Gamish: A Graphic History of Gaming
Pac-Man. Mario. Minecraft. Doom.
Ever since he first booted up his brother’s dusty old Atari, comic artist Edward Ross has been hooked on video games. Years later, he began to wonder: what makes games so special? Why do we play? And how do games shape the world we live in? This lovingly illustrated book takes us through the history of video games, from the pioneering prototypes of the 1950s to the modern era of blockbuster hits and ingenious indie gems.
Exploring the people and politics behind one of the world’s most exciting art-forms, Gamish is a love letter to something that has always been more than just a game.
“Gamish is a fascinating read. Insights for anyone who games, and revelations for those who don't.”
– Val McDermid
”Fascinating, revealing and thoughtful ... exploring not just the timeline of games but also the culture that makes and consumes them.”
– Keith Stuart, The Guardian
”A love letter to gaming in all its forms ... For fans of gaming, this is the perfect read. For those new to gaming, it is the perfect introduction.”
– Hannah Sycamore, The Scotsman
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FROM ANCIENT ORIGINS
Why do we play? Where did games come from? The book begins at the dawn of humanity, when play was just as important as it is now. Discover the ancient origins of gaming from Mancala to Chess.
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CAN A MACHINE PLAY?
From the Mechanical Turk to Alan Turing, before the first microchip, engineers and scientists obsessed over creating machines that could play games. And by the end of World War II all the pieces were in place for the very first video games to be invented.
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THE GAME BEGINS
How a group of MIT hackers tore apart a $120,000 computer to invent the first video game, and gave rise to Atari, Pong and the arcade era.
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PLAYER SELECT
Discover how Japanese game designers like Toru Iwatani and Shigeru Miyamoto revolutionised gaming by introducing the first iconic video game characters in Pac-Man and Mario. Why do video game controllers, and video game characters, feel like an extension of our bodies? And what effects do video game representations of gender and race have on us as players, and society as a whole?
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LEVEL UP
From the pixellated galaxies of Spacewar to immersive cityscapes of Grand Theft Auto, how do game designers create worlds we want to get lost in? And what can games teach us about the real world and our place in it?
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CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
Choice is at the heart of all games. From Dungeons & Dragons to Bioshock, what do games teach us about free will, personal responsibility and the nature of choice?
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BEYOND PIXELS
What happens when games spill over into the real world? Discover the surprisingly long history behind the panics over video game violence and addiction, the complex relationship between games and warfare, and the positive role that games can play in our lives.
