Retro gaming lovers did you know that from 1979 through to 1992, over 4 million Atari 8-bit computers were sold (source: Wikipedia).

The Atari 8-bit computer range had success primarily in the U.S.A and some parts of Europe with a catalog of between 600 – 800 commercially released games (not including homebrews), so it’s not surprising at all to find so many retro gaming enthusiasts that absolutely love Atari home computers and Atari 8-bit games.

It just so happens, that self proclaimed Atari freak and fanatic, Darren Doyle, has launched his very first retro gaming book via a Kickstarter crowd fund campaign. Yes, you guessed right, his book, called, Atari – A Visual History, is all about Atari 8-bit games and Atari 8-bit hardware.

So who is Darren Doyle exactly ? Darren, informs me that he is a self-employed Graphic Designer, based in Dublin, Ireland. With these skills, he has put together a most wonderful visual experience of Atari 8-bit gaming. I learned from social media posts on Facebook and Twitter, that the book has been a very long labor of love for Darren. His unofficial Atari book is packed full of Atari home computer gaming awesomeness, but instead of me waffling on and on, here is Darren to explain his Atari 8-bit book in his own words and in more detail.

Darren writes – “Welcome to my first Kickstarter campaign to create the first unofficially-licensed coffee table book on the Atari® 8-bit Home Computer.

The book pays a huge tribute to this incredible home computer, its product design and its amazing catalog of third-party software associated with this iconic 8 -bit system. The book is an unofficial publication created by myself, Darren Doyle and is my first publishing outing under the Greyfox Books™ label, the book is the very first book of this kind to be released for the Atari 8-bit home computer enthusiast in a visual publication, ever!”

“With the Atari: A Visual History book, the visuals are the main focus, with roughly 210-220 words of text accompanying each game featured. The review of each game has especially been given a lot of research and thought during the writing process from myself and all contributors involved. Within the book, you’ll also find a series of larger features and interviews with developers and software house profiles and much, much more, ensuring a great mix of visuals and words. Overall, the book will contain around 50,000 words and hundreds of iconic images; each one is given its own unique flair in presentation and professional preservation which will make it the perfect coffee-table Atari book.”

“The premise of the book is to cover a huge majority of classic third-party Atari 8-bit software from such amazing software houses as Datasoft™, Broderbund™, First Star Software™ and many, many more. A selection of commercial and non-commercial home-brew games will also be covered in the book, giving these games the exposure in a visual compendium never seen in a format of this type before. The Book will also deliver a selection of interviews with game designers who worked on the Atari 8-bit. Also, the three, and most popular of the Atari 8-bit computer range will receive their very own profile coverage, these are the Atari 800, Atari 800XL and the Atari 130XE home computers, with additional photography of these computers exclusively photographed by Roberto Rogel throughout the book, as well as a choice selection of Atari related peripherals. The Book will measure 170mm x 230mm (6” x 9”) standard book size and will only be available in Hardback for maximum durability and with a whopping 420 pages of content. It will be a retro gaming book you can not pass up, you just want this book – its HUGE !!!”

“I have spent many months on its development and acquired some incredible content along the way. The amazing amount of support and contributions I have received from private collectors and review contributors has been fantastic, making the Atari: A Visual History book now a reality.”

Below are just some of the many features included in the book:

• 162 third party, Atari 8-bit games covered.
• Pre-mastered box art only found in this book.
• Exclusive and new interviews.
• Atari 800 – Atari 800XL and Atari 130XE systems profiled.
• A visual presentational style coffee book.
• Full hardback publication.

For all the details on the Atari – A Visual History book and to make your pledge to this fantastic retro gaming Kickstarter campaign click on the link at: http://kck.st/2VWXiNo 

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