Video Games

Video games continue to exert their seemingly ubiquitous dominance over our lives. This past summer saw national news coverage trumpeting the popularity of Pokémon Go, as participants ran around attempting to capture Zubats, Lickitungs, and the like (at least gamesters were outside, getting some fresh air). This unprecedented craze created headlines across the country, as millennials happily revisited the days of their Pokémon-obsessed childhoods.
~Kathleen McBroom, "Gaming and Coding Unlocked" 

Do you have a video game enthusiast in your life? Are you bewildered by gaming? Are you a fanatic about retro-gaming? We are not huge gamers ourselves, but we try to keep up - to that end, we've compiled some resources from the library catalog you might enjoy, or use to keep up with the gamer in your life.

There are a few books the video gamer in your life might enjoy in the library catalog, such as books featuring aspects of recent game sensations like Minecraft, Legend of Zelda, Halo, Dark Souls, and World of Warcraft. The catalog does feature some books about designing video games, mostly aimed at kids and teens, including Coding Computer Games with Scratch by Jon Woodcock, which was used in a recent teen/tween program at one of the libraries. 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die is also highly recommended as a resource, as it not only describes the games but suggests gamealikes.

Also, if you are interested in finding more about a particular video game, consider checking out IGN.com, billed as "your site for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Wii-U, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PS Vita & iPhone games with expert reviews, news, previews, trailers, cheat codes, and more," and Encyclopedia Gamia, "a database devoted to all games and video games and their respective franchises, gaming hardware, and the companies involved." Most players use online sources and wikis for cheats and other game information.

Game After: A Cultural Study of Video Game Afterlife by Raiford Guins

Art of Atari by Tim Lapetino

Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact On the People Who Play Them by Jamie Madigan

Gaming at the Edge: Sexuality and Gender at the Margins of Gamer Culture by Adrienne Shaw  

Gamelife: A Memoir by Michael W. Clune

Thinking About Video Games: Interviews With the Experts by David S. Heineman

Slay the Dragon: Writing Great Video Games by Robert Denton Bryant & Keith Giglio

Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade by Carly A. Kocurek 

Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation by Blake J. Harris

Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, the Uses of Boredom, and the Secret of Games by Ian Bogost 

Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness By Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story by Steven Kamb

Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters [DVD]

 

 

Albuquerque Comic Expo

With the recent release of The Avengers movie, and the upcoming superhero movies The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, comic books are the hottest thing in pop culture. If you want to learn more about comics and other related genres, then head on over to the upcoming second annual Albuquerque Comic Expo which will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center on June 8th-10th. 

There are some great media guests scheduled to attend:

Kevin Sorbo from Hercules:The Legendary Journeys and Andromeda

Adam Baldwin from Firefly, Serenity and Chuck

Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica

Billy Dee Williams from The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Batman

Peter Mayhew from Star Wars,Episode IV, A New Hope, Star Wars, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars, Episode VI, Return of the Jedi and Star Wars, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.  He also appears in a recent released horror film called Killer Ink

Julie Caitlin Brown from Babylon 5 and has also appeared in JAG, and Star Trek: The Next Generation

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes from Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back.  An extra bonus will be Kevin and Jason doing a live show on Saturday evening at the Kiva Auditorium! 

Jim Kelly from Enter the Dragon and Three the Hard Way


From the world of comics there are over 50 artists that will be set up at the Artist's Alley.  Some of those attending are:  Joe Eisma--Morning Glories; Whilce Portacio--creator of the X-Men character Bishop, Hulk #18 with Jeph Loeb; Keven Gardener--12 Gauge Comics; Greg Horn--Artist on Emma Frost, Elektra and She-Hulk; and Len Wein--creator of The Swamp Thing, writer on several Marvel titles such as The Incredible Hulk and The Mighty Thor. The special guest from the world of comics is none other than Stan Lee, who helped create some of our favorite superheroes, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, X-Men and Fantastic Four!

Some of the other exciting events going on will include: an Anime Room; Tromadance New Mexico; Gamers Anonymous Retro-Gaming Tournaments; ACE Costume Contest, a huge event with the entire room filling up to see all the great costumes; gaming tournaments; and other panels, screenings and workshops. You can view the full event calendar on the website.

There will also be many exhibitors and artists all over the convention floor, including: 501st Dewback Ridge Garrison--the local 501st Stormtrooper unit; 7000 BC--Independent Comic Book Publishers; the Albuquerque Browncoats--the local Firefly and Serenity chapter; the Batmobile; Beeman's Rare Comics; Kaboom Test Labs and more!

The library catalog has quite a few comics, graphic novels. non-fiction works and videos to read and watch before heading off to the convention:

1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die by editor Paul Gravett

Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics: From the Legendary Co-Creator of Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Iron Man by Stan Lee

The Marvel Comics Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the Characters of the Marvel Universe by editor Alistair Dougall

The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe by Scott Beatty

Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean by Douglas Wolk

Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes by Christopher Knowles

Star Wars: The Comics Companion by Ryder Windham and Daniel Wallace

Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History by Mike Benton

500 Manga Heroes and Villians by Helen McCarthy

500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide by Gene Kannenberg, Jr.

Secret Origin: The story of DC Comics-DVD

Comic Books Unbound-DVD

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

100 Bullets, First Shot, Last Call by Brian Azzarello

The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds

Hope you are able to check out the wonderful event!  And singletons-don't miss Sci-Fi Speed Dating! "Sci-Fi Speed Dating, the stars of TLC’s show Geek Love, are bringing their awesome speed dating event to ACE 2012! Sign-up now and stop looking for love in ‘Alderaan’ places! Check it out and sign up early!"

World of Warcraft

We've got a few diehard World of Warcraft fans in our library system who are very excited at today's release of the WoW expansion, Cataclysm! In honor of Cataclysm going live, here are a couple of titles WoW fans might enjoy, available from ABC Libraries! (At least, you might enjoy reading them sometime down the road, when the thrill of flying in Azeroth & race changing into a worgen has worn off.)

The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World by William Sims Bainbridge

Cycle of Hatred by Keith R. A. DeCandido