I’ve written various books about videogames, design and technology, all based on my interests in how games work and what place technology and design take in culture. I’ve been lucky to write for a wide range of audiences, too.
Discover the art and technology behind some of the most visually dazzling videogames of recent years, with beautiful screenshots by DeadEndThrills and insights into the stories behind their creation from the artists, engineers and designers who developed them.
The story of how home computers came to take a central place in everyday life, told through 100 classic machines which range from 1961 (SDC Minivac) to 1998 (Apple iMac G3).
This spiritual followup to Britsoft follows the history of the early Japanese game industry, featuring interviews with both leading and lesser known game makers. Updated with a new introduction in 2024.
A book of interviews with leading game developers of the 1980s which traces the history of the British industry from its roots among teenage bedroom coders until the mid-1990s.
An encyclopaedia of all the blocks in Minecraft, explaining what they are, where you find them, and what you can do with them, presented in an amazing block format.
A bestiary of all the creatures, both friendly and hostile, found in the worlds of Minecraft, written from the perspective of a crusty old naturalist. Features amazing illustrations by Anton Stenvall.
A comprehensive guide to how to build farms in Minecraft, from crops of wheat to machines which automatically generate and then collect items from hostile mobs.
I wrote the majority of several guides to games made in Roblox, each geared to their young audiences while also lightly emphasising the culture of creation and design from which they emerged.
I contributed two chapters to a huge book that covers the history of design. One is on the rise of 3D printing, the other on the iPhone; both feature a core essay and various case studies which place these technologies into their creative context.
I contributed various entries on games, including Ferrari F355 Challenge, Unirally, Civilization IV and Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, with other entries written by my colleagues and contributors at Edge magazine.
A new edition of Japansoft: An Oral History is out, available in a limited slipcase edition of 500 signed copies and a paperback!
I edited this book of interviews with members of the early generation of Japanese game developers a few years ago, and now it’s returning in a new slipcase edition, complete with a new preface chapter.
It was great to get the call that the book was to be revived, and I was even happier to get a chance to add the preface. The original’s introduction set out the historical context in which the first Japanese game developers began to work, but it lacked a more reader-focused context that addressed the question: why are Japanese games important? And what makes them special?
I’ve written a new book. It’s called Making Videogames and it’s about the art and the tech behind 12 of the best-looking games of today. From Half-Life: Alyx to Return of the Obra Dinn; Control to Thumper, I talked with their lead developers to tell the stories behind their visual design.
I wrote another book! This time about a bunch of computers, and it came out last week. What a time for a book launch. Gah, let’s not think about that!
It’s called Home Computers: 100 Icons that Defined a Digital Generation, and it collects 100 machines which tell the story of the rise of the home computer, from the kits of the 1960s to the off-the-shelf all-in-ones of the late 1970s; their entry into living rooms and bedrooms in the 1980s; and then taking a role in everyday life into the late 1990s.
Update: a second edition with new introduction was published in 2024.
It’s finally out. Japansoft: An Oral History is a new book I’ve edited that’s based on interviews by John Szczepaniak with Japanese game developers of the 1980s and early 1990s for his series, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers.
I’ve been rather remiss in noting this, but I’m currently working on a new book! Called Japansoft: An Oral History, it’s a spiritual follow-up to Britsoft: An Oral History, which means it’s a set of intimate reminiscences by members of the early Japanese game industry.
Tomorrow night is the private view of the V&A’s Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, an exhibition on which I was a curator back in 2013/14. I’m incredibly excited to see how it’s all come together.
I was only working on the exhibition in its earliest stages, involved in pitching to the V&A’s board the concept of what videogames might look like in a gallery, in the hopes of unlocking a good budget and a big space. But I found the process fascinating, proof of the rigour that goes into making exhibitions at internationally renowned museums like the V&A.
I’ve written another book about Minecraft! It’s called Minecraft Mobestiary, and it’s a natural history of all the mobs in the game. And it’s out TODAY!
I wrote a book! It’s called the Minecraft Blockopedia and it’s a guide to all the blocks in Minecraft, with each entry examining their behaviour and uses, and it’s going to be published by Egmont on December 4.
It looks like this:
Yeah, it’s hexagonal, which marks a rather dramatic debut as a book author, hey. Must’ve been a complete nightmare for Egmont’s production team. Or exciting. Probably a bit of both.
