Staff Picks: Nonfiction Comics About Games

Sat, 09/14/2024 - 6:01pm by nicole

These graphic novels explore the entertaining history of games. Learn about the creation of some the world's most famous video games, the dawn of the gaming revolution, and tabletop games that changed pop culture!

The Comic Book Story of Video Games: The Incredible History of the Electronic Gaming Revolution by Jonathan Hennessey | Request Now
A complete, illustrated history of video games--highlighting the machines, games, and people who have made gaming a worldwide, billion dollar industry/artform! This book provides readers with everything they need to know about video games--from their early beginnings during World War II, to the emergence of arcade games in the 1970s, to the rise of Nintendo and app-based games like Pokemon Go. Each chapter features spotlights on major players in the development of games and gaming that contains everything that gamers and non-gamers alike need to understand and appreciate this incredible phenomenon.

Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master: Pong, Atari, and the Dawn of the Video Game by David Kushner | Request Now
Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master is a deep, nostalgic dive into the advent of gaming. At the center of this graphic history, dynamically drawn in colors inspired by old computer screens, is the epic feud that rages between Atari founder Nolan Bushnell and inventor Ralph Baer for the title of "father of the video game." While Baer, a Jewish immigrant whose family fled Germany for America, developed the first TV video-game console and ping-pong game in the 1960s, Bushnell, a self-taught whiz kid from Utah, put out Atari's pioneering table-tennis arcade game, Pong, in 1972. Thus, a prolonged battle began over who truly spearheaded the multibillion-dollar gaming industry, and around it a sweeping narrative about invention, inspiration, and the seeds of digital revolution.

Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D & D by David Kushner | Request Now
Rise of the Dungeon Master tells, in graphic form, the story of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, one of the most influential games ever made.  An imaginative misfit from a young age, Gygax escaped into a virtual world based on science fiction novels, military history and strategic games like chess. In the mid-1970s, he co-created the wildly popular Dungeons & Dragons game, determining the rules and inventing the signature 20-sided dice. Starting out in the basement of his home, he was soon struggling to keep up with the demand. By the late 1970s the game had become so popular among kids that parents started to worry -- so much so that a mom's group was formed to alert parents to the dangers of role play and fantasy. The backlash only fueled the fires of the young fans who continued to play the game, escaping into imaginary worlds. Before long, D & D conventions were set up around the country and the game inspired everything from movies to the first video games. With D & D, Gygax created the kind of role playing fantasy that would fuel the multibillion dollar video game industry, and become a foundation of contemporary geek culture.

Tetris: The Games People Play by Brian Brown | Request Now
It is, perhaps, the perfect video game. Simple yet addictive, Tetris delivers an irresistible, unending puzzle that has players hooked. Play it long enough and you'll see those brightly colored geometric shapes everywhere. You'll see them in your dreams. Alexey Pajitnov had big ideas about games. In 1984, he created Tetris in his spare time while developing software for the Soviet government. Once Tetris emerged from behind the Iron Curtain, it was an instant hit. Nintendo, Atari, Sega--game developers big and small all wanted Tetris. A bidding war was sparked, followed by clandestine trips to Moscow, backroom deals, innumerable miscommunications, and outright theft. In this graphic novel, New York Times--bestselling author Box Brown untangles this complex history and delves deep into the role games play in art, culture, and commerce. For the first time and in unparalleled detail, Tetris: The Games People Play tells the true story of the world's most popular video game.