Game Design Books

No programming is required for teens and other beginners to learn how to make their own computer games using Games Factory 2, a drag-and-drop game creation system included in a trial version on the accompanying cd-rom. From exploring genres and developing game ideas to the basics of graphics, settings and using music and sound in games, GAME CREATION FOR TEENS is packed with ideas for building a game from scratch and uses techniques which make for involving, action-packed games. Any computer or gaming library catering to either teens or beginners new to computer games will find this an involving, easy introduction.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Curious minds that have delighted in games will love this book! I adored the compilation of shared thoughts from "Who's Who" in game design. Aesthetically, the book is so cute! My copy sits on my coffee table. The book had me at the cover...

It's reliable. As soon as a new version of the software ships; hundreds, if not thousands of people go in and try to break it. If they break it, then they, or any of hundreds of others immediately go to fix it. ==It's fast. The Linux core is much smaller, much faster than any of the various Windows operating systems.

And, of course, it's FREE. And that's a very good price. A full set of the software needed to do gaming in today's market is a pocket full of dollars. If it's open source, it's simply free. Just to prove it, ther's a CD included with this book and it contains some 120 gaming software packages.

This book is aimed at the newcommer to the open source movement. It discusses things like the licensing requirements and what the software packages can do rather than being a guide to detailed programming. The goal is to direct you in the right direction so that you get the benefits of the open source movement quickly without having to go looking for what packages you might need.

Any college-level library strong in games or graphic programming needs as a basic, foundation reference Sherrod's GAMES GRAPHIC PROGRAMMING, a weighty, 644 page volume with accompanying cd-rom which offers techniques transferable to any programming language or operating system. From coverage of complex lighting and gaming techniques to the basics of game graphics, shading, and special effects, this comes from a university graduate in the Computer Information Systems program who has himself authored many games and graphics books.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Heather Chandler's THE GAME PRODUTION HANDBOOK adds to others in the 'Game Production' series and offers a range of methods and tips for producing more organized games. From voice over sessions and submission processes to brainstorming, developing concepts, and marketing them with publishers, THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK covers it all.

I'm the archivist for the free Graphics Gems code base on the web. I do it for free, because this code is so valuable. Others think so, too: there are 100 hits a day on average at the site. Go look at the online list of what's in this volume to see if it's for you.

Highlights in this volume (for me - everyone's favorites vary) include an implementation of Perlin's noise function, a guide to quaternions, some useful C macros for vector ops (wonderfully short and clever), and view correlation.

I'm the archivist for the free Graphics Gems code base on the web. I do it for free, because this code is so valuable. Others think so, too: there is an average of 100 hits a day on the site. Go look at the online list of what's in this volume to see if it's for you.

Highlights (for me) include polygon/cube intersection testing, a good polygon triangulator, and an entire z-buffering library.

Another superb book by Götz. Although the title is a tad dry and does not suggest that the book will appeal to the same wide audience as Type for the Internet, in fact `Grids' is just as fascinating and timely. Gotz describes how websites (and other browser-read creations) should be laid out for maximum effectiveness. Her analysis is practical and how-to, leading from the apparently obvious problem of landscape layout , the limits of legibility on screen, to the more elaborate problems of dynamic and interactive pages. But the very practicality of Gotz's approach, and her sharp focus, only make it doubly clear how our whole philosophic engagement with information is radically changed by the new technologies. Gotz does not resist the temptation to point at some of the larger issues by truffling her boook with witty quotations and maxims from the great savants, all presented with a layout full of panache.

Keep your family warm or do knitting for charity; either way, this book is charming and useful.

The book has Maine-inspired designs such as Blueberries, Pine Trees, and Puffins (cute penguin-like birds) and such charming motifs as Country Geese and Crayon Kids. Also has two patterns for Christmas stockings. For Mainers, there is also a State of Maine pillow.

Everyone can use a hat or an extra pair of mittens and they don't take a lot of wool to make. See my list (listmania) for other hat and mitten books.

I like this book because it tells you how to build forts and things like that.I like how the pictures and how the a author tells about his own life.A wonderful book for children!