Gaming is now an accepted mainstream entity enjoyed by millions of people globally and providing many streamers with endless sources of content.

However back in the 90’s when I was experiencing my teenage years the landscape was far different. In the UK there were only 4 channels on the TV (unless you paid a premium for satellite or cable TV) which typically only catered for the mainstream.

GamesMaster broke new ground in 1992 when it burst onto Channel 4 and suddenly put games and gamers centre stage. Dominic Diamond presented the show through all of its seasons (except the third) featuring a series of celebrity guests attempting to play various video game challenges.

I was 10 years old at the time and found it amazing that something on TV was finally showing various video games in motion, rather than the static glimpses I’d historically scraped out of magazines previously.

As the years went by I must have stopped watching it, as most of my memories are from the first few seasons. But what I did watch left a lasting impression on me.

When I heard that GamesMaster: The Oral History had been announced I was curious. It was to be written by Dominic Diamond with contributions from many of the other people involved in the production of the show.

I’d previously enjoyed the Sensible Software book from the same publisher, so I decided to take a punt and back the Kickstarter.

After several delays the book finally arrived a few weeks ago. With a hardback design and high quality printing, it felt like a premium product which was a labour of love. However I didn’t feel the desire to start reading it and instead it sat on a shelf for quite some time.

Once I finally started reading I was immediately engaged by the obvious passion, love and vivid memories Dominic Diamond has from his years involved in GamesMaster. Since then I’ve enjoyed reading a few more pages each day during breakfast and have found the whole experience to by of high quality with many entertaining stories and behind the scene insights.

For anyone who grew up with GamesMaster I can recommend this book without hesitation. For those not from the UK or are too young to have been a part of this time, I’d still very much recommend it as a well written piece of gaming broadcast history.