Racing the Beam

Exploring the cultural and technical influence of the Atari VCS video game console, with examples from 6 famous game cartridges like Pac-Man, Combat, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back!

The 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.

Nick Montfort and Ian… Keep Reading