Shareware Heroes

Name: Shareware Heroes
Brand: Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand
SKU: 9781800181748
Price: 39.99 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet

By Richard Moss

0.0 (0 reviews)

3.81

( 176 ratings, 21 reviews)

Summary

Shareware Heroes by Richard Moss delves into the transformative era of gaming during the shareware boom of the 1980s and 1990s. It chronicles the evolution of software distribution methods, highlighting the pivotal role shareware played in popularising indie game development. The book celebrates the creativity and innovation of passionate game developers who laid the groundwork for the modern gaming industry.
Read More

Format: Paperback / softback

TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Shareware Heroes. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you are fascinated by the history of computer games and the evolution of the technology industry, this book may appeal to you. It delves into the innovative and transformative period of the shareware gaming era, with insights into the creativity and challenges faced by developers. Fans of retro gaming and computing technology enthusiasts will likely appreciate the detailed exploration of how this movement shaped the gaming world.

Description

Shareware Heroes is a comprehensive, meticulously researched exploration of an important and too-long overlooked chapter in video game history.

Shareware Heroes: The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet takes readers on a journey, from the beginnings of the shareware model in the early 1980s, the origins of the concept, even the name itself, and the rise of shareware's major players - the likes of id Software, Apogee, and Epic MegaGames - through to the significance of shareware for the 'forgotten' systems - the Mac, Atari ST, Amiga - when commercial game publishers turned away from them.

This book also charts the emergence of commercial shareware distributors like Educorp and the BBS/newsgroup sharing culture. And it explores how shareware developers plugged gaps in the video gaming market by creating games in niche and neglected genres like vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-ups (e.g. Raptor and Tyrian) or racing games (e.g. Wacky Wheels and Skunny Kart) or RPGs (God of Thunder and Realmz), until finally, as the video game market again grew and shifted, and major publishers took control, how the shareware system faded into the background and fell from memory.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Shareware Heroes delivers an engaging narrative exploring the significant yet often neglected era of the shareware model in video game history, chronicling its ascent and decline.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781800181748

Publisher: Boundless Publishing Group Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 August 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Unbound

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 200.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 352

Collections

Computing & Technology Education & Reference Non-Fiction Richard Moss

About the Author

Richard Moss is an award-winning writer, journalist, and storyteller who explores the future and the past of innovation, video games and technology. His previous book, The Secret History of Mac Gaming, shares stories of the thriving but mostly hidden Mac gaming scene of the 1980s and 90s. He also creates the documentary-style games history podcast The Life & Times of Video Games and is co-producer/writer on CREATORVC's documentary film First Person Shooter.
@MossRC
mossrc.me