I don’t usually write reviews but I enjoyed my time with this book so much that I felt compelled to encourage those who may be apprehensive. First, let me make it clear that this book contains no pictures or artworks of any kind outside of the front cover. You should not buy this book expecting concept art or a simple coffee table vanity piece. What this book is in reality is a wonderfully written and in depth exploration into all the moving parts that went into the creation of Fumito Ueda’s masterpieces. What was most relevant to me and what contents I found most interesting to me pertained to Ueda’s background before the creation of ICO, his influences and his approach. Longtime fans will have heard of his “design by subtraction” approach to game development, and here you will learn in detail how this approach manifests in the experience these games offer. You will also learn how subtle choices such as lighting, player immersion, music, and gameplay mechanics which masterfully integrate themselves into the story are all used to create a magnificent piece of art. Speaking of art, this book goes into surprising detail discussing the concept of art and what qualifies something as art. Not to mention why Ueda’s work, more than any other, exemplifies this relatively new mediums potential as an art form. This book also uses uses plenty of interviews from Ueda himself as well as other giants in the industry who have taken influence from his work. In fact this book goes into a great detail about the games industry at large and how Ueda has impacted it. You’ll see many notable names in here such as Hideo Kojima and Hidetaka Miyazaki as well as plenty of notable western devs. The last thing I’ll note is the section devoted to video games use in a psychiatric setting. As a major in psychology, I found the study on kids confronting psychological trauma through ICO to be incredibly fascinating and inspiring. Again I’ve never left an Amazon review before, but I found this book to be worth the time it has taken me to write my first one. If you love video games and Ueda’s work, I promise you will find this read enthralling all the way through. Read more

das buch ist leider kaputt angekommen, es hatte einen riss am bandrücken und man konnte deutlich auch die gebrauchsspuren sehen. es sollte ein geschenk für mein freund sein für weihnachten und bin sehr enttäuscht, vor allem für diesem preis. Read more

For context I wasn't sure what I was ordering. I took a punt. But unfortunately this was not what I had hoped. I have not yet managed to make significant inroads into the book; yet but I felt the need to comment since the description didn't give a clear idea what to expect. I didn't expect an official art book but the writer engages as an author not an artist. Insights and commentary is entirety expressed though words. I think that blurb on the back of the book does a much better job of explaining what to expect than the description; which could be read as more of a tease for any number of books. Read more

its a great book that gives insight into my favorite video games and the inspiration that brought them to reality Read more

Livre arrivé abimé. L'emballage est trop peu épais pour le protéger. J'ai reçu un accord Amazon pour un retour, mais j'ai pris contact avec le vendeur qui est à l'étranger, car on me demande de régler les frais d'envoi et je souhaite en connaitre le montant. Je pense qu'ils risquent d'être élevés et entièrement à ma charge. Je suis surprise car je n'ai pas de réponse. Ce livre est un cadeau que je ne peux offrir en l'état. Read more

Podría parecer que es un libro de arte sobre los trabajos de Fumito Ueda, pero la realidad es que es un libro que trata sobre si los videojuegos pueden ser considerados arte desde las perspectivas de los mencionados trabajos. La lectura es interesante y aborda muy bien los puntos, cabe aclarar que el libro esta completamente en ingles. Read more