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alohabooksandbujos's review
3.0
What a quick read this non-fiction was! Usually I stick to audios for my non-fiction but this was an easy to read one focused on the life of a former game designer. In a prologue that is both shocking and dramatic, readers are then taken on a behind the scene journey of how one man’s journey led him to design some of our favorite family games. I did have some higher expectations on fun insider peaks and behind the scenes but the drama and come-up story of breaking into the field was still attention grabbing.
henrymarlene's review
3.0
Jeffrey Breslow was inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame for the work he conducted in creating games and toys as part of a multi-million dollar businesses across several decades. He also experienced a terrifying workplace shooting where many of his closest colleagues were killed, and he continued to deliver in this industry in their memories. He has now released a memoir of is life from toy maker to when he focused on being a sculpture maker from the 2000s. Jeffrey goes into a lot of detail about his origins and how his mind shifted to what he wanted to do, and how this drive was applied throughout his career.
We get a good history of the toy industry in the 1960s-1990s, and I was amazed at how many games I have seen and played that he was involved with and created: Mousetrap, Mr Machine, the original Mickey Mouse phone, Jaws, Operation and many more. One of his core drivers was to understand design and apply functionality to it, so that the game or object was not something only to look at from afar. He wanted to create games and toys that were interactive, that worked and moved and brought imagination to life.
We get a good history of the toy industry in the 1960s-1990s, and I was amazed at how many games I have seen and played that he was involved with and created: Mousetrap, Mr Machine, the original Mickey Mouse phone, Jaws, Operation and many more. One of his core drivers was to understand design and apply functionality to it, so that the game or object was not something only to look at from afar. He wanted to create games and toys that were interactive, that worked and moved and brought imagination to life.
bonniereads777's review
5.0
This is a well-written and interesting memoir about the toy industry from a famous game designer. There is a shocking prologue, and then we learn about the life of Jeffrey Breslow and the sparks of imagination that led to some of the most popular games in history. It is a compelling read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.
angiew23's review
5.0
A Game Maker's Life by Jeffrey Breslow is a memoir that follows Jeff's career as a game designer working for Marvin Glass. While he does give some contextual information about his childhood and beginning university, as well as a chapter or so on his life in retirement, the bulk of the memoir focuses on his career designing some of the games that are historic parts of childhood memories for generations of people. Breslow and his colleagues were a group of very intelligent and creative people who needs to problem solve, invent and market thousands of new ideas. He talks about rejection, about trial and error, and about believing in yourself and your ideas. But most of all, he sheds light on an industry that we all know very well, but that we probably know very little about. You've probably played Operation, Mouse Trap or Uno. You may have grown up playing with Polly Pockets, Hot Wheels or Barbie Dolls. But do you know anything about their history? You may not even know which company sold them and you most likely do not know who came up with the idea and how it came to be. Breslow does a fantastic job chronicling his time working as a game designer as well as the many games he worked on and sold to companies like Mattel or Fisher Price. He sheds new light on the games we are familiar with and the many (many, many, many) games that never made it into living rooms.
This memoir is for the most part very light hearted (though there were some murders and people were spied on by the KGB) and a lot of fun to read. It is mainly told in a fairly linear manner, with some jumping around, only really when necessary. His descriptions are detailed enough to create imagery and help the reader truly picture these unfamiliar places, people and ideas, without getting bogged down with unnecessary information. I found it a fairly quick read, but also it contained a really great amount of information. As I finished I felt like I had gained a new perspective on the world of my childhood and also learned all I really felt I needed to know about a field I knew almost nothing about. It takes a special kind of creativity to design toys that will sell to millions of children, and luckily that creativity can clearly also be applied to writing a memoir. Breslow is entertaining and interesting and has a beautiful outlook on life. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about game design and the history of the games we grew up with. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
This memoir is for the most part very light hearted (though there were some murders and people were spied on by the KGB) and a lot of fun to read. It is mainly told in a fairly linear manner, with some jumping around, only really when necessary. His descriptions are detailed enough to create imagery and help the reader truly picture these unfamiliar places, people and ideas, without getting bogged down with unnecessary information. I found it a fairly quick read, but also it contained a really great amount of information. As I finished I felt like I had gained a new perspective on the world of my childhood and also learned all I really felt I needed to know about a field I knew almost nothing about. It takes a special kind of creativity to design toys that will sell to millions of children, and luckily that creativity can clearly also be applied to writing a memoir. Breslow is entertaining and interesting and has a beautiful outlook on life. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about game design and the history of the games we grew up with. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
sweets_reads's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
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