It gives detailed explanations of game art techniques and their importance, while also highlighting their dependence on artistic aspects of game design and programming.” — John Romero, co-founder of id Software and CEO of Loot Drop, Inc."Solarski’s methodology here is to show us the artistic techniques that every artist should know, and then he transposes them to the realm of video games to show how they should be used to create a far more artful gaming experience ... if I were an artist planning to do video game work, I’d have a copy of this on my shelf."— Marc Mason, Comics Waiting RoomVideo games are not a revolution in art history, but an evolution. Whether the medium is paper or canvas—or a computer screen—the artist’s challenge is to make something without depth seem like a window into a living, breathing world. Video game art is no different.  Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is first to examine the connections between classical art and video games, enabling developers to create more expressive and varied emotional experiences in games. Artist game designer Chris Solarski gives readers a comprehensive introduction to basic and advanced drawing and design skills—light, value, color, anatomy, concept development—as well as detailed instruction for using these methods to design complex characters, worlds, and gameplay experiences. Artwork by the likes of Michelangelo, Titian, and Rubens are studied alongside AAA games like BioShock, Journey, the Mario series, and Portal 2, to demonstrate perpetual theories of depth, composition, movement, artistic anatomy, and expression. Although Drawing Basics and Video Game Art is primarily a practical reference for artists and designers working in the video games industry, it’s equally accessible for those interested to learn about gaming’s future, and potential as an artistic medium.Also available as an eBook

    These issues are often discussed by game players and designers but seldom written about in any formal way. This book fills that gap. By emphasizing these player-centric basic concepts, the book provides a framework for game analysis from the viewpoint of a game designer. The book shows what all genres of games--board games, card games, computer games, and sports--have to teach each other. Today's game designers may find solutions to design problems when they look at classic games that have evolved over years of playing. "Characteristics of Games"--written by three of the most prominent game designers working today--will serve as an essential reference for game designers and game players curious about the inner workings of games. It includes exercises (which can also serve as the basis for discussions) and examples chosen from a wide variety of games. There are occasional mathematical digressions, but these can be skipped with no loss of continuity. Appendixes offer supplementary material, including a brief survey of the two main branches of mathematical game theory and a descriptive listing of each game referred to in the text.

    Complete your Valkyria collection with this spectacular volume!

    You'll discover at what stages to prototype, test, and implement mechanics in games and learn how to visualize and simulate game mechanics in order to design better games. Along the way, you'll practice what you've learned with hands-on lessons. A free downloadable simulation tool developed by Joris Dormans is also available in order to follow along with exercises in the book in an easy-to-use graphical environment.In Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, you'll learn how to:* Design and balance game mechanics to create emergent gameplay before you write a single line of code. * Visualize the internal economy so that you can immediately see what goes on in a complex game. * Use novel prototyping techniques that let you simulate games and collect vast quantities of gameplay data on the first day of development. * Apply design patterns for game mechanics--from a library in this book--to improve your game designs. * Explore the delicate balance between game mechanics and level design to create compelling, long-lasting game experiences. * Replace fixed, scripted events in your game with dynamic progression systems to give your players a new experience every time they play."I've been waiting for a book like this for ten years: packed with game design goodness that tackles the science without undermining the art." --Richard Bartle, University of Essex, co-author of the first MMORPG"Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design by Joris Dormans & Ernest Adams formalizes game grammar quite well. Not sure I need to write a next book now!" -- Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design.

    However, there is more to the disappearance of videogames than plastic corrosion and bit rot. Best Before examines how the videogames industry's retail, publishing, technology design, advertising and marketing practices actively produce obsolescence, wearing out and retiring old games to make way for the always new, just out of reach, 'coming soon' title and 'next generation' platform.Set against the context of material deterioration and the discursive production of obsolescence, Best Before examines the conceptual and practical challenges faced within the nascent field of game preservation. Understanding videogames as rich, complex and mutable texts and experiences that are supported and sustained by cultures of gameplay and fandom, Best Before considers how - and even whether - we might preserve and present games for future generations.

    Paul examines the broader social discourse about gaming, including: the way players are socialized into games; the impact of the lingering association of video games as kid's toys; the dynamics within specific games (including Grand Theft Auto and EA Sports Games); and the ways in which players participate in shaping the discourse of games, demonstrated through examples like the reward system of World of Warcraft and the development of theorycraft. Overall, this book illustrates how video games are shaped by words, design and play; all of which are negotiated, ongoing practices among the designers, players, and society that construct the discourse of video games.

    The best solutions may still require additional steps but there are common principles to many of the approaches that game designers can use for inspiration.Written by a team of instructors at a top games school in the U.S., " Game Design Principles" is the first one-stop reference book for seasoned designers or beginning design students to turn to when the going gets tough, or any time they need a little inspiration to solve a problem.These universal, general design principles are gleaned from fields as disparate as architecture, neuroscience, and marketing, and brought together and presented in ways game designers can apply directly to games. The book focuses on finite, individual principles rather than broader ideas and approaches. Richly designed with infographics, illustrations, and schematics, each principle is easy to understand and memorable."Game Design Principles" is specifically designed to itemize, describe, and explain the principles behind the process of designing video games. You'll carry it with you as an essential guide on your game design adventure.

    The book helps young designers of college age to gain a grasp of important concepts and necessary terminology that modern game developers need to know. Professor Rees Shad and his band of game fanatics bring readers on a light hearted romp that explores and illustrates the meaning of play, rule sets, and game mechanics, while introducing readers to important concepts in iterative design, collaborative methodologies, and the role of narrative. The Hive Cooperative is a group of educators and students who gathered together to edit and augment professor Shad's original document into a more approachable type of textbook. Literally testing the approaches described in the book on the work itself in order to assure that members of the target audience would not only understand, but also enjoy learning about game design. Written by: Rees Shad Asides and addendums written by: Dylan Shad, Chris Aiken, & Rocio Rayo Illustrated by: Amara Dioubate & Elijah Richmond Edited by: Rocio Rayo, Dylan Shad, Elijah Richmond, Chris Aiken, Rees Shad, & Pamela Shad Layout: Elijah Richmond The Hive Cooperative - Media & More Bronx, NY With help from The Ravenfox Fund Supporting educational opportunities & social innovation (c)2012 by The Hive Cooperative

    On a basic level, without player control, there is no experience. Much of the video game industry focuses on questions of control and ways to improve play to make the gamer feel more connected to the virtual world. The sixteen essays in this collection offer critical examinations of the issue of control in video games, including different ways to theorize and define control within video gaming and how control impacts game design and game play. Close readings of specific games--including Grand Theft Auto IV, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Dragon Age: Origins--consider how each locates elements of control in their structures. As video games increasingly become a major force in the media landscape, this important contribution to the field of game studies provides a valuable framework for understanding their growing impact.

    Over 300 diagrammed positions from more than 100 actual games played online between Hive Masters, average players and complete newbies. Written for players of all skill levels, this book starts with the very basics: Hive rules, Bugs, Notation and Common Hive Formations. The book continues with a chapter on Strategy, four chapters covering elementary tactics like The Pin and The Cover, and follows with sixteen advanced chapters including The Shutout, The Squeeze, Counting Bugs and Counting Tempo.It even includes chapters on the popular expansion bugs. Concluding with Beginners' mistakes, Hive openings and Unofficial Expansion Bugs, this book has something for everyone.

    Useful information on applying, job seeking, working practices and more from a veteran game developer in Japan with useful links and other information including a company database with over 250 entries.

    While introducing teachers to new fields, these digital games have been designed and implemented for the classroom and have shown positive results at a variety of educational levels. Cases on Digital Game-Based Learning: Methods, Models, and Strategies analyzes the implementation of digital game applications for learning as well as addressing the challenges and pitfalls experienced. Providing strategies, advice and examples on adopting games into teaching, this collection of case studies is essential for teachers and instructors at various school levels in addition to researchers in game-based learning and pedagogic innovation.