Author’s Talk: The History of Video Games by Charlie Fish

“The graphics in the book are so wonderfully vibrant and colourful! It’s all very nostalgic, taking readers back to their childhoodsm, including the NES computer where the consoles every child wanted in the 1980’s!

The hardback book contains 120 pages, with 150 colour illustrations and really is a delightful read and trip down memory lane that is easy to dip in and out of. Dedicated gaming fans will no doubt want to immerse themselves fully into the book though!” – Sim’s Life

This book is a potted history of video games, telling all the rollercoaster stories of this fascinating young industry that’s now twice as big globally than the film and music industries combined. Each chapter explores the history of video games through a different lens, giving a uniquely well-rounded overview.

Packed with pictures and stats, this book is for video gamers nostalgic for the good old days of gaming, and young gamers curious about how it all began. If you’ve ever enjoyed a video game, or you just want to see what all the fuss is about, this book is for you.

There are stories about the experimental games of the 1950s and 1960s; the advent of home gaming in the 1970s; the explosion – and implosion – of arcade gaming in the 1980s; the console wars of the 1990s; the growth of online and mobile games in the 2000s; and we get right up to date with the 2010s, including such cultural phenomena as twitch.tv, the Gamergate scandal, and Fortnite.

But rather than telling the whole story from beginning to end, each chapter covers the history of video games from a different angle: platforms and technology, people and personalities, companies and capitalism, gender and representation, culture, community, and finally the games themselves.

“First things first, wow. This book was packed with so much information about the history behind video games. I loved playing video games as a child. Coming home from school and playing Donkey Kong Country is so vivid in my mind, it feels like yesterday. But learning how far video games have come and what some of the original video games looked like, it’s almost unbelievable to think we have the games that we have now.

I admit that I had never researched video game history. I honestly thought video games first popped up in the 80’s and went from there. But knowing that video games are from way before that really blew my mind. This book makes me wonder what original video game pioneers would think of how far gaming has come now. We can essentially have video games in our pocket, and to think they were at one point huge machines is so amazing.

I recommend this book to gamers, game designers, game developers, or anyone who works in the gaming industry. Even history buffs would enjoy this book.” – NetGalley, Rayna Buckley

Charlie Fish is a celebrated short story writer and screenwriter. Since 1996, he has edited www.fictionontheweb.co.uk, the longest-running short story site on the web. He was born in Mount Kisco, New York in 1980; and now lives in south London with his wife and daughters. His first experience of video gaming was a Donkey Kong II Game & Watch, and he has never looked back.

Live Talk

Charlie will talk for approximataly 40 mins followed by a 20 mins Q&A

Hosted by Company of Makers’ co-founder Steve Bomford.

Q&A

Charlie’s talk will be followed by an interactive Q&A session, so you’ll have the opportunity to get involved and he’ll answer as many of your questions as we can squeeze in.

Over the coming months we will be hosting a range of gaming activities for you to get involved in.

If you have any ideas we’d love to hear them. Just include details in the additional info at the bottom of the form.

Better still, if you’re interested in getting involved in some capacity please indicate in the additional information.

Company of Makers are funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, Arts Council England and the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity.

Register here.