Video Game Design Revealed (Revealed (Charles River Media)) [Hardcover]

Guy W. Lecky-Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1584505621 | ISBN-13: 978-1584505624 | Edition: 1

Whether you are a professional game developer working in an established studio or a creative thinker interested in trying your hand at game design, "Video Game Design Revealed" will show you the steps and processes involved in bringing a video game from concept to completion. Beginning with an overview of the history of video games and an examination of the elements of successful games, the book breaks down the video game design process into its simplest elements and builds from there. You'll learn how to take an idea and tweak it into a viable game based on the genre, market, game style, and subject matter, moving on to creating and organizing a timeline for the production of the game. Once you've mapped out your game production plan and gathered all the information you need, you'll learn how to choose the development platform and other technologies that best suit the game you've designed, add sound and graphics, and apply game mechanics such as whether the game will be single-player or multiplayer and what levels and objects to add to your game to make it challenging and interesting. "Video Game Design Revealed" concludes with guidelines on how to compose a proposal to be used to present your idea to the game industry as well as tips and information on how to find and contact game studios, publishers, and investors to help you make your game design a reality.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Guy W. Lecky-Thompson is an experienced author in the field of video game design and software development, whose articles have been published in various places, including Gamasutra and the seminal Game Programming Gems. He is also the author of Infinite Game Universe: Mathematical Techniques;Infinite Game Universe, Volume 2: Level Design Terrain, and Sound; and Video Game Design Revealed.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (December 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584505621
• ISBN-13: 978-1584505624
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Guy W. Lecky-Thompson is an experienced author in the field of video game design and software development, whose articles have been published in various places, including Gamasutra, Dr. Dobbs magazine and the seminal Game Programming Gems. He is also the author of Corporate Software Project Management, Infinite Game Universe: Mathematical Techniques, and Infinite Game Universe, Volume 2: Level Design, Terrain, and Sound.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars describes main issues in game design, March 31, 2008

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Video Game Design Revealed (Revealed (Charles River Media)) (Hardcover)

The author gives a good and broad recap of the history of video games. Along with what is involved in writing a game. Gives you some appreciation of the effort and issues involved. You need to choose some game platform to write for. Perhaps one of the consoles made by Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft? Or maybe for the personal computer or cellphone? This is a basic choice, that largely determines the language and computing resources available to your proposed game. It also defines the economics, like how large your potential audience can be.

There are suggestions about optimal user interface design. Much of this can be germane to any software. Though some is indeed more specific to games. Especially twitch or reflex games, where fast response is mandatory.

None of the stuff is at any depth. Especially the graphics. For an understanding of what it takes to render good, state of the art graphics, you need a more specialised text.