Meet Bitmap Books' Creative Director and Founder, Sam Dyer

ONE37pm: What led to the creation of Bitmap Books?

Sam Dyer: I'd been doing commercial graphic design for about 15 years and I was getting a bit bored with designing brochures or logos for companies that I had little interest in. In my spare time, I was a big fan of retro gaming, and as the hobby grew in popularity, a few books started appearing of varying quality. I thought 'I could do something like that,' and chose to design a book on my first ever computer, the mighty Commodore 64. The idea of designing a book on something that I was massively passionate about, was a win-win for me; it was a way of fusing my two biggest passions in design and gaming.

When Bitmap Books first started in 2014, I was actually still in full-time employment. It started off very much as a hobby; an outlet for my creativity in the evenings and at weekends and a vehicle that allowed me to have a bit of fun with things I loved. It has organically turned into what it is today; I wouldn't go as far as to say it was accidental, because I've purposely worked extremely hard to achieve my goals, but at the start, I never set out intentionally to become a boutique publisher.

I had no experience in book publishing and I’ve had to learn on the fly, but I think my previous background in commercial marketing and design has really given me a good grounding for running a business and knowing how to successfully promote it.

ONE37pm: What was the very first book published by the company? And what were some of the hardships that went into completing that first project?

Dyer: Our first title was Commodore 64: a visual compendium. Because we didn’t have a ready-made audience, we chose to use crowdfunding, which amazingly raised almost £36,000 from just under 1000 backers. This unprecedented initial success was a surprise, and I had to learn quickly the dark arts of crowdfunding fulfilment and backer management!

The book was designed, curated, and packed/posted all in my spare time from our family dining room. As a father and a husband, this amount of extra work, on top of my day job but a lot of strain on things. But I wanted to put in the hard work to make the best possible book I could, so it was worth the sacrifice.

ONE37pm: What books have been the most successful thus far? And which ones do you personally regard as your favorite?

Dyer: My favorite would probably be The Art of Point and Click Adventure Games, purely because this is my all-time favorite genre of games. Designing that book was real self-indulgence, and at no point felt like 'work.' We got to interview over 50 developers and I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out. The most successful sales-wise would have to be A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games. In just 12 months since release, it has sold more copies than some of our other more established titles. With another reprint due in May, some books just capture the imagination, and this is one of them. The demand is huge.

ONE37pm: How does the interview process work when it comes to getting information about certain games from the individuals that had a hand in making them?

Dyer: It’s not very often that I do interviews myself. My core strengths are around the creative of the books, so we work with an amazing pool of writers that we can pull in for interviews when needed. The end result is much better when the person asking the question, will also be editing the interview. From my experience, it’s largely down to the interviewee and how happy they are to talk. Some people have done tons of interviews over the years and it's hard to get anything new, but sometimes the opposite can happen and someone opens up and you can get some great original content.

ONE37pm: Bitmap has done a ton of books about gaming consoles, genres, popular franchises, and even toys. Are there any dream projects you'd love to see from Bitmap in the near future?

Dyer: My dream is that one day, Bitmap Books works with Nintendo, producing official books on their IP. To be trusted by Nintendo would be the ultimate compliment.

ONE37pm: Bitmap's latest release is The King of Fighters: The Ultimate History. What inspired the company to pursue the creation of such a book?

Dyer: We have worked with SNK since 2016 and have enjoyed a fantastic relationship. Our second book with them, Metal Slug: The Ultimate History was great fun to pull together, made much easier by having access to SNKs treasure trove of official assets. After the success of the Metal Slug book, discussions were had about a King of Fighters (KOF) edition. KOF is a real jewel in SNK’s crown, so we felt the pressure to produce something really special. We’re very grateful that SNK trusts Bitmap Books with their most treasured IP, and hope that the relationship continues for years.

ONE37pm: What are your overall thoughts on physical game preservation and documenting gaming history as a whole?

Dyer: It’s incredibly important. Music, films, and literature are properly archived by official bodies. However, video game preservation is left mainly to fans. One day, I’d love to see some kind of repository for gaming, like the British Library. Somewhere, properly funded, where you can go and play every game released and have it archived securely. It’s a morbid thought, but some developers are now passing away, so this is one reason why it’s imperative that items such as gaming history books exist. So future generations can learn where this amazing industry began.

ONE37pm: Feel free to say a few words to everyone out there that appreciates Bitmap Books.

Dyer: We’re incredibly blessed to have an amazing community of fans. These loyal fans not only support us by buying books but also spread the word on social media. This is amazingly helpful for a relatively small business such as Bitmap Books. I’d like to personally say thank you to everyone that has supported us.