Massively Multiplayer Game Development 2 (v. 2) (Hardcover)

by Thor Alexander (Author) "Ask people why they play virtual worlds, and their response is likely to be some variant of "to have fun..." (more)
Key Phrases: Engineering Techniques, Massively Multiplayer Design Techniques, Production Techniques (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
As the MMP game market continues to grow, new challenges and technology hurdles constantly emerge. Massively Multiplayer Game Development 2 is an all new volume in this successful series written to address the challenges faced by the entire MMP development team, not just the programmers. The articles include a wealth of unique knowledge acquired through the experiences of some of the online game industry’s best and brightest developers. These developers have worked on the most successful and anticipated MMP games, such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, The Sims Online, Second Life, Asheron’s Call, Star Wars Galaxies, and more. Programmers will find a wide array of technical tips and techniques throughout the collection, while designers and producers will find numerous articles filled with readable, informative insights to successful MMP design, along with time and costsaving production methods. Most of the articles are self-contained so they can be read in any order.! There is also a companion Web site that will be updated frequently with development news and commentary from the biggest names in online game development. This collection will provide the entire team with ready-to-use techniques and innovative methods for solving all of your MMP challenges.

Key Features: * Includes ALL NEW articles on cutting-edge programming techniques, design tools, and production methods * Provides insight from industry pros who have worked on the most successful MMP games, including EverQuest, Ultima Online, The Sims Online, and more * Provides a companion Web site that will be updated frequently with development news and commentary from the biggest names in online game development

SECTION HIGHLIGHTS: * MMP DESIGN TECHNIQUES: Virtual Worlds: Why People Play, Balancing Gameplay, User- Creation in Online Games, Guild Management Tools for a Successful MMP Game, Alternatives to the Character Grind, Telling Stories in Online Games * MMP ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES: Automated Testing for Online Games, Animated Procedural Skies, Time and Event Synchronization across an MMP Server Farm, Anti-Cheat Mechanisms for MMP Games, Optimization Techniques for Rendering Massive Quantities of Mesh Deformed Characters in Real-Time * MMP PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: Large Scale Project Management, Managing and Growing an MMOG as a Service, Community Management: Do’s and Don’ts from Those Who’ve Done ’Em, Techniques for Providing Online Support for Massively Multiplayer Games, Asian Game Markets and Game Development

About the Author
Thor Alexander has been working in the games industry for over twelve years as a designer, engineer, and entrepreneur. He has held lead designer and senior programming positions at Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Xatrix Entertainment. He has contributed to such titles as Earth & Beyond and Freelance as well as the Ultima Online game series. He has also contributed to the AI Game Programming Wisdom and Game Programming Gems 3 books. And he was the editor of the first volume of Massively Multiplayer Game Development.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 508 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (February 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584503904
• ISBN-13: 978-1584503903
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #420,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Charles River Media Game Development Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for game developers, November 6, 2005

By	Ogel - See all my reviews

Designing and developing massively multiplayer (MMP) games are very difficult endeavors that often require large teams and time/money investments. This book provides useful knowledge that can help identify and avoid potential development pitfalls.

The articles in this book are separated into three sections - design, engineering, and production techniques. Therefore, it isn't just for programmers - numerous development team members will find value in the book's articles. I think it's important for developers to read most or all of the articles - even those that aren't specifically intended for their position. This practice can increase understanding and communication between the members of interdisciplinary teams.

In each article, a member of the MMP development community explains his or her experience with a particular topic - telling stories in online games, automated testing, anti-cheat mechanisms, etc. While some of the technical essays supply pseudocode, most articles present examples from existing games and other ideas. Don't expect to build an MMP engine or even detailed designs based solely on the information in this book. Instead, these articles will provide insight and advice on many issues you will encounter as you plan and develop an MMP project.

Some of the essays feel a bit "thin", and the authors don't seem to sufficiently explain their topic. In some instances, the topics are simply too complex to fully examine in one or two articles. Nonetheless, the subjects in this book are important for developers to consider. For readers that want to delve deeper into a topic, most articles provide references to related information.

This book is intended for "intermediate/advanced" game developers (specifically those in the MMP industry), and my rating is based on that audience. For those unfamiliar with MMP games and/or software development, it will be difficult to appreciate the articles in this book.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavy Hitters Write about Game Development, March 21, 2005

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

Game development has become a big if not major part of today's programming environment. And the big massively multiplayer games (MMG) represent the peak of game development software. Finally, the authors of the articles in this book are people actively engaged at the leading edge of programming MMGs, they're the heavy hitters of the MMG world. Here is what it's really like, here is the depth of skill it takes to build one of these games.

This book is broken down into three major parts:

Design Techniques - 11 Articles from Why People Play to Examining the Gap between Theory and Reality.

Engineering Techniques - 15 Articles From Testing to Rendering Massive Quanities in Real-Time.

Production Techniques - 8 Articles from Project Management to Mass Market for MMP Games. Of particular interest in this section is the article on how a small company, CCP Games, used guerilla marketing techniques to bring EVE Online to the market in the face of competition from the big guys.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good overview and nice detail information, September 7, 2005

By	wibe "wibe" (Erlangen. germany) - See all my reviews

This book offers a very nice overview for multiplayer game developers. It is split in three parts: First part has about 10 articles answering the question, what people play multiplayer and how to bind them. Second part contains about 15 articles about the technical aspects such as how to reduce message transfer with thousands of players to 1-2kB per second. The third part describes how marketing can be done.
Very nice book !
The only thing is that there is no red line between the articles, since every article was written by independent author.