Mike Diver to release a book on the history of Alien video games
Writer, editor and journalist Mike Diver will release the book Aliens: The Video Games on August 30, dedicated to the history of video games set in the Alien universe. The publication, which is fewer than 200 pages long, combines illustrations, screenshots and materials about well-known and lesser-known games in the franchise.
As Space.com reports, Diver researched games in the series intermittently for about five to ten years. The idea of creating a complete chronicle emerged after he became acquainted with the Nintendo DS exclusive Aliens: Infestation — a two-dimensional side-scroller in which squad members die permanently.
Interviews with developers
For the book, the author conducted 24 new interviews. His interviewees included Tony Beckwith, producer of the SNES version of Alien 3; John Heap, programmer of the original Alien for ZX Spectrum; and Mark Eyles, who worked on Aliens: The Computer Game.
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Diver noted that finding participants in older projects was not easy, particularly because of studio closures. He corresponded with comic book artist Dave Dorman, who worked on the canceled CD-i game Aliens Interactive, but the planned answers to questions and transfer of concept art did not take place.
Lesser-known games and future releases
The author devoted space to less well-known projects, including the real-time strategy game Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Zono studio designer Jason Goff told him that a multiplayer mode was developed for the game for a long time, but was later removed.
The book is not structured solely chronologically: readers will be able to move to chapters connected with a specific film in the series. Diver's top three favorite games included Capcom's 1994 arcade game Alien vs. Predator, Aliens: Infestation and Alien 3 for SNES. The author also said that he would like to continue writing about new games in the franchise amid Fireteam Elite 2 and a sequel to Alien: Isolation.
