REVBOOK - Digital

Written by Tony Warriner, employee number one and co-founder of Revolution Software, with a foreword by Charles Cecil, this epic book tells the untold behind-the-scenes story of this much-loved game developer.

NOTE - this is the PDF/EPUB digital version. We will refund the cost of this version against the physical copy of the book if you wish to upgrade later!

The story begins in the mid-1980s when high-school dropout Tony Warriner wrote a game – Obsidian, for the Amstrad CPC – and sent it to Artic Computing, a local game publisher. There he met Charles Cecil, who was looking for cool new games to try and save the now-struggling publisher. The two hit it off, and four years later they – along with Dave Sykes and Noirin Carmody – got back together to found Revolution Software.

From the very start, Revolution’s goal was to write the best narrative-based adventure games. It did this to critical acclaim, with Beneath a Steel Sky and Broken Sword becoming much-loved classics whose popularity continues to soar.

However, behind the scenes, the company had to chart its way through the video game industry’s shark-infested waters, where malign corporate forces constantly sought to trick and connive for their own short-term gain.

This book tells two important stories. First, how the games were made, and second, how the external forces acting on the company threatened to destroy it at every step along the way.

This is a book about the creativity and the artistry of making proper games. This is a story about independence and following your own path, and of rejecting the dead hands of corporatism.

Whether you are a fan of Revolution’s games or wish to learn how the video game industry really works, this book is a must-have.