The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality video games. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses—one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer—and will understand how to do it.

    Adventure alongside Nathan Drake, as Dark Horse Books and Naughty Dog team up to bring you this breathtaking, comprehensive exploration into the Uncharted saga! Encompassing Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake's Deception, this epic volume offers a look at hundreds of never-before-seen designs and pieces of concept art from the creation of one of the most exciting game series of this generation, along with insightful commentary from the games' creators! Don't miss out on this opportunity to own a piece of Uncharted history!

    Delve into incisive lore to discover how the economic decline of the United States created a crippling dependence on devious corporations and birthed the Free State of California. Explore the various districts, gangs, and history of Night City. Learn all there is to know about the technology of tomorrow and research the cybernetics, weapons, and vehicles of Cyberpunk 2077.Dark Horse Books and CD Projekt Red present The World of Cyberpunk 2077--an extensive examination of the rich lore of Cyberpunk 2077. This intricately assembled tome contains everything you need to know about the history, characters, and world of the long-awaited follow-up from the creators of The Witcher video game series.

    The Art of Horizon Zero Dawn is the ultimate gallery of the hotly anticipated new IP from Guerrilla Games (Killzone series). It focuses on the stunning artwork used to develop the game, and includes over 300 images, sketches, and concept art, commentary throughout from the artists and creators. This is an in-depth insight into a world as beautiful as it is dangerous. Over 1000 years ago a cataclysm destroyed life as we know it, forcing humans to the brink of extinction. In our place machines rose, and nature took back our cities, until all that was left of our world was the rumours of the old ones and the ruins of a civilisation long past. The tribes of the new world live scattered, some small and humble, some as powerful as kings. If Aloy, an outcast and hunter, is to find her true place in this world she must combat the great robotic creatures of the land and uncover the mysteries of a lost civilisation.

    The challenge of creating a plausible vision for humanity and a galaxy of ancient and exotic alien races was given to BioWare's talented art and design teams. They began in a formless void and shaped their worlds, their races, and their civilizations to finish with a living breathing setting exclusive to the Xbox 360.From a massive space citadel whose origins are lost in time to the utilitarian clothing of frontier colonists, each component, whether small or colossal, anomalous or common, within Mass Effect's universe need to be brought to detailed life.In this stunning volume, take an exclusive step back to when this universe was still forming in this compilation of art, images, and commentary taken directly from the artists' sketchbooks as they created the universe of Mass Effect.

    Since its formation in 1972, the company pioneered hundreds of iconic titles including Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command. In addition to hundreds of games created for arcades, home video systems, and computers, original artwork was specially commissioned to enhance the Atari experience, further enticing children and adults to embrace and enjoy the new era of electronic entertainment. The Art of Atari is the first official collection of such artwork. Sourced from private collections worldwide, this book spans over 40 years of the company's unique illustrations used in packaging, advertisements, catalogs, and more. Co-written by Robert V. Conte and Tim Lapetino, The Art of Atari includes behind-the-scenes details on how dozens of games featured within were conceived of, illustrated, approved (or rejected), and brought to life! Includes a special Foreword by New York Times bestseller Ernest Cline author of Armada and Ready Player One, soon to be a motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. Whether you're a fan, collector, enthusiast, or new to the world of Atari, this book offers the most complete collection of Atari artwork ever produced! "For me, revisiting the beautiful artwork presented in this book is almost as good as taking a trip in Doc Brown's time machine back to that halcyon era at the dawn of the digital age. But be warned, viewing these images may leave you with an overwhelming desire to revisit the ancient pixelated battlefields they each depict as well." -- from the Foreword by Ernest Cline, author of READY PLAYER ONE

    Featuring concept art, character designs, and astonishing settings and landscapes, The Art of The Last of Us provides a unique look at one of the gaming world’s most eagerly anticipated titles.

    You’ll learn principles and practices for crafting games that generate emotionally charged experiences—a combination of elegant game mechanics, compelling fiction, and pace that fully immerses players.In clear and approachable prose, design pro Tynan Sylvester also looks at the day-to-day process necessary to keep your project on track, including how to work with a team, and how to avoid creative dead ends. Packed with examples, this book will change your perception of game design.Create game mechanics to trigger a range of emotions and provide a variety of playExplore several options for combining narrative with interactivityBuild interactions that let multiplayer gamers get into each other’s headsMotivate players through rewards that align with the rest of the gameEstablish a metaphor vocabulary to help players learn which design aspects are game mechanicsPlan, test, and analyze your design through iteration rather than deciding everything up frontLearn how your game’s market positioning will affect your design

    Taking players back to the survival horror atmosphere of the first film, ALIEN: ISOLATION features Amanda Ripley as the hero trying to survive on a decommissioned space station. The Art of ALIEN: ISOLATION is the ultimate gallery of the eagerly anticipated game, featuring extensive concept and development art, and creator and artist commentary throughout.

    Now, in this beautiful hardcover, Blizzard Entertainment reveals the creative process behind one of the most popular FPS games of all time! Filled with never-before-seen art as well as commentary provided by the game's development team, this book is sure to please any Overwatch fan.- Never-before-seen artwork!- Essential companion to the international best-selling game Overwatch!- Introduction and commentary provided by the game's development team!- Overwatch is a global phenomenon with 30 million players!- Produced in close partnership with Blizzard Entertainment!- Behind-the-scenes look at your favorite characters!- Overwatch creation revealed!

    This book teaches key lessons; including, what you can learn from the history of game play and historical games, necessity of challenge in game play, applying dimensions of conflict, understanding low and high interactivity designs, and more.

    What started as a game of Pong, with little blips dancing across a computer screen, has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry that is changing the future, making inroads into virtually all aspects of our culture.Who are the minds behind this revolution? How did it happen? Where is it headed? In Smartbomb, journalists Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby take the reader behind the scenes at gaming conventions, into powerhouse think tanks where new games are created, into the thick of the competition at cyberathlete tournaments, and into the homes of gamers for whom playing a role in a virtual world has assumed more relevance and reality than life in the real world.

    Bloodborne: Official Artworks collects the hair-raising artwork behind this modern action role-playing classic. Included are character concepts, creature designs, location illustrations, weapons, items, and more!

    The Ultimate History of Video Games reveals everything you ever wanted to know and more about the unforgettable games that changed the world, the visionaries who made them, and the fanatics who played them. From the arcade to television and from the PC to the handheld device, video games have entraced kids at heart for nearly 30 years. And author and gaming historian Steven L. Kent has been there to record the craze from the very beginning.This engrossing book tells the incredible tale of how this backroom novelty transformed into a cultural phenomenon. Through meticulous research and personal interviews with hundreds of industry luminaries, you'll read firsthand accounts of how yesterday's games like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Pac-Man helped create an arcade culture that defined a generation, and how today's empires like Sony, Nintendo, and Electronic Arts have galvanized a multibillion-dollar industry and a new generation of games. Inside, you'll discover:·The video game that saved Nintendo from bankruptcy ·The serendipitous story of Pac-Man's design ·The misstep that helped topple Atari's $2 billion-a-year empire·The coin shortage caused by Space Invaders ·The fascinating reasons behind the rise, fall, and rebirth of Sega ·And much more! Entertaining, addictive, and as mesmerizing as the games it chronicles, this book is a must-have for anyone who's ever touched a joystick.

    This definitive tome of Warcraft history reveals untold stories about the birth of the cosmos, the rise of ancient empires, and the forces that shaped the world of Azeroth and its people.This beautiful hardcover features twenty-five full-page paintings by World of Warcraft artist Peter Lee, as well as a cosmology chart, half a dozen maps charting changes through time, and other line art illustrations by Joseph Lacroix, and marks the first in a multipart series exploring the Warcraft universe; from the distant past to the modern era.From the Hardcover edition.