The Video Gaming Manual


Book Description

Video gaming has evolved over the years to become a massive market, on course to overtake mainstream forms of entertainment such as films and music. The Video Gaming Manual reflects on the full history of the industry and provides an overview of key hardware, comprising an introduction and analysis, technical specifications, common problems (and, where applicable, solutions) and selected key software titles. Written by an author known and respected in the video gaming world, and supported by hundreds of carefully selected images, this fascinating retrospective will appeal to seasoned and casual gamers alike




Tabletop Gaming Manual


Book Description

Tabletop gaming is enjoying a huge renaissance. Sales of hobby board games have risen in double digits yearly for the past decade, with more people enjoying the physical, non-digital aspects of playing, along with the social interaction. It's one of the biggest sectors in crowd-funding platform Kickstarter.




How to Become a Video Game Artist


Book Description

Become a Player in the Business of Video Game Art Every year video games generate billions of dollars and some of the most dynamic and engaging artwork today. It’s an ever-growing field that holds great professional opportunity, but you need the right skills and savvy if you want to stake your claim. In How to Become a Video Game Artist, veteran video game designer Sam R. Kennedy provides the inside track on everything you need to forge a career in the world of video game art. Starting with the basics of game creation and a look at the artistic skills necessary to get started, Kennedy spotlights specific, key roles for creators—from concept artists to character animators to marketing artists and beyond. Each chapter features screenshots from popular video games like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and World of Warcraft; interviews with video game art professionals who’ve worked for top gaming companies like BioWare, Blizzard, and Ubisoft; step-by-step examples of actual game art; and detailed breakdowns of the training and portfolio samples you’ll need to make these jobs your own. For anyone who wants to go from gamer to game designer, this book contains all the secrets you’ll need to rise to the top of one of the most exciting industries of our time.




The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual


Book Description

Journalists, stop playing guessing games! Inside the answers to your most pressing questions await: Videogame, one word or two? Xbox, XBox or X-box? What defines a good game review? Fitting neatly between The AP Stylebook and Wired Style, The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual is the ultimate resource for game journalists and the first volume to definitively catalogue the breathtaking multibillion-dollar game industry from A to Z. Includes official International Game Journalists Association rules for grammar, spelling, usage, capitalization and abbreviations, plus proven tips and guidelines for producing polished, professional prose about the world's most exciting entertainment biz. Exploring the field from yesterday's humble origins to tomorrow's hottest trends, The Videogame Style Guide and Reference Manual contains all the tools you need to realize a distinguished career in game journalism.




Driving Games Manual


Book Description

by João Diniz Sanches Now available in paperback, this is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of the fast-moving world of racing videogames. Starting with a history of racing games, and split into decades highlighting the major arcade, PC and console releases for that period, this book acts as a history, a buying guide and a practical manual, with sections on driving technique, car set-up/tuning, and the benefits of force-feedback steering wheels/simulators. from naff 80s arcade games, right up to GT5, it s all here Top Gear Magazine




The Video Games Guide


Book Description

The Video Games Guide is the world's most comprehensive reference book on computer and video games. Presented in an A to Z format, this greatly expanded new edition spans fifty years of game design--from the very earliest (1962's Spacewar) through the present day releases on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC. Each game entry includes the year of release, the hardware it was released on, the name of the developer/publisher, a one to five star quality rating, and a descriptive review which offers fascinating nuggets of trivia, historical notes, cross-referencing with other titles, information on each game's sequels and of course the author's views and insights into the game. In addition to the main entries and reviews, a full-color gallery provides a visual timeline of gaming through the decades, and several appendices help to place nearly 3,000 games in context. Appendices include: a chronology of gaming software and hardware, a list of game designers showing their main titles, results of annual video game awards, notes on sourcing video games, and a glossary of gaming terms.




Arcade Fever The Fan's Guide To The Golden Age Of Video Games


Book Description

Arcade Fever is a full-color illustrated history of video arcade games, with tributes to more than 50 classic games like Pong, Space Invaders, Pac Man, Q-Bert, Frogger, and TRON. Learn which game caused a yen shortage in Japan -- and which games inspired breakfast cereals, Saturday-morning cartoons, episodes of Seinfeld,and #1 pop-music singles. Meet the visionary musicians, writers, animators, cabinet artists, and other unsung heroes of the video game industry. The perfect gift for anyone who spent their childhood in video arcades, Arcade Fever is a pop-culture nostalgia trip you won't want to miss! John Sellers writes for Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, TV Guide, and other national magazines. He is also the author of Pop Culture Aptitude Test: Rad, 80s Version. He was the World Champion of Donkey Kong in 1983 and appeared on the television show "That's Incredible!"




The Craft and Science of Game Design


Book Description

The Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer’s Manual goes into the nuts and bolts of video game development from the perspective of a veteran designer with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. It covers the psychology and biology of why people play games and goes in depth on the techniques and tricks professional game designers use to be successful in game development. If you are looking to make a career in video games, or are already in the industry, the insights and hard-earned lessons contained in this book are sure to be useful at all levels of the profession. Originally from Canada, Phil O’Connor has been making video games all over the world since 1997. Phil has worked at some of the industry’s largest studios on some of the biggest projects, including Far Cry 3 and Rainbow Six Siege. With credits on nearly 20 games, Phil has shared in this book some of the less-known details of being a game designer in today’s video game industry, along with a breakdown of some of the skills to help professional designers shine.




The Comic Book Story of Video Games


Book Description

A complete, illustrated history of video games--highlighting the machines, games, and people who have made gaming a worldwide, billion-dollar industry/artform--told in a graphic novel format. Author Jonathan Hennessey and illustrator Jack McGowan present the first full-color, chronological origin story for this hugely successful, omnipresent artform and business. Hennessey provides readers with everything they need to know about video games--from their early beginnings during World War II to the emergence of arcade games in the 1970s to the rise of Nintendo to today's app-based games like Angry Birds and Pokemon Go. Hennessey and McGowan also analyze the evolution of gaming as an artform and its impact on society. Each chapter features spotlights on major players in the development of games and gaming that contains everything that gamers and non-gamers alike need to understand and appreciate this incredible phenomenon.




Designing Games


Book Description

Ready to give your design skills a real boost? This eye-opening book helps you explore the design structure behind most of todayâ??s hit video games. Youâ??ll learn principles and practices for crafting games that generate emotionally charged experiencesâ??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 play Explore several options for combining narrative with interactivity Build interactions that let multiplayer gamers get into each otherâ??s heads Motivate players through rewards that align with the rest of the game Establish a metaphor vocabulary to help players learn which design aspects are game mechanics Plan, test, and analyze your design through iteration rather than deciding everything up front Learn how your gameâ??s market positioning will affect your design