Anna Anthropy is a prolific game developer and critic and is the creator of Calamity Annie, Mighty Jill Off, and Lesbian Spider Queens of Mars among many other games, which are available on her website, www.auntiepixelante.com. She lives in Oakland, California, with her pet girlmonster and two lovely cats.
"When Anna Anthropy thinks of video games, she sees the potential
to transform a genre. Anthropy show[s] us how the medium can be
used for a greater good.” —Huffington Post
"Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is about education. It is a
how-to, indie history lesson, design theory 101, a manifesto, and,
surprisingly, as memoir. It serves as an entry into the importance
of games and how to make them. But it also is about why making them
for ourselves is important." —Popular Science
"Anna Anthropy's forthcoming book Rise of the Videogame Zinesters
is about the personal potential of games—how simple tools allow all
kinds of people to tell their own stories interactively. But it's
also a clever, thoughtful examination on game design, and why the
medium is important and interesting." —JoyStiq
"These days, everybody can make and distribute a photograph, or a
video, or a book. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows you that
everyone can make a videogame, too. But why should they? For Anna
Anthropy, it's not for fame or for profit, but for the strange,
aimless beauty of personal creativity." —Ian Bogost, Director,
Graduate Program in Digital Media, Georgia Institute of
Technology
"Free of the constraints the giant studios labour under, one- and
two-person teams are using an artisinal approach to make deeply
personal and innovative videogames. Rise is a great guidebook to
understanding—and more importantly, participating in—this
dynamically evolving culture." —Jim Munroe, co-founder of the Hand
Eye Society and the Difference Engine Initiative
"Once upon a time, the game industry was a fervent of creativity,
as innovators explored the potential offered by the new technology
of home computing; today, it is a lackluster, thud-and-blunder
torrent of commercial dross, selling to a diminishing audience of
young males. Here, Anna Anthropy demonstrates how people from every
background and walk of life are breaking free of the commercial
cowardice of major publishers, and bringing their individual
visions of the game to life -- and perhaps more importantly,
pointing you to tools and ideas that will, should you so choose,
allow you to create your own games. If game design is to be an art,
as those of us who love games fervently hope, it must be rescued
from its crushing commercial pressures. You can be a part of its
future." —Greg Costikyan, Senior Game Designer, Disney
Playdom
"Anna gives the world of video games a crucial perspective from her
seat of authority within outsider culture, and illustrates how
essential it is for the space to empower
voices of all kinds if it is to evolve." —Leigh Alexander,
game critic
"You would expect outspoken game designer and polemicist Anna
Anthropy's first book to be controversial. You might not expect it
to be so heartfelt—even inspirational. Equal parts autobiography,
ethnography, and how-to manual, this book concisely makes the case
for the unique power of "zinester" games—independent video games
made primarily by one person. For newcomers to video games, it's a
great introduction; for established video game designers, it's a
wake-up call. If you're teaching a course about video game culture
or video game design, this book deserves a spot on your
syllabus." —Adam Parrish, NYU's Interactive Telecommunication
Program (Tisch School of the Arts), and author of the ZZT game
"Winter"
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