<p>In the 80s and 90s, James Bond's video games failed to live up to the giddy thrills of his films. That all changed when British studio Rare unleashed GoldenEye 007 in 1997. In basements and college dorms across the world, friends bumped shoulders while shooting, knifing, exploding, and slapping each other's digital faces in the Nintendo 64 game that would redefine the modern first-person shooter genre.<br />
But GoldenEye's success was far from a sure thing. For years of development, GoldenEye's team of rookie developers were shooting in the dark with no sense of what the N64 or its controller would be like, and the game's relentless violence horrified higher-ups at squeaky clean Nintendo. Through extensive interviews with GoldenEye's creators, writer and scholar Alyse Knorr traces the story of how this unlikely licensed game reinvigorated a franchise and a genre.<br />
This deluxe hardcover edition contains drawings, photos, and design docs that take you behind the scenes of the game's development, as well as an additional chapter that goes deep into the story of how Graeme Norgate and Grant Kirkhope created GoldenEye's iconic soundtrack. Learn all the stories behind how this iconic title was developed, and why GoldenEye 007 has continued to kick the living daylights out of every other Bond game since.</p>

GoldenEye 007

Computers & Technology

Knorr, Alyse

Games & Strategy Guides

Boss Fight Books

<p>In the mid-90s, a Japanese prog rock star, an American visual artist, and their small team of collaborators made a colorful cartoon hip hop rhythm game that looked and played (and kicked! and punched!) like nothing else on the market. Initially dismissed by some as a curiosity, PaRappa the Rapper was a hit with players that would eventually sell millions of copies, receive two sequels, and inspire entire genres into being. And for author Mike Sholars, PaRappa left a lasting impact. Featuring exclusive interviews with creators Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblaf, original voice cast member Saundra Williams, and a medley of sharp game critics and music experts, Sholars' PaRappa the Rapper is equal parts recap, remix, and recollection. Sholars uses his love of hip hop and gaming to celebrate PaRappa's unprecedented mechanics, art, humor, cultural specificity, and uplifting themes as he pairs energetic game history with personal memoir to explain how a game about a rapping dog helped him feel seen when he needed it the most. Funny, informative, and sincere, Sholars' book is a heartfelt reminder why we all gotta believe.</p>

PaRappa the Rapper (Volume 30) (Boss Fight Books, 30)

Sholars, Mike

<p>If you had some free time and a Windows PC in the 1990s, your mouse probably crawled its way to Minesweeper, an exciting watch-where-you-click puzzle game with a ticking clock and a ton of "just one more game" replayability. Originally sold as part of a "big box" bundle of simple games, Minesweeper became a cornerstone of the Windows experience when it was pre-installed with every copy of Windows 3.1 and decades of subsequent OS updates. Alongside fellow Windows gaming staple Solitaire, Minesweeper wound up on more devices than nearly any other video game in history. Sweeping through a minefield of explosive storylines, journalist Kyle Orland reveals how Minesweeper caused an identity crisis within Microsoft, ensnared a certain Microsoft CEO with its addictive gameplay, dismayed panicky pundits, micromanagers, and legislators around the world, inspired a passionate competitive community that discovered how to break the game, and predicted the rise of casual gaming by nearly two decades.</p>

Minesweeper (Volume 31) (Boss Fight Books, 31)

Orland, Kyle

<p>Six years after helping the Edison family defeat the designs of a malevolent meteor in Maniac Mansion, college student and classic nerd Bernard Bernoulli once again finds himself at the front door of the infamous mansion. With two weird friends, Hoagie and Laverne, Bernard must stop the evil Purple Tentacle from conquering the world―by freezing hamsters, pushing old ladies down the stairs, abusing Swiss bank accounts, and ever so slightly changing some of the most significant moments in American history.\nDave Grossman and Tim Schafer's 1993 time-trotting point-and-click adventure game Day of the Tentacle brought LucasArts' game design to a new standard of excellence with smart puzzles, hilarious characters, and an animation style that harkened back to classic Warner Bros. cartoons. And somehow, they fit it all on a fat stack of floppy disks!\nIn this definitive oral history as told by the game's designers, musicians, and artists, writer Bob Mackey tells the inside story of Day of the Tentacle's lightning-in-a-bottle production, and reveals how two first-time directors boiled down the lessons of past adventure games into a tight and satisfying game, and how the team grappled with evolving technology to achieve the coveted status of "multimedia" at the dawn of the CD-ROM age, and how a remastered edition brought Tentacle to a new generation of fans.</p>

Day of the Tentacle (Volume 32) (Boss Fight Books, 32)

Mackey, Bob

<p><div>Before the world of Animal Crossing became a pandemic lifeline for millions, the "social sim" communication game D&#1086;&#772;butsu no Mori, or "Animal Forest," debuted in 2001 on Nintendo 64 in Japan, then once again in 2002 on GameCube to critical and commercial success all over the world.</div> <div><br /> <br /></div> <div>An open-ended casual game ahead of its time, Animal Crossing set the stage for the series's many incarnations to come with its focus on building community and friendship, its in-game currency of Bells, and its village of Animalese-speaking friends like Tom Nook, K.K. Slider, and the mean Mr. Resetti. You could visit the villages of your friends and give them gifts--all without being connected to the internet.</div> <div><br /> <br /></div> <div>Video game preservationist and historian Kelsey Lewin tells the story of how a mundane-sounding game full of bug-catching, letter-writing, and furniture-collecting became one of Nintendo's best-loved franchises, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons eclipsing Super Mario Bros. for all-time sales in Japan, unlocking gaming's massive potential to tap into our desire to plant trees, find friends, and make the world a better place.</div></p>

Animal Crossing (Volume 33) (Boss Fight Books, 33)

Lewin Boss Fight Books, Kelsey