Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives,and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form

I've never played a game made by Anna Anthropy, but after reading this book, she is one of my favorite game designers. Her enthusiasm for the art form, and for its potential if placed in the right hands (i.e., yours and mine) is genuine and contagious. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters begins with Anthropy's opinions on why true authorship is nearly non-existant in commercial videogames. Her argument is succinct, difficult to contradict, and reads like a treat to any gamer who has grown weary of brown shooters, annual sequels, and bars filling up at the end of every multiplayer match in everything. Anthropy then makes the case for why empowering individuals to make games, the way everyone is empowered to write a story or post a YouTube video, could save the art form from the videogame industry's play-it-safe redundancy. Well, really, the power is already out there, which is the final thing that Anthropy helps her reader to understand, by pointing out resources and examples of how the tools have already been used to make some very special games. Anthropy's book is fun, surprising, and timely; and important read for anyone who cares about videogames.

This is a quick read, more like a manifesto for the indie games movement than a guide book although the last chapter includes a walk-through of some programs you can use to get started. Anthropy mixes her personal history with observed comments about the game industry and design freely - that's the zine part of this book. Don't let that put you off! There are really good ideas in here about how games could reach a broader audience and be more inclusive.

I eagerly ordered Anna Anthropy's book, being a fan of her important ongoing work in the "indie game" scene. Anna is a creative force and a passionate advocate for games as folk art and digital vehicles for self-expression. She also makes legitimately fun games! This book offers perhaps some of the earliest thoughts in an increasingly public conversation about games' status as art, and serves as a great introduction to an "alternative" world of game development that the average person may not be aware of. This is a large topic simply because of its many facets, and as a shorter read, the book can only act as a primer to these many facets - such as tools for game development, contemporary folk game auteurs, and their games, etc. 'Zinesters is well-written and I think Anna does this topic justice while making the subject accessible to anyone who may have no more experience with game development than simply consuming its output. I think the book falls short in convincing a skeptic that games as art are on the same "level" as the more classic forms. For me, it's an unimportant matter, but some might be looking to this book to convince them. Finally, Anna appears to be of the mind that game creation is a kind of zero-sum, um, game where having less "white male"-developed games is necessary to have more non-"white male"-developed games. Game development is more democratized/open/folk than ever now, while simultaneously "white male" games are consumed more than ever - I think this merely reflects the dichotomy of "pop/mainstream" art and "folk/alternative" art that seems to be present in every artistic medium.

anna anthropy's book is part biography, part how-to guide for budding game designers and part manifesto for the disenfranchised. Not only does it provide a pretty good, short-and-sweet overview of the history of games development, it gets the reader thinking about how they engage with games in a totally different way. By the end of this you will definitely want to start making games yourself, and anna has all the resources you need to get started.

Anthropy perfectly lays out why more diversity is needed in the world of game design, why you ("yes YOU") should contribute your as-of-yet unheard voice, and how you can really actually make and distribute your own game, for real, right now. For people already entrenched in the status quo mentality, it's a huge wakeup call and yet another important step in finally ushering diversity into the realm of 'gamer culture.' For people who have never made a game before, it's exactly the call-to-arms that it sets out to be.

I'd love to tell the author how inspiring this book is. As an indie developer, it just makes you feel there's a whole world out there ready to find new games that challenge the big studios' worn out models. It's a VERY interesting read for anyone, not just game developers!

I'm having an enjoyable re-visit of my past (I almost forgot about downloading shareware from BBS) while having my eyes opened to what's going on in the game industry (and what's not going on in the game industry). Guys, don't be afraid about the other side and grab this book.

Based on the title, I was expecting the book to tell a story of the history of indie games. But chapter 1 makes it clear the book is just a platform for the author to preach about how most video games are bad and talk about their own games. Not interested in reading that.

An aging but essential read, easy to share.

man weiß, was auf einen Zukommt. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters, ist ein wundervolles und auch sehr persönliches Buch von Anna Anthropy über Computerspiele und die Menschen dahinter die diese machen. Es wird viel über die Spieleindustrie gesprochen und auch den Unterschied zu Indie Spielen. Desweiteren werden auch die Geschichtlichen Entwicklungen miteinbezogen, weshalb viele AAA Spiele eine bestimmte Zielgruppe haben usw. Alles in allem ist es ein Aufruf dazu selber Spiele zu machen, denn heute kann jeder der will ob Programmierer oder Künstler oder Hobbyist Spiele machen. Und genau dieser Faktor wird nochmals beleuchtet und auch warum es so gut und wichtig ist, dass nicht nur Menschen Spiele machen können die einen technischen Hintergrund haben. Es bringt mehr Vielfalt in die Spielelandschaft und somit erheben sich Spiele immer mehr zum kulturellem Gut.

Este livro mostra apresenta uma visão inovadora sobre o desenvolvimento de games. Se trata de um manifesto sobre como qualqyuer pessoa pode ter acesso aos meios para se expressar através dos jogos. O desenvolvimento de jogos, que há muito pouco tempo atrás estava restrito a grandes empresas, hoje está democratizado, com várias opções para amadores criarem e distribuírem suas obras através da internet. Anna Anthropy traça um panorama otimista sobre a contribuição que pessoas comuns das mais diversas origens e experiências de vida (e não apenas os chamados "gamers") podem dar para enriquecer o cenários dos jogos. Leitura obrigatória para qualquer pessoa que queira desenvolver jogos e para qualquer interessado no assunto. O livro é excelente e seria muito bom se tivesse uma versão em português.

This book is really a must for every Game Designer and also for people intrested in indie videogames. I appreciate a lot the definition of game inside the book: "A game is an experience created by rules".

Very interesting and easy to read