Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media Game Development) [Paperback]

David Michael (Author)

Book Description

Series: Charles River Media Game Development | Publication Date: August 18, 2003

The games industry has exploded into a multibillion industry with blockbuster games that sell millions of copies. This phenomenal success has established a huge market and created the opportunity for independent developers to create and sell their own games. Do you have an innovative game idea you'd like to develop for this market, but aren't sure how to get started? If so, The Indie Game Development Survival Guide will show you how. Beginning with insightful guidelines for developing a truly unique idea, you'll learn everything you need to consider when publishing a small-to-no-budget game. Details on how to design, plan, schedule, develop, and test your game are explored in depth. Choosing the best technology for the job is also covered, along with team management tips for setting up and managing a team, even if it's just you and one other person. Once you've worked through these important stages, you'll discover new and innovative ways to use the Internet to market, test, and deliver your game, including details on successful selling methods Whether you are a programmer, artist, sound engineer, or game enthusiast, this is the one resource you'll need to get started as an independent developer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David "RM" Michael has been a professional programmer for over 10 years, in a variety of industries, including video games. He is the owner of DavidRM Software (http://www.davidrm.com) and co-owner of Samu Games(http://www.samugames.com), both independent software companies.
David is the author of The Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media; ISBN:1584502142) and was a contributor to Game Design Perspectives (Charles River Media; ISBN:1584500905) on the topic of online community. He has written articles about game development, and covered the Game Developer Conference and the Indie Games Conference for GameDev.Net (http://www.gamedev.net). He has also written role-playing game articles (http://www.davidrm.com/rpg/) and designed his own (unpublished) dice-and-paper RPG rules system. Finally, David has been the editor and primary contributor for the monthly newsletters of both The Journal (http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/newsletter/) and Artifact (http://www.samugames.com/artifact/news.shtml).

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (August 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584502142
• ISBN-13: 978-1584502142
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,121,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Most days, David Michael is a software developer and a writer. Some days, he's a writer and a software developer. Other days, he's an amateur photographer. Because, really, who is the same person every day? David is the designer and developer of DavidRM Software's The Journal, personal journaling software for Windows. He has also designed and developed video games, and has written two nonfiction books and numerous articles about video game development. David lives with his wife and kids in Tulsa, Oklahoma. David blogs about writing at Guns & Magic: www.gunsandmagic.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely required reading for new game designers, September 17, 2004

By 

John R. Rockefeller (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

I was really surprised at the quality of instruction in this book. It teaches the reader, step-by-step, how to develop an indie game. From concept to design, from team building to implementation, and from publishing & marketing to support, this book covers it all. My only wish is that I had found it a few years ago, before I learned some of the things by trial-and-error! This book has helped me be a better developer, both in games and in general. It truly is that good.

The language used in the book is clear and concise. My favorite thing about this book (something most people may not notice) is that every important paragraph ends with a single sentence of instruction that clearly summarizes all of the points covered within that paragraph. This makes it very easy to understand and very easy to read. I would wager that if someone simply read only the last sentence in every paragraph in this book, they would still learn 80% or more of what this book teaches.

I cannot recommend this book enough.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent starting point, November 4, 2003

By 

Travis W. McGuire (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

I recommend The Indie Game Development Survival Guide to anyone that is thinking about trying to create and sell a game. There is a lot of information that is needed in order to actually sell a game and this book gives you a general over site of everything you need to think about.

It's a great reference tool to refer to when you need ideas. No matter what stage of the game development you are in, this book gives you answers to questions that might arise.

With game development there isn't one certain road to follow. With this book you receive in depth information on roads that you might not have thought of.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anyone getting into indie development should read this., July 6, 2004

By 

Damon Du Bois (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media Game Development) (Paperback)

This is a very well-written book that covers all the major areas of indie game development, publishing and marketing. I really wish I could have had the information contained in this book 5 years ago, I'd probably be alot further along with my business.

For new developers just starting out in the indie scene there are some major pitfalls that can consume years in wasted work. This book helps you avoid those pitfalls. There is also a great deal of established knowledge within the indie game development communnity that most new developer's are un-aware of. And they spend years discovering things that many people before them have already discovered. This book does a good job of putting all that knowledge in one place.

Even for the experienced indie game developer there is quite alot of useful information in this book.

I highly recommend reading this book for anyone that is in the indie games business or planning to get into it.