Hi,
My name is Teppo Holmqvist. Me and few other people are currently writing (currently unnamed) book, that tries to give comprehensive image about videogame industry by having in-depth essays for 550 console games. The book is meant for charity, and we plan to gift all profits gained from it to either International Red Cross or Child's Play. We are not going to see single cent from it, and this is more of hobby for us.
The selection process for the book was long, because we tried to get so balanced view as possible. We tried to avoid repeating same series again and again, and avoid games that, no matter how important historically, are so clunky that no-one really wants to play them (i.e. first Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Custer's Revenge). During the process, I contacted some experts to get their opinion on the list, and what games should be included. One of these specialists was owner of this site, RacketBoy, who has given us very useful feedback and his support.
I'm currently trying to recruit new writers for the project, and I thought Racketboy's forums could be useful, as most of people here could be considered gaming enthusiasts. Even smallest contribution counts, and I guarantee everyone who helps will get their name on the credits. Unfortunately, I can't pay for anyone, because I'm already taking rather large monetary risk simply by printing the book. If you are interested in helping us, please drop a message. The current list of games can be seen at Google Spreadsheets:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... vzPXgCQnCw
Please notice that there are few titles that haven't been released yet. This is only tactic for reserving slots for future releases, nothing more.
Thank you for your time,
Teppo Holmqvist
Need help for videogame related charity project
Re: Need help for videogame related charity project
Could you say a little more about why certain games and systems are included and others aren't? It seems to be a very hit and miss list to me. Who is the audience for the book? What is it designed to do? What do you mean by games being too "clunky"? Your examples don't do much to clarify as there are games on the list that I would consider much more "clunky" than some of those those that you mentioned.and avoid games that, no matter how important historically, are so clunky that no-one really wants to play them (i.e. first Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Custer's Revenge)
Also, have you secured a publisher? An editor? Don't get me wrong - this sounds like a noble enterprise, but it might be hard to get people to sign on unless you have more of a focus.
Re: Need help for videogame related charity project
First, thank you for your time. 
The book tries to be overview of whole industry, and celebrate its beautiful variety while giving sense of history. Beginners would find it good starting point, while enthusiats could use it to learn new games. I try to have so much trivia and less-known facts as possible too, making book more interesting for "know-it-alls".
When I was working on the first list, it was "let's made big book about greatest videogames". But after a while, we came to conclusion it was pretty much impossible task. Our tastes vary so much, and quality is subjective thing. How would you determine "best" or most "important" games? What are the qualities? What gaming "journalists" think is good? Okay, let's throw God Hand out because it was critically panned. Sales? Okay, let's get rid off Ikaruga. Innovation? Perhaps we should throw out Jak & Dakter. Artistic values? What does Earth Defence Force 2019 do there then? By requiring any specific qualities, we would be always forced to exclude something because it wouldn't fit artificially set criteria. And that would be wrong.
So... in the end, this became something else. While all games on the list aren't the best or most influential games, I think this selection gives good overview of the industry as a whole. It covers everything from mega blockbusters to oddball titles. But list is still living, mind you, so go ahead and propose some changes.
Fortunately, doing small print-runs is these days viable, if you are willing to do it in B&W. I have projected that book will be 292 pages long, with each game getting 570 words long essay and two screenshots. For example, book of this size, cost per book is around 15 euros, if you 200 copy print-run. 18 euros if I do only 25 copies. Not really that much.
And about editor.... Well, I have been freelancer in various projects, and also forced to be editor sometimes. While full-time editor would be nice, and definitely do better job, I can manage it, especially as I don't need to hurry with deadlines. This is long-term project, and I doubt it will be even ready by 2009.
"System" on that list is the preferred platform and on what essay will mainly focus on. We will naturally list all platforms on which game is available, but it is the preferred platform. Notice that currently it is woefully out-of-date, and some parts are still hotly debated. For example, the definite Street Fighter II experience is actually on 3DO, which has arcade perfect port. But should we discuss about version that majority of people don't know about, and can't ever experience due scarcity of the game? Or should we go with dearest and most common version of the game (SNES)?dsheinem wrote:Could you say a little more about why certain games and systems are included and others aren't? It seems to be a very hit and miss list to me.
dsheinem wrote:What is it designed to do?
The book tries to be overview of whole industry, and celebrate its beautiful variety while giving sense of history. Beginners would find it good starting point, while enthusiats could use it to learn new games. I try to have so much trivia and less-known facts as possible too, making book more interesting for "know-it-alls".
When I was working on the first list, it was "let's made big book about greatest videogames". But after a while, we came to conclusion it was pretty much impossible task. Our tastes vary so much, and quality is subjective thing. How would you determine "best" or most "important" games? What are the qualities? What gaming "journalists" think is good? Okay, let's throw God Hand out because it was critically panned. Sales? Okay, let's get rid off Ikaruga. Innovation? Perhaps we should throw out Jak & Dakter. Artistic values? What does Earth Defence Force 2019 do there then? By requiring any specific qualities, we would be always forced to exclude something because it wouldn't fit artificially set criteria. And that would be wrong.
So... in the end, this became something else. While all games on the list aren't the best or most influential games, I think this selection gives good overview of the industry as a whole. It covers everything from mega blockbusters to oddball titles. But list is still living, mind you, so go ahead and propose some changes.
Clunky was probably wrong word (mind, I'm not native speaker) to describe what I'm driving at. Let's take Final Fantasy as a example. Final Fantasy itself is awfully "clunky". User interface is slow, and it has moronic features like character can lose his turn only by having targeted creature that was destroyed by anyone else. There is no plot to speak of, and there is lots of grinding. I seriously doubt that anyone who hasn't played it back then can find the experience enjoyable. To be honest, this rule was mainly forced on old JRPGs, as no other games have aged so badly.dsheinem wrote:What do you mean by games being too "clunky"? Your examples don't do much to clarify as there are games on the list that I would consider much more "clunky" than some of those those that you mentioned.
I did consider publisher at the early phase of the project, but it isn't really feasible for two reasons. First, and more important reason is that no publisher is willing to publish anything without receiving rather large piece of profits. And I want this to stay as a charity project, no matter what. Secondly, due the book's language, publisher would need to abroad, as local publishers don't handle books written in english. This would cause lots of paperwork, and communication would be hard.dsheinem wrote:Also, have you secured a publisher? An editor? Don't get me wrong - this sounds like a noble enterprise, but it might be hard to get people to sign on unless you have more of a focus.
Fortunately, doing small print-runs is these days viable, if you are willing to do it in B&W. I have projected that book will be 292 pages long, with each game getting 570 words long essay and two screenshots. For example, book of this size, cost per book is around 15 euros, if you 200 copy print-run. 18 euros if I do only 25 copies. Not really that much.
And about editor.... Well, I have been freelancer in various projects, and also forced to be editor sometimes. While full-time editor would be nice, and definitely do better job, I can manage it, especially as I don't need to hurry with deadlines. This is long-term project, and I doubt it will be even ready by 2009.
Re: Need help for videogame related charity project
Final Fantasy has been rereleased tons of times. Granted, the battle system has been refined though the years, but its still the same as it was in the 80s. The story has remained the same through the years and Squareenix still moves millions of units. To call it outdated is not entirely accurate. I just played through it a couple of years ago and enjoyed it very much. As a matter of fact I enjoy the older FFs more than the new ones. Sometimes simplicity is timeless. Good luck with you project though, I wish I had more time to help.