Push Start: The Art of Video Games

by Stephan Guenzel

Pac Man, Space Invaders, Tetris, and Super Mario Bros. are video game veterans and more than just reminiscences of an untroubled childhood. Challenging stories and characters, visual quality, and aesthetic experience make them successful examples of popular interaction design. They have become more than a mere video game and can be regarded as a multimedia art form. Push Start outlines the graphical evolution from its beginnings, through the golden age of arcade video games, to the latest generation of game consoles. Fascinating artwork and screenshot prints of the most famous video games and the corresponding cult sounds on a ten-inch vinyl create an expanding universe of game culture in which the worlds of emotion, reality, and art collide.

Genres: Art

220 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This coffee table book tracing the evolution of videogames from their early days to the new HD era is beautifully laid out - gorgeous, glossy full-page spreads and a nicely textured cover, as well as the inclusion of a neon yellow 10" vinyl of some classic video game themes makes this a great book for any gaming enthusiast.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text is rather clumsily translated from the German but this book is not about the text, the pictures are superbly chosen and well reproduced and the accompanying music is brilliant. What this book does really well is to chart the evolution of the medium and to take it seriously as an art form.

[Arianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I disagree with some of the video games included and think others may have been better representations of how video game graphics and art has evolved, the best part of this book is discussing your opinions on it with friends.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice coffee table book. Here's a pic of the enclosed vinyl record: