Game Design Books

This book is excellent. The pictures have before, after and some close-ups. The instructions are simple and percise. These finishes are truly inspirational. We just purchased our first house and I can't wait to give my rooms that special pop with the techniques shown in this book. If you can't afford to purchase new cabinets this book shows you have to achieve that brand new look for a fraction of the cost. Additionaly, she has instructions to give your stairs and ballast that special touch. I have to say this is one of the best books I've ever purchased. Truly a keeper!!!

I love this book and look through it over and over again for inspiration. My husband and I refinished our cherry dining room set using the techniques described in this book. We have gotten tons of compliments on the finished set and best of all, we spent about $300.00 on supplies, a fraction of the cost of buying a set like the one we created. Step-by-step instructions using many photographs as well as what color paints to buy to achieve the results pictured in the book. The reason I am looking again on Amazon was to find any other books published by this author as we have some projects in the works. No other books, but reviewing this book for anyone intersted was worth my time.

I have always wanted to learn how to create beautiful furniture using different finishing techniques and this book provides exactly that! There are step by step instructions, before and after photos, and numerous ideas throughout. If you want to give your furniture new life or an elegant look and be able to say that you did it on your own, then this book will provide you with all the tools you'll need.

I love this book for inspiration and how to techniques. All in my van pppol lked this book too. Well worth the money and I own many many craft and paint books and this is one of my favorites. I am an artist and crafter and make furniture.

Excellent information on a huge range of topics. Highly recommend book.

This is the best resource book I have ever seen about all aspects of digital design. It covers computer basics then has sections on print and web. Descriptions are clear, easy to understand, beautifully illustrated and absolutely up to date. This is a must-have book for teachers.

This is something a new graphic/web designer will refer to, if he/she needs to know about certain terms used in the business or about the tools that he/she may need to get his/her job done. It doesn't go into details but provides enough information to go further. Excellent layout, design and printing.

I am a newbie to digital design and this book covers everything, from color management to printing processes to how to price your work and manage work flow.
A MUST for any beginner...this is the best reference I have come across by far.

I LOVE this book. I am an up and coming crochet designer as well. But when I saw this book, I was humbled. These ladies have some serious talent. I'm working on my second project out of this book. I'm making the tube Apron top for me to wear this weekend. I also made the poncho for my 8 year old daughter. There is something in this book for everyone. All you have to do is change the yarn and adjust the size. There is something in this book for old and young alike. No matter what size you are. And a lot of these items are adjustable to give you a truly custom fit... I am in LOVE!

I have been a fan of Double Stitch for a very long time and have followed them since first seeing their work online on another independent crafters site, so when I heard they were producing a book I was truely excited. This book has wonderful photos of all the products and the instructions are simple to follow especially if you are a beginner like me. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for new and fun ways to express their individuality. Tumbs up to the Double Stitch sisters!

I don't get easily excited with a crochet book because I have seen so many, I have also designed many projects by myself. But this one is amazing! I love almost everything from it, I already finished the cover shrug (actually it took me one evening to make it), but I did not sewed the feathers because I am very animal friendly crocheter... The spring issue of the Interweaven Crochet shows more photos from the book for your reference. The explications are very easy to follow, but pay attention since there are some mistakes: you better measure the garment before trusting the real stitch number given in the instructions (it refers for example to the white cover shrug, there is a pretty mess). But don't care, the book is still worth all the money it costs. Congratulations to sisters Simmons, what a great taste.

Love this book! I read about the designers in a crochet magazine. Seeing their designs, I couldn't wait for the book. Not disappointed at all. It is gorgeous. Very colorful and funky. Erika and Monika (the authors) seem to have good spirits and are passionate about making wearable crochet fashions. The patterns are very easy. I highly recommend this book.

If you have ever thought of a feature request for Flash then this book is for you. It teaches you how to make your own! Flash MX 2004 is in the title but it's just as useful for Flash 8. This book is worth the price just for the JSFL reference alone.

This book has gone under the radar based upon its title. It truly does not explain what this book can teach you.

Basically it teaches the basic Flash user that you can extend what Flash normally does for you in its normal authoring environment. Like create new drawing tools, create commands that perform complex real-time tasks instantly (similiar to custom macros), create custom user interfaces, add timeline effects (scripted tweens) to any object, and create scripted behaviors (prebuilt code components) to help almost automate your Flash development.

If your an exisiting Flash developer who knows how code with ActionScript and needs a way to streamline your development environment and development time, this is a book you shouldn't pass up.

If you are an advanced Flash user, Extending Flash MX 2004 may be just the right book for you. Written by veteran Flash developers Keith Peters (bit-101) and Todd Yard (ego7), this book introduces you to the world of extending Flash MX 2004 by teaching you how to create custom functions and features for the Flash MX 2004 authoring environment.

At first I had never heard about 'Extending' Flash MX 2004, but hopefully my following explanation may help you to understand this concept if you are new to this term. Imagine Flash MX 2004 being a customizable browser such as Firefox. In Firefox, you can download snippets of programs called extensions that add some cool, extra features to your browser. Creating new extensions for Flash MX 2004 is similar to developing extensions for your browser. Using a new language called JavaScript Flash (JSFL), you have the ability to create scripts, commands, behaviors, etc. that add new functionality to not a Flash animation, but to your actual Flash MX 2004 application itself.

This book teaches you how to use JavaScript Flash to create extensions - custom commands, menu items, and others things to help make repetitive tasks easier and enhance your Flash MX 2004 program. You start with the basics and progress towards complicated techniques. Early on you start by creating a command that, for example, allows you to take any shape and automatically arrange them on a user-defined grid. Towards the end, you move beyond simple commands and learn how to modify Behaviors, create custom interfaces using XML, and more!

Another great feature of this book is the expansive JavaScript Flash (JSFL) reference. The JSFL reference section contains all of the various items of the JSFL language that you can refer to when creating your own JSFL extensions. For any JSFL code item or property, you will find a description, the types of values it accepts, and a code example.

If you use Flash MX 2004 extensively and are interested in automating some of the repetitive tasks or adding new, useful features to Flash, you will find this book's coverage of this new topic excellent for intermediate and advanced users.

Keith and Todd command a huge knowledge of one of the more interesting and productive new features of Flash MX 2004, extensibility. The authors guide you on your way to learning about these new features starting off with easy concepts and then moving into more specific areas. This book is essential for anyone who develops with Flash MX 2004, the skills and tools that you get from the book will streamline your work flow and improve your productivity. From JSFL commands, xml to UI, custom behaviors and custom tools this book will load your Flash IDE with tools and widgets to get the job done faster and smoother. Excellent book!

Great book for seeing how video games are made!

This is a good book. It suffers from having multiple authors in that it lacks the consistent tone that most writng books have, but all the writng is still good.

It is focused on the interface betwen the writer, the game, and the team, and is long on cautionary points. It will be of value to anyone who is writing, producing, or leading all or part of a game team, particularly if they lack practical experience.

If you are only interested in a book about writing for games, Lee Sheldon's 'Character Development and Storytelling for Games' is probably a better choice, but if you are intending or actually writing game, or working with a game writer, this is a good read and a potentially vital resource.

Computer games are becoming more like Hollywood productions, requiring good plots and valued story lines which use good narrative styles. In Chris Bateman, Editor's Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames are practical articles on how to do so, written by members of the International Game Developer's Association and covering all kinds of game writing, from comedy to plots. A 'must' for any video or computer game writer.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

The days of the super simple games like Pac-Man are long gone. Today's games must entertain with all the finesse and skill of a Hollywood movie. This is not to say that a game must be all narrative, neither is a movie.

This book is the first complete guide to writing stories for games. They are not stories alone, that would just be a book. But nor are they just action games. They are games with a story.

The book is edited by Chris Bateman, an expert in market oriented game design and narrative. He has gotten an even dozen of game developers to contribute in various aspects. They range from game developers to writers, to educators, to journalists. Each is able to bring his/her own insight to the book and to the writing profession.

As computers, software, game engines (and always more memory) develop, games can grow more powerful, more lifelike, more movie like.

as a long time collector and producer of wooden puzzles is this new puzzlebook an absolute Must for every puzzle interested people; although I have all Coffin`s former editions this new review about his designs is usefull for collectors as well as for producers of puzzles;

This book covers a large number of puzzle designs, most due to the author. Most of these puzzles have become sought-after classics. The puzzles are mostly 3D interlocking burrs, but there also included are 2D designs, sliding block puzzles, and non-interlocking 3D puzzles. The author also talks about how to build puzzles, characteristics of wood, etc.

I am not a puzzle builder, but enjoyed the book immesely. The author is an excellent writer and his musings about symmetry and general design considerations I found fascinating. Solutions in general are lacking and much is left to the ingenuity of the reader to keep the mystery of solving these puzzles fresh.

Although you can download a pdf copy of this book for free, I enjoy the physical copy for perusal. Highly recommended.

Coffin does it again, with the quintessential wooden puzzle builder's guide. If you're fortunate enough to have previous works by Stewart, keep in mind that this is an updated version, so a lot will be repetitive. Then again, if you have the previous version, you're probably a Puzzle Junkie, in which case the updates alone are probably worth it.
If I were going to be stuck on a desert island...and there were trees, and I had a knife and a sharpening stone...then this would be the One Book I'd want.

Written by veteran woodworker and expert wood puzzle designer Stewart Coffin, Geometric Puzzle Design is a one-of-a-kind guide to creating intriguing, three-dimensional wooden puzzles. Special techniques for creating oddly shaped small puzzle pieces accurately and safely, recommendations for drafting one's own original designs, mathematical concepts that can be applied as engineering tools, and much more fill this original craftsman's manual. A "must-have" for intermediate to advanced woodworkers seeking to create truly brain-teasing gifts.

This book is mostly over my head, but it goes a long way to satisfy my curiosity about the mystery of the Japanese house, specifically, the wonderful sliding screens that tranform spaces and make them more fluid. I especially like the fact that the author talks a lot about his apprentice years, even down to the tools he received and the sorts of jobs he was expected to do. In the U.S., houses aren't built with this blend of art & science, but I think that may change as people become more unhappy with the slapped-together, junk-wood and drywall method of home building. MAKING SHOJI is probably not for the Black & Dekker crowd, but carpenters and other curious folk will find it very interesting.

This is a very comprehensive guide to make japanese screens in the traditional style.I found it useful and you can figure out the western tools needed if you dont have the Japanese tools.

If you ever want to be deeply impressed with the human ingenuity take a look at this book. The lowly shoji door, is a commonplace in Japanese homes. Not just as doors, but as windows and room dividers. And each is a work of art, put together by craftspeople like Toshio Odata using the same tools they did a thousand years ago.

For the woodworker this book is a detailed study of the techniques and processes involved in creating an object that is simple in its concept and incredibly complex in it's potential. To the student of Japanese culture the book is a vivid tour of the philosophy and commitment that underlie many of the simple, traditional factors of their lives, from doors to teacups. An insight into some of their aesthetic underpinnings.

Homeowners in Japan would collect and age wood, especially for their houses. Then an itinerant craftsman would take up residence for the time needed, building both his workshop and then features expected of him. All the tools he used must be easily portable and capable of work both delicate and massive. For a true master, an intricate door would take a day, despite being made completely from scratch.

Odate combines instruction with anecdote, while the photographs and diagrams are easy to follow. Compared to the traditional way a Japanese learned carpentry (by 'peeking' at the master) this book is a gift for those who want to master the Japanese toolset. For someone like me, who is used to modern machinery and automation, the book is a lesson in humility as well.

Shoji is the word for Japanese sliding doors and screens made of wood. Their making requires a degree of skill and attention to detail previously thought to be beyond the reach of amateur woodworkers. Now master craftsman Toshio Odate provides an illustrated, step-by-step, compendium of practical instruction that will enable the novice to successfully create and assemble two shoji projects: the common sliding screen with hipboard, plus an intricate transom featuring the beautiful asanoha pattern. Building on this foundation, Odate gives construction details and nots on eight shoji variations. Technical chapters cover the Japanese mortise-and-tenon joint, shoji paper, and home-made rice glue. Making Shoji is an impressive, unique, highly recommended, "do-it-yourself" woodworker friendly instruction guide.

This book, by Thompson Learning, is an excellent book in that it not only goes into the code aspect of game creation using QT and a C++ compiler, but gives some insight into what it takes to design a particular game program solution.

However, even though it does not take a whole lot of programming experience to program a game, one does need to have at least a working knowledge of form creation using (QT or a Visual program language) and some knowledge of a C++ compiler.

Remember, to show a form it must be called by code which includes at least one (Show form) code block.

I would say the programming level needed to use this book effectively is at least advanced beginning. And I believe some experience in the Linux version of QT and the Linux GNU C++ compliler would be very helpful.

See this book as a general introduction to developing games and open source software, but some definitions are often shallow and/or briefly explained. You'll have to follow its many references to gather the whole knowledge together. Recommended for those with good skills in C++ and class programming but are willing to build some board games for fun. Interestingly, it gives some insight into AI and 3D gfx, but never deep enough for someone to start any serious project. The attached CDROM contains complete projects which does help a lot (but nothing that you can't find in the Web).

Well written, concise, clear -- this is book is the perfect introduction for anyone who wants to code using Qt and KDE as well as for anyone who wants to get into game programming as a hobby.

This book contains everything you need to know to develop game programs on Linux and the KDE desktop, with information on how to make your games portable to Windows, Mac and PDA. It covers a wide range of topics in a very clear fashion - technicalities of various platforms, use of Qt canvas 2D graphics and OpenGL 3D graphics, sound, artificial intelligence, path finding, maths and physics of games and network play, to name just a few. The references to websites and other texts, at the end of each chapter, are alone worth their weight in gold.

If only I had had this book available when I sat down to develop a game 4 years ago. I would have saved about a year of my life, which I spent finding out things the hard way!

This book is very thorough about the history, traditions, and designs of the art of sashiko. I learned much more than I expected from a design book--I expected just a small introduction to the art and then a few projects and designs to begin with. There is much, much more! The author also shows how to put together designs of your own so there are no limits to where you can go with the knowledge from the book. However, the drawings are small and will have to be enlarged to be useful--also I wish there was at least a small section about sashiko by hand--but the title says it all--Machine Embroidery. I'll be trying it out tomorrow.

I recently took Mary's beginner Sashiko one-day class and it was the best class I have taken and I've taken a good deal. This book thoroughly explains the process we learned in class. This is such an easy way to do exquisite Sashiko designs. This is not free-sytle quilting. You just stitch along the lines. You will be amazed at the product! It helps if your machine has a needle down feature. The book shows illustrations of the finished projects, which she brought to class. I highly recommend this book to those who have a ruler, compass, and graph paper, and Sulky ink transfer pens, and are willing to prepare the paper sheets for fabric design transfer. Her method is easy and precise. This is by far, my most valued book. I am a quilter and have quite an extensive library. You will love this book and the history behind the designs. The designs range from beginner to advanced and there are many to choose from!

The techniques and sample patterns are very inspiring especially for sewists that are becoming bored with plain fabrics. If you don't know how to stitch a straight line, this book will help in that area as well as teaching you a multitude of stitching design/styles that one can use on garments and home deco.
Very compatible with Marcy Tilton's patterns particularly, the one she released in 2003.

This book is both for the beginner and the advanced. It explains the basic techniques, how to transfer patterns, which materials to use. And then it brings various projects, each with a list of materials and tools, photos of the final product, patterns and designs. The book concludes with about 100 patterns/designs you can use, very clearly illustrated. A wonderful book.

This is an excelent, simple book on making windsor chairs. The format of the book is one of pictures with two or three lines of text describing the pictured operation. A good step by step reference for when you're building a chair.

I was very pleased to see the detailed steps of windsor chairmaking explained and displayed in the photos. It's not rocket science but I would never have known how to begin this project without this book. Because of the clear instruction given in this fine book I'm going to attempt my first chair.

I have built two chairs under the guidance of Mike Dunbar. Mike also trained Jim. The procedures are very similar, so this book gives you insight into what Mike is teaching. There are some differences, but I don't think they will matter to you if you can translate the information in this book into a chair. I have shared a couple of images above to show you that it can be done. That chair started as a pile of rough lumber. Now it is one of my favorite chairs.

I have never made a chair, but have performed all the fundamentals for this project, but with this book I now have the confidence and a plan.
This book is very well formatted and the pictures are perfect for the process descriptions.
If you want history of these chairs, this is the wrong book for you. If you want t obuild one of these chairs...you've come to the right place.