Customer Reviews

Game Development Essentials: An Introduction

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, who is this book for?

When I first bought this book I thought I was in for a mind breaking tutorial or insight into game development, and considering all the great reviews, I think these expectations were completely normal. Reality is: the book will only teach you very, very essential stuff. So, if you already have any sort of experience in game development, or you have been a hardcore gamer looking to become a game developer, you probably know this stuff already. This book is great for teenagers who would love to become game developers or professionals in other areas looking to cross over. Still, if you are knowledgeable in gaming or game development, you may want to buy this book for formalize your knowledge into comprehensible data sets in your mind (this is how this book has served me the most), for the writing is clear, easily digestible, and the presentation of the whole deal is beautifully done.

What does this book talk about?

A lot of things! And this is one of the very best features of the book: it will guide you to every detail of game development, even if offers very little information on some topics, so you won't stay completely ignorant with this book. It talks about: the target market, history of games, gameplay, storytelling, characters, marketing, development process, the development team, etc... By the end of this book you will feel good about your understanding of games, even if it is at a small extend, because now you fell that you have your feet on the ground. This is another great feature: it never talks about game development as something easy. Actually, on the ending chapters, where the author talks about the development process, she makes a clear point on how crazy the whole deal can be, doing justice to those people who thought they were in for an easy way to make money.
The book has lots of "developer side notes". Some are really bad, coming from developers completely oblivious for me: they teach only what is obvious, and sometimes repeat what the author has already taught. But then again, some are brilliant, coming from either random guys or very famous developing houses like: Infinity Ward, Ensemble Studios, Obsidian Entertainment, etc. This little side notes offer guidelines on what to avoid, pursue or do while creating or thinking a game.

What I disliked.

Game Development Essentials Second Edition teaches its topics viewing gaming mostly as business and not as art. This was very disappointing for me. It constantly talks about knowing your market, and creating a good game for them. They always try to teach you to see games as a product and not as a creation to deliver a message. For a person who loves all games (me) that try hard to be art, or at least, to get a message across, it was hard to come to terms with all this (gaming as art is what inspired me in the first place).

Moreover, when the author talks about the importance of storyline in some games, she really bashes linear storytelling, saying games are supposed to be non linear. It weird but she stresses that the best games have non linear storylines and she creates this feel on her text that linear stories are a crime. But I asked myself, what about: Halo? Half Life? Gears of War? Max Payne? Metal Gear? Grim Fandango? The Longest Journey? Resident Evil? Killzone? Resistance? Silent Hill? Most of my favorite games tell linear stories! I believe that creating a linear story is a better way to developing characters; very few games have offered non linear storylines without making characters of such game look generic. But what bugs me is this: she openly talks about how great the story for some these games is, but nearly in the same paragraph she bashes linear storytelling. I think the author should rewrite that whole chapter, explaining which storytelling methods work better with the different genres in games.

All in all this is a great book, and definitely the best intro to game development. While it has a share of short comings, most of the time you'll be entertained and impressed by the learning scenario that author has created. She is not exhausting, she never punishes the learner with tons of questions, and the technical stuff is kept to a minimum. If you are looking to get into the business, look no further, this book will do you great justice indeed.

"Game Development Essentials: An Introduction" really is just that, an introduction to the other books in the series. If you want a general outlook on multiple angles of game development and the multiple occupations associated with it, as well as how they interact, then this is a good book for you.

The book is divided into 12 chapters in three main sections:

Part 1: Setup, Building the Foundation
Part 2: Scenarios, Creating Compelling Content
Part 3: Strategy, Team, Process, and Community

Part 1 covers the basic history of gaming as well as player and game elements that a game developer needs to plan for, such as demographics and basic design. Part 2 covers creating scenarios. This includes character types, narration choices, interface options, gameplay decisions and the like. Part 3 covers creating a basic plan, pulling together resources, and marketing a game.

Interspersed throughout the book are blurbs from various mavens in the gaming industry. Most of them have interesting perspectives and short stories about what the prospective game developer will experience or will have to face during the process, depending on what facet of the game he or she chooses to participate in.

The conclusion has more of those same blurbs; I found this section to be almost inspirational.

I thought at times the book seemed to take itself too seriously. Granted, it is a textbook, but there are sections that seem a little high-handed and some that seemed just plain inaccurate. Most of these I feel related primarily to aspects of PC gaming. As it is an introduction, most of the sections did not go into much detail. At times I felt like I was reading an advertisement for the rest of the series. Well, that's what it is, and it does a good job of this. I do want to read the rest of the books in the series and it is primarily because of the lead-ins contained in this book.

Side note: I would like to potentially become a game writer, either in the interactive or technical sense. If anyone has any suggestions in improving my reviews, please give me some constructive criticism in the comments. Thank you in advance.

I picked up this book as a possible replacement for the book that is currently used in my 'Game Design' course. This book is very attractive and professionally put together. It covers the material that would be essential (hence the title) when discussing the elements of game design:
1. The history of the medium
I found some annoying factual errors in this part of the book. Which initially turned me off but I continued to read since errors seemed to be in the sidebars which may not get the same editorial review.
2. Who plays and why?
This contained very interesting material for students to discuss with respect to player motivation, personality and gender. The eye-opening part for me was the view of game playing from the perspective of generations. Baby boomers, Generation X and the Millennial Generation look for different things from the games they play. (This part made me examine my own choices for games and the characters I am most attracted to in them!)
3. The elements in a game - genres, platforms, player mode

Part II is where the real gems are for people who really want to design games:
4. The elements of storytelling
5. Creating the characters/roles
6. Creating the game experience, e.g. challenges
7. Creating the World and Atmosphere (anyone else listen to the audio CD to remember the delight in playing the game?)

The last part covers:
8. The key roles/titles in the game development process
9. The process of producing games
10. The future of gaming

The book ends with the following bonuses:
11. A list of resources for those who are serious about actually getting into the game business
12. List of books to read and learn more
13. A CD with tools

The key thing I value when spending time on a book is one - am I learning something new? This book offers many ideas central to designing video games. It is an excellent book for a course on the topic or for any budding game designer to pick up start the journey.

Good book if you ONLY need introduction to Game Development. If you want much detail, you will need to look further.

This was an interesting, comprehensive overview of the video game industry from its inception to present. It also provided insightful information as to game development from start to finish. As a general reader, with no prior knowledge of games, or experience in playing them, this author made her topics understanding. I was hooked from the beginning. It was very useful to my research in the area.

It is a really good book that is informative easy to follow and covers everything (some parts more briefly then others)from conception to sales. pitches. Its not the only game development book you ever need, but it is an excellent starting point.

This book shares all kinds of information on game development and the game industry. If you're a student going into this industry and buying books covering any topics in this book like the history of games, development, etc this shold be your first investment!

Even if you just want to learn about this vast industy its good.

Plus it has a nice cover...

Very detailed book. Required for school but, a must have to get an understanding of How to creat a game. The same details apply to any game design.

No complaints here, the author gives very good examples to go with each topic she's explaining. Great excerpts from industry professionals add additional insight into the reading.

Excellent book as an introduction to developing games - My students (and i) found it very hard to put down after reading through the first chapter!

One question i have is about the instructor resource on DVD mentioned in the book. As this is the first time using the book for our game development course it would be helpful to have some material - especially the powerpoint slides. Does anyone know how to get a copy of this DVD? - Thomson learning doesn't seem to have a link for this resource.