You may remember that I teased this a few weeks back, but Jason Chen and the kind folks at StoryBundle have debuted the Video Game StoryBundle that I curated, and man, I’m happy with the results – 10 DRM-free game culture/history eBooks, going for a song.
No room here to thank everyone individually, but it’s wonderful to twin such diverse authors as Jordan Mechner (whose game diaries from the making of Prince Of Persia and Karateka are wonderful confessional reading) and Leonard Richardson (whose bold video game-tinged ‘Constellation Games’ sci-fi novel was originally commissioned for my own defunct GameSetWatch website!)
If you add 2 entire issues of Kill Screen magazine, ‘250 Indie Games You Must Play’, the late great gonzo game mag author Bill Kunkel‘s memoirs, Jamie Russell’s meticulously researched ‘Hollywood & games’ book, Brendan Keogh’s book-length ‘Spec Ops: The Line’ analysis, and video game pioneer Ralph Baer reflecting on his career (plus a sekrit bonus we haven’t unleashed yet!), you get… something I’m incredibly happy with. Consider picking up a copy?
STORYBUNDLE’S VIDEO GAME BUNDLE SHOWCASES 9 ACCLAIMED DRM-FREE BOOKS ON THE CULTURE AND HISTORY OF GAMING FOR A ‘PAY WHAT YOU WANT’ PRICE
Continuing its popular ‘pay what you want’ ebook bundles, StoryBundle – http://storybundle.com – is proud to present the Video Game Bundle. The specially curated set of ten full-length game culture & history books/magazines spans such notables as Prince Of Persia’s Jordan Mechner, Kill Screen Magazine, ‘father of games’ Ralph Baer, Generation Xbox and acclaimed game-related fiction from Leonard Richardson. In total the bundle features almost $100 worth of books for a fraction of that price.
The Video Game Bundle, curated by Independent Games Festival chairman emeritus and game industry veteran Simon Carless, includes multiple titles that are making their ebook debut, plus a host of other rare and sought-after titles. It’s the first video game-themed bundle for a site that has already sold more than a hundred thousand books through its popular horror, sci-fi and fantasy book bundles.
Highlights from the initial set of five books and two magazines include Jordan Mechner’s extensive diaries on the making of seminal ’80s platform game Karateka (“Jordan’s journals are remarkable… a great inspiration” – Will Wright, SimCity/The Sims creator), as well as Jamie Russell’s painstakingly researched ‘Hollywood and games’ non-fiction book Generation Xbox, which spans the Super Mario Bros movie through Spielberg’s LMNO and beyond.
Other notables include two full electronic issues (‘Back To School’ and ‘Change’) of literate, acclaimed game magazine Kill Screen – spanning almost 200 pages of writing from a who’s who of video game critics, and Leonard Richardson’s fictional novel about “space aliens and video games and love and computer programming”, Constellation Games (“AN AMAZING BOOK… one of the smartest, most passionate, most principled science fiction novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.” – Cory Doctorow, New York Times best-selling author & BoingBoing co-editor.)
Also packed into the base set of books are Killing Is Harmless, a surprising book-length journey by critic Brendan Keogh through the surprising narrative twists and turns of 2K and Yager’s thought-provoking game Spec Ops: The Line, and Confessions Of the Game Doctor by the late Bill Kunkel, a borderline gonzo memoir of the ’80s Electronic Games Magazine editor. Game Informer magazine notes of Kunkel’s ‘Game Doctor’ that it “details the slings, arrows, sex and drugs of outrageous fortune… as a warts-and-all autobiography, it’s unmatched.”
Must-have bonus books include the world eBook premiere of Ralph Baer’s ‘In The Beginning’ – a vital autobiography on the Odyssey creator’s role in the creation of video games – plus Jordan Mechner’s acclaimed Prince Of Persia diaries (“A fantastic read.” – D.B. Weiss, co-creator; HBO’s Game of Thrones), and IndieGames.com editor Mike Rose’s essential book-length rundown of ‘250 Indie Games You Must Play’.
The initial titles in the Video Game StoryBundle (minimum $3 to purchase, and worth over $50 when bought separately) are:
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The Making of Karateka – Jordan Mechner
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Generation Xbox: How Videogames Invaded Hollywood – Jamie Russell
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Kill Screen Magazine Issue 2: Back To School + Issue 6: Change – Kill Screen Editors
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Constellation Games – Leonard Richardson
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Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops: The Line – Brendan Keogh
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Confessions of the Game Doctor – Bill Kunkel
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $10, you get all seven of the regular tomes, plus three unmissable extra full-length books (bringing the total bundle value to $100):
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Videogames: In The Beginning – Ralph H. Baer
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The Making Of Prince Of Persia – Jordan Mechner
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250 Indie Games You Must Play – Mike Rose
The Bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com, and allows easy reading on computers, mobile devices and Kindles via file transfer, email, or other methods, with multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, .pdf, .mobi) available for each book.
It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
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Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent indie authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
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Pay what you want (minimum $3): You decide how much six fantastic indie books are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to six thrilling titles.
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Support indie authors: StoryBundle is a platform for indie/small publisher authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog.
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Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. We’re currently featuring Mighty Writers and Trees for the Future.
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Receive extra books: If you beat our bonus price, you’re not just getting six books, you’re getting nine!
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, Twitter us at @storybundle, Like us on Facebook, and Plus us on Google Plus. For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com.