Description
Book Synopsis Featuring interviews with the creators of 35 popular video games--including John Madden Football, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, WCW/nWo Revenge, and RBI Baseball--this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of some of the most influential and iconic (and sometimes forgotten) sports video games of all time. Recounting endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega-publishers and the uncertainties of public reception, the interviewees reveal the creative processes that produced some of gaming''s classic titles.
Trade ReviewAn absolute BODY SLAM! You MUST read these stories. Patrick has done it again, and somehow...keeps getting better."—Stephen Fontana,
Duel Screens"FINALLY! Patrick Hickey Jr. shines a powerful and much-needed light on the actual human beings who struggled and sacrificed to give the world its favorite video games and cherished childhood memories.
The Minds Behind the Games series is a heartfelt but honest love letter to the forgotten and until now never told stories of the passionate people behind the pixels. Only Patrick has the combination of journalistic talent, integrity, and affection for the subject matter to accomplish what has been admiringly and very gratefully achieved here."—Dave Wishnowski, creator,
Pro Wrestling X"By conducting interviews with programmers and putting the games they created in context of both the industry and the zeitgeist at large, Patrick Hickey is uncovering stories that are not only fun to read, but also important for gaming historians and anyone interested in the fascinating, behind-the-scenes history of popular culture."—Brett Weiss, author of the
Classic Home Video Games series and
The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987"I was skeptical of anyone's interest in my relic information about game development in the 90s. Slowly I was drawn to the light of Patrick Hickey, Jr.'s amazing talents and desire to find out what this era of game development was really like. I trust that his journalistic ethics and video game passion allow him no other choice but to tell the truth"—Barbara Michalec, former Blue Sky Software Programmer,
The Little Mermaid, Ren and Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention and
World Series Baseball '95Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Michael Brook
- Preface
- Introduction
- Aaron Cammarata, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3: Simply the Best, Better Than All the Rest
- John Salwitz, Rob Rowe and Don Traeger, 720: Build It and They Will Come
- Don Goddard, Transworld Surf: Third Time's a Charm
- Pascal Sahuc and Nick Doran, Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer: Making Waves
- Martin Edmondson, Destruction Derby: Have Your Cake and Break Stuff, Too
- Jon Spencer, SSX: Big Delays, Big Thrills
- Mark McArthur, Links 2004: Xbox's Hole in One
- Stephen Chaplin, Virtual Pool: Calling All the Shots
- Alan O'Brien, Ten Pin Alley: A Turkey for Its Time
- Benjamin Johnson, Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis: The Little Experimental Project That Could
- Sanders Keel, Pride FC: Fighting Championships: A Sleeper Tap-Out
- Loren Lemcke, Super Blood Hockey: An Indie Hip-Check
- Craig Broadbooks, NHL FaceOff '98: You're Beautiful, It's True
- Michael Mendheim and Sam Nelson, Mutant League Hockey: When Glenda Shaved the Ice
- Clint Forward, NHL 2K: Sega's Black Box Special
- Mark Flitman, WWF Royal Rumble: The Original Six-Pack Wrestling Challenge
- Mark Flitman, WWE RAW: From Royal to Mega
- Justin W. Withers, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling: A Semi-Charmed Kind of Life
- Sanders Keel, WCW/nWo Revenge: Just Too Sweet, 4-Life
- Michael Rubinelli, Toughman Contest: Butterbean's Brawling Bonanza
Dan Kitchen, Boxing Fever: A Forgotten First-Person Knockout
- Chris Razmovski, Boxing Champs: An Uppercut from Mobile Phones to Mobile Consoles
- Kevin Sheller, NBA Inside Drive 2000: Codename Rock
- Jules Burt and Perry Rodgers, NBA ShootOut: A "Total" NBA Experience
- Michael Brook, NBA Action '95: Air Brook-Ziomkowski Ready for Takeoff
Don Traeger and Carl Mey, Lakers Versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs: Exchangeable Heads and the Birth of EA Sports
- Mark Flitman, MLB Slugfest 20-03: No Arcade? No Problem
- Eddie Dombrower, Earl Weaver Baseball: EA's First Triple Play
- Peter Lipson, RBI Baseball: The Silicon Valley Survivors
- Jules Burt, FIFA International Soccer: From the Beach to the Pitch
- John Salwitz, Cyberball: The Lost Summer and Atari's Explosive Gridiron Experience
- Mark Flitman, NFL Blitz 20-02: It's Too Late Baby, But Still Damn Good
- Michael Brook, NFL '95: Jay's Fridge Strikes Back
- Cam Weber, NCAA Football 2014: Goodnight EA's Football Prince
- Michael Brook and Don Traeger, John Madden Football: How EA Got in the Game
- Conclusion
- Afterword by Sanders Keel
- Index
