The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers Volume 3: Monochrome

Kindle version please!!!!!!!!

Extremely well researched information about so many amazing games. Definitely worth getting!

Interesting source material and great interviews.

Amazing series of book. That a team went their way to find and interview all those people, let alone in English, is absolutely unique.

John Szczepaniak's odyssey is complete with this third volume, packed with interviews from his epic trip to Japan. Meeting and talking to so many Japanese programmers, designers and company leaders weaves a fascinating narrative explaining just why Japanese games were so different. The added interest is in the lists of who did what - including a massively detailed list of Namco creators - and some rarely seen concept art and sketches. Even something as simple as asking the interviewees to draw a map of where they worked in the 1980s unlocked some intriguing stories about "crunch", the office environment and hardware involved in creating games. I own and love all three volumes.

A fascinating read, with lots of insights into Japanese game development. Highly recommended if that topic interests you.

I am deeply glad that this book exists as it documents many aspects of japanese game history that would have otherwise probably never seen the light of day. As a big fan of Raizing, I was very pleased getting to form more of a picture of some of the key figures behind shoot'em ups in the late 80s and early 90s and learned a lot! Even the enigmatic "Quintet" credits in Dragon Slayer 4 get addressed. If you have any interest in media history regarding games at all, I think this and the other two volumes are a must buy. It is extremely evident that a lot of passion and effort went into this series of books!

Like every other book in this series, vol. 3 has some bombshell insights into videogame history that nobody else is bothering to capture. Great look into the closed development culture of 1980s-1990s Japan, and should be of interest to anyone who is curious about how games are really made. A huge amount of work went into these books, and I hope that the interviews can continue in some form or another, even if not in books in the future.

I bought all 3 volumes and I've enjoyed them all. I learned so much about what the industry was like in Japan before the rise of the NES. These books are essential reading if you're interested in learning about some of your favourite games of the past, and the people behind those games. I like that the author didn't just talk to the "usual suspects" because we knew about them already (or maybe he just couldn't reach them, I don't know). There's a wealth of information that you won't find anywhere else, and I applaud Sczepaniak for doing the grunt work. For what it's worth, I appreciate your contributions even if you feel like it wasn't worth the trouble (based on your introduction in volume 3...believe me, I know what that's like!). Because of your efforts, an important part of history will be preserved through your books. I didn't even know what a PC-88 was until I read your books! Thank you for your hard work.