I realise it's a bit dull to write posts that aren't actually about anything, but I figure these things are important. It's your book as well as mine... you are the people I'm writing it for.
With that in mind, the question is... what do you want?
Currently, I'm writing pen-pics about the people in the book, and then about each of their games, with quotes from the Gods themselves about each game (or maybe select games, if they wrote a lot). I'm finishing up with a bit about what they're up to now.
Some of you might not find that very interesting, though. I'm trying not to do a warts-and-all book... more of a celebration of what we had. But I'm aware that it could stray more towards the realm of the reference book then.
It's all about finding a happy medium. I want it to be interesting and fun to read, and not too dry. But I haven't got a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff so far, and by that, I mean any tales of scandal or gossip. In going down that road, there's a risk of annoying almost everyone that's in there, and inviting slander cases!
Anyway... it's tricky doing a book like this by yourself, because what I want to hear might not be what you want to read about. On the other hand, it's not a group project, so I just can't go jumping to everyone's tune. But a bit more in the way of suggestions and constructive criticism can never hurt. And it's never too late to go back to people with a few more questions...
Quotes about each game is great, and mainly what I'm interested in. Little snippets of information about the design process - where the game idea came from, problems they overcame during development, how they felt about the press reaction at the time - I love things like that. I'm not after "gossip" about what went on between people outside of that context, but if something is relevant - such as the struggle a coder had to get his graphics guy to deliver what he wanted - then fine.
ReplyDeleteWhat will elevate your book from an average Retro Gamer article is the type of questions you ask (i.e. trying to find a new way to approach a subject they may feel has been exhausted), and getting interesting answers (which is something out of your control!).
It sounds like you are on the right track though, and I personally can't wait to get my hands on the finished book - even though I know that won't be anytime soon!
Quite often you hear that these legends inspired the current generation of developers. So I would be interested in what inspired the first generation if there were none (ish) before them.
ReplyDelete@taketwotablets
Yeah, that's certainly a question that I'll be asking of the late Eighties guys... it's a trickier question for those that have been in it from the beginning, I suspect.
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