Video Games: The People, Games, and Companies

Video-Games is a work that traces the history of video games from their origins to 1999, covering computer games, console games, arcade games, and handheld devices. It focuses on the human aspect, the history of the people engaged in their creative endeavors, and their impact on the evolution of technology and design choices, Video-Games is based on decades of extensive research of direct and indirect sources and dozens of never-before-seen and specially crafted interviews to accompany the work with new and detailed information.


The Video-Games series consists of five volumes: the first four - Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 - were published in Italian in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. The remaining volumes is scheduled to be released in 2026.

Available in:

English

Italian

Stage 1: 1979 and Before

  • The journey begins with Odyssey 
  • The year of Pong 
  • The birth of online gaming: Empire 
  • Atari on the edge: from Gran Trak 10 to Tank 
  • The adventure of Star Trek 
  • William Crowther's Advent: the birth of text adventures
  • The smash continues: Home Pong 
  • The hour of driving games: from Nürburgring/1 to Night Driver 
  • Reinventing Pong: Breakout 
  • Atari's jewel: the VCS 
  • The onslaught of clones
  • The year of the microcomputer
  • Japan responds: Space Invaders 
  • The dawn of computer games: MUSE, Automated Simulations, and Synergistic Software 
  • From the Sumerian Game to Santa Paravia an Fiumaccio 
  • To the Moon: Lunar Lander 
  • From Auto Race to Microvision 
  • Atari counterattack: Asteroids 


Features:


  • Approximately 330 pages, 531,000 keystrokes, and 104 pictures;
  • 18 chapters and appendix;
  • Preface by Bonaventura Di Bello, Italian journalist, programmer, author;
  • Cover by Franco Brambilla, Italian artist.
Read the preview chapter

Stage 2: From 1980 to 1984

  • The birth of Lord British and Ultima: Akalabeth
  • Pac-Man
  • The text adventures: from Adventureland to Zork
  • Atari's jewel: the VCS - part II
  • Nintendo: from its origins to Donkey Kong
  • From Plato to personal computers: Wizardry
  • The hour of war: from Missile Command to Robotron 2084
  • The magic of Activision
  • Sierra on Line: from Mystery House to Time Zone
  • Commodore's battleship: the C64
  • Toward the apex
  • Atari Shock
  • Epyx and the Jumpman breakthrough
  • We see farther
  • Under Pressure
  • The Beginning of the Legend: King's Quest
  • Paradigm Shift
  • The year of the fighting games


Features:


  • Approximately 432 pages, 769.000 keystrokes and 116 pictures;
  •  18 chapters and appendix;
  • Preface by Davide Corrado, italian journalist;
  • Cover by Franco Brambilla, Italian artist.



Read the preview chapter

Stage 3: From 1985 to 1989

  • Nintendo Strikes Back: From Famicom to Super Mario Bros
  • Atari Vs Commodore: from El Toro to Amiga
  • Capcom's Golden Year: Commando and Ghosts 'n Goblins
  • From Hidlide and Xanadu to Dragon Quest: JRPGs arrive
  • The Return of the Arcade: Outrun by Yu Suzuki
  • The hour of Amiga: Defender of the Crown
  • The New Adventures of Sierra
  • The last word in Commodore 64: Maniac Mansion and The Last Ninja
  • The game-players: Double Dragon and Street Fighter
  • A New Contender: The Sega Mega Drive
  • The CRPG Invasion From Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum to Ultima V
  • Populous by Bullfrog
  • SimCity
  • The Year of the Handheld
  • Apple's swan song: Prince of Persia

Features:


  • Approximately 460 pages, 750,000 keystrokes, and 110 pictures;
  • 16 chapters and appendix;
  • Preface by Piermarco Rosa, Italian professor at the University of Genoa
  • Cover by Franco Brambilla, Italian artist.


 


Read the preview chapter

Stage 4: From 1990 to 1994

  • Origin’s Golden Age: From Ultima VI to Wing Commander
  • The New Graphic Adventures: Part 1 – The LucasArts Invasion
  • Nintendo’s Response: The SNES
  • From Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon to Civilization
  • Apogee of the Amiga: Another World and Lemmings
  • Let the Fighting Begin: Part 1 – From Street Fighter to Fatal Fury
  • The Year of Two Dune
  • The Hour of 3D: Part 1 – From Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss to DOOM
  • Let the Fighting Begin: Part 2 – Mortal Kombat and SEGA vs. Nintendo
  • The Shadow of Electronic Arts
  • The New Graphic Adventures: Part 2 – The Hour of the CD-ROM
  • The 3D Revolution: Part 2 – The Swan Song of the Arcades
  • The Peak of Bullfrog Productions
  • The Consoles of the Future: Saturn and PlayStation


Features:


  • 440 pages, 810.000 keystrokes and 126 pictures;
  •  18 chapters and appendix;
  • Preface by Andrea Coppola, college teacher of computer graphics and 3D modellation
  • Cover by Franco Brambilla, Italian artist.



Stage 5: From 1995 to 1999

TBA


Features:


TBA