Understand Video Games as Works of Science Fiction and Interactive Stories
Science Fiction Video Games focuses on games that are part of the science fiction genre, rather than set in magical milieux or exaggerated versions of our own world. Unlike many existing books and websites that cover some of the same material, this book emphasizes critical analysis, especially the analysis of narrative. The author analyzes narrative via an original categorization of story forms in games. He also discusses video games as works of science fiction, including their characteristic themes and the links between them and other forms of science fiction.
Delve into a Collection of Science Fiction Games
The beginning chapters explore game design and the history of science-fictional video games. The majority of the text deals with individual science-fictional games and the histories and natures of their various forms, such as the puzzle-based adventure and the more exploratory and immediate computer role-playing game (RPG).
Video Games and Science Fiction
Further Reading
Game Narratives
Further Reading
Game Design
Further Reading
Hyperfiction
Further Reading
Independent Games
Further Reading
Adventures
Further Reading
Beneath a Steel Sky
Beyond Good & Evil
Bioforge
Bureau 13
Call of Cthulhu
Chronomaster
Cyborg
Dark Earth
Destroy All Humans!
Dig, The
Dishonored
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Exile
Fahrenheit 451
Fish!
Full Throttle
Gene Machine, The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
inFAMOUS
Infocomics
Journeyman Project, The
KULT: The Temple of Flying Saucers
Last of Us, The
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Longest Journey, The
Machinarium
Manhunter
Maniac Mansion
Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
Marsport
Mind Forever Voyaging, A
Mindwheel
Nomad Soul, The
Obsidian
Outcast
Pathologic
Pepper’s Adventures in Time
Planetfall
Portal
Prototype
Remember Me
Shadow of Memories
Silicon Dreams
Snatcher
Space Quest
Starcross
Starship Titanic
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare
Tex Murphy
Timequest
Time Zone
To the Moon
Trinity
Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Computer Role Playing Games
Further Reading
Albion
Alien Logic
Anachronox
Autoduel
B.A.T.
Borderlands
Buck Rogers XX VC
Chrono Trigger
Circuit’s Edge
Empire I: World Builders
Fallout
Final Fantasy
Freedom Force
Front Mission
.hack
Infinite Space
Mass Effect
MegaTraveller
Further Reading
Mother
Phantasy Star
Resonance of Fate
Rogue Galaxy
Sentinel Worlds
Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator
Shadowrun
Space
Space: 1889
Starflight
Star Ocean
Starquest
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Sundog: Frozen Legacy
Twilight: 2000
Wasteland
Worlds of Ultima
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenogears
Online Worlds
Further Reading
Anarchy Online
Champions Online
City of Heroes
Defiance
EVE Online
Star Wars: Galaxies
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Tabula Rasa
Alternate Reality Games
Further Reading
Beast, The
Majestic
First-Person Shooters
Further Reading
Aliens Versus Predator
Bioshock
Cryostasis
Crysis
Deus Ex
Doom
FEAR: First Encounter Assault Recon
Half-Life
Halo: Combat Evolved
Heavy Gear
Marathon Trilogy
Metaltech
Metro 2033
Perfect Dark
Quake
Rage
Red Faction
Resistance: Fall of Man
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
System Shock
Unreal
Third-Person Shooters
Gears of War
Metal Gear
Oni
Survival Horror
Dead Space
Resident Evil
Computer Wargames
Further Reading
Andromeda Conquest
BattleTech
Further Reading
Battlezone
Carrier Command
Command & Conquer
Darwinia
Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
Frozen Synapse
Galactic Saga
Homeworld
Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising
Laser Squad
Midwinter
Ogre
Perimeter
Renegade Legion: Interceptor
RobotWar
Sins of a Solar Empire
Starcraft
Starfleet Command
Starfleet Orion
Star General
Star Trek
Supreme Commander
Syndicate
Total Annihilation
Warhammer 40,000
X-COM
4X Games
Emperor of the Fading Suns
Galactic Civilizations
Master of Orion
Reach for the Stars
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
VGA Planets
God Games
Evil Genius
Fate of the World
Spore
Startopia
Toy Games
Microsoft Space Simulator
SIMEarth
Space Sims
Further Reading
Archimedean Dynasty
Battlecruiser 3000 AD
Captain Blood
Elite
Freelancer
Freespace
Independence War: The Starship Simulator
Space Rangers
Star Control
Star Raiders
Star Wars: X-Wing
Transarctica
Universe
Wing Commander
X Series, The
Others
Angry Birds Space
Another World
Asteroids
Crimson Skies
Defender
Deus Ex Machina
It Came from the Desert
Lunar Lander
Mercenary
Metroid
Mirror’s Edge
Missile Command
Mule
Psychonauts
Robotron
Sentinel, The
Space Invaders
Further Reading
Spacewar
Further Reading
Speedball
Star Saga
Strange Adventures in Infinite Space
Trust and Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot
Wings out of Shadow
Wipeout
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Neal Tringham is a videogame developer, a former astrophysicist, and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is also a contributing editor of and contributor to the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Related Work. He has worked on a number of games, including Aliens versus Predator, Taito Legends, and Ghost Master .
"Neal Tringham has created an essential book that critically explores a significant breadth of video games that stand apart as proper works of science fiction. Video game and science fiction fans alike are sure to be engaged by the well-wrought narrative presented."
—Bill Loguidice, Armchair Arcade, Inc."A great star ship captain once said space, the final frontier, was where no one has gone before. Well, it’s certainly a place that many gamers have gone before. Indeed, science fiction is, as this book makes clear, the premier destination for games since their inception. Why science fiction worlds and narratives in games have remained so prevalent is a question worth pondering. This book will be vital reading for any and all game designers and writers interested in science fiction in games, as well as critics and students researching the connections between game design, narrative, and the literary study of science fiction."
—Matt Barton, Armchair Arcade, Inc.