Librería Portfolio

In the forty years since the first Magnavox Odyssey pixel winked on in 1972, the home video game industry has undergone a mind-blowing evolution. Fueled by unprecedented advances in technology, boundless imaginations, and an insatiable addiction to fantastic new worlds of play, the video game has gone supernova, rocketing two generations of fans into an ever-expanding universe where art, culture, reality, and emotion collide.
As a testament to the cultural impact of the game industry´s mega morph, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with curator and author Chris Melissinos, conceived the forthcoming exhibition, The Art of Video Games, which will run from March 16 to September 30, 2012.* Welcome Books will release the companion book this March.
Melissinos presents video games as not just mere play, but richly textured emotional and social experiences that have crossed the boundary into culture and art.
Along with a team of game developers, designers, and journalists, Melissinos chose a pool of 240 games across five different eras to represent the diversity of the game world. Criteria included visual effects, creative use of technologies, and how world events and popular culture manifested in the games. The museum then invited the public to go online to help choose the games. More than 3.7 million votes (from 175 countries) later, the eighty winners featured in The Art of Video Games exhibition and book were selected.
From the Space Invaders of the seventies to sophisticated contemporary epics BioShock and Uncharted 2, Melissinos examines each of the winning games, providing a behind-the-scenes look at their development and innovation, and commentary on the relevance of each in the history of video games.
Over 100 composite images, created by Patrick O´Rourke, and drawn directly from the games themselves, illustrate the evolution of video games as an artistic medium, both technologically and creatively.
Additionally, The Art of Video Games includes fascinating interviews with influential artists and designers-from pioneers such as Nolan Bushnell to contemporary innovators including Warren Spector, Tim Schafer and Robin Hunicke.
The foreword was written by Elizabeth Broun, director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Mike Mika, noted game preservationist and prolific developer, contributed the introduction the introduction.
*After Washington D.C., the exhibition travels to several cities across the United States, including Boca Raton (Museum of Art), Seattle (EMP Museum), Yonkers, NY (Hudson River Museum) and Flint, MI (Flint Institute of Arts). For the latest confirmed dates and venues, please visit the The Art of Video Games exhibition page at http: //americanart.si.edu/taovg



Table of Contents:
FOREWORD
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
GENRES
START!
ATARI VCS
Combat
Space Invaders
Pitfall!
Pac-Man
COLECO VISION
Donkey Kong
Zaxxon
Star Trek: Strategic
Operations Simulator
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
INTELLIVISION
Star Strike
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
TRON: Maze-a-Tron
Utopia
8-BIT
COMMODORE 64
Jumpman
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Sid Meier´s Pirates
The Bard´s Tale III: Thief of Fate
NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
The Legend of Zelda
1943: The Battle of Midway
Desert Commander
Super Mario Brothers 3
SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
Marble Madness
Phantasy Star
After Burner
Spy vs. Spy
BIT WARS!
SEGA GENESIS
Dune II
Phantasy Star IV
Gunstar Heroes
Earthworm Jim
SUPER NES
Super Mario World
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Star Fox
SimCity
TRANSITION
DOS/WINDOWS
DOOM II
Fallout
StarCraft
Diablo II
NINTENDO 64
Super Mario 64
GoldenEye 007
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Worms Armageddon
SEGA DREAMCAST
Sonic Adventure
Shenmue
ChuChu Rocket!
Rez
SEGA SATURN
SimCity 2000
Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Tomb Raider
SONY PLAYSTATION
FINAL FANTASY VII
Metal Gear Solid
EINHANDER
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
NEXT GENERATION
MICROSOFT XBOX
Tom Clancy´s Splinter Cell
Fable
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Halo 2
MICROSOFT XBOX 360
Mass Effect 2
Lord of the RIngs: The Battle for Middle-Earth II
BioShock
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
MODERN WINDOWS
Flow
Portal
Fallout 3
Minecraft
NINTENDO GAMECUBE
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Pikmin 2
Star Fox: Assault
NINTENDO Wii
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros´ Treasure
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Boom Blox
SONY PLAYSTATION 2
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Gradius V
Shadow of the Colossus
Okami
SONY PLAYSTATION 3
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Heavy Rain
Brutal Legend
Flower
INTERVIEWS
Nolan Bushnell
Steve Cartwright
Don Daglow
Ron Gilbert
Kevin Bachus
Tommy Tallarico
Warren Spector
R. J. Mical
Jane Pinckard
Jon-Paul Dyson
Jen MacLean
Chris Charla
Jesse Schell
Robin Hunicke
Tim Schafer
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CREDITS