Game Design Books

A must have if you wish to create your own wargames, whether computer or paper-based. Used in conjunction with his other work, you have a very good basis for generating the necessary rules and unit values for modern warfare...

Crafty Bags for Stylish Girls has some great close up pictures of some VERY cute and unique bags, that the author created using a glue gun or craft glue! Personally, when you look at the bags you won't believe it.

This book does exactly what it sets out to do - explains the entire process of creating 3d game art for the Torque engine in 3DS Max. As such, it is invaluable to a beginner in the Torque engine, as the art pipeline, particularly from 3DS Max, is often frustratingly convoluted if you try to "go it alone".

My only real criticism of the book is that it reads like an engineering manual. There is little levity here, little to break up the masses of information one needs to absorb in order to create, export and code a given model. This makes getting through the book something of a chore at times - it demands a high level of concentration.

That said, there is no wasted space here, and while I found it quite heavy going - in fact, tiresome at times - I'm extremely happy with the results I've achieved following Brad Strong's tutorials.

If you're serious about creating games for the Torque engine, this is one of the definitive books you really need on your reference shelf. 3DS Max can be intimidating even for those trained in its use, but the author cleverly only covers the toolset required for creating Torque-ready models, and covers them in detail.

Definitely recommended.

Living spaces are literally the heartbeat of our home - where we meet, entertain, and relax and unwind. It is where we spend the majority of our time, at home. Therefore, it is only natural that we aspire the design of these rooms to work along with, and complement, the purpose and function of these beloved areas of our dwellings.

In Design Is In The Details: Living Spaces, renowned HGTV interior designer Brad Mee offers unique and inspiring tips for decorating these "living spaces" with professional finesse. Whether it is a living room, a great room, an entertainment room, or a special space such as a library or drawing room -- these living spaces are given new life with Mee's innovative steps to attaining a beautiful and livable space. Spanning from the subtle to the bold, he demonstrates how attainable attractive designs can be, no matter what the budget, resources, or floor plan, and provides ample tips for making your designs easier.

It all starts with the crucial initial assessment. Mee encourages analyzing the potential of the space you have to work with. The next step is to then outline and identify any special eye-catching feature in the room that you would like to enhance and, on the other end of the spectrum, note problematic characteristics you wish to conceal in that space. After listing the said characteristics, it is then suggested to prioritize the room's advantages and disadvantages. What do you have to work with? What `feeling' or ambiance is desired for the finished product? Does the room require any special needs, layout wise?

While claiming to meld style with a hospitable family-oriented space, many readers may find the design layouts featured in the photographs do not lend an overly practical feel to them. Most room designs are targeted to those who lean more towards the contemporary-modern look, and perhaps those who prefer more traditional colonial designs may lose interest in his more modernistic approach. However, even the most traditional of decorators will be able to garner helpful ideas from Mee's wealth of interior designing experience -- especially when it comes to the unique techniques of making optimum use of space and shape, and how it relates to the interplay of lighting, color, texture, and fabric in the overall design.

Design Is In The Details: Living Spaces is a comprehensive guide containing innovative ideas and eye-catching design for an exclusive and multi-functional space for all to enjoy. Mee's demonstrates how attaining a signature look is truly all in the details that make up a collective workable design.

I thought the book contained good visuals and well laid out notes and easy-to-follow instructions.I learned how to use I/link pretty fast including 'good practices'.

Whatever your views are on the validity of games and simulations within a training or education environment, this book helps the reader to vet the game or simulation being examined, to ensure it delivers valid educational outcomes. The author catagorizes games and simulations and then critically discusses the desired outcomes and repercusions. Even if you may disagree with some of the authors findings, it forces the reader to examine the the structure and context of the game or simulation. For authors of games and simulations it provides a reality check of outcomes, answering the question: is the game or simulation delivering what it is designed to?

i just wanted to be the first to post anything :)

So far this is a very good book... except the figures in
the book are too small.

Eg, "Create a polygon cube of the dimensions shown in
Figure XX.XX" is given though the image is so small
that you can't read the numbers. The sliders are helpful
for some figures giving a hint at what the number should be.

Suggestions as to fix this problem are as follows. This
font size problem which if it was present in the first
version really should have been fixed in this 2nd version.

1) Use a magnifying glass but it's still too small to
read. You can see things like slider position and vertex
position though.
2) Scan a page with 300dpi or 500dpi but the quality of
the printed figure isn't good enough for you to read the
scanned version. And it takes too long to scan at that dpi.
3) Put the figure images up on a website like the author's
website or publisher.
4) Put the figure images on the CD that accompanies the
book. There's probably plenty of room on the CD.

But the pros of small figures is that you press every
widget on the user interface relating to the figure...
That as compared with just entering the numbers if a
readable figure.

I'm still reading it but skimmed the whole thing. Lots of color, lots of screenshots of varying sizes, some diagrams. Wish there was more description of what's happening in the screenshots. The text is good but maybe a little short, and the screenshots don't actually get referred to in the text - they're just kinda there and are sometimes applicable but a lot of times you wonder why it's there. But overall it's a nice book and covers the strategy topic well, if not in excruciating detail. Worth the price, for me.

This book offers a solid foundation for the planning stages and a good overview of the implementation stages of level design. Good for those who are looking for general strategies for level creation and wanting to get up to speed on terminology/workflow for this type of work. It's all fairly theoretical with only one chapter on actual nuts and bolts level design, where you make a single room in the Unreal editor. If you're wanting something covering more specifics for a given level editor (like 'how do you create water?' or 'how do you make displacements') you should probably look for something more in a technical bible or a video tutorial series for the tool in question.