Priced at $39.95, the 9.625" x 11" hardcover format book includes interviews with many of the people who worked at Atari, as well as production and concept artwork not yet seen. The foreword is penned by "Ready, Player One" writer Ernest Cline, with the book authored by Tim Lapetino, who is also executive director of the Museum of Video Game Art.

Polygon asked Lapetino to send over a few pages of the book, and to talk about their context, which you can see below, including pages that cover themes such as packaging, process and marketing as well as specific games like Breakout, Centipede and Yars' Revenge.

"For me, this book was deeply satisfying to work on, because it digs into great art and design of Atari, and obviously is really tied tightly to the games that made up my childhood," says Lapetino. "I'm glad to be able to shine a light on the illustrators, graphic designers, and industrial designers who in many ways, have been left out of design history.

"Because they worked in this pretty commercial, unusual field of video games, the emphasis usually tends to be on the game designers. That focus is earned. Without the games, we wouldn't be talking about this. But also, these people were essential to the overall game experiences, and they were doing some pretty unbelievable work that needs to be recognized by the world of art and design.

"Being a designer myself, I'm fascinated by the places and ways in which design intersects with pop culture. Video games went from having their moment to growing into an industry that brings in more money than Hollywood. And a crucial aspect of getting to that point was design. Art and design shapes how we see products, companies, and even whole cultural moments. The two are intertwined, and I'm always excited to examine those historical moments and see how art and design plays out within them."

The Primacy of Boxes

"When thinking about Atari's great artwork, I think it's easy to forget how the game packaging was often the first interaction someone would have with a game," says Lapetino. "Those boxes had to handle a lot of the sales and marketing duties that today would be done using advertising or social media. There was a crucial moment in a department store or TV shop where the box art would catch your eye — and in those few seconds — without a lot of in-depth reviews or the ubiquitous word of mouth we enjoy today. You made a decision based on the excitement and energy of that box."

A wall of bricks

"Breakout is an example of a game that is so simple and yet iconic in its game graphics that it lends itself to a wide interpretation in terms of artwork," explains Lapetino. "In home consoles, Cliff Spohn started this with the first version of Breakout for the 2600, and envisioned tennis players hitting a ball back and forth. It's almost more like racquetball, in some ways. And Steve Hendricks had another idea that's more fantasy-like and fanciful that ended up not being used, but it still comes down to those general themes of using something to break though this wall of bricks."