Game Plan: Great Designs that Changed the Face of Computer Gaming

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RotoVision, 2004 - Computers - 160 pages
Taking in ten works of gaming genius from video gaming's brief, rich history, Game Plan explores how these pivotal pieces of digital art evolved the industry. Conversations with creators and producers reveal the inspirations behind their masterworks, as well as giving insights into the development process itself. Games examined include Namco's pill-thrill Pac-Man, Shigeru Miyamoto's epoch-defining Mario 64, and Bell and Braben's mid-1980's space opera, Elite. Also featured is Tomb Raider, the UK's biggest selling game of all time, which turned Laura Croft from 500 triangles into a style icon, defined gaming's break into the mainstream at the end of the 1990s, and even won a BAFTA for its outstanding contribution to the interactive industry. Illustrated with original concept sketches, work in progress CGI renders, and screenshots of the finished creations, Game Plan offers a chance to both savor its past and catch a glimpse of its stellar future.

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About the author (2004)

A qualified teacher, mediocre dancer and published author, Ste Curran spent the first few years of his writing career at Edge Magazine, then considered the world's leading videogame journal. Now he survives as a freelance journalist specialising in pithy, dark-eyed commentary, and makes irregular media appearances on national media to douse gaming hyperbole. In August Ste aims to take his first musical, "Pong! A Brief History of Videogames: The Musical (Abdridged) (Working Title)" to the Edinburgh Fringe with the help of his friends and coauthors. He lives in Shepherds Bush with his beautiful, tolerant girlfriend and far too much Japanese gaming ephemera.

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