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Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution
What started as a game of Pong, with little blips dancing across a computer screen, has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry that is changing the future, making inroads into virtually all aspects of our culture.Who are the minds behind this revolution? How did it happen? Where is it headed? In Smartbomb, journalists Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby take the reader behind the scenes at gaming conventions, into powerhouse think tanks where new games are created, into the thick of the competition at cyberathlete tournaments, and into the homes of gamers for whom playing a role in a virtual world has assumed more relevance and reality than life in the real world.
304 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 15, 2017
From Tennis for Two to Spacewar!, Pong to Pac-man, Mario to Zelda, Doom to Unreal Tournament, and The Sims to Halo. It is all covered in this book about the history of video games. The book starts out with a young entrepreneur called CliffyB. CliffyB is the creator of the game Unreal Tournament and he is is preparing for the explosive ascension of video games into the 21st century. Once the reader is hooked by CliffyB's exciting life, they are then transported back to 1958 and greeted by a man named William A. Higinbotham. Higinbotham is credited for creating the first video game called Tennis for Two. Later in the year a young man named Steve Russell tries to create his own game on a more advanced system. He is responsible for Spacewar! The book continues to explain how video games were started in America with the first company named Atari. Afterwards the book explains the rise of the giant video game company Nintendo and their greatest creations, Super Mario Bros. and Zelda. This nearly brings the book back to CliffyB, but first Dallas and the birth first person shooters is described. Near the end the book follows Will Wright and his pursuit of the "Model of Everything". Finally the book explains the creation of MMO games like Ultima Online and popular consoles, like the Playstation 2 and Xbox. At the end the reader can finally learn the rest of CliffyB's story. This book is definitely for curious gamers. However, it may be able to keep the average reader engaged as it tells a vivid story. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would heavily recommend it to anyone.
October 3, 2011
Holy crap this book is a mess.
The book is arranged such that each chapter is a mini-biography or report of prominent figures in the gaming industry. There are, in fact, two authors listed for this book so I don't really know who to blame for it, but I'll just assume they're both equal offenders.
It took me a really long time to finish this book considering its length. The reason? There is a serious overabundance of self-important gamer nerd rage happening in this book. CliffyB (a rising star at the time this book is written) and Will Wright are fawned over and practically worshiped while Shigeru Miyamoto (the man behind Mario and Zelda) is washed-up and Bill Gates is "dumb." Get over yourself!
If you're really going to read this book, do yourself a favor and only read three chapters: The one about Nolan Bushnell, the one about Shigeru Miyamoto, and the one about the Johns and FPS culture (which covers the creation of DOOM). I thought those were the most interesting without all the trumped-up fanboyism.
The book is arranged such that each chapter is a mini-biography or report of prominent figures in the gaming industry. There are, in fact, two authors listed for this book so I don't really know who to blame for it, but I'll just assume they're both equal offenders.
It took me a really long time to finish this book considering its length. The reason? There is a serious overabundance of self-important gamer nerd rage happening in this book. CliffyB (a rising star at the time this book is written) and Will Wright are fawned over and practically worshiped while Shigeru Miyamoto (the man behind Mario and Zelda) is washed-up and Bill Gates is "dumb." Get over yourself!
If you're really going to read this book, do yourself a favor and only read three chapters: The one about Nolan Bushnell, the one about Shigeru Miyamoto, and the one about the Johns and FPS culture (which covers the creation of DOOM). I thought those were the most interesting without all the trumped-up fanboyism.
May 4, 2015
SmartBomb was an amazing book! It takes you inside the minds of some of the well known video game gurus and lets you see how they made it in the world. From Shigueru Miyamoto, the maker of the popular Mario games, to Will Wright, the producer of SimCity. Each chapter gives you a miniature biography of some of the best video game gurus. It even takes you inside a competitive Counter-Strike (first person shooter) event. I found it very good because it broadened my view on the video game industry. Also, I learned how Bill Gates got into the video game industry. If you are going into the video game business or want to learn more about it, read this book! You will get to know it better!!
The only downside, however, is it deals with the industry in the 2000s. So not very recent.
The only downside, however, is it deals with the industry in the 2000s. So not very recent.
March 16, 2007
I love reading stuff about video games, their history, and the industry. This book was pretty good. There are some awkward moments early on - just weird turns of phrase and odd observations - but after that the authors get into the rhythm and the text flows smoothly.
Lots of stuff I didn't know before in this book. Good profiles of gaming auteurs such as CliffyB and Will Wright. It's a solid read.
The only downside I see is that the games industry moves so fast that the book already felt dated when I read it (and it was maybe a year old by then).
Smartbomb is a mostly brisk tour through videogaming infancy into the present.
Lots of stuff I didn't know before in this book. Good profiles of gaming auteurs such as CliffyB and Will Wright. It's a solid read.
The only downside I see is that the games industry moves so fast that the book already felt dated when I read it (and it was maybe a year old by then).
Smartbomb is a mostly brisk tour through videogaming infancy into the present.
December 30, 2014
Good, but dated. This book is basically a snapshot of what the videogame industry was like in the early 2000s.
At this point, we can look back and see where a lot of the rosy predictions fell short, and things that no one saw coming (smartphones and the rise of mobile gaming in particular) caused major changes in the industry. However, we also see examples that were on track such as the nascent beginnings of DLC, and the push towards device convergence.
Overall it's a worthwhile read, but more for the history than any insight into where the videogame industry might be going.
At this point, we can look back and see where a lot of the rosy predictions fell short, and things that no one saw coming (smartphones and the rise of mobile gaming in particular) caused major changes in the industry. However, we also see examples that were on track such as the nascent beginnings of DLC, and the push towards device convergence.
Overall it's a worthwhile read, but more for the history than any insight into where the videogame industry might be going.
April 4, 2009
I really enjoyed this one! I have been playing video games for a long time and it was nice to go back and re-visit those older times. The book is obviously outdated as it was published quite a while ago, eons in videogame time!
Definitely recommended for anyone who likes games. There are no put downs here, not one word about video games being bad for you.... So, whether you just started playing or are old skool, this one is for you!
Definitely recommended for anyone who likes games. There are no put downs here, not one word about video games being bad for you.... So, whether you just started playing or are old skool, this one is for you!
August 17, 2007
Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution is a fun ride through both the history of the videogame (Table Tennis for Two, programming the PDP-1 at MIT, the beginnings of Atari) as well as an in depth view of the changes in the videogame industry between 2001-2005, as the book was being written. From geek culture to mainstream culture, you see an industry dominated by creativity move to being an industry dominate by business. With scenes from the Game Developer's Conference as bookends, read intriguing chapters devoted to various famous game developers like Shigeru Miyamoto, John Carmack, Will Wright and others. A very fun book.
February 25, 2008
A superb book! The authors have managed to weave together threads of technological history, sociology, cultural change, several striking mini-biographies, and a thorough and even-handed examination of trends in military training and the ways they're leaking into entertainment aimed at teenagers and young adults and the implications of that happening. On top of all that, they made it highly readable - for me it was hard to put down; I ended up starting it yesterday afternoon and finishing it this morning, though I'll be thinking about it for a lot longer than that.
May 31, 2008
This would have been a worthwhile concise history of video games but for a number of inaccuracies. First of all, Luigi was not introduced in Super Mario Bros (he along with Mario became plumbers in 'Mario Bros'). Second, Gauntlet was not in arcades in 1981 - wait a few years. A little fact-checking would have been nice!
April 20, 2009
I used to teach a history of video gams class. If I still taught it, this would be my textbook. It's he kind of non-fiction that reminds me of what Michael Lewis does: totally engrossing, well-researched, and just written well. Great book even if you aren't a gamer!
July 9, 2010
A book about different people involved in the way videogames have grown over the last 20 years. The individual pieces - especially about Will Wright, the SimCity guru - were better than the whole, but it was eye-opening in a lot of areas. I learned new things, so that's always a plus.
March 18, 2013
A decent history of video games. A bit dated, as it was written in 2003, and at times the book made me grimace with its definition of the word "noob." Still, if you know nothing about video games, it's a good place to start.
January 16, 2008
This book has a bunch of different essays about video game history.
Some I liked, some not so much.
I liked the ones about Atari and online gaming the best, and the military simulators the worst.
Some I liked, some not so much.
I liked the ones about Atari and online gaming the best, and the military simulators the worst.
Want to read
February 17, 2008Given what I do for a living, I need to read this just for my own knowledge.
April 13, 2009
Interesting background on the video game revolution. I missed most of it, so it was an interesting history lesson. They are an economic powerhouse, can they move to the level of art?
December 6, 2009
fascinating.
January 6, 2012
Very good book, well written, different angle on subject!
July 2, 2012
Non-fiction looking into the rapidly changing world of the video game--programmers, industry insiders, players and others of that ilk in the billion plus dollar industry.
August 7, 2012
Esp. interesting if you've been following along with all of this the whole time. ( Also says Steve Jobs was a ' fruitarian ' in the 70s < ? > )
February 18, 2013
Only OK. Interesting subject (Video game industry) but she focused a lot of the book on random people who play these games rather than the people and companies who formed it.
August 24, 2007
good resource for company bios and profiles of the prominent.
i want a wii.
i want a wii.
January 20, 2008
This book called it on Gears of War a year before its release. Props for that.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews