› › Arcade Treasures

Retro Gaming Hacks

Author : Chris Kohler

Publisher : "O'Reilly Media, Inc."

Page : 568 pages

File Size : 40,4 MB

Release : 2005-10-12

Category : Games & Activities

ISBN : 1449303900

Get eBook

Book Description

Maybe it was the recent Atari 2600 milestone anniversary that fueled nostalgia for the golden days of computer and console gaming. Every Game Boy must ponder his roots from time to time. But whatever is driving the current retro gaming craze, one thing is certain: classic games are back for a big second act, and they're being played in both old and new ways. Whether you've just been attacked by Space Invaders for the first time or you've been a Pong junkie since puberty, Chris Kohler's Retro Gaming Hacks is the indispensable new guide to playing and hacking classic games. Kohler has complied tons of how-to information on retro gaming that used to take days or weeks of web surfing to track down and sort through, and he presents it in the popular and highly readable Hacks style. Retro Gaming Hacks serves up 85 hard-nosed hacks for reviving the classic games. Want to game on an original system? Kohler shows you how to hack ancient hardware, and includes a primer for home-brewing classic software. Rather adapt today's equipment to run retro games? Kohler provides emulation techniques, complete with instructions for hacking a classic joystick that's compatible with a contemporary computer. This book also teaches readers to revive old machines for the original gaming experience: hook up an Apple II or a Commodore 64, for example, and play it like you played before. A video game journalist and author of Power Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life, Kohler has taught the history of video games at Tufts University. In Retro Gaming Hacks, he locates the convergence of classic games and contemporary software, revealing not only how to retrofit classic games for today's systems, but how to find the golden oldies hidden in contemporary programs as well. Whether you're looking to recreate the magic of a Robotron marathon or simply crave a little handheld Donkey Kong, Retro Gaming Hacks shows you how to set the way-back dial.



Project Arcade

Author : John St. Clair

Publisher : John Wiley and Sons

Page : 609 pages

File Size : 25,43 MB

Release : 2011-01-14

Category : Games & Activities

ISBN : 1118038835

Get eBook

Book Description

The bestseller returns—completely updated to include the newest hardware, software, and techniques for building your own arcade Interest in classical arcade games remains on the rise, and with a little money, older computer hardware, and a little effort, you can relive your arcade experiences by building your own arcade machine. The hands-on guide begins with a description of the various types of projects that you can undertake. It then progresses to a review of the audio and video options that are available and looks at the selection of game software and cabinet artwork. Ultimately, you’ll learn essential troubleshooting tips and discover how to build arcade controllers and machines that you can enjoy at home with your PC. Serves as a soup-to-nuts guide for building your own arcade machine, from the sheets of wood to the finished product Addresses the variety of arcade controls, including joysticks, buttons, spinners, trackballs, flight yokes, and guns Explains how to interface arcade controls to a computer Shares troubleshooting tips as well as online resources for help and inspiration Project Arcade, Second Edition helps you recapture the enjoyment of your youth that was spent playing arcade games by walking you through the exciting endeavor of building your own full arcade machine.



Arcade Britannia

Author : Alan Meades

Publisher : MIT Press

Page : 337 pages

File Size : 19,29 MB

Release : 2022-10-25

Category : Games & Activities

ISBN : 0262372355

Get eBook

Book Description

The story of the British amusement arcade from the 1800s to the present. Amusement arcades are an important part of British culture, yet discussions of them tend to be based on American models. Alan Meades, who spent his childhood happily playing in British seaside arcades, presents the history of the arcade from its origins in traveling fairs of the 1800s to the present. Drawing on firsthand accounts of industry members and archival sources, including rare photographs and trade publications, he tells the story of the first arcades, the people who made the machines, the rise of video games, and the legislative and economic challenges spurred by public fears of moral decline. Arcade Britannia highlights the differences between British and North American arcades, especially in terms of the complex relationship between gambling and amusements. He also underlines Britain’s role in introducing coin-operated technologies into Europe, as well as the industry’s close links to America and, especially, Japan. He shows how the British arcade is a product of centuries of public play, gambling, entrepreneurship, and mechanization. Examining the arcade’s history through technological, social, cultural, biographic, and legislative perspectives, he describes a pendulum shift between control and liberalization, as well as the continued efforts of concerned moralists to limit and regulate public play. Finally, he recounts the impact on the industry of legislative challenges that included vicious taxation, questions of whether copyright law applied to video-game code, and the peculiar moment when every arcade game in Britain was considered a cinema.



The Video Games Guide

Author : Matt Fox

Publisher : McFarland

Page : 385 pages

File Size : 15,45 MB

Release : 2013-01-17

Category : Games & Activities

ISBN : 078647257X

Get eBook

Book Description

The Video Games Guide is the world's most comprehensive reference book on computer and video games. Presented in an A to Z format, this greatly expanded new edition spans fifty years of game design--from the very earliest (1962's Spacewar) through the present day releases on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC. Each game entry includes the year of release, the hardware it was released on, the name of the developer/publisher, a one to five star quality rating, and a descriptive review which offers fascinating nuggets of trivia, historical notes, cross-referencing with other titles, information on each game's sequels and of course the author's views and insights into the game. In addition to the main entries and reviews, a full-color gallery provides a visual timeline of gaming through the decades, and several appendices help to place nearly 3,000 games in context. Appendices include: a chronology of gaming software and hardware, a list of game designers showing their main titles, results of annual video game awards, notes on sourcing video games, and a glossary of gaming terms.



Arcade Treasures

Author : Bill Kurtz

Publisher : Schiffer Book for Collectors

Page : 0 pages

File Size : 45,31 MB

Release : 1997

Category : Games & Activities

ISBN : 9780887406195

Get eBook

Book Description

The greatest games ever to hit the penny arcade scene-the earliest strength testers and fortune tellers, wild pinball games from mid-century, and modern electronic video games. Also discusses novelty products, game trends, and a history of significant manufacturers and designers.



100 Computer Games to Play Before You Die

Author : Steve Bowden

Publisher : Kings Road Publishing

Page : 284 pages

File Size : 43,95 MB

Release : 2011-02-07

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 184358445X

Get eBook

Book Description

This is a must-have book for any computer enthusiast whether they are young or old. Covering the100 best games ever to be produced from Pac-Man Vs andPokemon Red/Blue to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Worms -- make sure you've not missed out any of the cult classics. With detailed descriptions of each game, the design process behind them and the secrets that lie within, this book will rekindle games from your childhood as well as introducing you to previously un-played games.



Fans and Videogames

Author : Melanie Swalwell

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 318 pages

File Size : 33,83 MB

Release : 2017-03-03

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1317191900

Get eBook

Book Description

This anthology addresses videogames long history of fandom, and fans’ important role in game history and preservation. In order to better understand and theorize video games and game playing, it is necessary to study the activities of gamers themselves. Gamers are active creators in generating meaning; they are creators of media texts they share with other fans (mods, walkthroughs, machinima, etc); and they have played a central role in curating and preserving games through activities such as their collective work on: emulation, creating online archives and the forensic archaeology of code. This volume brings together essays that explore game fandom from diverse perspectives that examine the complex processes at work in the phenomenon of game fandom and its practices. Contributors aim to historicize game fandom, recognize fan contributions to game history, and critically assess the role of fans in ensuring that game culture endures through the development of archives.



CMJ New Music Monthly

Author :

Publisher :

Page : 80 pages

File Size : 24,78 MB

Release : 2003-11

Category :

ISBN :

Get eBook

Book Description

CMJ New Music Monthly, the first consumer magazine to include a bound-in CD sampler, is the leading publication for the emerging music enthusiast. NMM is a monthly magazine with interviews, reviews, and special features. Each magazine comes with a CD of 15-24 songs by well-established bands, unsigned bands and everything in between. It is published by CMJ Network, Inc.



Vintage Games 2.0

Author : Matt Barton

Publisher : CRC Press

Page : 374 pages

File Size : 41,32 MB

Release : 2019-05-08

Category : Computers

ISBN : 1000000923

Get eBook

Book Description

Super Mario Bros. Doom. Minecraft. It’s hard to imagine what life would be like today without video games, a creative industry that now towers over Hollywood in terms of both financial and cultural impact. The video game industry caters to everyone, with games in every genre for every conceivable electronic device--from dedicated PC gaming rigs and consoles to handhelds, mobile phones, and tablets. Successful games are produced by mega-corporations, independent studios, and even lone developers working with nothing but free tools. Some may still believe that video games are mere diversions for children, but today’s games offer sophisticated and wondrously immersive experiences that no other media can hope to match. Vintage Games 2.0 tells the story of the ultimate storytelling medium, from early examples such as Spacewar! and Pong to the mind blowing console and PC titles of today. Written in a smart and engaging style, this updated 2nd edition is far more than just a survey of the classics. Informed by hundreds of in-depth personal interviews with designers, publishers, marketers, and artists--not to mention the author’s own lifelong experience as a gamer--Vintage Games 2.0 uncovers the remarkable feats of intellectual genius, but also the inspiring personal struggles of the world’s most brilliant and celebrated game designers--figures like Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright, and Roberta Williams. Ideal for both beginners and professionals, Vintage Games 2.0 offers an entertaining and inspiring account of video game’s history and meteoric rise from niche market to global phenomenon. Credit for the cover belongs to Thor Thorvaldson.



I Am Error

Author : Nathan Altice

Publisher : MIT Press

Page : 439 pages

File Size : 14,95 MB

Release : 2017-09-08

Category : Computers

ISBN : 0262534541

Get eBook

Book Description

The complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System platform, from code to silicon, focusing on its technical constraints and its expressive affordances. In the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System videogame Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, a character famously declared: I AM ERROR. Puzzled players assumed that this cryptic mesage was a programming flaw, but it was actually a clumsy Japanese-English translation of “My Name is Error,” a benign programmer's joke. In I AM ERROR Nathan Altice explores the complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System (and its Japanese predecessor, the Family Computer), offering a detailed analysis of its programming and engineering, its expressive affordances, and its cultural significance. Nintendo games were rife with mistranslated texts, but, as Altice explains, Nintendo's translation challenges were not just linguistic but also material, with consequences beyond simple misinterpretation. Emphasizing the technical and material evolution of Nintendo's first cartridge-based platform, Altice describes the development of the Family Computer (or Famicom) and its computational architecture; the “translation” problems faced while adapting the Famicom for the U.S. videogame market as the redesigned Entertainment System; Nintendo's breakthrough console title Super Mario Bros. and its remarkable software innovations; the introduction of Nintendo's short-lived proprietary disk format and the design repercussions on The Legend of Zelda; Nintendo's efforts to extend their console's lifespan through cartridge augmentations; the Famicom's Audio Processing Unit (APU) and its importance for the chiptunes genre; and the emergence of software emulators and the new kinds of play they enabled.