Press Reset - Jason Schreier

⭐8/10

This is now the third book I've read by Schreier about video game development. They are all great, and Schreier is a wonderful writer, and these books never fail to have wild stories and interesting insights. Like the others, I ran through them in a few days and although it's never something I'm dying to read, I always find them engaging enough to want to listen to on audio during my commutes. 

I'm not sure why the development of video games fascinates me so much. I don't plan on ever making one, and there are art forms I am more invested in. But I don't think any art form combines so many elements, and are seldom as chaotic as this. This book in particular is about the wild ups and downs of this industry, often about developers attempting to rebound after misfortune strikes. One theme, for instance, tracks the different games that grew out of the studio that made BioShock after it suddenly fell apart. It's always jarring seeing the interactions between corporate suits who are looking for short term capital versus these developers who are trying to develop their passion projects. 

I guess I don't have too many thoughts on this one. Of his three books, I would probably say this was the least interesting to me, mostly because it talks about games that didn't make it, or studios that shut down before they got a chance to release something. His oldest book talked about the great success stories, and I remember thinking he should also write about the games that don't make it. I change my mind. I appreciate this in balance, but a whole book about shut downs and cancelled projects just didn't quite do it. It's still super interesting in it's own right, just slightly less so than the others.