Customer Reviews

Indie Game Development Survival Guide (Charles River Media Game Development)

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

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.

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.

This book provides an excellent starting point for aspiring game developers who want to go out and create their own games. Rather than focusing on what is needed to actually create games and covering their many technical aspects in depth, this book provides a general outlay of the game development process and the business behind it itself which I found to be extremely helpful. This book does a great job of providing all the basic information that indies need in one place on how to get their projects going as well as many tips along the way. This book is perfect for those seeking guidance on how to take that great idea to a completed game but are unsure of where to start or of what needs to be considered. Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the business if indie game development.

I am roughly at the half-way point in this book but I must say that I am very pleased with it. The content is thorough and very well presented. David Michael does a great job at explaining the Indie scene as a contrast and comparison of the mainstream Game publishers. The context is placed in the Indie spere of development and related business practices. Short (~10 pages), but complete, chapters offer byte size knowledge to help you move from the 'great idea' stage to a finished product. It will not help you physically create the game but rather be a mentor to guide you during the development life cycle. Bottom line: get this book!

Having worked as a multimedia developer, turning into a game developer (at the demand of my boss) without the benefit of going back to school to study and learn game development has been quite a task. I play games, and I have lots of experience developing projects (esp. animations), but have never put any thought into creating a video game. The Indie Game Development Survival Guide is designed specifically for those who know what they want to do, but need guidance in getting it done correctly. The perfect guide for starting things off right, this book seldom leaves my side at work.

The process of creating a Game Design Document, for instance, is invaluable information and this book gives near step-by-step directions in how to do so; creating this document has laid the foundation for development of my team's first game project.

Highly recommended for those who are truly independent, as well as for teams like mine who have worked in a similiar industry and are branching out into the game genre.

I really enjoyed reading this book not because it was so much helpful as it was motivational if that makes any sense :) It was a fun read and I'd highly recommend it to anybody trying to write their own game or application and need to listen to somebody other than all the naysayers that infest the programming forums.

anyone doing game development of any kind should read this book to get an idea of what things that all game developers (including large organizations) must tackle in every decision they make.

Legal issues, team building issues, art issues, marketability issues, etc.

I really enjoyed the book and hope to put the knowledge to good use some day.

I can't thank enough the author of this book!! It was really well wrote and everything you ever wanted or needed to know about how to be an indies and survive, you'll find inside this book.
I highly recomend this book to anyone in the indie life or even if you just want to manage a project of any kind.

It's not that the things in this book are wrong, it's that they are merely common sense, and there is a -lot- of repetition. Hey, if you're hiring people, you might want a contract. If you're starting a business, you might want an accounant. If you're making a game, you need a plan first. The polls have about sixty respondents each, and only two or three projects are examined 'in-depth'.

On the plus side, it is helpful to see some industry jargon in context, and to know what some publishers will expect to hear within 90 seconds if they're going to take interest in a product.

Bottom line, this book should not be 400 pages long and cost $40. You can find a lot of this stuff on message boards, or by just asking a programmer how his day was.