Platform Studies
The Platform Studies book series has been established to promote the investigation of underlying computing systems and how they enable, constrain, shape and support the creative work that is done on them. The series investigates the foundations of digital media — the computing systems, both hardware and software, that developers and users depend upon for artistic, literary, and gaming development. Books in the series will certainly vary in their approaches, but they will all also share certain features: A focus on a single platform or a closely related family of platforms; Technical rigor and in-depth investigation of how computing technologies work; An awareness of and discussion of how computing platforms exist in a context of culture and society, being developed based on cultural concepts and then contributing to culture in a variety of ways — for instance, by affecting how people perceive computing.
Showing results 1-10 of 14
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Peripheral Vision
Bell Labs, the S-C 4020, and the Origins of Computer Art
ISBN: 9780262548823
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: August 15, 2023
How the S-C 4020—a mainframe peripheral intended to produce scientific visualizations—shaped a series of early computer art projects that emerged from Bell Labs.
Four Shades of Gray
The Amazon Kindle Platform
ISBN: 9780262543507
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: April 5, 2022
This first book-length analysis of Amazon's Kindle explores the platform's technological, bibliographical, and social impact on publishing.
Who Are You?
Nintendo's Game Boy Advance Platform
ISBN: 9780262044394
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: October 13, 2020
The Game Boy Advance platform as computational system and cultural artifact, from its 2001 release through hacks, mods, emulations, homebrew afterlives.
Racing the Beam
The Atari Video Computer System
ISBN: 9780262539760
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: February 25, 2020
A study of the relationship between platform and creative expression in the Atari VCS.
The Media Snatcher
PC/CORE/TURBO/ENGINE/GRAFX/16/CDROM2/SUPER/DUO/ARCADE/RX
ISBN: 9780262042901
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: October 8, 2019
An in-depth exploration of a neglected video game platform of the 1990s and a reflection on the way we construct the cultural history of video games.
The Future Was Here
The Commodore Amiga
ISBN: 9780262535694
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: January 26, 2018
Exploring the often-overlooked history and technological innovations of the world's first true multimedia computer.
I Am Error
The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform
ISBN: 9780262534543
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: September 8, 2017
The complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System platform, from code to silicon, focusing on its technical constraints and its expressive affordances.
Super Power, Spoony Bards, and Silverware
Super Power, Spoony Bards, and Silverware
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System
ISBN: 9780262036566
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: September 1, 2017
How the Super Nintendo Entertainment System embodied Nintendo's resistance to innovation and took the company from industry leadership to the margins of videogaming.

Peripheral Vision
Bell Labs, the S-C 4020, and the Origins of Computer Art
ISBN: 9780262548823
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: August 15, 2023
How the S-C 4020—a mainframe peripheral intended to produce scientific visualizations—shaped a series of early computer art projects that emerged from Bell Labs.
Four Shades of Gray
The Amazon Kindle Platform
ISBN: 9780262543507
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: April 5, 2022
This first book-length analysis of Amazon's Kindle explores the platform's technological, bibliographical, and social impact on publishing.
Who Are You?
Nintendo's Game Boy Advance Platform
ISBN: 9780262044394
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: October 13, 2020
The Game Boy Advance platform as computational system and cultural artifact, from its 2001 release through hacks, mods, emulations, homebrew afterlives.
Racing the Beam
The Atari Video Computer System
ISBN: 9780262539760
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: February 25, 2020
A study of the relationship between platform and creative expression in the Atari VCS.
The Media Snatcher
PC/CORE/TURBO/ENGINE/GRAFX/16/CDROM2/SUPER/DUO/ARCADE/RX
ISBN: 9780262042901
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: October 8, 2019
An in-depth exploration of a neglected video game platform of the 1990s and a reflection on the way we construct the cultural history of video games.
The Future Was Here
The Commodore Amiga
ISBN: 9780262535694
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: January 26, 2018
Exploring the often-overlooked history and technological innovations of the world's first true multimedia computer.
I Am Error
The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform
ISBN: 9780262534543
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: September 8, 2017
The complex material histories of the Nintendo Entertainment System platform, from code to silicon, focusing on its technical constraints and its expressive affordances.
Super Power, Spoony Bards, and Silverware
Super Power, Spoony Bards, and Silverware
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System
ISBN: 9780262036566
Publisher: The MIT Press
Pub Date: September 1, 2017
How the Super Nintendo Entertainment System embodied Nintendo's resistance to innovation and took the company from industry leadership to the margins of videogaming.