{"product_id":"racing-the-beam-the-atari-video-computer-system-isbn-9780262539760","title":"Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System","description":"\u003cb\u003eExploring the cultural and technical influence of the Atari VCS video game console, with examples from 6 famous game cartridges like \u003ci\u003ePac-Man\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCombat\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 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, developing a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms and creative expression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNick Montfort and Ian Bogost discuss the Atari VCS itself and examine in detail six game cartridges: \u003ci\u003eCombat\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAdventure\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePac-Man\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eYars' Revenge\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePitfall!\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back\u003c\/i\u003e. 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 \u003ci\u003eWorld of Warcraft\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGrand Theft Auto\u003c\/i\u003e), by allowing the player to walk off one side into another space; and \u003ci\u003eStar Wars: The Empire Strikes Back\u003c\/i\u003e 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.","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303930908901,"sku":"NP9780262539760","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262539760.jpg?v=1767735336","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/racing-the-beam-the-atari-video-computer-system-isbn-9780262539760","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}