Thanks for all that, Rob. Indeed, I think Tony Hawk is the weakest overall chapter, which I myself have stated. It was the article with the least TLC able to be devoted to it because of time constraints (it was the last written and under duress) and one of the few chapters where neither Matt nor myself have put in much quality time with the titles (though of course I have several versions, but never played them in an in-depth manner). I would have liked for Gamasutra to put all of the images in, which I think would have added to the points made in the chapter.
I understand you not getting the basic theme of the article, but essentially the point that we were trying to get across was that only with the move to 3D and the involvement of Tony Hawk himself was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater able to transcend the fun, but ultimately shallow representations of extreme or alternative sports videogames prior to it. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater won over the public for that very reason, that it was the first that could really leverage the best of 3D and motion capture and all that, a luxury that past games didn't have and therefore were unable to rise above being "just" an action videogame.
Nevertheless, for what it is, I think I'm ultimately happy with how the Tony Hawk chapter turned out. I don't think it necessarily helps sales of the book, but it certainly shouldn't hurt and at the very least I think, much like every other chapter, should at least contribute to the historical discussion and thought processes around games like Tony Hawk and its various clones. Certainly it should get people thinking beyond the limits of the genre starting with Tony Hawk and certainly thinking more about alternatives to traditional sports games (something that the in-book Madden chapter addresses).
Here is the schedule for the rest of the bonus chapters not in the book:
Elite (1984): Space, the Endless Frontier (to be released April 2009)
Rogue (1980): Have @ You, You Deadly Z's (to be released May 2009)
Spacewar! (1962): The Best Waste of Time in the History of the Universe (to be released June 2009)
Defender (1980): The Joys of Difficult Games (to be released July 2009)
Robotron: 2084 (1982): Running Away while Defending Humanoids (to be released August 2009)
Star Raiders (1979): The New Hope (to be released September 2009)
Of these, my personal favorites are Defender and Robotron. I think overall your mileage will vary though with your further enjoyment of the respective chapters. Certainly I'd say that the Pong chapter and Pinball Construction Set were two of my personal top favorites of the nine. Nevertheless, if you look at the book as a holistic experience, with the 25 chapters in a beautifully produced full color book, then nine bonus online chapters to round out the story, along with well over 120+ bonus images online not found in either the book or online chapters, then I think even with someone not liking one or two or even three items, they'll more than get their money's worth. I really don't know of too many other books that have taken this approach and I'm proud that we can kind of pioneer this "give 110% to the reader" type of thing.
Vintage Games book!
Xbox 360: billlog | Wii: 1345 2773 2048 1586 | PS3: ArmchairArcade Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
*************************** Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
Thanks for all that, Rob. Indeed, I think Tony Hawk is the weakest overall chapter, which I myself have stated. It was the article with the least TLC able to be devoted to it because of time constraints (it was the last written and under duress) and one of the few chapters where neither Matt nor myself have put in much quality time with the titles (though of course I have several versions, but never played them in an in-depth manner). I would have liked for Gamasutra to put all of the images in, which I think would have added to the points made in the chapter.
I understand you not getting the basic theme of the article, but essentially the point that we were trying to get across was that only with the move to 3D and the involvement of Tony Hawk himself was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater able to transcend the fun, but ultimately shallow representations of extreme or alternative sports videogames prior to it. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater won over the public for that very reason, that it was the first that could really leverage the best of 3D and motion capture and all that, a luxury that past games didn't have and therefore were unable to rise above being "just" an action videogame.
Nevertheless, for what it is, I think I'm ultimately happy with how the Tony Hawk chapter turned out. I don't think it necessarily helps sales of the book, but it certainly shouldn't hurt and at the very least I think, much like every other chapter, should at least contribute to the historical discussion and thought processes around games like Tony Hawk and its various clones. Certainly it should get people thinking beyond the limits of the genre starting with Tony Hawk and certainly thinking more about alternatives to traditional sports games (something that the in-book Madden chapter addresses).
Here is the schedule for the rest of the bonus chapters not in the book:
Elite (1984): Space, the Endless Frontier (to be released April 2009)
Rogue (1980): Have @ You, You Deadly Z's (to be released May 2009)
Spacewar! (1962): The Best Waste of Time in the History of the Universe (to be released June 2009)
Defender (1980): The Joys of Difficult Games (to be released July 2009)
Robotron: 2084 (1982): Running Away while Defending Humanoids (to be released August 2009)
Star Raiders (1979): The New Hope (to be released September 2009)
Of these, my personal favorites are Defender and Robotron. I think overall your mileage will vary though with your further enjoyment of the respective chapters. Certainly I'd say that the Pong chapter and Pinball Construction Set were two of my personal top favorites of the nine. Nevertheless, if you look at the book as a holistic experience, with the 25 chapters in a beautifully produced full color book, then nine bonus online chapters to round out the story, along with well over 120+ bonus images online not found in either the book or online chapters, then I think even with someone not liking one or two or even three items, they'll more than get their money's worth. I really don't know of too many other books that have taken this approach and I'm proud that we can kind of pioneer this "give 110% to the reader" type of thing.
Vintage Games book!
Xbox 360: billlog | Wii: 1345 2773 2048 1586 | PS3: ArmchairArcade
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director | Armchair Arcade, Inc.
***************************
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.