Customer Reviews

Game Architecture and Design: Learn the Best Practices for Game Design and Programming

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.)

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.

** 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.

This book is for the whole game development team. A team that wants to work together and actually ship a game. The message is a simple one: If you want to ship your game, you must have a plan and you must work together. It goes into great detail how to accomplish this simple truth. Pay no attention to the disgruntled '1 star' programmer reviewer below (this type is actually warned about in the book) - it is important to have a professional attitude or you will never ship your game.

I have worked on and off in the games industry (as a programmer & designer) for the last 10 years. I wish that I had had this book when I started - so much would have gone smoother and better.

This book covers game development as more than just "learn DirectX" or "type in my code and you too can build a Quake clone." It's an in-depth look at game development, starting from initial design and carrying it through coding and quality assurance testing. The authors present a compelling case for bringing the software methodologies that have worked in corporate software development to the game development house. Presented more from a management or team leader point of view, this book is more for the professional than the newbie, but both of them should read it and add it to their library.

I would actually rate this book with 4.8 star (sorry, nothing is perfect)

Besides the slightly disorganized style, This is a very good book on design and architecture.

Don't expect to read it once and leave the book. I might be worthwhile to read the book again to allow the new "concept" to sink in.

Besides talking about game design and architecture, this book also contain a health portion on software management. And that part alone is already worth reading about.

Part I:

Rarely can you find any comprehensive information on design. And part I provide many answers/suggestions to the common (but often ignored) concerns regarding game design. What does a good design consist of? what kind of things should a design look out for? How does different kind of design aspect come together to create a good game?

Part II

If you work as a software engineer, whether you are a game developer or not, you would find this section about software management both entertaining and enlighteneing. I have read a few books on software management, and this section re-enforced those concepts nicely with emphasis on game development.

Part III

Game architecture. Simply put, revealing. And a definite eye-opener (at least for a wish-to-be game developer)

CONCLUSION

A must buy.

I've just read this book from cover to cover. The sections on game design and architecture are well written and very thought provoking. There are some interesting ideas about what's going to happen in the future of the industry.

The section on management was fascinating. As a programmer working on a number of projects, I've found that the management of these projects has been really haphazard. A lot of typical hacky game progammers aren't going to like the stuff in this bit, but theres no denying that the stuff really would cut wild schedules down to size.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to fit into the games industry of the future - especially with the huge teams that are going to be needed for PlayStation 2. If you not up with it, you're gonna be left out.

I am a QA Tester, RPG DM/GM, and game design consultant. This book is great, but don't take my word for it alone. Look at these other stars man! In a nutshell this tomb uses case studies to emphasize points, and the points are detailed and listed like a text book. It's easy to read, full of useful details and vocabulary, and it actually has helped me immensely organize my game design philosophy. It covers Spec Writing, and the many stages of project developement. That is a huge book; if you don't know this stuff you need this book! But only if your serious, and want to read. Granted, it can be very funny as well~I found myself laughing at the case studies several times. Finally, I am using this book to finish my Masters (MBA) Thesis project ... because this book rocks, and it is the most professional omnibus I have found on the subject of Game Design.

Every developer(be it a veteran or beginner) should grab hold of a copy and read it. It covers the entire game development process, from idea to conceptualization, to team formation and game development. Forgot all other game development books, and get this one! This is the one that truely teach you how to make your own game, not a walkthrough of how to make a game the author chose. What's more, it has a complete design document at the end of the book. We know documentation is important, but we have never seen a professional's design documents before. Here's the chance to see how a sample game is being documented, detailedly. This book is definately sitting beside the other classics(Design Patterns, Code Complete) I have.

I am a QA Tester, RPG DM/GM, and game design consultant. This book is great, but don't take my word for it alone. Look at these other stars man! In a nutshell this tomb uses case studies to emphasize points, and the points are detailed and listed like a text book. It's easy to read, full of useful details and vocabulary, and it actually has helped me immensely organize my game design philosophy. It covers Spec Writing, and the many stages of project developement. That is a huge book; if you don't know this stuff you need this book! But only if your serious, and want to read. Granted, it can be very funny as well~I found myself laughing at the case studies several times. Finally, I am using this book to finish my Masters (MBA) Thesis project ... because this book rocks, and it is the most professional omnibus I have found on the subject of Game Design.