Austin Grossman – a writer who worked on Dishonored as well as Tomb Raider: Legend, Thief: Deadly Shadows, and even System Shock – has a new book out, released just a few days ago. It's called YOU, and – naturally – it's all about video games. Here's the beginning of the synopsis from the website, which describes the book as “the epic untold story of the greatest video game studio in history”:
“When Russell joins Black Arts games, brainchild of two visionary designers who were once his closest friends, he reunites with an eccentric crew of nerds hacking the frontiers of both technology and entertainment. In part, he's finally given up chasing the conventional path that has always seemed just out of reach. But mostly, he needs to know what happened to Simon, the strangest and most gifted friend he ever lost, who died under mysterious circumstances soon after Black Arts' breakout hit.”
While that description promises intrigue, apparently the best thing about the book is the way that it takes the reader on a journey through the early years of the games industry, which is obviously something that Grossman – whose first job after college was as a writer and designer at Looking Glass Studios – knows a lot about.
YOU is Grossman's second novel. His first, Soon I Will Be Invincible, was about superheroes, but given the subject matter in this one it'll probably appeal more to you guys. Does it sound like your kind of thing? If so, you can buy it in all the usual places.
