Q: Where can I learn more about the book?
Q: What are the different editions of the book?
There have been five versions of the book. The home page has the most up to date links on how to purchase currently available versions.
All editions have near-identical interior context (the print-on-demand and ebook releases fix a few minor errors from the initial print run). All are considered the "first edition" of the book.
Q: Are you planning a second print run of the book?
All print editions are sold out, and unfortunately, I am not planning a second offset print run. However, the print-on-demand version is now available.
Q: I was a crowdfunding backer. How do I get access to the digital edition of the book?
If you were a backer of the Kickstarter campaign or pledged on BackerKit before April 1st, 2023, your digital edition is available through BackerKit. Log in to the project page using your email address here: https://50-years-of-text-games.backerkit.com/
Once you're logged in, click the blue "Get Your Digital Downloads" button.
Details about the different digital editions can be found in this backer update.
If you purchased the print book after April 1st, 2023, your order did not come with a free copy of the digital edition. It's available for separate purchase on Itch.io.
Q: I was a crowdfunding backer but didn't fill out my BackerKit survey or never received my book. How can I claim my pledge rewards?
If you filled out your BackerKit survey and paid for shipping, please contact me.
If you never filled out your BackerKit survey to give me your shipping address, or did not pay for shipping, I was unable to send your book. I tried to reach out to backers in this situation multiple times over a period of several months, but there were a handful of folks who I was never able to get in touch with.
Due to storage and maintenance fees, I was not able to keep my fulfillment centers open indefinitely. Because of this, unclaimed pledge rewards were released for general sale in July 2023, eight months after the deadline for finalizing your pledge. At this time there are no more books from the print run or other pledge reward items available. However, if you are a backer in this situation, please contact me to talk about options. I may be able to offer a partial refund of your pledge, or an exchange for a print-on-demand version of the book.
I will not be able to offer any refunds, exchanges, or further support after December 31st, 2023.
Q: I was a crowdfunding backer, but I did not see my name in the acknowledgments section at the front of the book.
A printed acknowledgment was a reward for backers at the Collector's Edition tier or higher only, and these only appear in the print version of the book, not the ebook edition. Additionally, I could only list folks who had completed their BackerKit survey by the initial deadline in August 2022, since I had to get the book to the printer shortly thereafter. If you completed your survey after this date, I was unable to include your acknowledgment (but I still appreciate you).
Q: I followed the "50 Years" blog series back in 2021. What's different in the full book?
Each article has been revised and improved since its appearance on the blog. Images have been added, with an emphasis on meaningful content over eye candy like cover art: maps and flowcharts to help illustrate a game’s structure, and things like excerpts from period design docs or vintage ads. In addition, each game now has a detailed release history, supplemental sidebars with extra stories not present in the original articles, and a full research bibliography.
The book as a whole also features a lengthy new introduction about the early pre-history of digital text games, covering seminal work like ELIZA, SHRDLU, Hammurabi, and the first time people could type text into a computer and get text back. Each decade also has an introduction highlighting the larger trends and movements for those ten years, and how they fit in with larger moments in computer and gaming history. There's also extensive capsule summaries of other noteworthy text games from each year covered (over five hundred in all!), an index, and a full research bibliography for each game.
Q: What format does the digital version come in?
The digital version is the book is available in multiple formats, depending on point of purchase (check that the version you want is available on the storefront you're using):
A plain text version was also available as part of the crowdfunding campaign; this is no longer directly available for purchase, but if you've bought a digital copy and have a need for this version of the ebook, contact me.
Q: Is the book and other content accessible to the blind or those with vision impairment?
This has been a priority for me. For low-vision folks, all physical editions of the book use an 11pt serif font picked with an eye toward readability. Text is black on white paper for maximum contrast.
The digital edition has been created by an ebook conversion firm with an eye to making it maximally compatible with screen readers. This has included testing with blind users and incorporating their feedback, and following leading standards guides on the subject. The contents are also available in plain text format. More details in this backer update.
Q: I'd like to buy a lot of copies for a classroom, bookstore, or library.
The print-on-demand edition is available through standard book catalogues via Ingram Spark. For library ebook copies, there's a policy on the digital edition's page.
Q: Why did you cover Game X and not Game Y?
The games chosen for the book were selected to provide as broad a cross-section as possible through the history of games made with words. Since my goal was to cover one and only one game from each year, I could not possibly assemble “the best fifty” games, or “the fifty most important,” whatever that might mean to various people. Instead I tried to find a set that exhibited an interesting range of play and writing styles, authors, and genres, as well as a mixture of famous games and interesting but lesser-known titles.
If I didn't cover your favorite game, don’t take it personally! The point was not to create a comprehensive canon of text games, but an interesting tour sampling some highlights from a much bigger space.
Q: Is there a low-income option for getting access to the book?
The first draft of the book's chapters were released online for free on the 50 Years of Text Games Substack, and are still available there. (Although note that the book versions are revised and include additional material.)