establishing the historical, cultural, economic and technological contexts that helped shape larger design trends.

Key Features

Full-color images and game screenshots

Focuses primarily on three interrelated digital game elements: visual design, gameplay design and the design of input devices

This book is able to discuss design trends common to arcade games, home console games and computer games while also respecting the distinctions of each game context

Includes discussion of game hardware as it relates to how it affects game design

Links to online resources featuring games discussed in the text, video tutorial and other interactive resources will be included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317503804
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	03/16/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	255
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Andrew Williams, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Art and Design History at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. He teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses on digital games, fine art and design history. Williams also established and curated the vintage game collection of the Gaming and Digital Innovation Lab at UW-Stout in addition to maintaining his own catalog of games, game hardware and input devices.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 — Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Arcade Games

Chapter 2 — Games as Experiments

Chapter 3 — Early Commercialized Digital Games

Chapter 4 — The Golden Age Arcade

Chapter 5 — Second-Generation Consoles

Chapter 6 — Home Computers

Chapter 7 — Japan, 2D Game Design and the Rebirth of Consoles

Chapter 8 — Early 3D and the Multimedia Boom

Chapter 9 — Contemporary Game Design

Chapter 10 — Independent Games