Monsters in the Dark cover art

Monsters in the Dark

The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense

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Monsters in the Dark

By: David L. Craddock
Narrated by: Callum Janes
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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).

©2021 David L. Craddock (P)2022 David L. Craddock Art Game
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It's a interesting story that covers the development of a classic strategy game. I'm glad audible are covering niche books like this. My only criticism is the English impressions are a little too posh!

Interesting story of UFO: Enemy Unknown

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My love of xcom and game design pulled me through this book but the god awful fake British accent and multiple audio repeat errors made me want to throw it across the room.

It's a nice compilation of history with little new to offer but good curation is important. Doesn't really stick the landing which it sets up with earlier references but xcom development and saga was always messy.

Nice dive into a classic

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