Book picks similar to
How Pac-Man Eats by Noah Wardrip-Fruin


game-studies
nonfiction
design
dissertation

Heroes Unlimited


Alex Marciniszyn - 1994
    Trade Paperback. Book Condition: Good. The cover does show some normal wear. Fraying on lamenation along edges of front and back cover.

The 125 Best Brain Teasers of All Time: A Mind-Blowing Challenge of Math, Logic, and Wordplay


Marcel Danesi - 2018
    Collected here to keep your wits sharp, The Best Brain Teasers of All Time features the cleverest brain teasers from around the world and throughout history.The Best Brain Teasers of All Time gives you hours of fun-filled entertainment with brain teasers that develop your problem-solving skills in math, logic, and wordplay. Organized as an integrated challenge, these brain teasers build in momentum as they increase in difficulty from classic nursery rhymes to the riddle of the sphinx.The Best Brain Teasers of All Time puts your mind to the test with: 125 Brain Teasers that require no special skills to solve. Plus, each question comes with an optional clue in case you get stumped and a handy answer key in the back to test yourself or play with friends Brain Teasers for Every Level that cater to beginners and advanced masterminds alike, with brain teasers organized by level of difficulty to improve your skills as you move forward Hints of History that provide fun facts and background information for every brain teaser Get ready to sharpen your wit with every “aha” moment. The Best Brain Teasers of All Time is a go-to source for timeless fun and mind-blowing challenges.

Analyzing the Analyzers


Harlan Harris - 2013
    

The Essenes: Children of the Light


Stuart Wilson - 2005
    * Did Jesus really die on the cross? * Who was Mary Magdalene and what was her real connection with Jesus?* Extensive new information about the secretive Essene mystery schools. It is one of the great tragedies of Western culture that Christianity forgot and eventually denied its Essene roots. Those roots are herein explored from the perspective of past life regression. Fascinating new information emerged, including Essene links with the Druids, the existence of a secret Core Group around Jesus, and contacts with the Order of Melchizedek. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is that the Essene Jesus is restored to us, bringing to life the wise and loving Being who has been obscured by so much doctrine and dogma. His words speak to us across the centuries and open a clearer understanding of the Way, which he established, and the ultimate goal of that Way. This book makes clear that Jesus did not stand alone. He had the backing of a powerful and dedicated team of Essenes, including Joseph of Arimathea. Thanks to the technique of past life regression, this story can now be told for the first time, opening up a fascinating window onto a unique and vital time in history.

Minnesota Mayhem: A History of Calamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful Behavior in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes


Ben Welter - 2012
    These stories and photos, culled from the Star Tribune's microfilm archive by author Ben Welter, range from the catastrophic to the merely curious. From a fire that destroyed the State Capitol in 1881, to a wordless fistfight that broke out on a Minneapolis street in 1898, a flu outbreak that killed more than 10,000 Minnesotans in 1918 and the arrest of Frank Lloyd Wright at a Lake Minnetonka cottage in 1926.

Play Unsafe


Graham Walmsley - 2007
    We buy shelves of thick books. We plan detailed adventures. We memorise rules.In Play Unsafe, Graham Walmsley explores what happens when you throw the serious stuff away: when you stop working, stop planning and start playing.This book explains how to make roleplaying less like work and more like play; stop killing other players' ideas and build on them instead; and put stories at the heart of your game.

The Homiletical Plot, Expanded Edition: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form


Eugene L. Lowry - 2000
    Craddock and afterword by the author, Eugene L. Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, Expanded Edition follows in the same solid tradition of its predecessor. Upon its release, The Homiletical Plot quickly became a pivotal work on the art of preaching. Instead of comments on a biblical passage, Lowry suggested that the sermon follow a narrative form that moves from beginning to end, as with the plot of a story. This expanded edition continues to be an excellent teaching resource and learning tool for all preachers from introductory students to seasoned clergy.

We Are The Cops: An adrenalin-fuelled ride through the real lives of America's police


Michael Matthews - 2018
    An excellent corrective to the Hollywood version of cops and crime.’ Miles Corwin ‘These are stories told by one cop to another - raw, unfiltered and funny. This book is both laugh-out-loud hilarious and moving.’ Jane Bussman WE ARE THE COPS is an adrenalin-fuelled ride through the lives of America’s police, told in the authentic voices of the cops themselves. The journey begins with the rookie’s first day on the job, and moves through the heartbreak of officers dying in the line of duty, the bloody reality of policing savage gang wars, the devastating consequences of drug crime, a gut-wrenching cop’s eye view of 9/11, and even an encounter with a runaway gorilla called Little Joe. These real-life stories from crime fighting’s front line come from cops of every rank, from chiefs to street cops, working in big cities and small towns all over the US. The result is a stunning montage of brutal, funny and sometimes tragic true events which paints a vivid and unforgettable portrait of life as an American cop.

Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People Who Play Them


Jamie Madigan - 2015
    They can be addicting. They are available almost anywhere you go and are appealing to people of all ages. They can eat up our time, cost us money, even kill our relationships. But it's not all bad! This book will show that rather than being a waste of time, video games can help us develop skills, make friends, succeed at work, form good habits, and be happy. Taking the time to learn what's happening in our heads as we play and shop allows us to approach games and gaming communities on our own terms and get more out of them. With sales in the tens of billions of dollars each year, just about everybody is playing some kind of video game whether it's on a console, a computer, a web browser, or a phone. Much of the medium's success is built on careful (though sometimes unwitting) adherence to basic principles of psychology. This is something that's becoming even more important as games become more social, interactive, and sophisticated. This book offers something unique to the millions of people who play or design games: how to use an understanding of psychology to be a better part of their gaming communities, to avoid being manipulated when they shop and play, and to get the most enjoyment out of playing games. With examples from the games themselves, Jamie Madigan offers a fuller understanding of the impact of games on our psychology and the influence of psychology on our games.

Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings: The rise and fall of Sierra On-Line


Ken Williams - 2020
    The author, Ken Williams, founded Sierra On-Line Sierra with his wife Roberta who went on to create many of the company's best selling games. Sierra grew from just Ken and Roberta to over one thousand employees and a fan base that still exists today, despite the fact that the company was torn apart by criminal activities, scandal and corruption that resulted in jail sentences and the collapse of Sierra. This is the behind-the-scenes story of the rise and fall, as it could only be told by the ultimate insider.

Chess Opening Names: The Fascinating & Entertaining History Behind The First Few Moves


Nathan Rose - 2017
    You probably know the names already: the Sicilian Defense, the Ruy Lopez, the French Defense, the Caro-Kann, the Benoni, the London System, the Scandinavian Defense and so on. But most chess players don't know WHY the openings are called what they are. In this entertaining book, bestselling author Nathan Rose lays out the origins of over 50 standard chess openings and their names. The tales are often deeply connected to the lives of the leading chess grandmasters, the historical events taking place at the time, and the critical chess world championship contests. All these stories are collected together in this, the first book dedicated to uncovering them. The names of the chess openings tell the history of chess. You will meet larger than life characters such as Bobby Fischer, Aron Nimzowitsch, Alexander Alekhine, Frank Marshall, Siegbert Tarrasch, Wilhelm Steinitz, and Paul Morphy. Some of these men won their fame in the chess world championship, while some gained wider renown for reasons other than their ability to play chess. You will be agog at Paul Morphy's stunning conquest of Europe and subsequent disappearance, the outrageous antics of Aron Nimzowitsch upon losing a game, and the eccentric names Alexander Alekhine gave his cats. You will also travel through the places and events that defined chess in the early years. As David Shenk showed in "The Immortal Game", the history of chess has often mirrored the history of society. There's the 1972 world chess championship that pitted the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky against America's irascible Bobby Fischer in the "Match of the Century". The 1939 chess olympiad in Argentina which coincided with the outbreak of World War II. The unveiling of the "Mechanical Turk" chess-playing contraption in 18th-century Vienna. And let's not forget the triumph of Deep Blue over Garry Kasparov. Over 50 standard chess openings and variations. The People: Ruy Lopez Philidor Defense Evans Gambit Petrov's Defense Schliemann-Jaenisch Gambit Falkbeer Countergambit Staunton Gambit Anderssen's Opening Morphy's Defense Caro-Kann Defense Bird's Opening Winawer Variation Albin Countergambit Steinitz Variation Chigorin Defense Alapin's Opening Maroczy Bind Tarrasch Defense Marshall Defense Rubinstein Variation Alekhine's Defense Grunfeld Defense Reti Opening Nimzowitsch Defense Najdorf Variation Pirc Defense Torre Attack Grob's Attack Larsen's Opening Benko Gambit Fischer Defense The Places: English Opening Scotch Opening French Defense Dutch Defense Danish Gambit Indian Defense Scandinavian Defense Sicilian Defense Catalan Opening Baltic Opening Slav Defense London System Paris Opening Berlin Defense Vienna Game Budapest Gambit Leningrad Variation Scheveningen Variation The Stories: Dragon Variation Giuoco Piano Benoni Defense Grand Prix Attack Orangutan Opening Fried Liver Attack Impress your friends with superior opening knowledge - withou

Lost Vegas: The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker


Paul McGuire - 2010
    Las Vegas lures you to shed moral responsibility and piss away your money on indulgences like decadent food, entertainment, gambling, and sex. If you don't enjoy these pastimes, then what's the point of visiting the land of compromised values? Where else can you get a cheap steak, crash a Mexican wedding, get cold-decked in blackjack by a dealer named Dong, play video poker for thirteen straight hours, drink pina coladas out of a plastic coconut, bum a cigarette from an 85-year-old woman with an oxygen tank, speed away to the Spearmint Rhino in a free limo, get rubbed by a former Miss Teen USA, puke in the back of a cab driven by a retired Navy SEAL, snort cheap cocaine in the bathroom at O'Sheas, and then catch a lucky card on the river to crack pocket aces and win a poker tournament? Only in Las Vegas.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to RVing


April Maher - 2001
    An updated and revised guide for the more than 30 million Americans who are living the RV lifestyle and the millions of others who have considered it but have not yet taken the plunge, The Complete Idiot's Guide® to RVing, Second Edition, includes the following: Basic facts about the different types of RVs-camper, van, motor home, bus, or tow rig-and the advantages of each; Advice on buying your RV, from dealer negotiations to acquiring the proper insurance; Driving tips for piloting your RV; Information on how to choose a campground with an eye for water, electricity, propane, wastewater dump, hookups, phone, cable, and campground rules.

How to Draw Fantasy Art and RPG Maps: Step by Step Cartography for Gamers and Fans


Jared Blando - 2015
    Fortunes are decided. Kingdoms are lost. Entire worlds are created. This book will teach you to bring your fictional realm to life with simple step-by-step instructions on how to draw authentic fantasy maps. Set the stage for adventure by illustrating domains, castles and battle lines, mountains, forests and sea monsters! Learn to create completely unique and fully functional RPG maps time and time again on which your world can unfold.All the skills necessary to create awe-inspiring maps are covered! Landscapes. Add depth, balance and plausibility with rocky coastlines, towering mountains, dark forests and rolling plains. Iconography. Mark important places--towns and cities, fortresses and bridges--with symbolic iconography for easy-to-understand maps. Typography. Learn how to place readable text and the basics of decorative script. Bonus instruction teaches you to create fonts for Orcs, Elves, Vikings and dragons. Heraldry and shield design. Depict cultural and political boundaries with shields and colors. Advanced cartography. Includes how to draw landmarks, country boundaries and political lines. Build roads to connect merchants and troops, troll cairns and dragon lairs. And complete your maps with creative backgrounds, elaborate compasses and thematic legends. 30+ step-by-step demonstrations illustrate how to construct an entire fantasy world map from start to finish--both digitally and by hand!

Thinking Basketball


Ben Taylor - 2016
    Explore how certain myths arose while using our own cognition as a window into the game's popular narratives. New basketball concepts are introduced, such as power plays, portability and why the best player shouldn't always shoot. Discover how the box score can be misleading, why "closers" are overrated and how the outcome of a game fundamentally alters our memory. Behavioral economics, traffic paradoxes and other metaphors highlight this thought-provoking insight into the NBA and our own thinking. A must-read for any basketball fan -- you'll never view the sport, and maybe the world, the same again.