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Seven Stories Press

Works of Radical Imagination

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form

by Anna Anthropy

Book cover for Rise of the Videogame Zinesters
Book cover for Rise of the Videogame ZinestersBook cover for Rise of the Videogame ZinestersBook cover for Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

Part critical essay, part manifesto, part DIY guide, and altogether unprecedented, Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows why the multi-billion dollar videogame industry needs to change—and how a new generation of artists can change it. Indie game designer extraordinaire Anna Anthropy makes an ardent plea for the industry to move beyond the corporate systems of production and misogynistic culture and to support games that represent a wider variety of human experiences.

Rise of the Videogame Zinesters is a call to arms for anyone who's ever dreamed of making their own games. Anthropy’s guide to game design encourages budding designers to bring their unique backgrounds and experiences to their creations and widen the playing field of an industry that has for too long catered to an adolescent male consumer base.

Book cover for Rise of the Videogame Zinesters
Book cover for Rise of the Videogame ZinestersBook cover for Rise of the Videogame ZinestersBook cover for Rise of the Videogame Zinesters

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“Anna Anthropy is a key personality in the ongoing paradigm shift that is slowly changing the way videogames are understood, by creators and players, and by the wider culture.”

“Equal parts autobiography, ethnography, and how-to manual, this book concisely makes the case for the unique power of 'zinester' games.”

“These days, everybody can make and distribute a photograph, or a video, or a book. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters shows you that everyone can make a videogame, too. But why should they? For Anna Anthropy, it's not for fame or for profit, but for the strange, aimless beauty of personal creativity.”

Rise is a great guidebook to understanding—and more importantly, participating in—this dynamically evolving culture.”

“Here, Anna Anthropy demonstrates how people from every background and walk of life are breaking free of the commercial cowardice of major publishers, and bringing their individual visions of the game to life.... If game design is to be an art, as those of us who love games fervently hope, it must be rescued from its crushing commercial pressures. You can be a part of its future.”

“Anna gives the world of video games a crucial perspective from her seat of authority within outsider culture, and illustrates how essential it is for the space to empower voices of all kinds if it is to evolve.”

blog — May 09

77% Off All Our E-Books!

You heard that right—77% off all e-books from Seven Stories.

For the next week, until May 15 at 5:00PM EST, we’ll be selling all e-books on our website at 77% off their list price. It's a great chance to load up your e-book reader with the best fiction, political titles, and everything in between from Seven Stories Press.

Once you buy an e-book, you can download it as either an .epub file (for every device except Kindle) or as a .mobi file (for Kindle). Both files will remain available on your Library page for subsequent downloads. Details to be found here.

Check out some of our collections, including Fiction from around the World, Radical Women, Activist Diaries, and our For Young People if you're looking for inspiration!

Anna Anthropy

Anna Anthropy is a prolific game developer and critic and is the creator of Calamity Annie, Mighty Jill Off, and Lesbian Spider Queens of Mars, among many other games. She is the author of Rise of the Videogame Zinesters and lives in Oakland, California.