Smartbomb : The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution

**A history of video games and a behind-the-scenes look at the industry, from where they're made to who's playing them.** What started as a game of , 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 , 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.**"The entertaining and vivid __Smartbomb__ brings video games to life in all their bewildering, provocative, and disturbing forms." —__The Boston Globe__****"__Smartbomb__ explodes with intelligence, insight, and first-rate writing on every page. Here is your future, in all its fascinating, scary, and very human dimensions." —Kevin Baker, author of __Paradise Alley__****"A surprisingly poignant book." —__USA Today__**

A history of video games and a behind-the-scenes look at the industry, from where they're made to who's playing them. 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. "The entertaining and vivid Smartbomb brings video games to life in all their bewildering, provocative, and disturbing forms." — The Boston Globe " Smartbomb explodes with intelligence, insight, and first-rate writing on every page. Here is your future, in all its fascinating, scary, and very human dimensions." —Kevin Baker, author of Paradise Alley "A surprisingly poignant book." — USA Today

The movie business celebrates its creators, but what about the "names" behind Doom, The Sims, Donkey Kong, Grand Theft Auto--the games that spawned a ten-billion-dollar industry whose revenues surpassed the domestic movie box office take five years ago? Videogames are no longer a quirky subculture, but a bona fide mainstream industry revolutionizing the way we teach, learn, communicate. This book delves into the videogame explosion, where computer technology is fused with artistic creativity. From the hackers at MIT in the 1960s to the Ferrari-driving developers of the modern-day industry to professional "cyberathletes," we meet the celebrities of the gaming world. It's a trip through the trade conventions, gaming competitions, and design labs; an up-close and personal look at the egos, the battles, the one-upmanship, and the love of the chase fueling these innovators who are creating the worlds in which we're going to play for the next century.--From publisher description "A history of video games, presented through sharp profiles of their creators." — The New York Times Book Review 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.