Game Design Books

Why do we need a book of trivia about the host, designers and, I'm assuming, carpenters on a home improvement/reality/pseudo-game show? Is this really necessary?
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've been watching Trading Spaces (and the myriad of knock-offs) for far longer than I ought to, but I wouldn't wish a handy, coffee table book of "fun facts" on my worst enemy. It's fluff, people! It's grotesque, opportunistic marketing! C'mon! As if Vern, Hildy or Frank need more publicity! They're interior designers, not N'SYNC! Does anybody really need fun facts about interior design? How "fun" can they be, anyway? I'm sorry, but "Frank used a coffee can, stipple glaze and a guitar string to create this effect in the Johnson's living room" is mildly interesting, but certainly not "fun".
I don't know if this is the same book, but I saw one (yes, that means that there are several of these books!) featuring POSTERS of your fave designers a la Teen Beat! Yep, that's what I need in my garage: A nice big poster of Ty friggin' Pennington!
Ooh, I feel a little sick.

This is fun, really fun. I got this for Christmas, and now I'm buying more copies as favors for our next Sat. nite Trading Spaces party. Our friends are obsessed with this show, and this book has lots of factoids I never knew about the show and the cast. This also is an amazing buy. If you love the Trading Spaces show, you have to buy this.

I was very disapointed when i bought this book, i was expecting to make a lot of cool things, i did not find one item that i was interested in making. They show a lot of decorating on flower pots, picture frames, watering cans, lamps and boxes. The only idea i got from this book was when they cut out different pictures and decorated the dresser's drawers with a different picture from a magazine. It had a really cool effect look to it. Other than that, i am sorry that i ever purchased this book, Do not waste your money !! I will be selling it on ebay very soon !

great step by step instructions with text and pictures, lots of ideas - every two page spread is another craft. Here are a few: mini window box, tropical fish bottles, wooden hooks, toy box, glass trinket box, clock, frame. They're fun and could definitely be done in a day or two (including drying time)

I would say the book is oriented towards the graphic artist who have already been
experimenting and are familiar with Maya 3D, and incorporating imagery produced in that program into their overall design projects. What's not apparently clear is what level of accomplishment the enthusiast or professional should be in regards to their respective skillsets to effectively utilize the techniques described in the book effectively. If you're on the more steeper end of the learning curve, you'll need your previous editions of beginner Maya books as a side reference. There are some neat techniques in the book, however, that can help to add the 3D CG look and feel to whatever you already produce through your photography, Photoshop & Illustrator graphic work. In this respect, this book is great.

A good blend of new monsters and background information for one of Palladium's most promising pieces of real estate. A little heavy on personalities and light on adventures, but still worthwhile.

this book is for the younge ones but some of the pictures are farly good and some eveny go past what you saw on in the movie i gave it a 3 because it is a good coloring book but some of the images are not vary accuret such as darth maul but still a good book besides that!

I am quite torn on this book. It has some good ideas, and the project sections in the beginning of the book are very complete. However, the second half of the book is a different story. As you are rushed through the carvings, critical details and views are left out, some of the directions become unclear and confusing due to a poor flow in writing and bad use of verbiage, and the authors even contradict themselves on their woodcarving techniques. If you are a beginning woodcarver, be wary, you might end up a bit lost. Even though the book is a bit lacking, it may still be worth it as a reference book if you are interested in nautical carving.

The publisher's blurb suggests that this is a book containing a number of NEW projects but it is really an EXACT reprint of "LEGO Mindstorm Masterpieces: Building and Programming Advanced Robots" with an updated cd. Although the cd includes PDFs of a few other books it does not include the cds shipped with those books so you are better off buying the books themselves, and the chances are that if you are looking to buy this book, you already have those other books. Similarly, the cd includes some software for drawing LEGO diagrams, etc. but offers no information on how to use these programs effectively so you could just as easily download the software and find guidance on using it on the internet. Unfortunately, the software that is provided does not include any of the programming tools or alternative firmware installs available to enhance your robot's behaviour. Overall, if you do not already own a copy of "LEGO Mindstorm Masterpieces" then this book is worth the money, but if you do, consider yourself warned.

"Cthulhu by Gaslight" is the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game set in the 1890s. DARK DESIGNS is the first supplement printed for Cthulhu by Gaslight and contains 3 long scenarios. Obviously, if you are playing Gaslight, you will want this collection. The scenarios have the feel of an age that has passed, so I am not sure that they would update well to the 1920s even (which is more technological and global but values rural traditions less).

"Eyes For the Blind" - a group of conspirators is trying to call up a being that is supposedly a traditional defender of England. This being has strong ties to the rural and pagan settlers of England before the Anglo-Saxons arrived. The investigators do a fair bit of traveling around southern England to follow the trail left by the conspirators. Little does the party know that there are TWO beings, and that they don't wish to be awakened. This scenario includes a nice pullout map of southern Britain.

"The Menace from Sumatra" - Normal, sane people go on scientific expedition. Crazy, cultist people return, with biological menace to society. The prime cultist isn't completely evil, and he does genuinely care for some. It's just that he does experiments involving growing a blue fungus on people that turns them into goo. He also does this to people who get in his way. And people he comes into contact with. Hell, it eventually happens to just about everyone. He does have a cure, though, and it is up to the investigators to get it out of him.

"Lord of the Dance" - it begins with a hackneyed introduction, that is, a friend or relative has had a terrible experience and now you have to investigate. In this case, her artist lover has disappeared and she has been driven mad. So of course, the investigators do what they do best. Along the way they encounter living wax, a portal across England, a wizard's house that is a dimensional anomaly, a pagan ceremony, and a hideous being using the artist's body as a host. Everybody in this scenario needs a double-barreled retirement plan. This has a sort of globetrotting feel to it, although the action is confined to England, and there is plenty of sleuthing to do.

These scenarios are all pretty decent; I think they would shine even more when set with THE GOLDEN DAWN from Pagan Publishing - the scenarios are similar in tone and would mesh well. There are some cliched elements in DARK DESIGNS, but it was published in 1991 when the RPG space was still being fleshed out. There are rules in the back for Victorian investigators and some nice tear-out handouts. There are some detailed maps as well.

This book is just "okay." The book itself is not designed in a way that I find particularly handsome (can a graphic design book be judged by its cover?). Similarly, some of what's inside is not very impressive, but the things that strike me (maybe a quarter of the things in the book) are really great.

A picturebook game similar to Ace of Aces - Handy Rotary Series.

Each player has a book that contains many different 1st person perspective views from the back of a dragon flying high above ground. You and your wingmate must destroy the 'threads' as they fall without injuring each other. Best of seven threads makes for a good introducory game.

The rules are split into three different sets: Introductory (basic moves and how to score), Role-playing (adds different dragon types and rider statistics) and Campaign (links multiple flights and awards bonus stats to player characters).