J.C. Herz literally wrote the book on the video game industry, Joystick Nation:
How Videogames Ate Our Quarters, Won Our Hearts, and Rewired Our Minds (Little,
Brown). As The New York Times' computer game critic, she wrote weekly essays
about computer games as technology, design, and popular culture, and helped to
formulate the critical language around this emerging medium, which rivals
Hollywood in commercial terms and continues to outpace other forms of
entertainment in the minds, hearts, and wallets of the 21st-century youth.
Herz's company, Joystick Nation, is a hub for projects that translate the most
compelling aspects of computer game design - immersion, social interaction, and
play - into online and offline media and research. Joystick Nation's clients
include global corporations in mobile communications, manufacturing, and
financial services, as well as nonprofit institutions. Herz serves on the
National Research Council's committee on creativity and information
technology. Her favorite video game, after all these years, is Atari Missile
Command.
