Book Announcement: "Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1 - The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era"
Get an overview of Long Live Mortal Kombat, including the complete table of contents.
Helpful links: 1) Follow me on Twitter, 2) shop for my books, and 3) read free chapters from my books.
Welcome to Episodic Content, my newsletter in which I share news about my writing and publish features and interviews about video games and other topics. The purpose of the inaugural issue of Episodic Content is to share exciting news: I’ll be releasing a book this year!
Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1 - The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era is the first book in a series (hence “Round 1” in the title) about the making of and enduring passion for the Mortal Kombat franchise of video games. Below, I’ll share the book’s table of contents, give an overview of what you can expect from the book and the Long Live MK series, and tell you about a FREE COMPANION BOOK I’ll be serializing here.
Before we go any further, subscribe to Episodic Content so you can be sure to keep up with future announcements—including the reveal of the book’s cover art and pre-order information when it becomes available.
About Me
Before we dig into Long Live MK, let me tell you about myself. (In the future, this information will be available as links at the top of each newsletter.) My name is David L. Craddock, and I've been an author and freelance writer for over 18 years. You can find my work at outlets such as Waypoint/VICE Gaming, Shacknews, Paste magazine, IGN, Wired, Ars Technica, Kotaku, and many more. My publishing credits include Stay Awhile and Listen: Book I and Book II, Monsters in the Dark: The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense—which raised over $24,000 on Kickstarter in 2021—Shovel Knight by Boss Fight Books, Arcade Perfect, Dungeon Hacks (now available in a gorgeous new hardcover edition by Taylor & Francis), and Break Out: How the Apple II Launched the PC Gaming Revolution, among a dozen or so others.
As an editor at Shacknews, I write long reads—book-sized features you can read for free. Some of the most popular are Bet on Black: How Microsoft and Xbox Changed Popular Culture, Rocket Jump: Quake and the Golden Age of First-Person Shooters, and Beneath a Starless Sky: Pillars of Eternity and the Infinity Engine Era of RPGs.
Besides nonfiction about video games, I write fiction for young adults. Heritage and Point of Fate are the first two books in The Gairden Chronicles series. The Dumpster Club, a contemporary novel, received praise from Kirkus Reviews, one of the industry's most prestigious literary magazines. Finally, Arthur and the Knights of the Cafeteria Table, another epic fantasy aimed at young adults is available for free on Wattpad and will soon be available for ebook readers and in paperback and hardcover formats.
Hey, look at that! We’re not strangers anymore.
About Episodic Content
Episodic Content is a newsletter where I'll publish interviews, features, and serialized books about how video games are made and the people who make them. I'll also use it to announce upcoming books, special promotions such as discounts on my books, and other announcements as necessary. However, I know bloated inboxes can be a pain, so I promise that when you receive a new issue, it's something I'm sure you'll want to read.
And you'll do more than read, too! Episodic Content is a multimedia production; many issues will have videos and audio that accompany text.
Starting out, Episodic Content will be free. I'll give you plenty of notice before premium content kicks in, but some content will always be free.
Now, on to the main event!
Long Live Mortal Kombat
Long Live Mortal Kombat: Round 1 – The Fatalities and Fandom of the Arcade Era is the massive (approximately 205,000 words) first installment of the "LLMK" series. The book covers the arcade era of the franchise, from the genesis (pun intended) of the first MK through MK4's revision 3.0 update in arcades.
Like many of you, I've grown up with Mortal Kombat. It's near and dear to my heart, and this year is extra special: The franchise turns 30 in October. Long Live MK celebrates the franchise, but it also celebrates the fans whose passion and support propelled it into popular culture in 1992.
Appropriately, Long Live MK not only recounts the making of MK1, MKII, MK3, Ultimate MK3, and MK4, but it shines a spotlight on members of the "kommunity" who have contributed to it. Collectors, pro players, commentators, self-style "arcade rats" who were known and feared from coast to coast here in the United States, and international players and fans who made Mortal Kombat a part of their lives no matter where they lived.
Long Live MK comprises four sections, one for each of the four main installments of the series' arcade era. Every section features several types of chapters:
· making-of sections written based on deep research and lengthy interviews with developers such as John Tobias and folks from Acclaim, as well as high-level players who break down each game's mechanics;
· arcade sections where you'll hear firsthand from individuals who pumped tens of thousands of quarters into coin-op cabinets; and
· kommunity-oriented sections that share the stories of fans whose lives were changed by Mortal Kombat, and in many cases, through the bonds they've formed with one another.
I've interviewed over 60 individuals to write Long Live MK: Round 1, and you'll hear from all of them. You'll also share in their passion for MK by reading their stories and getting a look at pictures from their collection they were kind enough to share with me.
Long Live MK will be available in print and digital formats later this year, and promises to be the most comprehensive exploration of Mortal Kombat in any medium, ever. To give you an idea of the book's depth, here's a look at the table of contents:
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Prepare Yourself
Chapter 1: Ridiculous Ideas
Chapter 2: People Who Do Shit
Chapter 3: Free Play
Chapter 4: Enter the Dragon
Chapter 5: The Cash Box
Chapter 6: Sense of Impact
Chapter 7: Shock and Awe
Chapter 8: We Were Everywhere
Chapter 9: The Biggest Threat
Chapter 10: Here Comes a New Challenger
Chapter 11: To Be Continued at an Arcade Near You!
Chapter 12: We'll Do It On a Monday
Chapter 13: Calluses on Our Hands
Chapter 14: Fulfilling a Promise
Chapter 15: Nitro
Chapter 16: The Content Wars
Chapter 17: Absolute Freedom
Part 2: Nothing Can Prepare You
Chapter 18: More of This and More of That
Chapter 19: Movement Vocabulary
Chapter 20: When Enough is Enough
Chapter 21: War Zones
Chapter 22: When Quarters Were Gold
Chapter 23: The Meeting
Chapter 24: The Great Debate
Chapter 25: Tidal Waves of Cash
Chapter 26: Chess and Checkers
Chapter 27: Two Against One
Part 3: Knowledge and Power
Chapter 28: Business As Usual
Chapter 29: Creative Input
Chapter 30: A Ruthless, Cutthroat World
Chapter 31: Vanilla
Chapter 32: The King Who Had a Name
Chapter 33: Star Wars Meets Enter the Dragon
Chapter 34: Preparation and Opportunity
Chapter 35: What Do You Mean "Update?"
Chapter 36: Ultimate Kombat Kode
Chapter 37: Going For the Jugular
Chapter 38: Worldwide Kombat
Chapter 39: Blueprint
Chapter 40: Along the Way
Chapter 41: Mind Games
Chapter 42: What's Old is New-ish
Part 4: Nothing Will Ever Be the Same
Chapter 43: Ninja Fest
Chapter 44: Balls of Steel
Chapter 45: Epic Ploys
Chapter 46: Very Good, But Not Great
Chapter 47: Sidestep
Chapter 48: The Era Beyond
Chapter 49: Zeitgeist
Chapter 50: Where the Magic Happens
Epilogue
Long Live Mortal Kombat has been a huge undertaking, but it's not the only MK book I'll be releasing this year.
Kool Stuff
Ahead of its publication, I'm writing a FREE companion book called Kool Stuff: Bonus Stories and Interviews from Long Live Mortal Kombat – Round 1.
Kool Stuff (if you played the Super NES port of MK3, you may recognize that name) is not a substitute for Long Live MK, and you don't have to read Long Live MK first to understand Kool Stuff. As I research and outline books, a ton of material doesn't make the cut. Rather than throw it away, I look for ways to repurpose it. Kool Stuff collects interviews and features (chapters) I could not fit into Long Live MK. In video game terms, think of it as a DLC expansion.
Kool Stuff will be serialized here in Episodic Content for free, and eventually published if you'd like to add it to your shelves. It starts next month, so make sure you're subscribed to Episodic Content to follow the story.
Wrapping Up
That does it for the inaugural issue of Episodic Content! If you haven't subscribed yet, make sure you click the link below, and share this issue with your friends, especially if they're Mortal Kombat fans.
Long Live Mortal Kombat!
~David
Helpful links: 1) Follow me on Twitter, 2) shop for my books, and 3) read free chapters from my books.