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Monsters in the Dark: The Making of X-COM: UFO Defense
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In North America, turn-based strategy games were trampled by flashier video games like Doom and Mortal Kombat. All but one: Sid Meier's Civilization, a game of conquest and megahit developed by Maryland-based MicroProse.
Over in southwest England, the producers at MicroProse UK aspired to design a tactical game that matched or exceeded the success of their American counterparts, who viewed the UK branch as nothing more than a support studio. Nearby, a bespectacled teenage boy toiled away on his home computer, dreaming of the day his programming aptitude would catch up to the epic campaigns unfolding across his imagination.
From his early experiments in board games to digital battlefields that lit up bestseller charts, Monsters in the Dark charts the career of legendary designer Julian Gollop through the creation of 1994's X-COM, a terrifying and terrifyingly deep wargame hailed as "the finest PC game" (IGN) and "a bona fide classic" (GameSpot).
- Print length192 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBookBaby
- Publication dateSeptember 27, 2021
- Dimensions6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
- ISBN-13979-8705200948
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Reading Monsters in the Dark was like traveling back in time to one of the great periods of PC game development. David not only tells the untold story of X-COM's development, but the incredible adventure its creators underwent to bring the game to life. -Chris Taylor, creative director of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander
When we see an amazing game, we rarely see the years of trial and error that came before it. I remember being blown away when I played X-COM, but until Monsters in the Dark, I didn't know about Rebelstar, Laser Squad, or any of Julian Gollop's other early works. The story is wonderful and well told, and I am so glad this piece of our history has been captured and preserved for us to enjoy. -Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft, and general manager of 1Up Ventures
X-COM was probably every developer's favorite strategy game from my generation. I must have played the demo—included on a 3.5-inch floppy disk that came with a PC gaming magazine—for more hours than I put into full games released these days. It still sits at the top of my list of my favorite games. Monsters in the Dark brings back memories of the intricacies and hurdles developers faced back in the earlier days of game development and highlights the incredible journey of an incredible game designer. It is a must-read for any developer past or present. -John Johnson, producer/creative director of Company of Heroes and Age of Empires: Castle Siege, and CEO of Smoking Gun Interactive Inc.
Craddock writes exhaustive and fascinating investigations into how games are made, and Monsters in the Dark is no exception. X-COM is one of my favorite games and a huge influence on my work, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about its development. -Erich Schaefer, co-creator of the Diablo, Torchlight, and Rebel Galaxy franchises
David's book brought back a flood of memories from my youth, when I got my first home computer with a 100-megabyte hard drive. X-COM was one of the games I lost sleep over, and Monsters in the Dark divulges an amazing amount of detail about the game, its creators, its humble beginnings, and its lasting legacy. An absolutely fascinating story worthy of a Netflix original. -Rick Goodman, co-creator of Age of Empires
Through a tight biographical lens, Craddock offers a compelling glimpse at the infancy of a genre—and an entire industry. -Maximilian Olbers, content design lead on Stellaris and Crusader Kings III
I have been a rabid X-COM fan since the first moment I saw the game running on one of our dev machines at LookingGlass. X-COM ended up consuming us all, and that bright time is one of my favorite memories about that era in games, and indeed my life at that time. Unsurprisingly, X-COM slipped the schedules on at least two LookingGlass games, but we didn't care, and therein lies the unexpected joy I found in the manuscript. Craddock is able to tease out not only the story of a favorite game, but, more poignantly to me at least, the story of the beginning of the industry we all love, that we have given our lives to, and that has changed entertainment forever. -Seamus Blackley, father of the Xbox
A thorough retelling of the early career of one of gaming's most important figures, with deep insight into one of the greatest games ever made. -Troy Goodfellow, game developer and strategy game historian
David has written the definitive account of one of the greatest PC titles of the 1990s, distilled in an easy-to-read style that pulls you right in and with never-before-seen interviews with the designers. -Jamie Lendino, author of Attract Mode: The Rise and Fall of Coin-Op Arcade Games
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B09F1BB58F
- Publisher : BookBaby
- Publication date : September 27, 2021
- Language : English
- Print length : 192 pages
- ISBN-13 : 979-8705200948
- Item Weight : 9.9 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,288,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,751 in Video & Computer Games
- #3,319 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

David L. Craddock lives with his wife and business partner in Ohio. He is the author of the bestselling Stay Awhile and Listen trilogy detailing the history of Blizzard Entertainment, the Gairden Chronicles epic fantasy series for young adults, and Arcade Perfect: How Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, and Other Coin-Op Classics Invaded the Living Room. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock on Twitter.
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It's a must if you like X-COM games and/or Julian Gollop's work!
Top reviews from the United States
- 5 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2025Well written and explains a lot of the thought processes behind the game.
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CancelReport - 1 out of 5 stars
Not sure why, but I gave up on this.
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023Maybe its because I didn't have much vested interest in the XCOM franchise.
Maybe its because the narrator seemed to just speed through everything.
Maybe its because of the several times where, for no reason, the narrator would repeat the line he just read. And its done in the same cadence, which makes me think this audiobook recording has issues.
Regardless, gave up on it.
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CancelReport - 5 out of 5 stars
It's a must if you like X-COM games and/or Julian Gollop's work!
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021
5 out of 5 starsIt's a must if you like X-COM games and/or Julian Gollop's work!
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 20214 people found this helpfulSending feedback...Sending feedback...HelpfulThank you for your feedback.Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try againThanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try againWe'll check if this review meets our community guidelinesOpens in a new tab. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.
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Top reviews from other countries
Aztlub3 out of 5 starsInteresante pero ...
Reviewed in Spain on August 22, 2025Es un libro muy interesante para cualquier fanático del XCOM original (el de 1994), la primera mitad del libro aprendes sobre las motivacionces de su creador original, de cómo de niño era un fanático de juegos de mesa, creando muchos juegos desde cero él mismo y demás, luego como descubrió cómo en el ordenador podría hacerlo más ágil, también aprendes sobre los primeros pinitos en el mundo de los videojuegos, sobre los precursores de XCOM, porque los hay y no tenia ni idea (lasersquad?) y las dificultades de encontrar compañeros válidos para desarrollar esots juegos, al final se quedó con su propio hermano :-D. Después se centra en la creación del juego en sí, tanto es así que he querido volver a probarlo un poco ahora que sé más cosas sobre algunas partes de su desarrollo. Sinembargo el libro para mi se queda cojo y por eso no le pongo 4 estrellas, primero porque habla muy poco del después, del impacto del juego, habla también poco o nada de la parte hardcore de haber desarrollado el juego (al final el autor se basa en entrevistas y no es el mismo autor bajo una experiencia personal) y sobretodo porque no habla del legado que ha dejado en la comunidad open, por ejemplo ni se menciona xcomutils ni openxcom. Sí que menciona sinembargo (y esto me congratula) el último juego que el autor de Xcom ha desarrollado, que se llama Phoenix Point y que para el autor del juego la verdadera continuación de la saga Xcom. Interesante. Pero se queda con las 3 estrellas, solo se me salva el primer 50 o 60% del libro y luego se me desinfla por tantas importantes omisiones.
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WMF4 out of 5 starsInteressantes Buch darüber wie es zu XCOM kam
Reviewed in Germany on May 24, 2022Das Buch zeigt auf, wie es dazu kam , dass J. Gollop X-COM geschaffen hat. Es beginnt mit seinen Anfängen als Programmierer. Das Buch ist in Romanform geschrieben. Wer an der Entstehungsgeschichte von X-COM interessiert ist, wird das Buch auch mögen.
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