Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers

Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers offers a vibrant visual guide to the world of game controllers, their design, history, and amazing ability to transform who we are, and what we are capable of – presented through 560 stunning photos.

Video game controllers are more than simple peripherals. They are our physical connection to digital worlds – a tool that empowers us to live out the fantasies that games provide. They let us swing swords, strafe enemies, hammer goalmouths, build cities, hack and slash, punch and counter, leap between platforms, command vehicles, and so much more.

Over its 396 pages, Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers looks at the joysticks that started it all, numerous classic gamepads, impactful innovations, iconic oddities and everything in between.

Co-authored by veteran game journalist Steve Jarratt and gaming expert and photographer Christian Wenk, Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers profiles 200 remarkable devices from Wenk’s personal collection. The book is built around the aforementioned photographs, all taken by Wenk exclusively for Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers, resulting in a luxurious tribute to some of the most recognisable gadgets on Earth.

Inside its pages you’ll find captivating detail about each controller, as well as anecdotes and personal reflections from influential forces in gaming, including Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, James Rolfe (AKA Angry Video Game Nerd), Rare game designer and voice actor Kevin Bayliss, and DOOM creator John Romero. Nestled in the cover, meanwhile, a special pocket carefully houses five full-colour art prints, each showcasing one of gaming’s most famed controllers.

Featured devices include the beloved Atari CX40 and Competition Pro joysticks, the stock pads of consoles like the NEOGEO, PC Engine, and PlayStation, modern reimaginings of esteemed controllers like the Amiga CD32’s, and irresistibly unique misfits including the Dragon Quest Slime Controller, the Seaman joypad, and Resident Evil’s infamous Chainsaw.

And like every Bitmap Book, every page is carefully designed to be eye-catching and clear, printed to the highest standards, and full of the best in game writing and analysis.

It’s a must have for collectors, gaming history aficionados, and product design obsessives. Grab your copy of Trigger Happy: A Visual Celebration of Video Game Controllers, and you’ll have the history, legacy, design, beauty, and story of hundreds of game controllers at your fingertips – for those moments when you aren’t pushing buttons and flicking thumbsticks.

Includes quotes, insights, and anecdotes from:
Allister Brimble, Damien McFerran, James Mielke, James Rolfe (AVGN), James Wragg, John Riggs, John Romero, Justin Silverman, Kevin Bayliss, Kurt Kalata, Perry Rodgers, Phil South, Richard Moss, Stoo Cambridge, Trip Hawkins, and Yukiyoshi Asai.

About the publisher:
Bitmap Books work with the world's most experienced writers, designers and gaming experts to create meticulously researched, visually ambitious retro gaming books. As a design-led publisher, visual quality matters to us. We don't just obsessively pursue the best printing quality currently available. We want to constantly push the envelope when it comes to expectations about printing techniques.