Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Andrew Rollings (Author), Dave Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 1999

Teaches design, architecture, and management--the things programmers need to know before they can even begin writing code! Provides real-life case studies of what works and what doesn't. Takes the reader through all the necessary game creation steps-from seeing a game idea on paper to actually implementing that idea!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Game Architecture and Design, addressing itself to industry programmers and managers, makes a compelling case that game developers should manage software the same way the other computer companies do it--even though they may not want to hear it.

This book's real-world perspective on the video game business makes it a standout, and its dozens of case studies and anecdotes from the field, including behind-the-scenes details on some well-known recent titles, are particularly valuable. Besides notable successes, there are plenty of stories of what can go wrong. One of the most entertaining sections features interviews with game industry experts who universally argue against a formal software process while describing the many problems inherent in writing games. The text replies convincingly that long hours, missed deadlines, and mediocre software grow out of sloppy (or non-existent) design and management techniques and a hacker mentality on the part of programmers.

Besides a diagnosis of what doesn't work, the book suggests several cures, including proper design, planning, and project management (used in mainstream business computing). The authors predict that in the future, "software factories" will use third-party engines, reusable objects, and other tools--along with team organization and management--to create better games.

After listing the steps for designing and developing game software successfully, a full-fledged example (using DirectX and C++) helps get you started. If you want a glimpse of the often disordered world of game development--and advice that can bring some order to the chaos--you should read this intelligent and well-argued book. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Software design and management techniques for game development, gameplay and playability, game specifications, design documents, game balance, look and feel, storytelling, the game business vs. the movie business, history of video games, future predictions and trends, team management, problem developer personalities, best practices, software factories for games, milestones, implementing software process, risk management, reusability, patterns for gamers, DirectX, game engines, tips for prototyping, coding, testing and deployment, case studies, sample game design documents, and code.

About the Author

Andrew Rollings (Chicago, IL) is a freelance consultant who designed and wrote a core part of the cryptography system used by the Bank of England, several Swiss banks, and the European Commission. He is also a regular contributor to several game development magazines.

Dave Morris (London, UK) is a top-selling author and game designer. He has worked as a freelance consultant for several leading international developers and publishers. His realtime strategy game, Warrior Kings, is being developed by Black Cactus Games and will be published in 2000.

Product Details

• Paperback: 650 pages
• Publisher: Coriolis Group Books (November 18, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576104257
• ISBN-13: 978-1576104255
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for the whole development team, January 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming (Paperback)

This book is an excellent work. I commend the authors for writing it.
It covers the whole spectrum of the game development process, from initial ideas to gold master, highlighting the differences and similarities between conventional development and game development.

The first section is a detailed treatise on game design. This covers game theory in detail and is a truly original and informative approach.
It opened my eyes to a lot of design details (both good and bad) in games that I own, that I hadn't seen before.

The second section is all about teams and management, both from the viewpoint of the team and from the management.
This section is incredible. Having worked in the games field for some time, I can see how accurate some of the information in here is - by using these team-building techniques, even the most disfunctional team stands a chance of success.
The chapters on the Software Factory Methodology and the treatment of milestones are worth the cover price alone.

The third section covers game architecture - this is based around an object oriented soft/hard architecture - i.e. you hard code only what you need to (reusable stuff and speed critical stuff), and the rest sits on top of that. This is the way all games should be written.
The authors clearly know what they are talking about.

In short, BUY THIS BOOK.

As a final note, I noticed a review where someone had awarded it only one star because they didn't like the "dilbertesque" management techniques.
In fact, the part of the book they are complaining about (where they state that the authors have said that ALL game programmers are one of a number of stereotypes) is not at all what they have said it is.
The authors clearly state that it is a description of *problem* developer types, and it only makes up a minority of developers.

The section for which the guy marked the book as one star is only FOUR PAGES out of about seven hundred, one page of which is cartoons. I suspect that he recognized himself as one of the problem types and feared for his job if his manager read the book!
I hope that that one inaccurate review doesn't influence people against buying this excellent book!
If it does then they are missing out on a game development classic.
(The three chapters on the future of the industry have proved to be uncannily accurate so far.)

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brittanica, Webster's , now "Game Design", December 11, 1999

By 

Steve Foster - See all my reviews

This review is from: Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming (Paperback)

A real little gem of a book, which should become indispensable to any serious game developer. Morris and Rollings have covered every aspect of the topic in the first serious (and successful) attempt at a developer's bible.

The book starts with game design, telling you how to produce a game that plays as well as it looks (it's a pity this section wasn't available sooner - like 1985!)

The section on team building is the real killer. Now you can handle all those snobbish little know-it-alls that are the bane of every development project. Just think, all those years of learning by failure can be replaced with effective tips on how to pick and structure a team that delivers.

Then it deals with how to construct a game, covering everything from coding tips to the proper way to tackle re-use and OO. Again, this is solid, practical advice that many people only learn the hard way.

I've never seen such a comprehensive book before. It may not be the last word on every topic, but at least it gives you a start in all of them. Moreover, the sections on design, architecture and team building simply cannot be found elsewhere.

If you are serious about game development, you cannot afford to be without this book.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, goes beyond hacking, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming (Paperback)

** This is not a code-monkey book. ** If you're trying to figure out C++ inheritance or Direct 3D, you've got the wrong book.

This is a book that goes above and beyond the simple act of coding a game. It dares to say that there is more to writing a game than sitting down and hacking something out in an hour. The book makes the revolutionary statement that software design should be a professional undertaking, not just something on a napkin.

There are excellent articles on game theory, design strategies, and gameplay balancing that I have never seen in another game book. I have bought a lot of game programming books along with software methodology books, and I rank this one as one of the best in both categories. It is definitely the only game design book I have found that is deserves that title.

Yes, the book does include a section on managing a team...let me tell you, a lot of so-called managers could use to read this section. And personally, if "Joe Programmer" is so offended by that section, I hope to never have to work with him.