Gaming: it's the greatest British invasion of them all. Lara Croft is an international icon and the British-born Grand Theft Auto and its spin-offs have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. The UK's games industry is now bigger than either its cinema or its music.

Yet the medium's birth in Thatcher's Britain was almost accidental. While politicians championed computers like the BBC Micro and the ZX Spectrum as engines of learning, it was left to a grassroots culture of amateur programmers to unlock their true potential. And from bedrooms and classrooms across the country, a brilliant profusion of innovative and idiosyncratic games soon emerged ? propelling their young creators to fame, riches and, eventually, a place on the world stage.

This is the story of those teenage coders ? tracing their journey from the first home computers to the age of the smartphone. A mix of oddball characters, programming miracles and moral panics, Grand Thieves & Tomb Raiders reveals how the unique history of British computing led to some of the greatest games of all time.

Autorentext

Magnus Anderson has been following the British games industry ever since his family bought a Sinclair ZX81 when he was eight. He has often spoken about the subject on the radio and on conference panels. Grand Thieves & Tomb Raiders is his first book.

Rebecca Levene has been a writer and editor for twenty years, working in the games, publishing, TV and magazine industries. She has previously scripted a first-person shooter for consoles and is currently working on the hit app game Zombies, Run!. She is the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books.