Bit by Bit
How Video Games Transformed Our World
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
An acclaimed critic argues that video games are the most vital art form of our time
Video games have seemingly taken over our lives. Whereas gamers once constituted a small and largely male subculture, today 67 percent of American households play video games. The average gamer is now thirty-four years old and spends eight hours each week playing -- and there is a 40 percent chance this person is a woman.
In Bit by Bit, Andrew Ervin sets out to understand the explosive popularity of video games. He travels to government laboratories, junk shops, and arcades. He interviews scientists and game designers, both old and young. In charting the material and technological history of video games, from the 1950s to the present, he suggests that their appeal starts and ends with the sense of creativity they instill in gamers. As Ervin argues, games are art because they are beautiful, moving, and even political -- and because they turn players into artists themselves.
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In a contemplative ode to electronic entertainment, Ervin (Burning Down George Orwell s House) ventures into the world of video and computer games. Starting with arguably the first video game, 1958 s Tennis for Two, and traveling right up to modern juggernauts such as Minecraft and World of Warcraft, Ervin examines numerous aspects of the industry, including its unlikely origins during the Cold War and the ongoing argument about the artistic value of video games. His affection for the subject is obvious, especially in his detailed descriptions of his research for the book, which involves playing each game in as close to its original state as he can manage: tracking down a vintage Donkey Kong cabinet, borrowing his neighbor s Xbox to play Halo. Ervin s philosophical ruminations occasionally verge on the abstract, and the book is by no means an exhaustive history; it s a personal journey that speaks volumes on how video games have grown, evolved, and multiplied to fill myriad roles over the years.
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