Shigeru Miyamoto

Jennifer deWinter is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Interactive Media and Game Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, US, where she researches computer production and global circulation. deWinter is particularly interested in the cross media vampirism of entertainment media, with a focus on computer games and Japan. She is currently co-editing a book on the intersection of technical communication and games and is working with Steven Conway on a book about video game policy.

I came to this book knowing very little about Miyamoto, but, like anyone else who’s been playing video games since he was a kid, and having played at least a dozen of his titles, several are permanently burned into my brain. DeWinter lays out his many influences, from his time exploring caves in the rural region where he grew up to his time as a teenage banjo player. There were multiple moments when I came across some new (to me) piece of information about Miyamoto, thought back to a game of his — in some cases, one I haven’t played in years — and felt the cognitive click of recognition.

• AcknowledgmentsList of FiguresForewordChapter 1: The Father of Modern Video GamesChapter 2: Spatial Narratives: Characters in their WorldsChapter 3: From Games to Experiences: Designing for User Freedom and Unique ExpressionChapter 4: Revolutionizing Gameplay: Casual Games and Mature AudiencesChapter 5: In His Own Words: Transcript of Miyamoto's 1999 Game Developer Conference KeynoteChapter 6: A Continuing LegacyGameographyWorks CitedIndex