LEADER 04313nam 2200709Ia 450 001 9910807636403321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-262-26152-9 010 $a0-262-25493-X 035 $a(CKB)1000000000721253 035 $a(EBL)3338983 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000232066 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11186602 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000232066 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10207839 035 $a(PQKB)10230218 035 $a(CaBNVSL)mat06267193 035 $a(IDAMS)0b000064818b414f 035 $a(IEEE)6267193 035 $a(OCoLC)312933472$z(OCoLC)505030498$z(OCoLC)646793857$z(OCoLC)764509260$z(OCoLC)939263721$z(OCoLC)961491021$z(OCoLC)962571386$z(OCoLC)967760455$z(OCoLC)968299075$z(OCoLC)988508160$z(OCoLC)991982610$z(OCoLC)992059009$z(OCoLC)1037915419$z(OCoLC)1038666160$z(OCoLC)1045474410$z(OCoLC)1055394437$z(OCoLC)1059017329$z(OCoLC)1059035032$z(OCoLC)1066490163$z(OCoLC)1081235354 035 $a(OCoLC-P)312933472 035 $a(MaCbMITP)7588 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3338983 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10273929 035 $a(OCoLC)939263721 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3338983 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000721253 100 $a20080701d2009 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aRacing the beam $ethe Atari Video computer system /$fNick Montfort and Ian Bogost 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aCambridge, Mass. $cMIT Press$dc2009 215 $a1 online resource (193 p.) 225 1 $aPlatform studies 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-262-01257-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aContents; Series Foreword; Acknowledgments; Timeline; 1 Stella; 2 Combat; 3 Adventure; 4 Pac-Man; 5 Yars' Revenge; 6 Pitfall!; 7 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back; 8 After the Crash; Afterword on Platform Studies; Notes; Bibliography; Index 330 $aThe Atari Video Computer System dominated the home video game market so completely that "Atari" became the generic term for a video game console. The Atari VCS was affordable and offered the flexibility of changeable cartridges. Nearly a thousand of these were created, the most significant of which established new techniques, mechanics, and even entire genres. This book offers a detailed and accessible study of this influential video game console from both computational and cultural perspectives. Studies of digital media have rarely investigated platforms--the systems underlying computing. This book (the first in a series of Platform Studies) does so, developing a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms and creative expression. Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost discuss the Atari VCS itself and examine in detail six game cartridges: Combat, Adventure, Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Pitfall!, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. They describe the technical constraints and affordances of the system and track developments in programming, gameplay, interface, and aesthetics. Adventure, for example, was the first game to represent a virtual space larger than the screen (anticipating the boundless virtual spaces of such later games as World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto), by allowing the player to walk off one side into another space; and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was an early instance of interaction between media properties and video games. Montfort and Bogost show that the Atari VCS--often considered merely a retro fetish object--is an essential part of the history of video games. 410 0$aPlatform studies. 606 $aAtari 2600 (Video game console) 606 $aComputer games$xProgramming 606 $aVideo games$xEquipment and supplies 606 $aVideo games$zUnited States$xHistory 615 0$aAtari 2600 (Video game console) 615 0$aComputer games$xProgramming. 615 0$aVideo games$xEquipment and supplies. 615 0$aVideo games$xHistory. 676 $a794.8 700 $aMontfort$b Nick$0625122 701 $aBogost$b Ian$0625118 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910807636403321 996 $aRacing the beam$94055006 997 $aUNINA