Monsters in the Dark
The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense
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Monsters in the Dark
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Narrated by:
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Callum Janes
About this listen
It is the year 1994….
In North America, turn-based strategy games were trampled by flashier video games like Doom and Mortal Kombat. All but one: Sid Meier's Civilization, a game of conquest and megahit developed by Maryland-based MicroProse.
Over in Southwest England, the producers at MicroProse UK aspired to design a tactical game that matched or exceeded the success of their American counterparts, who viewed the UK branch as nothing more than a support studio. Nearby, a bespectacled teenage boy toiled away on his home computer, dreaming of the day his programming aptitude would catch up to the epic campaigns unfolding across his imagination.
From his early experiments in board games to digital battlefields that lit up best seller charts, Monsters in the Dark charts the career of legendary designer Julian Gollop through the creation of 1994's X-COM, a terrifying and terrifyingly deep wargame hailed as "the finest PC game" (IGN) and "a bona fide classic" (GameSpot).
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- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
An inventor, adventurer, entrepreneur, collector, and entertainer, and son of legendary scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard Garriott de Cayeux has been behind some of the most exciting undertakings of our time. A legendary pioneer of the online gaming industry - and a member of every gaming Hall of Fame - Garriott invented the multi-player online game, and coined the term "Avatar" to describe an individual's online character. In this fascinating memoir, Garriott invites listeners on the great adventure that is his life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Modern Day Explorer
- By Elijah on 04-17-17
By: Richard Garriott, and others
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The Click Moment
- Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World
- By: Frans Johansson
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
On the one hand we aren’t surprised by the uncertainty of everyday life, but on the other we believe that success can be analyzed and planned for. It is a revealing paradox. The implications are explosive and they obliterate every common-sense notion we have about strategy and planning. The Click Moment is about two very simple but highly provocative ideas.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding book!
- By Anilyn Karel on 08-26-24
By: Frans Johansson
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The Friendly Orange Glow
- The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture
- By: Brian Dear
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 116
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 107
At a time when Steve Jobs was only a teenager and Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even born, a group of visionary engineers and designers - some of them only high school students - in the late 1960s and 1970s created a computer system called PLATO, which was not only years but light-years ahead in experimenting with how people would learn, engage, communicate, and play through connected computers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Memory lane for the cyberist.
- By Robert C. Hickcox on 08-08-18
By: Brian Dear
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Designers & Dragons: The '70s
- A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
- By: Shannon Appelcline
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Designers & Dragons: The ’70s is a comprehensive picture of the beginnings of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 50,000 new words to this volume alone. Learn about the colorful history of TSR and the wave of D&D inspired games (and gaming companies) to follow, and dip your toes into war gaming trivia. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
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5 out of 5 stars
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the forgotten realm of where RPGs arize
- By RAW-ATX on 01-02-22
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Little Bets
- How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries
- By: Peter Sims
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 357
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 286
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Story4 out of 5 stars 284
What do Apple CEO Steve Jobs, comedian Chris Rock, prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, the story developers at Pixar films, and the Army Chief of Strategic Plans all have in common? Best-selling author Peter Sims found that all of them have achieved breakthrough results by methodically taking small, experimental steps in order to discover and develop new ideas.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Useful approach, not for everyone
- By Tad Davis on 08-15-11
By: Peter Sims
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Bumblebee & Me
- Life as a G1 Transformer
- By: Dan Gilvezan
- Narrated by: Dan Gilvezan
- Length: 1 hr and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story5 out of 5 stars 73
Bumblebee & Me takes you behind the scenes of the original Transformers television series for a first-hand look at the making of a classic. Experience the controlled chaos of the recording sessions, learn the secrets behind creating a character voice, get to know the members of the cast close up and personal. Chock full of stories, reminiscences, anecdotes and never-before-seen photographs, Bumblebee & Me is sure to satisfy even the most knowledgeable and discerning Transformers fan.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bumblebee...In His Own Words :)
- By Christine Klunder on 02-23-15
By: Dan Gilvezan
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Service Games
- The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition
- By: Sam Pettus
- Narrated by: Tom Racine
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
New Edition! More content, images, and corrected text and facts. Monochrome edition. Starting with its humble beginnings in the 1950s and ending with its swan-song, the Dreamcast, in the early 2000s, this is the complete history of Sega as a console maker. Before home computers and video game consoles, before the Internet and social networking, and before motion controls and smartphones, there was Sega.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Story of the Fall of Sega
- By Austin on 01-05-15
By: Sam Pettus
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Electronic Dreams
- How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer
- By: Tom Lean
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story5 out of 5 stars 20
In Electronic Dreams, Tom Lean tells the story of how computers invaded British homes for the first time, as people set aside their worries of electronic brains and Big Brother and embraced the wonder technology of the 1980s. This book charts the history of the rise and fall of the home computer, the family of futuristic and quirky machines that took computing from the realm of science and science fiction to being a user-friendly domestic technology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome outline of electronic history
- By Johnny on 09-28-17
By: Tom Lean
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Group Genius
- The Creative Power of Collaboration
- By: Keith Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In this authoritative and fascinating new audiobook, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative: even when you're alone. Sawyer's audiobook is filled with compelling stories about the inventions that changed our world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Worth reading
- By Glenn on 12-29-10
By: Keith Sawyer
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The Culture Code
- The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
- By: Daniel Coyle
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,033
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 9,388
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 9,318
In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world's most successful organizations - including Pixar, the San Antonio Spurs, and the US Navy's SEAL Team Six - and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Anyone in a leadership position should read this
- By Kimberly on 03-04-18
By: Daniel Coyle
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No Better Time
- The Brief, Remarkable Life of Danny Lewin, the Genius Who Transformed the Internet
- By: Molly Knight Raskin
- Narrated by: Christine Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
No Better Time tells of a young, driven mathematical genius who wrote a set of algorithms that would create a faster, better Internet. It's the story of a beautiful friendship between a loud, irreverent student and his soft-spoken MIT professor, of a husband and father who spent years struggling to make ends meet only to become a billionaire almost overnight with the success of Akamai Technologies, the Internet content delivery network he cofounded with his mentor.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Overlooked Hero of 9-11
- By Jean on 05-27-16
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Seven Games
- A Human History
- By: Oliver Roeder
- Narrated by: William Sarris
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
Checkers, backgammon, chess, and Go. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. In Seven Games, Oliver Roeder charts their origins and historical importance, the arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable.
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5 out of 5 stars
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All about computers and games
- By Mark L on 01-03-23
By: Oliver Roeder
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Space Odyssey
- Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece
- By: Michael Benson
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 318
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 282
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Story5 out of 5 stars 281
Regarded as a masterpiece today, 2001: A Space Odyssey received mixed reviews. Despite the success of Dr. Strangelove, director Stanley Kubrick wasn't yet recognized as a great filmmaker, and 2001 was radically innovative, with little dialogue and no strong central character. Author Michael Benson explains how 2001 was made, telling the story primarily through the two people most responsible for the film, Kubrick and science fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke. Benson interviewed Clarke many times, and has also spoken at length with Kubrick's widow, Christiane.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Book Wholly Equal to its Subject
- By Reggie on 04-17-19
By: Michael Benson
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Thinking Machines
- The Quest for Artificial Intelligence - and Where It's Taking Us Next
- By: Luke Dormehl
- Narrated by: Gus Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Story4 out of 5 stars 52
When most of us think about artificial intelligence, our minds go straight to cyborgs, robots, and sci-fi thrillers where machines take over the world. But the truth is that artificial intelligence is already among us. It exists in our smartphones, fitness trackers, and refrigerators that tell us when the milk will expire. In some ways the future people dreamed of at the World's Fair in the 1960s is already here. We're teaching our machines how to think like humans, and they're learning at an incredible rate.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Mostly platitudes with no depth
- By Gary on 03-24-17
By: Luke Dormehl
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Slugfest
- Inside the Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC
- By: Reed Tucker
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 725
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 645
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 641
The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes audiobook treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants. They are the two titans of the comic book industry - the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes - and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans. To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it, but...
- By Smitty on 05-02-18
By: Reed Tucker
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The Starfish and the Spider
- The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations
- By: Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,079
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 806
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 805
If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: "spiders", which have a rigid hierarchy, and "starfish", which rely on the power of peer relationships.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Centralized and decentralized models
- By Chan Meng on 12-07-07
By: Ori Brafman, and others