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Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution
vBulletin Book Store > vBulletin books beginning with S
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Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution |
Author: Heather Chaplin
Published: 2006-10-12 |
List price: $13.95
Our price: $11.16
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Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: September 06th, 2008 08:44:45 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Just a few points short of a high score...
THE GOOD: All things considered, Smartbomb is an excellent book. It's well paced and paints an exciting portrait of an exploding industry. Following in the footsteps of "Game Over", "Trigger Happy" and "Joystick Nation" the authors present a dynamic overview of the gaming scene. All the usual suspects are here (Miyamoto, Bushnell, Carmack...). Instead of just rehashing the same stories and personalities found in other books they manage to squeeze out a couple of new gems. Who knew that Will Wright has been working on "Spore" (aka "SimEverything") for 8 years now? Or that he wanted to call "The Sims", "SimDollhouse"? The bits on Miyamoto's family life and a clever retelling of his 'cave games' proved insightful. They also did a great job capturing the inventive atmosphere that spawned video games in the first place. Probably the most interesting (and frightening) section though, featured the American military's take on video games as a recruiting tool. The blunt nature of these conversations and giddy allusions to "Ender's Game" and kid soldiers left my jaw on the floor. The fact that the American government promotes this agenda while demonizing games as corruptors of youth speaks volumes.
THE BAD: As much as I enjoyed reading the accounts of those featured here, the overall aim of the book left something to be desired. While it's true that a Tony Hawk game can sell more copies than a Britney Spears album and no one will know who made it - generating some sort of "star culture" found in other industries won't help. If anything, it will damage the industry. There are already enough megalomaniacs chomping at the bit to earn the label of "the next Carmack" or "the next Miyamoto". The fact of the matter though is that people like Miyamoto and Carmack earned their chops back when teams were smaller, the stakes lower and projects much smaller in scope. Surely there will still be visionary characters that raise everyone else's game but it will most likely be a collection of individuals working together, shaping artificial reality as a cohesive whole. Not very sexy I'm afraid but that's really where we're at.
THE UGLY: This is more of a nit-picky game nerd thing but I found some of the inaccuracies in this book a little disappointing. Crediting Yu Suzuki as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog is like giving Michelangelo credit for painting the Mona Lisa. Luigi appeared in games before "Super" Mario Brothers, and it's QuakeCo"n" not QuakeCo"m". These are admittedly obnoxious things to point out but it made me wonder if some of the other sections of the book which I wasn't so familiar with were in fact accurate.
Criticism aside I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Hopefully more people will point to this book as a document of the exciting, positive aspects of video game development.
 The Best Book about the Game Industry
Simply put, Smarbomb is well-written and insightful. The words on the page are enjoyable to read, and the portrayals of the movers and shakers of the industry are the kind of writing you usually find in award-winning literature.
This is rare -- writing about games is usually not very interesting nor does it presenting views that challenges or makes you think. Trust me, I know. I've worked as a video game designer, and read far too many books on the topic.
That's probably this book's biggest strength -- because of the way it's written anyone can enjoy it: gamers, game-makers, or people who've never played a game before in their life.
Fantastic overview
I read about the videogame industry constantly as part of my job, but I got more of an overview of the pioneers and personalities involved in the development & running of this industry.
The only complaint I had about the book was I thought it should have given more of a background about the 900 lb. gorilla in the industry--Electronic Arts. Even so, a very enjoyable book for anyone interested in how the videogame industry came about & the personalities behind it.
The history of how this country become involved in video games
The video game industry is big money these days, powered by a blend of computer geeks and business mavericks who have turned it into a big business - and Smartbomb: The Quest For Art, Entertainment, And Big Bucks In The Videogame Revolution traces the history of how this country become involved in video games. Authors Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby went on a five-year investigation into the history and technology of the video game explosion, gaining access to design labs and business meetings alike: Smartbomb examines both individuals and trends in a survey of models, legends, and achievement.
Great Read For Anyone That Plays Videogames
Smartbomb is a great book for anyone interested in the gaming industry. Whether you're currently working in (or trying to get in) the industry or if you're just the casual gamer that sometimes wonders who are some of the people that put out the top games. The people the authors "hang out with" throughout the book are icons of the gaming industry. Guys like Shigeru Myiamoto (Nintendo), Will Wright (The Sims), John Carmack (Doom), and many others are talked about in the book. Also, the book focus on some of the people and events that have made the game industry a huge success. Events such as CPL and GDC are just two of the many events covered throughout the book.
The only downside (if you can call it that) was the way the setting and time would change randomly within the same chapter. Other than that, the book is flawless.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn a little something about the "behind-the-scenes" business side of the gaming industry.
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