Authors Luke Caspar Pearson and Sandra Youkhana delve into the art of virtual world-building in their upcoming title, Videogame Atlas. The book, which is available for pre-order via Volume, includes panoramic maps and expanded diagrams of game worlds.
The title covers twelve well-known game worlds, including Minecraft and Assassin’s Creed Unity. Other game worlds covered in the book include Cities: Skylines, Dark Souls, Death Stranding, Dwarf Fortress, Final Fantasy VII + Remake, Fortnite, Katamari Damacy, No Man’s Sky, Persona 5 and Stardew Valley.
Both authors are architectural designers and run their own studio, You+Pea. Pearson and Youkhana study the integration of gaming technology and architecture and consider Videogame Atlas to be the culmination of their work.
Books On Gaming
Videogame Atlas isn’t the only gaming-based book coming soon. Aaron A. Reed reached his funding goal on Kickstarter for his book, 50 Years of Text Games: From Oregon Trail to A.I. Dungeon, in just two hours. The book offers an in-depth look at fifty text adventure games.
Pearson and Youkhana take inspiration from publications on experimental architecture from the late 20th century. Videogame Atlas will hit bookstores this fall. However, a limited edition is available for pre-order on Volume at $95.00. Only five hundred copies of this special edition, dubbed the Read-Only Memory edition, are being produced. At the time of writing this article, only 70 limited edition copies were still available.
“The aesthetic experience of videogames is immersive yet fragmentary, inconsistent and often seemingly illogical. We might die thousands of times in a game world but also feel at home there,” write Youkhana and Pearson on the book’s pre-order page on Volume.
The Read-Only Memory edition of Videogame Atlas includes a slipcase accented with black holographic foil. It also comes with three exclusive art prints based on topographies of game worlds.
The book offers in-depth analyses of the twelve game worlds covered and includes more than 400 illustrations. According to the book’s description, Videogame Atlas will appeal to architects, visual artists and gamers.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
