Game Plan: The Insider's Guide to Breaking In and Succeeding in the Computer and Video Game Business (Paperback)

by Alan Gershenfeld (Author), Mark Loparco (Author), Cecilia Barajas (Author) "Before launching into the specifics of how to break into the games business or get your dream game project off the ground, it is important..." (more)
Key Phrases: Position Qualifications, Electronic Arts, Pandemic Studios (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The video game industry is hot and becoming more and more popular every year. -One of the fastest growing entertainment industries (even larger than film!) -Over 50,000 people in the U.S. alone are employed by interactive gaming companies -Video gaming makes more than six billion dollars in annual revenue. Game Plan-the only insiders guide to the video game bus-iness-reveals how to break in, survive, and produce video games for successful game companies. Industry insiders Gershenfeld, Loparco, and Barajas take readers on a journey from game conception to pre-production to launch and behind the scenes to detail everything from job types to assessing skills to getting a foot in the door. With Game Plan, getting a job in the gaming industry has never been simpler!

About the Author
Alan Gershenfeld is a full-time writer/producer for the interactive entertainment industry and former Senior Vice President of Activision.

Mark Loparco is an interactive designer, producer and programmer and former Senior Producer at Disney Interactive.

Cecilia Barajas is a software consultant who has worked on hundreds of games, providing creative and production guidance in addition to game design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (May 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312275048
• ISBN-13: 978-0312275044
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #713,432 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Book to read in your spare time, July 31, 2003

By	Kosta Kondratenko (Sydney, N.S.W Australia) - See all my reviews

The best part of this book is a chapter that explains how a game goes from an idea to a finished product and even explains how games are marketed as well as recounting how much difficulty game programmers and artists have trying to meet milestones.

While I enjoyed the book I think it is more suited to people wanting to know how the game industry works and what the key players are instead of how to actually BREAK into the game industry.

It has some suggestions on how to make it big in the computer video game world but these are more common sense then anything, for example it suggests finding people that are in the business and becoming friends with them.

One thing that keeps this book above average is the countless tips from actual experts from big publishers and developers.
One thing this book will not tell you is what you should learn and what technologies are specifically involved in creating games. This is my one big gripe with the book. However other then that, I give this book 4 stars...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little book, March 1, 2006

By	Jose Romao "developer" (Europe) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This 280 pages are for sure the most simple, direct and usefull text about the game development careers. We not only get the all picture, also great advices and directions in what we have as options in this game business, I recommend this reading not only for programmers (like me) but to everybody who feel lost and is looking for some path to follow. I tooked 2 days to read it, very clear writing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of details, I couldn't put this book down., July 31, 2005

By	Adam Larson (Sturgeon Bay, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am currently attending college for a BA in game software engineering. I saw this book and I knew I had to read it. The authors are very knowledgeable about the game industry. I am really impressed with the amount of resources listed in the back with websites, schools, software companies addresses, and suggested readings. This book is perfect for anyone looking to break in. I finished the 280 pg book in less than 2 days. It is written very well, and it is very easy to follow. I will be using this book for a long time to come.