Shareware Heroes: The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet

by Richard Moss Narrated by Richard Moss

Overview

Shareware Heroes is a comprehensive, meticulously researched exploration of an important and too-long overlooked chapter in video game history



Shareware Heroes: The renegades who redefined gaming at the dawn of the internet takes listeners on a journey, from the beginnings of the shareware model in the early 1980s, the origins of the concept, even the name itself, and the rise of shareware's major players-the likes of id Software, Apogee, and Epic MegaGames-through to the significance of shareware for the "forgotten" systems-the Mac, Atari ST, Amiga-when commercial game publishers turned away from them.



This book also charts the emergence of commercial shareware distributors like Educorp and the BBS/newsgroup sharing culture. And it explores how shareware developers plugged gaps in the video gaming market by creating games in niche and neglected genres like vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-ups (e.g. Raptor and Tyrian), or racing games (e.g. Wacky Wheels and Skunny Kart), or RPGs (God of Thunder and Realmz), until finally, as the video game market again grew and shifted, and major publishers took control, how the shareware system faded into the background and fell from memory.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Shareware Heroes takes readers on a journey through a critical yet long overlooked chapter in video game history: the rise and eventual fall of the shareware model.” — Daring Fireball

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178368244
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	03/28/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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