Secrets of the Game Business, 2nd Ed. [Paperback]

Francois Dominic Laramee (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1584503998 | ISBN-13: 978-1584503996 | Publication Date: April 2005 | Edition: 2

Secrets of the Game Business, Second Edition unveils the inner workings of the flashy, but very serious game development and publishing industry. If you are thinking about creating a game development company, want your existing company to prosper for a long time, or just want to understand how and why the business evolved to its current dynamics, you have come to the right place. This new edition is a compilation of the wisdom of dozens of industry insiders, publishing executives, veteran producers, independent studio owners, and writers. The book includes several new articles, and has been reorganized and updated to thoroughly cover the current state of the industry. With the insights provided throughout the book, you'll have a solid understanding of the business and find valuable ideas to get you started in the business or improve your own company.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fran?ois Dominic Laramee (Verdun, QC) has designed, programmed, and/or produced over 20 games for consoles, personal computers, interactive television, and online networks over the last decade. He is a prolific writer and the holder of graduate degrees in computer science and business administration. He is also the editor of Game Design Perspectives and Secrets of the Game Business, second edition, as well as a contributor to the Game Programming Gems and AI Game Programming Wisdom series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 410 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 2 edition (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584503998
• ISBN-13: 978-1584503996
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,764 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Start Your Own Gaming Software Company, May 30, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Game Business, 2nd Ed. (Paperback)

Note the title carefully, this book is about the Game BUSINESS. It is not a programming manual, it is not on how to design games, it is about the business aspects of the gaming industry. It is written by professionals in that business.

This book is a collection of some twenty-six essays written by professionals in all aspects of the game business. They are broken down into five sections:

The Game Business Then and Now
Publishers and Developers
Startups
Bringing Games to Market
Managing Game Production.

The essays vary in quality and content. Some are much better written than others, some don't seem to have much in either quality or content. All in all, a professional in the gaming industry probably knows all this, but that's not who the book is for. If, on the other hand, you are thinking of starting a gaming software company, there's a lot here.

This is the second edition of the book, updated and expanded.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a good book if You know nthing about marketing and management side of gamebusiness, August 1, 2006

By 

Vladimer Tiajev "tvvladimir" (Bratislava/Moscow) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Secrets of the Game Business, 2nd Ed. (Paperback)

I would say that if You are planning to take part in Gamebusiness this is the first book best to read: it gives You the sense of how homplicated on a marketing side, on a game success side business is. I'd say that After Ive read it I got a little bit scared of spending my time in game business. There's also a chapter that is called smt like: Don't try to Compete with half-life 2 - haha that killed me! But I have studied management in UMISt in Manchester and the book lost all my interest after Ive read exactly half of it: All i did then is list the topics and only read what is particularlyt interesting to me. This book is talking broadly and veen though it gives examples of some downs and ups it gives little info on how to solve in particular some of the problems! It just says: do this do this do this but it really does not specify very concrete things like e.g. what step # 1 involves (it would ahve been nice to aleast add tables that include the very specifics of development). e.g. it says step #3 is process (but it does not specify that engine is made here and so on) basically its more managerial and is very low suited book for individuals who wnat to make games in small groups or alone. But for non freelancers it does give good overview of teh business!

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, January 21, 2009

By 

FConde (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Secrets of the Game Business, 2nd Ed. (Paperback)

A great collection of articles that illustrate the complex and challenging world of the videogame business. While it's written with developers in mind, the wisdom in its pages will also be useful for professionals in the publishing side, and in general to anyone looking to get a better view of the whole picture of game business.