Digital media studies have seldom looked at platforms, the systems that underlie computing. This book, the first in a series called Platform Studies, does just that. It offers a critical analysis of the relationship between platforms as well as creative expression. Nick Montfort, Ian Bogost, and Pitfall! discuss the Atari VCS and six game cartridges: Combat (Adventure, Pac-Man), Yars’ Revenge and Pitfall! They discuss the technical limitations and affordances of Atari VCS and follow developments in programming, gameplay and interface.
Adventure was, for instance, the first game that represented a virtual space larger then the screen. This was in anticipation of the infinite virtual spaces of later games like World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was also an early example of interaction between media properties with video games. Bogost and Montfort show that the Atari VCS, which is often viewed as a retro fetish item, is an integral part of the history video games.
The book is valuable gif t for the people who are interested in designing the video games. The book throws complete detail about the programming games.