Atari design : impressions on coin-operated video game machines / Raiford Guins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Guins, Raiford, author.

Series:

Cultural histories of design.

Cultural histories of design

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Video games--Equipment and supplies--History.

Video games.

Video games--Design--History.

Coin-operated machines--History.

Coin-operated machines.

Atari (U.S.) Corp--History.

Atari (U.S.) Corp.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (281 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

First edition

Place of Publication:

London. England : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

System Details:

text file

HTML

Summary:

"Drawing from deep archival research and extensive interviews, Atari Design is a rich, historical study of how Atari's industrial and graphic designers contributed to the development of the coin-op cabinet. Innovative game design played a key role in the growth of Atari - from Pong to Asteroids and beyond - but fun, challenging and exciting game play was not unique to the famous Silicon Valley company. What set it apart from its competitors was innovation in cabinet design. Atari did not just make games, it designed products for environments. With "tasteful packaging", Atari exceeded traditional locations like bars, amusement parks and arcades, developing the look and feel of their game cabinets for new locations such as fast food restaurants, department stores, country clubs, university unions, and airports, making game-play a ubiquitous social and cultural experience. By actively shaping the interaction between user and machine, overcoming styling limitations and generating a distinct corporate identity, Atari designed products that impacted the everyday visual and material culture of the late 20th century. Design was never an afterthought at Atari"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Ignition: Advanced Electronics and Styling

Zero to 60 in 25¢

Design History of Video Games

1. Game Design is Inadequate

2. Platform Studies Doesn't Scratch These Surfaces

3. Coin-op Video Games Machines are Complex Artifacts

4. Cabinet Design is Design

Taking Anonymous History for a Spin

Chapter I: Start With a Clean Piece of Paper

Man, that thing needs some help

BEAUTIFUL SPACE-AGE CABINET: A Plasticine Moment

Low Key Cabinet, Suitable for Sophisticated Locations: The Veneer of Game History

Never Leave Well Enough Alone...

Chapter II: Come and Play Me

Far Out

More Than a Box

Independent Functionality, or Designing "Atari Style"

2 Game Module, or On the Importance of Not Shitting in the Punchbowl

Project Development, or Everything You Wanted to Know About Video Pinball (But Never Thought to Ask an Industrial Designer)

Chapter III: Happy Stuff

Uncabinet

Good Design is Good for (the Coin-Op) Business

Cabinets as Graphically Design Products

Chapter IV: A Kinesthetic World of Shapes and Color

Bold Impact

As you get Excited you Start to Hug the Game

Environmental Communication

Communicative Environments

Chapter V: Shifting Gears

Parking Brake: Look Beyond Finished Form.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781474284530

1474284531

9781474284523

1474284523