In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean—it's nothing short of miraculous.Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—even as it nearly ripped their studio apart. Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell—and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.

    Four Belgrade University students are enjoying the time of their lives. Fresh with a wad full of foreign currency and few worries, their innocence is suddenly shaken when Field Marshal Göring’s Luftwaffe bombers strike the city at daybreak in “Operation Punishment.” The four students, Josef Kostinic, Celeste Bowman, Dick Vojovoda, and Penelope Mitchell take refuge and flee the city, only to have their rescue hopes dashed as Axis aircraft strafe the Adriatic coastline, sealing off their exit and forcing them in different directions. Two years later, with the United States formally entered into the war, the four students are unknowingly reunited once again. This time, British and U.S. intelligence services combine forces and infiltrate a team into Yugoslavia to determine the true credibility of Chetnick resistance leader Draza Mihailovich, code named Credible Dagger. The young companions must not only survive the harsh conditions in the field, but also Partisan guerrilla attacks, Communist double agents, and the ruthless tactics of SS counter-intelligence chief Hans Flosberg, who is constantly on their trail. Despite all these challenges, the operatives uncover information so crucial that the Allies keep it a secret for almost sixty years. About the Author: Gregory M. Acuña was a former U.S. Air Force pilot. He grew up in San Diego and now lives in Northern California. This is his second novel and he is currently writing the sequel to The Balkan Network.

    His only wish is to meet someone who can understand him in the same way. One day, an Eevee comes to the great Detective Pikachu and asks him to find the culprit who messed up the yard at its home!

    Tai, is the last person people come to for help. He’s the fuck up… the bad boy… the guy that only looks out for himself. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s fought hard to become the man he is today. He’s a hero in the public’s eye. A firefighter that the young all the way to the old turn to for help at the lowest point in their lives. What people don’t know, though, is that he’s no hero. He’s the reason his sister is dead, and he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to right that wrong. Then one split second decision has him coming face to face with Mia Darling. The woman changes his life, making him reevaluate everything he thought he had figured out, and showing him the tenderness he never knew he needed. Just like always, though, his luck runs out. When the smoke settles, Mia’s gone, and Tai realizes there’s no way he can live the rest of his life without her. He’ll show her just how hard a bad boy will fight to get his woman back, and he’s not opposed to fighting dirty.

    There, instead of reading theories about statecraft, he is forced to learn about command from the inside--and what it means to be king.

     Eleven years before, General David Warren was the best and brightest, in charge of defending the Earth from an attacking fleet. Overmatched in battle, the Earth forces were devastated, and the enemy moved into the high ground and proceeded with orbital bombardment. Civilization fell, and then two years later, the enemy landed and the occupation began. Now Warren lives with his sister and nephew, trying to farm the land while avoiding detection by the occupiers, the Invy. When two travelers show up at his doorstep, his carefully constructed life starts to unravel. Earth, and humanity, may be down, but not out. In the grand tradition of Ender's Game, Footfall, and War of the Worlds comes a tale of human struggle against immense odds.

    In an outbreak that spreads faster than any government can deal with, civilization is wiped out and chaos reigns true. The dead have risen and rule across the land, killing anyone or anything with a heartbeat.Random groups have managed to survive among the living six months after the infection hit, but supplies are limited, exhaustion is constant, and places to hide are dwindling. When three groups of wayward people come together by chance, they must overcome their differences if they are going to beat the odds as they face tens of thousands of the ravenous undead.Everything we know will end…Everyone we love will die…Fight with everything to survive…“Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all.”—Lucius Annaeus SenecaTHE FALL OF SOCIETY is 73,000 words.Facebook.com/Thonas Rand

    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.

    "Uplifting four-color fantasy" ... "A MUST read for all fantasy lovers!"..."Impossible to put down!"... "Heartwarming and heartbreaking" ... "Fantastic in every way!" ... "Vibrant, exciting, memorable, and unpredictable!"Magic is everywhere.Its presence saturates the idyllic forests of Thornwood, where the elves' innate power allows them to commune with the land. It flows south, to the Grove, where enchanted waters bubble forth to provide healing and succor to those in need. To the east, ancient fragments still persist in the dark, deep gnomish tunnels of G'naath. In the very throat of the Maw, the dwarven halls of Belgorne grow more magnificent with every passing generation, for the blood of Silverstone kings lives on. The great Tower of Kehrlia stands as a beacon in the kingdom of Mor, tempting prospective Incantors into years of grueling trials under its ambitious master, Sartean D'Avers.The ordinary magics of Tahr, however, cannot stand against what is to come.At the muzzle of the Maw, the mighty volcano Fang stirs, smoke and ash belching from its mouth for the first time in millennia. Random fires ignite across Tahr with no apparent cause. Beneath it all, darker powers roil and rage as those long-forgotten plot their violent exodus from the eternal prison of Fury. As the very land of Tahr begins to quake and crumble, the Master of Kehrlia makes his play at the throne, putting into motion a scheme that would enslave humanity.Witness the fall of kingdoms through the eyes of Tahr's would-be heroes: Lucan Thorne: a roguish young tavern hustler. Aria Evanti: a demure elven princess. Firstson J'arn Silverstone: stoic heir to the dwarven Sovereign. Shyla Greykin: the wide-eyed, irreverent gnome girl who dared venture Outside.Drawn together by forces unseen, these extraordinary individuals find themselves swept into an epic quest that will ask a question old as time: how far into the abyss can one venture before redemption is forever out of reach?So begin The Days of Ash and Fury.

    But when he discovers a mysterious stone on his grandfather’s ancient Earth ship, he’s forced to confront the lies he was raised to believe.Not only are they real, they’re taking over the world one wicked deed at a time. Now only one thing can stop them. The Emerson Stone.Ace is faced with a choice. Run and hide? Or risk everything at one last chance to save Yutara.

    After a mysterious rift in the fabric of spacetime strands him on an alien world, John must join forces with some unlikely childhood heroes to have any chance of surviving and soon discovers that this strange new world isn’t that alien after all.Someone has been here before and found a way back to tell about it. There is hope, but this is not the fairy tale he knows and John will have to fight if he wants to get home.

    

    The stories range from the sweetly heartwarming to the often surprising and make a uniquely memorable and inspiring gift to animal lovers around the world.

    He intends to work hard and one day be wealthy just like Ryan promises everyone who moves to Rapture. He opens a small business. For a few years things are good, almost idyllic. The good life is shattered when one day his daughter mysteriously vanishes without trace. The police of Rapture don't seem to want to help. So Arthur sets out to find her himself. He is lead down into a seedy underworld that exists below the upmarket façade of Rapture. But can he find her in time? Would you kindly like to know more? Download now to find out for yourself. Scroll to the top of the page and select the buy now button. Product Tags: Rapture, The Big Daddy, Andrew Ryan, Rapture The Big Daddy,

    Carrie, her close childhood friend and granddaughter of the Viscount's nanny, has always been expected to marry Hal - but when she goes into service she finds herself longing for the one person she can never hope to marry.Olivia, the middle Fenton sister, follows a more conventional path, forging friendships with the British royal family and attending a finishing school in Germany. Her relationship with Count von der Schulenburg does not raise eyebrows, but as the mid-1930s approach, she finds herself in a country experiencing rapid, radical and dangerous social change. Violet, the youngest of the Fenton sisters, is also the most reckless. She dreams of becoming an actress in Hollywood, unaware her life will be filled with more drama than any part she will ever play. And then there is Rozalind, their American cousin, who is secretly in love with a married U.S. senator. Her ambitions to become a photojournalist will also take her into the heart of Hitler's Germany.Set against the rich canvas of the first half of the twentieth century, A Season of Secrets is an unforgettable tale of passion and betrayal, love and war from the ever popular Margaret Pemberton.