This anthology of personal essays explore how video games have shaped our lives, our cultural imagination and contemporary storytelling. From novelists and critics to game designers themselves, the writers in this collection ask the question, 'Can video games truly be art?'From triple-A, big budget blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto or Assassin's Creed, to quiet, meditative Indie games like Journey or Stardew Valley, video games, like all artform...

A collection of New York Times bestselling author William Gibson’s articles and essays about contemporary culture—a privileged view into the mind of a writer whose thinking has shaped not only a generation of writers but our entire culture...Though best known for his fiction, William Gibson is as much in demand for his cutting-edge observations on the world we live in now. Originally printed in publications as varied as Wired, the New York Tim...

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.**“Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better T...

Tom Bissell is a prizewinning writer who published three widely acclaimed books before the age of thirty-four. He is also an obsessive gamer who has spent untold hours in front of his various video game consoles, playing titles such as Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, BioShock, and Oblivion for, literally, days. If you are reading this flap copy, the same thing can probably be said of you, or of someone you know.Until recently, Bissell was somewhat reluctant to admit to hi...

*A genre-defining—*and redefining—collection of the boldest, most rebellious, and most prescient speculative fiction, featuring stories from all over the globe.“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”Almost forty years ago, William Gibson wrote the line that began *Neuromancer—*and a movement that would change the face of science fiction.Award-winning anthologist Jared Shurin brings together over a hund...

Award-winning journalists Keza MacDonald and Jason Killingsworth embark on a far-ranging exploration of Dark Souls one of the most influential, enigmatic and best-loved video games in history and the slightly mad people who play it. It has three questions at its heart: where did Dark Souls come from, what makes it so special, and why are we all so obsessed with it? YOU DIED is a must-read for anyone who’s ever braved the wilds of Lordran, for five hours or 500. Includes exclusive new inter...

The Ultimate List of Must-Read HorrorCurious readers and fans of monsters and the macabre, get ready to bulk up your TBR piles! Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann has curated the best selection of modern horror books, including plenty of deep cuts. Indulge your heart’s darkest desires to be terrified, unsettled, disgusted, and heartbroken with stories that span everything from paranormal hauntings and creepy death cults to small-town terrors and apocalyptic disasters. ...

**"A**n incredible voice in horror"—Tor NightfireHorror essays that read like Chuck Klosterman filtered through H.P. Lovecraft.Slinging ectoplasm, tombstones, and chainsaws with aplomb, Be Scared of Everything is a frighteningly smart celebration of horror culture that will appeal to both horror aficionados and casual fans. Combining pop culture criticism and narrative memoir, Counter’s essays consider and deconstruct film...

This is a must-have book for any computer enthusiast whether they are young or old. Covering the100 best games ever to be produced from Pac-Man Vs andPokemon Red/Blue to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Worms -- make sure you've not missed out any of the cult classics. With detailed descriptions of each game, the design process behind them and the secrets that lie within, this book will rekindle games from your childhood as well as introducing you to previously un-played games.

A wide-ranging anthology of essays exploring one of the most vital art forms on the planet todayFrom the earliest computers to the smartphones in our pockets, video games have been on our screens and part of our lives for over fifty years. Critical Hits celebrates this sophisticated medium and considers its lasting impact on our culture and ourselves.This collection of stylish, passionate, and searching essays opens with an introduction by Carmen M...

An immersive journey into the author’s lifelong attachment to video games, revealing how they shape us, shatter us, and give us the courage to start againOf Floating Isles is a captivating collection of personal essays that unpack the mystifying and often intimate roles that video games play in our lives. Interweaving memoir with cultural critique, Kawika Guillermo explores the subtle yet transformative influences of video games in shaping them as a queer ...

You are a four-dimensional human.Each of us exists in three-dimensional, physical space. But, as a constellation of everyday digital phenomena rewires our lives, we are increasingly coaxed from the containment of our predigital selves into a wonderful and eerie fourth dimension, a world of ceaseless communication, instant information, and global connection.Our portals to this new world have been wedged open, and the silhouette of a figure is slowly taking s...