Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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...

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.

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.

Good book for someone who's never been in a computer-related field and never been into gaming but now wants to get into games. But how many people like there are there?

I would argue that most people who want to get into the game industry are either in another tech. industry or are gamers. Either way, most of the content in this book is obvious and can be found on the web with minimal effort.

True - it's not a very expensive book. But even so - I felt a little cheated....

So I am a ex-professional programmer, CS educator who has spent some time in the game industry. I did a little survey of books about "getting into" game programming: this was the best book I found. The authors actually asked others in the industry rather than just making stuff up based on their own opinions. The advice tends to be realistic, which makes it sound like common sense. For programmers they reccommend a degree in Computer Science from a good school. Not exactly rocket science, but what were you expecting? There's good stuff in here, which makes it a head and shoulders above much of it's competition. Too many books try to tell you that all you need is networking and a can do to get a job in games - this book at least attempts to be truthful about the qualifications games companies look for.

Game Plan, a tag-team effort between Alan Gershenfeld, Mark Loparco, and Cecilia Barajas, is a detailed account of what developers, publishers, and all other aspects of the game making market, are interested in for new recruits. If you don't know the difference between a developer and a publisher, this is the book for you. It starts out on the basic of basic of levels, defining everything, from game console to mmo.

If on the other hand, you have been in the market for some years, and are seeking to forward your career, this is the book for you. It explains what you should do to get noticed by the big guys. It explains what you should do to get your dream game made, so you can sit in front of your screen for days on end, staring in awe, at the your own idea, made into a multi-million dollar production, making sky-rocket sales.

Or, if you just like to read for the heck of it, read this. That is, assuming you don't absolutely hate video games and everything to do with them, at the very bottom of your heart. As I was reading it, this book ended up getting me so excited, I was ready to go home and teach myself programming with nothing but an online manual, an open-source language, and 2 hours. But of course, that didn't work out.

An excellent and interesting read, which may or may not keep you up at night, depending on your devotion and drive to create games, and that stands for a lot, considering it is a non-fiction book, which I normally despise.

Until I read this book the world of computer gaming seemed mysterious and impenetrable--an elite group of smart, young people having a great time at "work." Well, it's still clear that an elite group of smart people get to do this kind of work, but GAME PLAN shows you how to join them. Barajas, Gershenfeld and Loparco demystify the process of breaking into the game business and break it down into useful information, concrete steps and practical advice that anyone serious and dedicated can--and will want to--follow.

I just finished reading this book today. While not as entertaining and up to date (2003) as the Hodgson, Stratton, Rush book, "Video Game Careers," there was still a lot of good information contained within.

Sections four through seven where the must educational and contained some very good pointers for people not familiar with the industry. I found section seven to be very insightful in its description of how to get one's game made.

Definitely worth reading!

I bought this book to know about the game industry which I thought its an easy business to get into it.

for those who want to know about the differences between the Publishers and the developers, this book is just perfect and you will not need any other book for more informations. Its simple, direct and every word in it is important. once you read it, you will not leave it without finishing it. very exciting to read if you are curious about how those companies work together to make games or the processing of making games.

The guys who wrote this book are working for Activision which is one of the best companies in the game industry.

Buy it and you will read it twice or more.

This book explains the gaming industry, beyond, how to program or the history of games. I have been interested in how the gaming industry works as a whole, and have not been able to find a book on it. I think this a great book for anyone interesting in working in the game industry.