Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: the Guide to Beat-Em-Ups Volume 1 (Morrocco Cover)


Book Description

Are you ready for hot-blooded fighting action? Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: The Guide to Beat-Em-Ups Vol. 1 covers the origins of the belt-scrolling brawler with Technos' Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun (AKA Renegade) and the world-famous Double Dragon. Also covered are the works of Capcom (Final Fight, Captain Commando, Aliens vs. Predator, Dungeons & Dragons) and Konami (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, Vendetta) as well as Sega's Streets of Rage series!




The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures


Book Description

Reviews of over 300 graphic adventure games, focusing on games from prominent publishers such as LucasArts, Sierra On-Line, and Legend Entertainment but covering games from independent developers as well. Reviews primarily cover games published 1984-2000. Interviews with game creators/developers Al Lowe, Corey Cole, Bob Bates, and Josh Mandel are included.




Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities


Book Description

Japan has produced thousands of intriguing video games. But not all of them were released outside of the country, especially not in the 1980s and 90s. While a few of these titles have since been documented by the English-speaking video game community, a huge proportion of this output is unknown beyond Japan (and even, in some cases, within it). Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities seeks to catalogue many of these titles – games that are weird, compelling, cool or historically important. The selections represent a large number of genres – platformers, shoot-em-ups, role-playing games, adventure games – across nearly four decades of gaming on arcade, computer and console platforms. Featuring the work of giants like Nintendo, Sega, Namco and Konami alongside that of long-forgotten developers and publishers, even those well versed in Japanese gaming culture are bound to learn something new.




Level Up!


Book Description

Design and build cutting-edge video games with help from video game expert Scott Rogers! If you want to design and build cutting-edge video games but aren’t sure where to start, then this is the book for you. Written by leading video game expert Scott Rogers, who has designed the hits Pac Man World, Maxim vs. Army of Zin, and SpongeBob Squarepants, this book is full of Rogers's wit and imaginative style that demonstrates everything you need to know about designing great video games. Features an approachable writing style that considers game designers from all levels of expertise and experience Covers the entire video game creation process, including developing marketable ideas, understanding what gamers want, working with player actions, and more Offers techniques for creating non-human characters and using the camera as a character Shares helpful insight on the business of design and how to create design documents So, put your game face on and start creating memorable, creative, and unique video games with this book!




The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies


Book Description

A definitive guide to contemporary video game studies, this second edition has been fully revised and updated to address the ongoing theoretical and methodological development of game studies. Expertly compiled by well-known video game scholars Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, the Companion includes comprehensive and interdisciplinary models and approaches for analyzing video games, new perspectives on video games both as an art form and cultural phenomenon, explorations of the technical and creative dimensions of video games, and accounts of the political, social, and cultural dynamics of video games. Brand new to this second edition are chapters examining topics such as preservation; augmented, mixed, and virtual reality; eSports; disability; diversity; and identity, as well as a new section that specifically examines the industrial aspects of video games including digital distribution, game labor, triple-A games, indie games, and globalization. Each essay provides a lively and succinct summary of its target area, quickly bringing the reader up-to-date on the pertinent issues surrounding each aspect of the field, including references for further reading. A comprehensive overview of the present state of video game studies that will undoubtedly prove invaluable to students, scholars, and game designers alike.




Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: the Guide to Shoot-Em-Ups Volume 2


Book Description

Blast off again and check out the second in HG101's line of books on shoot-em-ups! This volume features the works of Namco (Xevious, Dragon Spirit), Toaplan (Tiger Heli, Truxton, Batsugun), Raizing (Sorcer Striker, Battle Garegga, Terra Diver), and Psikyo (Strikers 1945, Samurai Aces), as well as several other arcade and console shooters like Trouble Shooter / Battlemania, Gaiares, Phalanx, and more!




Games and Rules


Book Description

Why do we play games and why do we play them on computers? The contributors of »Games and Rules« take a closer look at the core of each game and the motivational system that is the game mechanics. Games are control circuits that organize the game world with their (joint) players and establish motivations in a dedicated space, a »Magic Circle«, whereas game mechanics are constructs of rules designed for interactions that provide gameplay. Those rules form the base for all the excitement and frustration we experience in games. This anthology contains individual essays by experts and authors with backgrounds in Game Design and Game Studies, who lead the discourse to get to the bottom of game mechanics in video games and the real world - among them Miguel Sicart and Carlo Fabricatore.




The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers


Book Description

Detailed contents listing here: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/books/the-untold-history-of-japanese-game-developers-volume-2/ Nearly 400 pages and over 30 interviews, with exclusive content on the history of Japanese games. The origins of Hudson, Masaya's epic robot sagas, Nintendo's funding of a PlayStation RTS, detailed history of Westone Entertainment, and a diverse range of unreleased games. Includes exclusive office layout maps, design documents, and archive photos. In a world first - something no other journalist has dared examine - there's candid discussion on the involvement of Japan's yakuza in the industry. Forewords by Retro Gamer founding editor Martyn Carroll and game history professor Martin Picard.




Computer Games as a Sociocultural Phenomenon


Book Description

Internationally renowned media and literature scholars, social scientists, game designers and artists explore the cultural potential of computer games in this rich anthology, which introduces the latest approaches in the central fields of game studies and provides an extensive survey of contemporary game culture.




Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents


Book Description

Released in 1986, the Famicom Disk System was an attachment for Nintendo's 8-bit console that allowed for cheap distribution of re-writable games. Many famous titles, including both Legend of Zelda titles, Super Mario Bros. 2, Doki Doki Panic, Metroid, and Kid Icarus were originally released for the platform. Due to technical advances, the system was eventually discontinued and was never released outside of Japan. Much of its library remained Japan-only as well, and has been sparsely documented among the English-speaking retro game world. Until now. Brought you to by long-standing retro video game website Hardcore Gaming 101, The Complete Guide to the Famicom Disk System includes reviews of every single title in the Famicom Disk System library - all of the classic Nintendo games (including their unfortunately overlooked adventure games), cult classics by Konami, revolutionary oddities like Otocky, many Zelda clones, numerous tie-ins with late 80s Japanese celebrities, and a large number of subpar licensed games from Bandai. Also includes a look at the many unlicensed titles, a history of the system, and its accessories.