Welcome back everyone, now if you love football then there is also a good chance that you have at some point played one of the many many football video games through the years.

Whether that is similar to my gaming history which consists of FIFA, Championship Manager, Football Manager and what I consider to be and will fight anyone who disagrees the best football manager game of all time….LMA Manager.

Me and my best friend Jake spent many all nighters playing LMA manager, it was playing LMA that I discovered a love for Pablo Couñago who I signed at every opportunity (and with good reason, he was a goal machine for me, every time).

It is this personal experience and love of football games that alerted me to the founder of Bitmap books, Sam. Their book ‘A Game of Two Halves’ is a true nostalgic throwback look at all of the great and not so great games that have come and gone and the few that have survived the test of time. It is a genuinely pleasing read and I have found deep joy myself in pursuing my copy and reliving some of the best great memories that are conjured up.

Anyway, that’s enough from me… let’s dive in and speak to Sam about how this all started and some more details about the book itself.

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Can you briefly explain what Bitmap Books is and especially what A Tale of Two Halves: The History of Football Video Games is set out to cover?

Bitmap Books is a publisher of premium video game art books. We started in 2014, and have designed and published nearly 30 books over the years, working with SEGA, Atari and SNK, and covering systems such as the Commodore 64, Super Nintendo and Game Boy. We have also published books on game franchises such as Metal Slug, and genre-specific titles such as role-playing games, scrolling beat-em-ups and of course football games!

As a huge football fan (Bath City supporter), and lover of all football video games, this was a genre I always wanted to cover. My first experience of a football video game was International Soccer on the Commodore 64 – an incredibly primitive, but innovative for the time, soccer simulation.

I then spent countless hours on games such as Sensible Soccer, Goal!, Premier Manager and Pro Evolution. Halcyon days! A Tale of Two Halves aims to cover a huge period of football video games from the 1982 to 2010. It includes hundreds of screenshots, features, game reviews and custom pixel art. The book starts very much in the 2D graphics world, and then evolves into 3D, as systems such as the Sony PlayStation came to be.

What inspired you to start Bitmap Books, and what were the early days of the business like?

I started the business as a hobby in the evenings and weekends around my day job as a graphic designer. Designing books on video games felt like a way to be creative and have fun with something I’ve loved since I was a kid. The early days was grabbing an hour here, an hour there, around other commitments which meant lots of late nights and hard work!

How did you identify a niche for high-quality gaming and pop culture books, and what challenges did you face in those early stages?

There were a couple of publishers already doing gaming books, and that’s where the seed of Bitmap came from. I wanted to do the same, but bring my own unique style and approach to the table. The biggest challenge was not having an audience.

I was very lucky to be welcomed into the gaming community, and people were excited about what we were doing. It was taken a lot of time and hard work to build trust over the years and grow our fanbase. The other hurdle was funding. Luckily Kickstarter was the ideal route as it enabled me to identity if there was demand before spending thousands on print costs.

Could you share a moment or turning point in Bitmap Books’ journey that made you realize the company was really starting to take off?

When we launched our second book on the Commodore Amiga on Kickstarter, it quite quickly surpassed 100K in funding. That was a ‘WOW’ moment, and I knew then that things had moved away from being a hobby in the evenings.

What drives your passion for retro gaming and how does that passion shape the creative direction of Bitmap Books today?

It’s a huge part of my childhood, and pretty much all my happy memories as a kid, are connected to video games. To this day, I still love reminiscing about these days and I bring this passion and excitement into the books.

As a fan of Bath City FC, what drew you to non-league football, and why do you think it holds such a special place in the hearts of fans?

Probably similar to many other non-league fans. I’m old enough to remember the Premier League forming, and since then it’s become more and more about money and less about fans. The heart of football is literally being torn out by corporate greed.

When my son was old enough to go to a game, I wanted him to experience ‘proper football’ and we started going to Twerton Park. Now we’re both obsessed with the club, and go to every home game. Highlight this season was travelling away to Aldershot for the last FA Cup Qualifying round. Although we lost, the atmosphere was immense! UTC!

Your book A Tale of Two Halves: The History of Football Video Games delves into the evolution of football gaming. What sparked the idea for this title, and why do you think football video games resonate so strongly with people?

I’ve always been a fan of football video games, and when author, Richard Moss suggested the book to me, I almost bit his arm off! I think people have strong memories of football games as they are best played with friends, and lots of time tends to get invested in them.

The book includes games featuring non-league teams—what do you think is the most promoninent game in the book that showcases non-league football?

I’d say Premier Manager for the Commodore Amiga. You start in the conference (National League nowadays), and have to work your way up through the leagues. It was released in 1992 so you can manage iconic teams such as Stalybridge Celtic, Dagenham and Redbridge, Woking and Bromsgrove. By starting in the Conference, this gave you a huge sense of achievement when you got promotion, eventually making it to the Premier League after HOURS of time invested.

Growing up, which teams or players did you find yourself picking in football video games, and do you have a favorite football game of all time?

I always chose Wycombe Wanderers in Premier Manager as they had the best squad. When playing Sensible Soccer, it was hard to not want to play as Barcelona. That mid-90’s team was insane – Romaria, Hagi, Guardiola, Stoichkov. For PES I usually played with the custom team, PES United. 

The visual presentation of A Tale of Two Halves is stunning. How did you decide which visual elements to include in your books, and how does this contribute to the storytelling?

When conceptualising the book, the concern was that it could be a bit samey visually. Lots of vast pitches, in varying shades of green. To mix things up, we commissioned some custom pixel art from 8-Bit Football for the various features each season. We also included some of James Reynold’s awesome PES football shirts with the humorous and iconic fake plater names. Ronarid anyone?

Some of the early games will go as low as the Vauxhall Conference/National League, but later ones stick to the football league. I’d say the best example would be Premier Manager on the Amiga where you would start in the VC and have to move your way up.

Sam – on the best retro game to feature Non-league football

Q) The book is exceptionally vast and can be picked up and put down constantly, it certainly gives me the same feeling as a christmas present I used to always receive, the latest version of the guinness world, especially the ability to pick up flick through and then repeat an hour later. Was that a conscious effort to create something that can be used as a constant source of joy and nostalgia?  

Yes, that’s always been the aim of our books. I want people to treasure them. Pick them up when they’re feeling nostalgic, and be transported back to the ‘good old days’. We’ve always strived for very high standards in the print and production. We want our customers to have the books on their coffee table to show off to their friends, and be proud of them.

Q) And with that in mind do you think that it is some of those qualities that makes your books a perfect gift for a loved one? 

Absolutely. I think our books make great gifts. We often get told that receiving one of our books is a real treat. From the packing to the actual book, people really look forward to receiving them.

Bitmap Books has built a loyal community with a whole host of other books already released and many more on the horizon. What do you think has been key to maintaining that connection with your audience, and where do you see the company heading in the future?

I think the key to consistency has been that everything goes through me. This means I can maintain the quality and ensure that everything we do is of the right standard. If we’d grown, and had to hire other people, that consistency would be in danger.

If you could sign one non-league player for Bath City, who would you choose and why?

A great question. We had him on loan last season, but Richard Chinn was brilliant before he did his hamstring. A wide player who can play full-back or more attacking.

Great skill and strength. He chose full-time football with a club closer to London. Can’t blame him, but having him playing his trade at Twerton Park would have been special.

And finally – Would you ever consider branching out and releasing a book of non-league football through the ages, if so what would the title be? 

Now that would be quite cool. Sticking to our style of producing art books, I can imagine a photographic book of the best non-league stadiums would be really cool. Proper non-league stuff. Tea in polystyrene cups, trays of chips, wonky terraces and brilliant passionate fans.

https://www.bitmapbooks.com/collections/all-books

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Thanks to Sam for spending some time sitting down and looking back over the creation and history of Bitmap books.

As a fellow non-league fan himself Sam understands the struggles that non-league football clubs have in getting exposure, especially up against the big boys of the Premier league.

So… as that last question hinted at, will we see a Bitmap books in the future dedicated to non-league football and the vast amount of stories and quirks there are to tell? Who knows, but I know one thing for sure, there would not be a shortage of content to fill the pages!

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If you love non-league football then why not purchase a copy of the brand new ‘Parks to Pitches’ brought to you by Through the Turnstile of Non-league Football, this 40 paged programme sized magazine is dedicated to non-league football and is available now for an introductory price of just £1.50 + postage.

ONLY 30 COPIES LEFT!

(Click the image to head to the shop)