Video game graphics during the Atari era may have been primitive at best, but the commissioned artwork that accompanied those video games were anything but elementary. Simply put, they’re the ones that really brought the old-school games’ erstwhile indistinguishable pixels to life. The Art of Atari celebrates that art, collecting them in a single place for modern fan to admire.
Authored by Robert Conte and Tim Lapetino, the book features art originally created for Atari’s hundreds of iconic titles, whether for advertising, packaging, or magazine features. Sourced from private collections, the artwork selection spans decades of creative work, from original box art to commissioned paintings to modern day homages.
Over 350 pages, The Art of Atari showcases the most comprehensive collection of Atari artwork ever produced, alongside descriptions to give the new generation a good idea of the games that kept their dads and granddads busy when video games were nothing more than blocky splotches on a screen. Aside from those, it includes behind-the-scenes stories on how dozens of games were conceived, planned out, and eventually brought to life, as well as a comprehensive retrospective of original concept art, photographs, and advertising illustrations, complete with insights from the key personalities involved.
Slated to come out in October, The Art of Atari is now available for preorder, priced at $32.40.