Sinclair ZX Spectrum: a visual compendium

Invented by Sir Clive Sinclair, the ZX Spectrum, successor to the ZX80 and ZX81 home computers, would come to define an age of video gaming, with a range of games as quirky and eccentric as the computer that inspired them.

Re-live the glory days of the Spectrum with this award-winning collection of over a hundred classic games. Starting with early titles such as The Hobbit, Hungry Horace and Psion's Flight Simulation, you will trace the lineage of Spectrum games through iconic titles including Manic Miner, Harrier Attack, Elite, Jetpac, Deus Ex Machina, The Lords of Midnight, Knight Lore and Head Over Heels.

Each game is represented by its loading page or an archetypal screenshot, printed without margins on high-quality paper and using special fluorescent inks to capture the vibrant look of the ZX Spectrum's palette.

Accompanying this iconic imagery is a wealth of anecdotes and reminiscences from the artists and developers who made the games, with contributions from the Stamper Brothers, Dave Perry, Bo Jangeborg, the Oliver Twins, Matthew Smith, Dawn Drake, Andrew Hewson and many more. The book also features interviews with key artists and profiles of the major games publishers, plus a look at the Russian and Eastern Bloc clone market and homebrew scene, which still produces new ZX Spectrum games to this day!

This stylish 304-page hardback, with a spot-varnished dust cover, was awarded Gold, for the best publication design, in the Roses Creative Awards 2016. So, if you cut your gaming teeth on this quintessentially British computer, grab a copy of this visual compendium and take a glorious, garish, character-clashing step back in time…

About the publisher:
Bitmap Books work with the world's most experienced writers, designers and gaming experts to create meticulously researched, visually ambitious retro gaming books. As a design-led publisher, visual quality matters to us. We don’t just obsessively pursue the best printing quality currently available. We want to constantly push the envelope when it comes to expectations about printing techniques.