From Pinballs To Pixels

Author : Ken Horowitz
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 537 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2023-04-27
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9781476647968

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From Pinballs to Pixels by Ken Horowitz Pdf

From early classics like Contact to marvels like High Speed, gaming publisher Williams dazzled arcade goers with its diverse range of quality pinball games. The age of video games catapulted the company into legend with blockbusters like Defender and Joust, and by the end of the 1980s it was the largest coin-op publisher in North America. Williams' acquisition of Bally/Midway began a period of hits that included Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, as well as the best-selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family. The history of Williams spans nearly six decades and is filled with great games, huge gambles and technical innovations that impacted every aspect of pinball and arcade video games. With interviews of 40+ former designers and executives from Williams/Bally/Midway, as well as information from hundreds of contemporaneous news reports and documents, this book presents a never-before-seen chronology of how the small company became a coin-op juggernaut. Thirty pinball and 26 video game classics are examined in depth with direct input from the people who made them, along with the story of the events that shaped one of gaming's greatest publishing houses.

Author : Marco Rossignoli
Publisher : Schiffer Pub Limited
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2002-08-30
Category : Games
ISBN : 0764316877

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Pinball Memories by Marco Rossignoli Pdf

Pinball games have long been regarded as the twentieth century's ultimate coin operated amusement, touching the lives of generations of players in numerous cultures. This visual chronicle, with examples from the game's beginnings to the present day, focuses in particular on the years from 1958 to 1998. It showcases fifty fascinating pinball games, each with its own chapter outlining the special features. Covered in detail are cultural influences, design and artistic trends, historical connections, collectibility, values, and unique game rules. Over 800 full color photographs display whole machine shots, close-ups of backglasses and playfields, and ball's-eye-view images. They put the pinball enthusiast right into the action! This beautiful book is an essential reference for the libraries of pinball collectors and aficionados everywhere.

Author : NFGMan
Publisher : Gulf Professional Publishing
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Computers
ISBN : 0240808088

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Character Design for Mobile Devices by NFGMan Pdf

This work looks at the creative challenges of designing sprites and icons for mobile phones, portable games platforms and computers. It also explores how the limits of designing for small screens are the inspiration for vibrant and colourful art.

Author : Gary L. Blackwood
Publisher : Perfection Learning
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2007-01-01
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0756981328

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Second Sight by Gary L. Blackwood Pdf

Rich in Dickensian flavor and packed with fascinating historical details, this compelling alternate-history novel by the author of "The Year of the Hangman" takes readers into the plot to assassinate President Lincoln.

Author : Marco Rossignoli
Publisher : Schiffer Pub Limited
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN : 0764315862

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The Complete Pinball Book by Marco Rossignoli Pdf

This fantastic book tells the detailed history of pinball games from the 1930s to the 1990s, including the evolution of all sorts of game features--from flippers and bumpers to sound, scoring, and tilt mechanisms--all immersed in the complex and magnificent artwork characteristic of pinball machines. Pinball manufacturing giants like Gottlieb, Williams, and Bally are well represented, in addition to several lesser-known and foreign manufacturers. With a listing of over 3,000 games built to date, statistics, updated pricing information, and over 900 color photographs (including close-ups, flyers, images of rare prototypes, and games never before seen in print), this is essential for the libraries of all pinball lovers. The pinball machine is here to stay--due in part to the exponential increase in the number of serious collectors and enthusiasts. What other modern amusement machine can boast a longevity of over 60 years, withstanding the test of time and ever-changing technology, while maintaining its instantly recognizable form? The rolling, bouncing silver ball, as unpredictable as the flip of a coin or even life itself, has kept up with cutting-edge advancements in electronics, mechanics, and even computers, to amuse and test the skill of players worldwide!

Author : Adam Ruben
Publisher : Chicago Review Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2017-11-01
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781613735930

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Pinball Wizards by Adam Ruben Pdf

Pinball's history is America's history, from gambling and war-themed machines to the arcade revolution and, ultimately, the decline of the need to leave your house. The strangest thing about pinball is that it persists, and not just as nostalgia. And pinball didn't just stick around—it grew and continues to evolve with the times, reflecting the zeitgeist of every era it passes through. Somehow, in today's iPhone world, a 300-pound monstrosity of wood and cables has survived to enjoy yet another renaissance.Pinball is more to humor writer Adam Ruben than a fascinating book topic—it's a lifelong obsession. Ruben played competitive pinball for more than a decade, rising as high as the 80th-ranked player in the world. Then he had kids. Now, mired in 9,938th place—darn kids—Ruben tries to stage a comeback, visiting pinball museums, gaming conventions, pinball machine designers, and even pinball factories in his attempt to discover what makes the world's best players, the real wizards, so good.Pinball competitions are on the rise, thanks in part to modern phenomena, like "nostalgia bars," with several hundred International Flipper Pinball Association–sanctioned events occurring annually—yet they're only a small corner of the pinball world. Pinball Wizards examines the bigger story of pinball's invention, ascent, near-defeat, resurgence, near-defeat again, and struggle to find its niche in modern society.

Author : Jody Feldman
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2009-06-30
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9780061957314

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The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman Pdf

Jody Feldman's popular, award-winning novel about a group of kids playing the Gollywhopper Games—the fiercest toy company competition in the country—will appeal to fans of The Amazing Race and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Gil Goodson has been studying, training, and preparing for months to compete in the Gollywhopper Games. Everything is at stake. Once Gil makes it through the tricky preliminary rounds and meets his teammates in the fantastical Golly Toy and Game Company, the competition gets tougher. Brainteasers, obstacle courses, mazes, and increasingly difficult puzzles and decisions—not to mention temptations, dilemmas, and new friends (and enemies)—are all that separate Gil from ultimate victory. An interactive and inventive page-turner perfect for young readers who love to solve puzzles!

Author : B. B. Kamoroff
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2021-06-28
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0764361805

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Your Pinball Machine by B. B. Kamoroff Pdf

Every person who owns a pinball machine, or who is thinking of buying one, will find a wealth of valuable information and step-by-step help in this thorough, updated manual. For electromechanical and electronic machines: choosing and buying a pinball machine; different types and vintages of machines; components and features; setup and game adjustments; how to maintain, clean, and service your machine; setting machines for free play; troubleshooting; repairs you can do yourself; keeping the flippers "hot"; sources for parts, tools, schematics, game manuals, and professional repairs; starting your own pinball business; and much more. Illustrated with more than 200 detailed photos and diagrams, including rare and beautiful machines from the Pacific Pinball Museum, one of the world's largest collections of pinball machines, from the 1930s to today.

Author : Ken Horowitz
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2020-08-06
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9781476684208

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Beyond Donkey Kong by Ken Horowitz Pdf

Before the enormously successful NES console changed the video game landscape in the 1980s, Nintendo became famous for producing legendary arcade machines like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. Drawing on original interviews, news reports and other documents, this book traces Nintendo's rise from a small business that made playing cards to the top name in the arcade industry. Twenty-eight game titles are examined in-depth, along with the people and events that defined the company for more than four decades.

Author : Roger C. Sharpe,Clark Whelton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1977
Category : Pinball machines
ISBN : UOM:39015033281463

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Pinball! by Roger C. Sharpe,Clark Whelton Pdf

Author : Ken Horowitz
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2016-10-27
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9781476625577

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Playing at the Next Level by Ken Horowitz Pdf

Today a multinational video game developer, Sega was the first to break Nintendo’s grip on the gaming industry, expanding from primarily an arcade game company to become the dominant game console manufacturer in North America. A major part of that success came from the hard work and innovation of its subsidiary, Sega of America, who in a little more than a decade wrested the majority market share from Nintendo and revolutionized how games were made. Drawing on interviews with nearly 100 Sega alumni, this book traces the development of the company, revealing previously undocumented areas of game-making history, including Sega’s relationship with Tonka, the creation of its internal studios, and major breakthroughs like the Sega Channel and HEAT Network. More than 40 of the company’s most influential games are explored in detail.

Author : Warren Davis
Publisher : Santa Monica Press
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2022-01-11
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9781595807854

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Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games by Warren Davis Pdf

Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games takes you inside the video arcade game industry during the classic decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Warren Davis, the creator of the groundbreaking Q*bert, worked as a member of the creative teams who developed some of the most popular video games of all time, including Joust 2, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Revolution X. In a witty and entertaining narrative, Davis shares insightful stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work as a designer and programmer at the most influential and dominant video arcade game manufacturers of the era, including Gottlieb, Williams/Bally/Midway, and Premiere. Likewise, the talented artists, designers, creators, and programmers Davis has collaborated with over the years reads like a who’s who of video gaming history: Eugene Jarvis, Tim Skelly, Ed Boon, Jeff Lee, Dave Thiel, John Newcomer, George Petro, Jack Haegar, and Dennis Nordman, among many others. The impact Davis has had on the video arcade game industry is deep and varied. At Williams, Davis created and maintained the revolutionary digitizing system that allowed actors and other photo-realistic imagery to be utilized in such games as Mortal Kombat, T2, and NBA Jam. When Davis worked on the fabled Us vs. Them, it was the first time a video game integrated a live action story with arcade-style graphics. On the one-of-a-kind Exterminator, Davis developed a brand new video game hardware system, and created a unique joystick that sensed both omni-directional movement and rotation, a first at that time. For Revolution X, he created a display system that simulated a pseudo-3D environment on 2D hardware, as well as a tool for artists that facilitated the building of virtual worlds and the seamless integration of the artist’s work into game code. Whether you’re looking for insights into the Golden Age of Arcades, would like to learn how Davis first discovered his design and programming skills as a teenager working with a 1960s computer called a Monrobot XI, or want to get the inside scoop on what it was like to film the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Aerosmith for Revolution X, Davis’s memoir provides a backstage tour of the arcade and video game industry during its most definitive and influential period.

Author : Jamie Lendino
Publisher : Steel Gear Press
Page : 435 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-27
Category : Computers
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Attract Mode: The Rise and Fall of Coin-Op Arcade Games by Jamie Lendino Pdf

From their haunts in the shadowy corner of a bar, front and center at a convenience store, or reigning over a massive mall installation bursting with light, sound, and action, arcade games have been thrilling and addicting quarter-bearers of all ages ever since Pong first lit up its paddles. Whether you wanted a few minutes’ quick-twitch exhilaration or the taste of three-initial immortality that came with topping the high score screen, you could get it from the diverse range of space shooters, dot-eating extravaganzas, quirky beat-’em-ups, and more that have helped define pop culture for more than four decades. In Attract Mode: The Rise and Fall of Coin-Op Arcade Games, author Jamie Lendino celebrates both the biggest blockbusters (Pac-Man, Star Wars: The Arcade Game) and the forgotten gems (Phoenix, Star Castle) of the Golden Age of coin-op gaming, and pulls back the curtain on the personalities and the groundbreaking technologies that brought them to glitzy, color-drenched life in the U.S., Japan, and all over the world. You’ll start your journey exploring the electromechanical attractions and pinball games of the early 20th century. Next, you’ll meet the earliest innovators, who used college computers and untested electronics to outline the possibilities of the emerging form, and discover the surprising history behind the towering megahits from Nintendo, Sega, and others that still inform gaming today. Then you’ll witness the devastating crash that almost ended it all—and the rebirth no one expected. Whether you prefer the white-knuckle gameplay of Robotron: 2084, the barrel-jumping whimsy of Donkey Kong, or the stunning graphics and animation of Dragon’s Lair, Attract Mode will transport you back to the heyday of arcade games and let you relive—or experience for the first time—the unique magic that transformed entertainment forever.

Author : Ken Horowitz
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2018-06-22
Category : Games & Activities
ISBN : 9781476672250

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The Sega Arcade Revolution by Ken Horowitz Pdf

Long before it took the home video game console market by storm, Sega was already an arcade powerhouse. Parlaying its dominance in coin-operated machines into the home video game boom of the 1980s, the Japan-based company soon expanded with branches in Europe and the U.S., and continues to lead the gaming industry in design and quality. Drawing on interviews with former developers and hundreds of documents, this history follows the rise of Sega, from its electromechanical machines of the mid-1960s to the acquisition of Gremlin Industries to its 2003 merger with Sammy Corporation. Sixty-two of Sega's most popular and groundbreaking games are explored.

Author : Rory Lewis
Publisher : Apress
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2011-01-27
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9781430227014

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iPhone and iPad Apps for Absolute Beginners by Rory Lewis Pdf

The iPhone is the hottest gadget of our generation, and much of its success has been fueled by the App Store, Apple’s online marketplace for iPhone applications. Over 1 billion apps have been downloaded in the 9 months the App Store has been open, ranging from the simplest games to the most complex business apps. Everyone has an idea for the next best-selling iPhone app—presumably that’s why you’re reading this now. And with the release of the iPad, this demand will just continue to grow. So how do you build an application for the iPhone and iPad? Don’t you need to spend years learning complicated programming languages? What about Objective-C, Cocoa Touch, and the software development kit (SDK)? The answer is that you don’t need to know any of those things. Anybody can start building simple applications for the iPhone and iPad, and this book will show you how. This book takes you to getting your first applications up and running using plain English and practical examples. It cuts through the fog of jargon and misinformation that surrounds iPhone and iPad application development, and gives you simple, step-by-step instructions to get you started. Teaches iPhone and iPad application development in language anyone can understand Provides simple, step-by-step examples that make learning easy Offers videos that enable you to follow along with the author—it’s like your own private classroom