Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality by Melanie Swalwell - ISBN: 9780262044776
Hardcover
DIY games on early micros: Hacking code, shaping digital culture.

Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality

  • Hardcover

    248 pages

  • Release Date

    16 November 2021

Summary

The overlooked history of an early appropriation of digital technology: the creation of games through coding and hardware hacking by microcomputer users.

From the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, low-end microcomputers offered many users their first taste of computing. A major use of these inexpensive 8-bit machines—including the TRS System 80s and the Sinclair, Atari, Microbee, and Commodore ranges—was the development of homebrew games. Users with often self-taught programming skill…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780262044776
ISBN-10:0262044773
Author:Melanie Swalwell
Publisher:MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:MIT Press
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:248
Release Date:16 November 2021
Weight:567g
Dimensions:229mm x 152mm
Series:Game Histories
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Swalwell’s focus on the homebrew creators in Australia and New Zealand is a fantastic contribution to the history of video games that focuses on users as creators. It is sure to be a model for those looking at engagement with video games beyond the bigger names in the industry.” —Technology and Culture

About The Author

Melanie Swalwell

Melanie Swalwell is Professor of Digital Media Heritage at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. She coedited Fans and Videogames- Histories, Fandom, Archives and The Pleasures of Computer Gaming- Essays on Cultural History, Theory and Aesthetics.

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