Hitting the Books: Amiga and the birth of 256-color gaming

With modern consoles offering gamers graphics so photorealistic that they blur the line between CGI and reality, it's easy forget just how cartoonishly blocky they were in the 8-bit era. In his new book, Creating Q*Bert and Other Classic Arcade Games, legendary game designer and programmer Warren Davis recalls his halcyon days imagining and designing some of the biggest hits to ever grace an arcade. In the excerpt below, Davis explains how the industry made its technological leap from 8- to 12-bit graphics.       Santa Monica Press©2021 Santa Monica PressBack at my regular day job, I became particularly fascinated with a new product that came out for the Amiga computer: a video digitizer made by a company called A-Squared. Let’s unpack all that slowly.The Amiga was a recently released home computer capable of unprecedented graphics and sound: 4,096 colors! Eight-bit stereo sound! There were image manipulation programs for it that could do things no other computer, including the IBM PC, could do. We had one at Williams not only because of its capabilities, but also because our own Jack Haeger, an immensely talented artist who’d worked on Sinistar at Williams a few years earlier, was also the art director for the Amiga design team.Video digitization is the process of grabbing a video image from some video source, like a camera or a videotape, and converting it into pixel data that a computer system (or video game) could use. A full-color photograph might contain millions of... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2021-12-25 16:30:11 UTC ]
News tagged with: #greatest thing #holy grail #libraries

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Hitting the Books: Amiga and the birth of 256-color gaming'


Hitting the Books: Amiga and the birth of 256-color gaming

With modern consoles offering gamers graphics so photorealistic that they blur the line between CGI and reality, it's easy forget just how cartoonishly blocky they were in the 8-bit era. In his new book, Creating Q*Bert and Other Classic Arcade Games, legendary game designer and programmer... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-12-25 16:30:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #greatest thing #holy grail #libraries


Hitting the Books: NASA's Class 8 broke color barriers and glass ceilings alike

America's first astronauts from the 1960s were all pulled from the highest ranks of the nation's military. As such, NASA's first few classes tended to conform to a rather specific demographic theme — white, male, flattop haircut you could set a watch too. By the mid-70's however, the space... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-02-12 15:30:30 UTC ]
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Color It Confusing: Can the UK’s VAT People Classify Coloring Books as Not Books?

If Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs office can somehow categorize coloring books as not books—and "incomplete" because they're not colored in—what might publishers have to pay in VAT? The post Color It Confusing: Can the UK’s VAT People Classify Coloring Books as Not Books? appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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National Book Tokens launches Hidden Book and Book Island Games

National Book Tokens has launched its annual festive campaign, with the return of its Hidden Book Game for a seventh year, and Book Island Game for children for a second year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-11-13 22:34:50 UTC ]
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Color Space is a VR coloring book to help you relax

Let's face it: with the COVID-19 pandemic creating chaos, you're probably looking for something, anything to shut out the outside world and help you relax. Thankfully, you might have an option if you happen to have an Oculus VR headset. Lighthaus h... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-03-21 03:27:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: A Book Editor's Book Hits #1

Audiences have moved toward fun fiction and away from furious facts as Michael Wolff's 'Fire and Fury' takes a tumble to #3 on the iBooks list, while 'The Woman in the Window' by A.J. Finn—a book editor who now writes thrillers under a pen name—takes the #1 slot. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Frankfurt Book Fair: ‘A Book Is a Film Is a Game’ Networking Day Returns

The day includes two sets of pitch sessions of books for possible film or virtual-reality development, each followed by networking sessions. The post At Frankfurt Book Fair: ‘A Book Is a Film Is a Game’ Networking Day Returns appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2017: Bigger Crowds, Optimism as London Book Fair Hits Its Stride

Surging visitor numbers and a weaker pound have buoyed spirits at a busy 2017 London Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At Frankfurt Book Fair: ‘A Book Is a Film Is a Game’

Minecraft, Angry Birds, 'Valérian et Laureline,' and many more high-visibility properties are spotlighted in a daylong focus at Frankfurt on cross-media development. The post At Frankfurt Book Fair: ‘A Book Is a Film Is a Game’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-09-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taipei Book Fair 2016: Adult Coloring Books a Local Craze

This year's Taipei fair highlighted shifting interest for local readers who are now more interested in history, democracy, capitalism...and adult coloring books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon’s Bestselling Book is an Adult Coloring Book

To the surprise of many, the bestselling title at Amazon US is by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, whose adult coloring books are topping the charts. The post Amazon’s Bestselling Book is an Adult Coloring Book appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Little Free Library has a new map to help places hit hardest by book bans.

Little Free Library has debuted a new interactive map on its website that charts the locations of Little Free Libraries across the United States, alongside the number of book bans that are in place in each state. The organization built the tool as a way to quickly find the nearest free library —... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-05 18:27:15 UTC ]
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New YA Books Hitting Shelves, August 26, 2024

Read your way into a boatload of new YA books hitting shelves this week in hardcover and paperback. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-08-26 15:00:00 UTC ]
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New YA Books Hitting Shelves This Week, July 29, 2024

Dive into the best new YA books hitting shelves this week in hardcover and in paperback. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-07-29 11:30:00 UTC ]
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New YA Books Hitting Shelves This Week, July 22, 2024

Cool off with this week's new YA book releases, featuring romance, time loops, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-07-22 14:45:00 UTC ]
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New YA Books Hitting Shelves This Week: July 15, 2024

Scary short stories, grief and the afterlife, and more of this week's new YA releases in hardcover and in paperback. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-07-15 15:15:00 UTC ]
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23rd Street Books Hits the Road at Macmillan

The grown-up sister imprint of Macmillan’s eclectic graphic novel powerhouse, First Second Books, will launch next year with graphic novels from Gene Luen Yang, Damon Wayans Jr., Saul Williams, Ben Hatke, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-07-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
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New YA Books Hitting Shelves This Week: July 8, 2024

Read your way into the excellent new YA books in hardcover and paperback hitting shelves this week. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2024-07-08 15:30:00 UTC ]
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From 'Bridgerton' to 'Ripley,' Netflix's latest hit adaptations have also boosted book sales

Several recent hit Netflix series were adapted from books, leading to a boost in book sales. Next, the streamer is turning to Holly Jackson's book series "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-07-08 10:00:33 UTC ]
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