or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Kindle Edition
Read instantly on your iPad, PC or Mac, no Kindle required
Buy Price: $24.79
Rent From: $5.34
 
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games
 
 

Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games [Paperback]

Austin Grossman (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

List Price: $37.95
Price: $27.54 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $10.41 (27%)
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Monday, January 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition
Rent from
$24.79
$5.34
 
Paperback $27.54  

Book Description

1578202140 978-1578202140 February 2003 1
The popular Postmortem column in Game Developer magazine features firsthand accounts of how some of the most important and successful games of recent years have been made. This book offers the opportunity to harvest this expertise with one volume. The editor has organized the articles by theme and added previously unpublished analysis to reveal successful management techniques. Readers learn how superstars of the game industry like Peter Molyneux and Warren Spector have dealt with the development challenges such as managing complexity, software and game design issues, schedule challenges, and changing staff needs.

Postmortems from Game Developer enhances your project management skills by showcasing projects from start to finish with candid, thorough, and specific accounts of the good and bad decisions made along the way.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games + The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses + A Theory of Fun for Game Design
Price For All Three: $85.69

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses $42.09

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details

  • A Theory of Fun for Game Design $16.06

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

Review

"Wow! What a fantastic book! "Postmortems" provides simply a wonderful survey of the pains and joys of game development." -- Grady Booch, Chief Scientist, Rational Software Corporation (now a new division of IBM)

About the Author

Editor Austin Grossman has expertly compiled and commented on the postmortems to bring insight to the collection. (Each Game Developer postmortem is credited to its respective author.) Presently a consultant on game design and interactive story development, Austin has 10 years' experience in the computer gaming industry. Notable writing and design credits include Ultima Underworld II and System Shock for Looking Glass Technologies and Trespasser: Jurassic Park for Dreamworks Interactive. Other credits include contributions to EA Games' Clive Barker's Undying, Ion Storm's Deus Ex, and Liquid Entertainment's Battle Realms.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 328 pages
  • Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (February 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1578202140
  • ISBN-13: 978-1578202140
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Experience, distilled, in a bottle., August 20, 2007
This review is from: Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games (Paperback)
Love this book. Each postmortem is full of advice about designing, producing, and shipping a video game - advice from the developers themselves - allowing YOU to learn from THEIR mistakes. Techincal gaffes, hiring snafus, political missteps, project management mistakes; anything that can go wrong in a software project HAS gone wrong in one of these stories.

When you get to the end of this book, you'll feel like a battle-hardened veteran that can take anything a project throws at you; and most of minefields mapped out are surpisingly appicable to ALL software development, not just video games.

Beware: this book may have you rummaging through discount bins to find the games mentioned- good or bad, you feel affection for a game once you've shared the trials and tribs of the creators.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A look at the real nuts and bolts..., September 19, 2007
By 
Zachary Yates (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games (Paperback)
I've read several game design books, including Mike McShaffry's Game Coding Complete. While reading architecture and design is good and many of the books reflect the author's experience on several projects, Game Developer Postmortems provides the actual triumphs and stumbling blocks each game project went through.

A quick read and the best way to get insight into these projects without actually having worked on the teams, it's a book I'd recommend to anyone looking to understand game design projects.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, August 18, 2011
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Postmortems from Game Developer: Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games (Paperback)
It's enjoyable to read this, to know what's behind the games.
But it doesn't go deep, neither with the people like the Two John book, neither technically.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews


Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
This is the story of a young and inexperienced company that was given the chance to develop the sequel to one of the top ten games of all time. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
independent game development, multiplayer experience, multiplayer support, scripting system, community web pages, art assets, skill tree, scripted sequences, physics engine, lead programmer, crunch period, level designers, gold master, cinematic sequences, game engine, graphics engine, art team, voice technology, game code, gaming community, game design
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Looking Glass, Star Trek, Studio Max, Game Data Release, Microsoft Visual, Ion Storm, Digital Extremes, Naughty Dog, Jurassic Park, Red Storm, Adobe Photoshop, Blizzard Entertainment, Bungie Software, Ensemble Studios, Object System, Pentium Ills, White Wolf, Bohemia Interactive, Dark Engine, Mythic Entertainment, Raven Software, Steve Polge, Abandon Entertainment, Electronic Arts Genre, Naboo Starfighter
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:




What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject