Pilgrim in the Microworld
 | |
| Author | David Sudnow |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Warner Books |
Publication date | 1983 |
| Pages | 161 |
| ISBN | 0-446-51261-3 |
Pilgrim in the Microworld is an analysis book on the arcade game Breakout by David Sudnow.
Overview
[edit]David Sudnow was a sociologist professor at the University of California system, winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1979 and piano teacher.[1] He discovered Breakout while picking up his son at an arcade facility and began playing the Atari 2600 version of the game for months. For the book, Sudnow visited manufacturer Atari and interviewed the game's programmers.
Boss Fight Books crowdfunded a reprint with a new foreword and copy editing on Kickstarter in 2019.[2]
Reception
[edit]The New York Times stated the book's style to be breathless and avoids comparisons on how the game fits into the "computer society".[3] Kirkus Reviews stated it might be self-indulgence and written like a personal experience.[4] San Francisco Examiner found the book "exhilarating".[5][6] Newsweek ridiculed it stating to read the game's manual and changing the money for the book into quarters to play Breakout instead.[7]
Kill Screen wrote a retrospective on the book in 2013, comparing it to 1982's Invasion of the Space Invaders.[8] In 2020, Unwinnable examined that Sudnow looked at music as a reference point for the book.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Valeo, Tom (1987-10-01). "Let Your Fingers Do the Thinking". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
- ^ O'Connor, James (November 28, 2019). "Important Out-Of-Print 80s Video Game Book Is Being Resurrected On Kickstarter". GameSpot.
- ^ "When Television Marries Computer; By Howard Gardner". The New York Times. March 27, 1983.
- ^ "PILGRIM IN THE MICROWORLD: Eye, Mind, and the Essence of Video Skill". Kirkus Reviews. March 1, 1983.
- ^ Stern, Michael (20 March 1983). "Eye, Mind, and the Essence of Video Skills". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 310.
- ^ Stern, Michael (20 March 1983). "Eye, Mind, and the Essence of Video Skills". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 321.
- ^ Williams, Stephen (April 26, 1983). "Nothing like playing the game". Newsweek.
- ^ Irwin, Jon (26 April 2013). "How a Guggenheim fellow obsessed over Atari's Breakout -- and found the future instead". Kill Screen.
- ^ Rubeck, Levi (7 May 2020). "1983 and the Future of Videogame Writing". unwinnable.com.