I'm not sure if many people here are aware of this, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it at the risk of looking like a shameless self-publicist: Dungeons and Desktops is now available from Amazon (and directly from AK Peters). This is my first single-authored book, and hopefully it won't be my last. :)

Here's the blurb from the publisher:
Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are a special genre of computer games that bring the tabletop role-playing experience of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to the computer screen. This genre includes classics such as Ultima and The Bard's Tale as well as more modern games such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.

Written in an engaging style for both the computer game enthusiast and the more casual computer game player, this book explores the history of the genre by telling the stories of the developers, games, and gamers who created it.

You might be wondering about how scholarly and theoretical this book is compared to the stuff coming out of MIT Press. In truth it's nothing like Unit Operations; you won't find any literary theory in my book. That's not to say there's no analysis, but the book is intended more for game developers, historians, and anyone who simply wants to learn more about this genre and how it evolved over time. I consider it original or primary research. I also spend time discussing the games and computer industry, such as how the rise of object-oriented programming or the world wide web affected game development. I'm sure this book would be great reading for anyone who wanted to design or review games for a living, particularly CRPGs but really anything.

I think anyone who enjoys older games would also appreciate it. I have a lot of fun talking about the games as well as playing them, and I think that comes through well. There are also plenty of juicy stories about the development and reception of many of the games, such as how the makers of Shard of Spring (a two-person operation) felt when he visited SSI's offices while they were making Pool of Radiance (a 40+ person operation):

There was a big room with no overhead lighting where what must have been a dozen artists were working full time just drawing the pictures in the game. Then I was shown a cube with two assembly language coders. There was a full-time writer for the manual, and more. And here I was—just me and a friend of mine doing everything! I saw that this was the direction the market was heading, and if I wanted to continue to play along it would take a big bet and becoming a big business. For me, creating CRPGs was a labor of love—I enjoyed it the whole time I was doing it. I’m sure I still would have enjoyed it in a big-business environment, but it just wasn’t the same.

The book is comprehensive in scope, beginning with the early mainframe games (and PLATO) and working all the way up to modern times with World of Warcraft. I also cover JRPGs and games for consoles (Zelda, Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, etc.) and MUDs. While I don't claim to cover or mention every single game, if you've got a favorite it's probably in there. I also discuss at the end how to get the older games up and running on modern systems (via emulation).

I realize the book won't appeal to everyone, but if you know anyone who loves CRPGs, please let them know.