Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form
"When Anna Anthropy thinks of video games, she sees the potential to transform a genre. Anthropy show[s] us how the medium can be used for a greater good.”—Huffington Post“Rise of the Videogame Zinestersis about education. It is a how-to, indie history lesson, design theory  101, a manifesto, and, surprisingly, as memoir. It serves as an entry  into the importance of games and how to make them. But it also is about  why making them for ourselves is important.”—Popular Science“Anna Anthropy's forthcoming bookRise of the Videogame Zinestersis about the personal potential of games—how simple tools allow all kinds of people to tell their own stories interactively. But it's also a clever, thoughtful examination on game design, and why the medium is important and interesting.”—JoyStiq“Anna  Anthropy is an independent videogame designer and critic, and a key  personality in the ongoing paradigm shift that is slowly changing the  way videogames are understood, by creators and players, and by the wider  culture.”—Patrick Alexander, Eegra.com“These days, everybody can make and distribute a photograph, or a video, or a book. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows you that everyone can make a videogame, too. But why should they?  For Anna Anthropy, it's not for fame or for profit, but for the  strange, aimless beauty of personal creativity.”—Ian Bogost, Director, Graduate Program in Digital Media, Georgia Institute of Technology"Free  of the constraints the giant studios labour under, one- and two-person  teams are using an artisinal approach to make deeply personal and  innovative videogames. Rise is a great guidebook to understanding—and more importantly, participating in—this dynamically evolving culture."—Jim Munroe, co-founder of the Hand Eye Society and the Difference Engine Initiative“Once  upon a time, the game industry was a fervent of creativity, as  innovators explored the potential offered by the new technology of home  computing; today, it is a lackluster, thud-and-blunder torrent of  commercial dross, selling to a diminishing audience of young males.  Here, Anna Anthropy demonstrates how people from every background and  walk of life are breaking free of the commercial cowardice of major  publishers, and bringing their individual visions of the game to life --  and perhaps more importantly, pointing you to tools and ideas that  will, should you so choose, allow you to create your own games. If game  design is to be an art, as those of us who love games fervently hope, it  must be rescued from its crushing commercial pressures. You can be a  part of its future.”—Greg Costikyan, Senior Game Designer, Disney Playdom"Anna  gives the world of video games a crucial perspective from her seat of  authority within outsider culture, and illustrates how essential it is  for the space to empowervoices of all kinds if it is to evolve."  —Leigh Alexander, game critic"You  would expect outspoken game designer and polemicist Anna Anthropy's  first book to be controversial. You might not expect it to be so  heartfelt—even inspirational. Equal parts autobiography, ethnography,  and how-to manual, this book concisely makes the case for the unique  power of "zinester" games—independent video games made primarily by one  person. For newcomers to video games, it's a great introduction; for  established video game designers, it's a wake-up call. If you're  teaching a course about video game culture or video game design, this  book deserves a spot on your syllabus."—Adam Parrish, NYU's Interactive Telecommunication Program (Tisch School of the Arts), and author of the ZZT game "Winter"