Even games that are well-received at launch may fail to engage players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. That's why makers of successful video games like Fortnite and Assassin's Creed invest both time and money perfecting their UX strategy. These top video game creators know that a bad user experience can ruin the prospects for any game, regardless of its budget, scope, or ambition.The game UX accounts for the whole experience players have with a video game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in creating the optimal experience they want to deliver, including shipping higher quality games (whether indie, triple-A or "serious" games) and meeting business goals -- all while staying true to design vision and artistic intent.At its core, UX is about understanding the gamer's brain: understanding human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with cognitive science knowledge and user experience guidelines and methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better experience for their audience."The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design"Is written by Celia Hodent -- a UX expert with a PhD in psychology who has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years, including at prominent companies such as Epic Games (Fortnite), Ubisoft, and LucasArts.Major themes explored in this book: Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include: "neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and learning. Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework in game development. Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user research). Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games, with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist. Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX strategy at both a project and studio level. This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of UX in games existing today.

     It features interviews with more than 25 prominent members of the video game industry, including Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail, Capybara Games’ Nathan Vella, Romero Games’ Brenda Romero, video game attorney Ryan Morrison, Klei Entertainment’s Jamie Cheng, Supergiant Games’ Amir Rao, Harebrained Schemes’ Jordan Weisman, Ninja Theory’s Nina Kristensen and many, many more. The Handbook features expert guidance and in-the-trenches anecdotes on budgeting and finance (complete with links to downloadable worksheets), incorporation, contracts and employment, intellectual property, press and public relations. If you’re considering crowdfunding, early access, or pursuing a licensed property, The GameDev Business Handbook can help steer you toward success. The book features triumphant stories and cautionary tales, with advice from those who have been where you want to go. Built with love, The GameDev Business Handbook is crafted with guidance from game industry veterans: those who produce games, attend every show, help other developers every day, and aspire to support a better environment for game production. These are the experts who make the games industry a better place for the next generation.

    Sellers offers a deep unifying framework in which practical game design best practices and proven systems thinking theory reinforce each other, helping game designers understand what they are trying to accomplish and the best ways to achieve it. Drawing on 20+ years of experience designing games, launching game studios, and teaching game design, Sellers explains: What games are, and how systems thinking can help you think about them more clearly How to systematically promote engagement, interactivity, and fun What you can learn from MDA and other game design frameworks How to create gameplay and core loops How to design the entire player experience, and how to build game mechanics that work together to create that experience How to capture your game's "big idea" and Unique Selling Proposition How to establish high-level and background design and translate it into detailed design How to build, playtest, and iterate early prototypes How to build your game design career in a field that keeps changing at breakneck speed

    While most game design books focus on games as formal systems, Situational Design concentrates squarely on player experience. It looks at how playfulness is not a property of a game considered in isolation, but rather the result of the intersection of a game with an appropriate player. Starting from simple concepts, the book advances step-by-step to build up a set of practical tools for designing player-centric playful situations. While these tools provide a fresh perspective on familiar design challenges as well as those overlooked by more transactional design paradigms.Key FeaturesIntroduces a new methodology of game design that concentrates on moment-to-moment player experienceProvides practical design heuristics for designing playful situations in all types of games Offers groundbreaking techniques for designing non-interactive play spaces Teaches designers how to create games that function as performances Provides a roadmap for the evolution of games as an art form.

    The use of procedural generation in game design can help with the intricate and multifarious aspects of game development; thus facilitating cost reduction. This form of development enables games to create their play areas, objects and stories based on a set of rules, rather than relying on the developer to handcraft each element individually. Readers will learn to create randomized maps, weave accidental plotlines, and manage complex systems that are prone to unpredictable behavior. Tanya Short’s and Tarn Adams’ Procedural Generation in Game Design offers a wide collection of chapters from various experts that cover the implementation and enactment of procedural generation in games. Designers from a variety of studios provide concrete examples from their games to illustrate the many facets of this emerging sub-discipline. Key Features: Introduces the differences between static/traditional game design and procedural game design Demonstrates how to solve or avoid common problems with procedural game design in a variety of concrete ways Includes industry leaders’ experiences and lessons from award-winning games World’s finest guide for how to begin thinking about procedural design

     Written for both aspiring and experienced creative leaders, this book covers the expansive and multi-faceted role of the director, from developing the initial vision to key methods on tackling design, story development, and production challenges. Tips cover the 5 essential qualities of a creative director who must: 1. Hold the Vision 2. Provide Structure 3. Keep a Creative Toolbox 4. Lead Effectively 5. Know Production For those who are curious about what it takes to be a video game director or want learn more about the art of creative collaboration, this book covers the basic principles for leading and inspiring a team to make great games. "Directing Video Games is a literal loot drop of knowledge, decades of experience concisely and expertly crafted into 101 densely packed tips. Even a page — with no exaggeration — can be transformative to a project’s success." —Brenda Romero, Award winning game designer "This book is one of a kind, and is essential reading for anyone who wants to lead the creation of a video game. It's full of great visuals and excellent advice, and belongs on every game director's bookshelf." —Richard Lemarchand, Associate Professor in the Interactive Media Division, USC "Born of expansive experience, this is a comprehensive book that both beginners and seasoned developers should keep at their side." —Michael John, Program Director of Games and Playable Media, UCSC "Brian has managed an incredible thing—to present a broadly complex, multi-faceted role in bite-sized, easy to digest nuggets of sage advice." —Marcus Smith, Creative Director of Resistance 3 and Sunset Overdrive

    But simply choosing to use 3D input or 3D displays isn't enough: 3D user interfaces (3D UIs) must be carefully designed for optimal user experience. 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice, Second Edition is today's most comprehensive primary reference to building outstanding 3D UIs. Four pioneers in 3D user interface research and practice have extensively expanded and updated this book, making it today's definitive source for all things related to state-of-the-art 3D interaction. This edition goes far beyond VR, covering the full spectrum of emerging applications for 3D UIs, and presenting an extraordinary array of pioneering techniques and technologies. The authors combine theoretical foundations, analysis of devices and techniques, empirically validated design guidelines, and much more. Throughout each chapter, they illustrate key concepts with running case studies on gaming, mobile AR, and robot teleoperation. You'll find authoritative, accessible coverage of all this, and much more: Essentials of HCI and human factors (for thousands of students and practitioners now entering the field) How 3D UIs have evolved, and the hard problems that remain 3D UIs in console gaming, VR, augmented reality (AR), robot teleoperation, mobile/wearable computers, and remote collaboration How 3D input/output enables users to perceive and act much as they do in the physical world 3D output devices, including visual, auditory, haptic, and tactile displays 3D input devices, including traditional, special purpose, and direct human input via biosignals (e.g., brain input) 3D interaction techniques for common tasks such as selection, manipulation, navigation, and system control Strategies for designing and developing 3D UIs, including the use of 2D interaction; magic vs. natural interaction techniques; multimodal interaction, and two-handed interaction Evaluating existing 3D UIs, and previewing their future

    Developing games has never been easier than it is now. New web technology allows even beginner developers to turn their hand to game development. Developed from an undergraduate course module, Introducing JavaScript Game Development teaches each new technology as it is introduced so can be followed by enthusiastic beginners as well as intermediate coders. You will learn how to work with HTML5 and the canvas element, how to understand paths, how to draw to a design and create your spaceship and asteroids. You’ll then move on to animating your game, and finally building. You will work step-by-step through the game design process, starting with only what is necessary to complete each step, and refactoring the code as necessary along the way, reflecting the natural progression that code follows in the real world. Each chapter is designed to take your code base to the next level and to add to your skills. After completing the examples in this book you will have the tools necessary to build your own, high-quality games. Make the process of creating object-oriented 2D games more fun and more productive and get started on your game development journey.