Atari Design: Impressions on Coin-Operated Video Game Machines Contributor(s): Guins, Raiford (Author), Lees-Maffei, Grace (Editor), Fallan, Kjetil (Editor) |
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ISBN: 1474284558 ISBN-13: 9781474284554 Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts OUR PRICE: $31.30 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2020 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Design | History & Criticism - Design | Graphic Arts - General - Computers | Digital Media - Video & Animation |
Dewey: 794.802 |
LCCN: 2020011220 |
Series: Cultural Histories of Design |
Physical Information: 0.5" H x 7.4" W x 9.6" (1.40 lbs) 280 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: 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 video game machine. 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 the coin-op machine's cabinet. 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. |
Contributor Bio(s): Fallan, Kjetil: - KJETIL FALLAN is Associate Professor of Design History in the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas at the University of Oslo. |