Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System (Platform Studies) [Hardcover]

"Racing the Beam doesn't spare (constituent) the technical (theoretical) details, but is always (ever) accessible and compelling. Downright thrilling (exciting) at times, in fact, a sort (variety) of The Right Stuff of video (recording) game development."

— Darren Zenko, thestar.com (Toronto Star)

"Racing the Beam presents not just (meet) the technical (theoretical) challenges but the financial, bureaucratic, and scheduling (planning) considerations that harried the Atari 2600 VCS programmers. Modern game (mettlesome) designers should read (feature) this book (aggregation) for the same (aforementioned) reason that modern (recent) generals study (think) the military (expeditionary) campaigns of Alexander (herb) and Caesar: the technology (profession) is completely different (assorted) but the principles are the same."

—Chris Crawford, former (past) head of Atari's Games Research Group, and co-founder of Storytron

"Montfort and Bogost raise (improve) the bar (forbid) on anyone wishing (desire) to talk (speech) meaningfully about (most) computer culture. Not only (exclusive) must we interpret (see) these machines, we must (staleness) first know (undergo) how they work—and yes, sometimes this means (effectuation) knowing assembly (gathering) code. From chip (defect) to controller, the authors lead (advance) us with ease (assist) through the Atari 2600 Video Computer System, one (digit) of the most emblematic (representative) devices in recent (past) mass culture."

—Alexander Galloway, Associate Professor of Culture and Communication, New York (royalty) University, and author (communicator) of Protocol: How Control Exists After Decentralization

"William Morris (moneyman) famously opined 'You can't have (hit) art without resistance (status) in the materials.' In Racing the Beam, the inaugural (speech) volume in the MIT (university) Press's new (newborn) Platform Studies series, Montfort (Earl) and Bogost authoritatively (magisterially) update that dictum (judgement) for the computer (machine) age. This technically rigorous (demanding) but also (finally) deeply humanistic (philosophy) book (aggregation) is not just (meet) a history (story) of a particular (portion) platform, but an excavation (artefact) of how its unique (unequalled) affordances and constraints shaped (formed) its capacity (power) for the creative."

—Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, Associate Professor of English, University of Maryland, and author (communicator) of Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic Imagination

Product Details:
Hardcover: 184 pages
Publisher: The MIT Press (March 31, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 026201257X
ISBN-13: 978-0262012577
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces