The technology that powers the games we play has evolved over the past few decades to the point where graphics have transitioned from simple, blocky sprites to blindingly photorealistic in a relatively short period.
However, the tech which allows us to interface with our games has enjoyed a somewhat less dramatic development; sure, analogue control might be the norm now, but it's easy to forget that the first game console to use analogue joysticks was the 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System, which hit the market all the way back in 1978.
Still, that's not to say that the world of gaming controllers hasn't seen its share of innovation and creativeity, as a new tome from Bitmap Books proves.
Images: Damien McFerran / Time Extension
Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers is a 396-page epic which aims to chart the history of the video game controller via 200 different examples. It's packed with 560 amazing photos snapped by Christian Wenk, who co-authored the book with veteran game journalist Steve Jarratt (EDGE, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine).
Wenk's photography is truly stunning – I'd even go so far as to say it's some of the best controller imagery I've ever seen. Jarratt's expertise comes in when describing the impact of some of these devices – some of which were arguably little more than design dead-ends (who remembers the Batman joystick?) but remain interesting artefacts nonetheless.
Images: Damien McFerran / Time Extension
Flicking through the pages, I was amazed at how broad Trigger Happy is; there are controllers featured here that verge on the totally obscure, so the book neatly sidesteps the usual issue of familiarity that plagues many similar ventures.
But that's not all; sprinkled throughout are comments from industry luminaries such as Trip Hawkins, James Rolfe ('The Angry Video Game Nerd' to you and me), ex-Rare artist Kevin Bayliss, and DOOM co-creator John Romero.
I often feel guilty about not investing enough time in researching the history of the humble video game controller, so Trigger Happy feels like a breath of fresh air – and a book that has already encouraged me to look on eBay for a reasonably-priced Seaman gamepad.
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