
Extra Lives
Why Video Games Matter
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Narrated by:
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Tom Bissell
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By:
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Tom Bissell
Tom Bissell is a prizewinning writer who published three widely acclaimed books before the age of 34. He is also an obsessive gamer who has spent untold hours in front of his various video game consoles, playing titles such as Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, BioShock, and Oblivion for, literally, days. If you are reading this copy, the same thing can probably be said of you, or of someone you know.
Until recently, Bissell was somewhat reluctant to admit to his passion for games. In this, he is not alone. Millions of adults spend hours every week playing video games, and the industry itself now reliably outearns Hollywood. But the wider culture seems to regard video games as, at best, well-designed if mindless entertainment.
Extra Lives is an impassioned defense of this assailed and misunderstood art form. Bissell argues that we are in a golden age of gaming - but he also believes games could be even better. He offers a fascinating and often hilarious critique of the ways video games dazzle and, just as often, frustrate. Along the way, we get firsthand portraits of some of the best minds (Jonathan Blow, Clint Hocking, Cliff Bleszinski, Peter Molyneux) at work in video game design today, as well as a shattering and deeply moving final chapter that describes, in searing detail, Bissell’s descent into the world of Grand Theft Auto IV, a game whose themes mirror his own increasingly self-destructive compulsions.
Blending memoir, criticism, and first-rate reportage, Extra Lives is like no other work on the subject ever published. Whether you love video games, loathe video games, or are merely curious about why they are becoming the dominant popular art form of our time, Extra Lives is required listening.
©2010 Tom Bissell (P)2010 Random HouseListeners also enjoyed...




















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Great piece of writing.
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that's about it
different
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Would you listen to Extra Lives again? Why?
Yes because the personal side to this book made me think of my own past inner turmoils of being a gamer.What about Tom Bissell’s performance did you like?
It sounded genuine instead of someone over pronouncing every word like in other audio books I've listen to.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The part about GTA & the comparison to his own life.Any additional comments?
I hope he writes another gaming book because I enjoyed this one.A great look at modern gaming
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Nostalgia for Gamers
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This book is well done
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This audiobook is narrated by the author himself, something I feel gave it extra depth and pathos.
Like games? Get this.
Insightful and at times intensely personal
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I was able to easily grasp at what he's saying, since I'm a gamer. However, I think from the perspective of a non-gaming reader, there is a lot that is lost in translation.
Preaching to the Converted
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