Mi köze Pac Mannek a pizzához, és miként lett a Space Invaders miatt hiánycikk Japánban a százjenes pénzérme? Hogyan hatottak a hollywoodi akciófilmek a videojátékokra, és miért gondolta azt Douglas Adams, hogy új műfaj születhet a kalandjáték és az irodalom egyesítéséből? Hány pixelből állt össze a Samantha Fox Strip Poker hősnőjének keble és léteztek-e női játéksztárok Lara Croft előtt is? Hogyan működtek a hazai játékklubok a nyolcvanas években és milyen változásokat hozott a Doom a videojáték-piacon? Kik voltak a leghíresebb Commodore 64-zeneszerzők, és meddig tartott az interaktív mozi aranykora? Igaz-e, hogy minden idők egyik leghíresebb számítógépes játékát, a The Last Ninját magyarok fejlesztették, és ha igen, vajon miért nem gazdagodtak meg belőle? A hazánkban unikumnak számító könyv olvasója a számítógépes játékok történetét járhatja végig az ötvenes évektől 2000-ig – és tovább. A mintegy ezer játékot felsorakoztató könyvből megismerhetjük a játékműfajok kialakulását, a leghíresebb játékfejlesztőket, játékcégeket: a játékőrült éppúgy megtalálja itt, amit keres, mint a nosztalgiázni vágyó vagy a laikus, akit a videojátékok kultúrája érdekel. Az enciklopédikus és olvasmányos könyvet a magyar játéktörténelem emblematikus alakjaival készített interjúk egészítik ki, az ajándék DVD segítségével pedig otthon is bárki kipróbálhatja a komputerjátékok aranykorának több száz kultikus játékát.

Launched in 1985, the Amiga ushered in a new age of home computing. Its powerful 16-bit Motorola CPU and custom graphics and audio chipsets made it an instant hit among both gamers looking to move on from their 8-bit systems, and artists and musicians moving into the digital realm. Early titles like Defender of the Crown, Barbarian and Hybris demonstrated the Amiga’s graphics credentials, while arcade-perfect conversions of Marble Madness, Space Harrier and Rainbow Islands showed that it could match the power of dedicated coin-op cabinets. Over the next decade, it would play host to an extraordinary diversity of titles; games like Rocket Ranger, Populous, Cannon Fodder, Speedball and Worms ushered in new genres and helped to redefine the videogame landscape. Over the course of some 420 pages, Commodore Amiga: a visual compendium showcases more than 140 of the biggest titles, bringing them vividly to life with a double-page screen grab or loading page. Each is accompanied by quotes and commentary from renowned Amiga artists, developers and publishers, including R.J. Mical, David Braben, Sid Meier, Ron Gilbert, Julian Eggebrecht, Tobias Richter, Dave Gibbons and many more. Beyond the games themselves, it also covers the origins of the hardware and the vibrant demo scene, and includes interviews with artists and profiles of the most prominent games publishers. Presented in hardback, using high-quality lithographic printing on superior paper stock, this book is a wonderful celebration of the machine’s graphics prowess and a reminder of the wealth of quality games the Amiga brought to bear.

Commodore 64: a visual compendium celebrates one the most popular home computers of all time, taking you on a journey through the C64’s varied and colourful gaming library, starting in 1982, with early releases like Jupiter Lander and Beach Head, and travelling forward through the decades. The 1980s saw an array of amazing C64 titles: think Dropzone, Impossible Mission, Elite, Mercenary, Uridium, The Last Ninja… These and others represented an incredible variety of genres, from shoot ’em ups to puzzlers, racing games to arcade adventures, plus games that still defy categorisation – The Sentinel, anyone? By the time the 1990s rolled around, talented coders were making the machine do things the original hardware designers didn’t think were possible; games like Turrican, Creatures and Lemmings showed that there was life left in the old CPU yet. Even when Commodore went bust, and the computer was no longer being manufactured, the games still kept coming. So, this book pays homage not only to the seminal games of the C64’s official lifespan, but also to the developers that kept the system alive, featuring games that were completed and released a decade after the last boxed C64 left the high street. Commodore 64: a visual compendium features well over a hundred titles, represented by beautiful in-game shots or loading screens, plus a gallery of artwork by legendary ZZAP!64 artist Oliver Frey. Also included is a series of features, including profiles of key Britsoft developers, interviews with famous C64 artists, a look back at the demo scene, plus a showcase of unreleased titles and the new games being released more than 20 years after the last machine rolled off Commodore’s production line. Presented in full colour throughout, printed on high quality paper and complete with a spot-varnished protective dust cover, this unique title is a treat for anyone who grew up playing games or learning their craft on this most ubiquitous of home computers.

Volume 1 – the “Amiga” book
Volume 1 features images with 5- to 8-bit colour depth. Some of the best pixel art work ever created on the Amiga, but also from the Atari and PC.), Walt

Volume 2 – the “c64” book
Volume 2 features images from the Commodore 64, together with pixel art from other “exotic low-end” machines like the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Atari XL-XE, Commodore Plus/4 and MSX.

Volume 3 – contemporary pixel art
This book features pictures from the next generation of artists, working and developing the concept of pixel arts. With this book we explore and present the best of the best pixel art today.

Featured Artists: