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Anna Anthropy

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 Paperback – Illustrated, March 20, 2012

by Anna Anthropy (Author)

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Part critical essay, part manifesto, part DIY guide, and altogether unprecedented, Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows why the multi-billion dollar videogame industry needs to change—and how a new generation of artists can change it. Indie game designer extraordinaire Anna Anthropy makes an ardent plea for the industry to move beyond the corporate systems of production and misogynistic culture and to support games that represent a wider variety of human experiences.

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is a call to arms for anyone who's ever dreamed of making their own games. Anna’s guide to game design encourages budding designers to bring their unique backgrounds and experiences to their creations and widen the playing field of an industry that has for too long catered to an adolescent male consumer base. Anna’s newest game, Dys4ia, an autobiographical game about her experiences with hormone replacement therapy, has been featured in The Penny Arcade, IndieGames, and TigSource.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Seven Stories Press
Publication date

March 20, 2012
Dimensions

5.2 x 0.54 x 7.9 inches
ISBN-10

1609803728
ISBN-13

978-1609803728
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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 Zinesters is 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 book Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is 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

"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 empower
voices 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"

About the Author

Anna Anthropy is a prolific game developer and critic and is the creator of Calamity Annie, Mighty Jill Off, and Lesbian Spider Queens of Mars among many other games, which are available on her website, www.auntiepixelante.com. She lives in Oakland, California, with her pet girlmonster and two lovely cats.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Seven Stories Press; Illustrated edition (March 20, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1609803728
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1609803728
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.54 x 7.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,193,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #398 in Computer & Video Game Design
- #3,401 in Video & Computer Games
- #5,831 in Communication & Media Studies

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61 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jing Wong

Readable

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

Interesting but highly subjective content

Helpful

new Object

As the public becomes more aware of "indie games", this book makes the case for "folk games".

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2012

Verified Purchase

I eagerly ordered Anna Anthropy's book, being a fan of her important ongoing work in the "indie game" scene. Anna is a creative force and a passionate advocate for games as folk art and digital vehicles for self-expression. She also makes legitimately fun games! This book offers perhaps some of the earliest thoughts in an increasingly public conversation about games' status as art, and serves as a great introduction to an "alternative" world of game development that the average person may not be aware of. This is a large topic simply because of its many facets, and as a shorter read, the book can only act as a primer to these many facets - such as tools for game development, contemporary folk game auteurs, and their games, etc. 'Zinesters is well-written and I think Anna does this topic justice while making the subject accessible to anyone who may have no more experience with game development than simply consuming its output. I think the book falls short in convincing a skeptic that games as art are on the same "level" as the more classic forms. For me, it's an unimportant matter, but some might be looking to this book to convince them. Finally, Anna appears to be of the mind that game creation is a kind of zero-sum, um, game where having less "white male"-developed games is necessary to have more non-"white male"-developed games. Game development is more democratized/open/folk than ever now, while simultaneously "white male" games are consumed more than ever - I think this merely reflects the dichotomy of "pop/mainstream" art and "folk/alternative" art that seems to be present in every artistic medium.

17 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2018

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One of the best books about the rise of digital arts and the media.

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NA

Great book for the video game curious.

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2013

Verified Purchase

I'm having an enjoyable re-visit of my past (I almost forgot about downloading shareware from BBS) while having my eyes opened to what's going on in the game industry (and what's not going on in the game industry). Guys, don't be afraid about the other side and grab this book.

2 people found this helpful

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hipscumbag

A call to create

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2013

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While the introduction is a little bit bumpy (Anna and I want very different things out of games, and Anna's introduction makes it seem as though the book is almost meant for an exclusively LGBT audience), I found myself won over by her enthusiasm for independent game development. Anna urges you to make something, make anything, and mentions a variety of tools and tricks for churning something out with a minimum of labor. Game development can be very difficult to get in to, so her insistence on easy, personal, fun projects is refreshing and enabling.

One person found this helpful

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Tori Morris

Queer Theory meets Game Design

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2013

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This is a quick read, more like a manifesto for the indie games movement than a guide book although the last chapter includes a walk-through of some programs you can use to get started. Anthropy mixes her personal history with observed comments about the game industry and design freely - that's the zine part of this book. Don't let that put you off! There are really good ideas in here about how games could reach a broader audience and be more inclusive.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Maximiliano Villa

We're making history!

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

I'd love to tell the author how inspiring this book is. As an indie developer, it just makes you feel there's a whole world out there ready to find new games that challenge the big studios' worn out models.

It's a VERY interesting read for anyone, not just game developers!

One person found this helpful

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Bo Brinkman

Everyone should make games

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2012

Verified Purchase

Though less cerebral than some of her contemporaries (Ian Bogost, for example), Anna Anthropy's work is even more important. Her games (particularly "Dys4ia," an autobiographical game about her gender identity) are simple but affecting.

Her message to us is that she isn't special ... that we all can, and should, do as she has done. Make games, lots of them, for and about the people we love, the things we care about.

This is a great first book about game design for high school and college students of all stripes (though perhaps not for the prudish, as Anna is unflinching in her approach to human sexuality and political controversy). It isn't for students that want to design games. It is for everyone, a manifesto that explains why you ought to make games.

4 people found this helpful

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Sara Blank

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very interesting and easy to read

Jakub Juszczak

Lohnt sich, wenn ...

Reviewed in Germany on October 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

man weiß, was auf einen Zukommt.

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters, ist ein wundervolles und auch sehr persönliches Buch von Anna Anthropy über Computerspiele und die Menschen dahinter die diese machen.

Es wird viel über die Spieleindustrie gesprochen und auch den Unterschied zu Indie Spielen. Desweiteren werden auch die Geschichtlichen Entwicklungen miteinbezogen, weshalb viele AAA Spiele eine bestimmte Zielgruppe haben usw.

Alles in allem ist es ein Aufruf dazu selber Spiele zu machen, denn heute kann jeder der will ob Programmierer oder Künstler oder Hobbyist Spiele machen. Und genau dieser Faktor wird nochmals beleuchtet und auch warum es so gut und wichtig ist, dass nicht nur Menschen Spiele machen können die einen technischen Hintergrund haben.

Es bringt mehr Vielfalt in die Spielelandschaft und somit erheben sich Spiele immer mehr zum kulturellem Gut.

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Antoine CLAVREUL

Manifeste des nouvelles formes de jeu vidéo

Reviewed in France on July 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

C'est le premier ouvrage d'Anna Anthropy, designeuse émérite qui s'est illustrée à la fois dans le jeu d'arcade (Mighty Jill Off, When Pigs Fly) que dans le puzzle (Triad) ou dans l'expérience émotionnelle (Queers In Love At The End of The World, Dys4ia).
Ce livre est autant un retour personnel et détaillé sur son parcours qu'un manifeste à destination des curieuses et curieux de la création qui leur donnera autant de raisons d'expérimenter que d'outils et conseils pour ce faire.
Cerise sur la forêt noire, la définition du jeu au chapitre 3 est d'une efficacité qui devrait faire frémir les auteurs de Rules of Play. A bon entendeur !

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Neil Adriano Dornelles Collins

Uma nova visão sobre o desenvolvimento de jogos.

Reviewed in Brazil on January 7, 2013

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Este livro mostra apresenta uma visão inovadora sobre o desenvolvimento de games. Se trata de um manifesto sobre como qualqyuer pessoa pode ter acesso aos meios para se expressar através dos jogos. O desenvolvimento de jogos, que há muito pouco tempo atrás estava restrito a grandes empresas, hoje está democratizado, com várias opções para amadores criarem e distribuírem suas obras através da internet. Anna Anthropy traça um panorama otimista sobre a contribuição que pessoas comuns das mais diversas origens e experiências de vida (e não apenas os chamados "gamers") podem dar para enriquecer o cenários dos jogos. Leitura obrigatória para qualquer pessoa que queira desenvolver jogos e para qualquer interessado no assunto. O livro é excelente e seria muito bom se tivesse uma versão em português.

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Debby

Un manifeste aussi bien qu'un livre pratique

Reviewed in France on March 14, 2016

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Manifeste pour le jeu vidéo alternatif, ce livre se veut aussi un manuel pour soutenir la culture du jeu vidéo fait maison. Comme on fait un fanzine, Anna Anthroy nous invite à faire des jeux vidéos à notre sauce, selon ses envies, besoins ou obsessions. Stimulant !

One person found this helpful

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