ALTER EGO REVEALS THE PEOPLE BEHIND THEIR AVATARS
Alter Ego is a cool concept book, presenting the phenomenon of the contemporary avatar (the virtual characters gamers choose and design to engage in online virtual worlds). Portraits of gamers from the United States, Europe, China, and Korea (including leading figures of the gaming world) are paired with images of their alter egos, graphically dramatizing the gap between fantasy and reality. With an introduction by one of digital culture's leading observers, and a glossary of relevant terms, each of the seventy pairs of images are accompanied by detailed profiles and engaging stories about the person behind the keyboard. Sometimes hilarious and always visually exciting, Alter Ego is both a guide to the new world of the avatar and a serious contribution to the debate about the future of society in the digital age.
Images from Alter Ego have been exhibited at galleries in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Stockholm, and Berlin. The portraits were recently exhibited in Second Life and are currently on display at the Portland Arts Center through June 30, 2007.
The book is now available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. For more information and images, please visit www.alteregobook.com
About the Book:
Publication date: June 2007
Retail price $29.95
Binding: Hardcover (with lenticular double image)
Extent: 160 pages
Trim size: 12 x 5.75 inches, 305 x 145 mm
Extent: 138 pages
Photographs: 140 color
Design: Studio8 Design
ISBN 10: 1-905712-02-2
ISBN 13: 978-1-905712-02-1
www.alteregobook.com
About the Authors:
Robbie Cooper was born in 1969. He won an Ian Parry scholarship in 1992 for his essay on Somalia and his work has been widely published in Liberation, the Sunday Times magazine, Geo, GQ and Esquire. His Alter Ego photographs have been exhibited at galleries in London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Berlin, and Paris.
Julian Dibbell is one of digital culture's leading observers. Author of My Tiny Life: Crime and Passion in a Virtual World (1999, described as 'the best book written about the dynamics of online life'), he writes regularly for Wired magazine, Feed Online, the New York Times, Rolling Stone and the Village Voice.
Tracy Spaight studied history at Santa Clara University and Science & Technology Studies at Cornell. He has been an avid observer of and participant in online games for more than a decade. Tracy is a frequent speaker and writer on virtual worlds. He is the author of 'Who Killed Miss Norway?' which was first published in Salon magazine.
Carlos M. Pomares
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GMS - Game Marketing Solutions
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