Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games [Paperback]

Leo Hartas (Author), Dave Morris (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-A visual feast, this book is a required purchase for any library inhabited by teens, artists, computer programmers, serious or casual gamers, or all of the above. More than 500 color illustrations dance around a text that's written in a style slightly more sophisticated than Wired magazine. More than just an art book, the volume is full of interviews with game artists, programmers, and other computer luminaries. Discussions outline the process that game design teams go through when choosing the point of view of the player character, interiors, and the "feel" of the games, from proto-mythological to urban noir, and the visual choices that govern the experience of the gamer. The book briefly covers the use of 3-D-rendering programs, the mathematics of shape and scale when designing physical locations and nonhuman characters, the differences inherent in writing for games as opposed to TV and movies, the various subgenres, and where games may be going in the future. The only drawback-readers will want to play all of them.
Sheryl Fowler, Chantilly Regional Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823020800
• ISBN-13: 978-0823020805
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,578,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misleading title for a intelligent mine of information, March 8, 2004

By 

John Harpur (Trim, Meath, IRELAND) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games (Paperback)

This is far more than a book of glossy game art pics, and certainly not a coffee table prop. Appropriately the book has a number of layers and themes which together provide an absorbing insight into the history of computer games. The text is free from the gushing sycophantic praise that blemishes many of the genre art books. Instead the authors produce a clear categorisation of games with illustrations in support. Comments from game designers are likewise intelligent, thoughtful and devoid of self agrandisement. What the reader gets is a book of useful illustrations, clear game categorisation by features, useful insights into game creation and an indication of where the genre is probably headed. Overall there is a subtle intellectual tone to the book which makes it both a pleasure to flick through but a much more profound pleasure to read.

If the book as any underdeveloped theme it is arguably the absence of game postmortems. What went right? What went wrong? This would have rounded out the book very nicely. However, if you are interested in game design and the role of art in creating various immersive experiences, then this is a book to buy and revisit from time to time.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous book and a great time-sink . . ., January 6, 2004

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games (Paperback)

I've never been an avid computer games player (wrong generation, mostly), but their progressive development, and especially the continuing quest for verisimilitude, fascinate me. I remember when Asteroids and Pac-Man and Space Invaders first appeared (in the lobbies of movie theaters, when "arcade" still meant pinball), and how addicted my adolescent kids quickly became. But that level of 2-D was nothing, of course, compared to the MYST series and to god/simulations like SimCity 3 -- not to mention keyframe animation and real-time interaction and detailed storyboarding that wouldn't be out of place in Hollywood. This is the first book I've seen that really gets into all aspects of video game art and design (there wouldn't have been enough to say even a few years ago), and it succeeds nicely both in its glossy-paper graphics and in the discursive text, which includes numerous interviews with designers.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars game art best book ever .....every, January 12, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Game Art: The Graphic Art of Computer Games (Paperback)

Game Art by Dave Morris and Leo Harris is one of the best ways I have found to learn about the history of video games. There are great drawings and pictures of many different games from Pong to Halo. This book has a lot of great information.
There is a whole section about a game called Fable, which is the second most popular on X-Box. Fable allows the player to make choices and each choice leads to a different destiny. It's possible to take over the world and rule with an iron fist or you can save it. This is somewhat like the book, The Pearl, because the main character must choose between the pearl and his family. In this book, the pearl represents greed and evil, and the family is happiness.
Overall, this is a nicely done book. I would recommend it to anyone that likes video games, or wants to know more about them. This is not just a book with a lot of pictures. It's like portal that shows you about lots and lots of video game and information for every one.