Book review – Bit by Bit: How Video Games Transformed Our World opens eyes for the uninitiated

Novelist Andrew Ervin lends a literary tone to this study of the history of gaming, but could be criticised for some generalisations, ignoring artsy games, and recommending PlayStation for newcomers

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Author Andrew Ervin says the game Fallout 4 is a masterpiece.

The Washington Post

Published: 1:16pm, 22 May 2017Updated: 1:16pm, 22 May 2017

Bit by Bit: How Video Games Transformed Our World

by Andrew Ervin

Basic

3/5 stars

As a genre, the video game memoir is in full bloom. No other art form has made such lightning strides in our lifetimes, which makes it an irresistible subject for some writers looking to process the changes in the world around them. Thinking about how our conception of video games has evolved leads one to bump up against other subjects such as military history, technology, aesthetics and psychology, which Andrew Ervin’s Bit by Bit, dutifully does.

Ervin, a novelist, brings a literary sensibility to his study of the medium. Quotations from Shakespeare to Melville fill his text. He uses Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction to explain his decision not to fully refurbish a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet.

Midway through his 40s, Ervin decided to catch up on gaming. He was inspired by watching his nephews play Minecraft on Christmas Day. Ervin had been away from gaming since he sold his Nintendo system in college and used the proceeds to buy books.