FLEXIBILITY AND WEIGHT From Richard Williams' The Animator's Survival Kit comes key chapters in mini form. The Animator's Survival Kit is the essential tool for animators. However, sometimes you don't want to carry the hefty expanded edition around with you to your college or studio if you're working on just one aspect of it that day. The Animation Minis take some of the most essential chapters and make them available in smaller, lightweight, hand-bag/backpack size versions. Easy to carry. Easy to study. This Mini focuses on Flexibility and Weight. How do we loosen things up and get snap and vitality into our performance at the same time as keeping the figure stable and solid? The answer: successive breaking of joints to give flexibility. In this mini, Williams stresses the importance of knowing where the weight is on every drawing. He demonstrates that the best way to show weight is to be aware of it, conscious of it, and think about it all the time - knowing where the weight is coming from, where it's traveling over and where it's transferring to.

Successful games merge art and technology in truly unique ways. Fused under tight production deadlines and strict performance requirements, shaped by demanding player expectations, games are among the most complex software projects created today. Game AI Pro: Collected Wisdom of Game AI Professionals covers both the art and the technology of game AI. Nothing covered is theory or guesswork. The book brings together the accumulated wisdom, cutting-edge ideas, and clever tricks and techniques of 54 of today's top game AI professionals. Some chapters present techniques that have been developed and passed down within the community for years while others discuss the most exciting new research and ideas from today's most innovative games. The book includes core algorithms that you'll need to succeed, such as behavior trees, utility theory, spatial representation, path planning, motion control, and tactical reasoning. It also describes tricks and techniques that will truly bring your game to life, including perception systems, social modeling, smart camera systems, player prediction, and even an AI sound designer. Throughout, the book discusses the optimizations and performance enhancements that enable your game to run while maintaining 60 frames per second.

Creating Q*bert and Other Classic Video Arcade Games takes you inside the video arcade game industry during the pivotal decades of the 1980s and 1990s. Warren Davis, the creator of the groundbreaking Q*bert, worked as a member of the creative teams who developed some of the most popular video games of all time, including Joust 2, Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Revolution X. In a witty and entertaining narrative, Davis shares insightful stories that offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work as a designer and programmer at the most influential and dominant video arcade game manufacturers of the era, including Gottlieb, Williams/Bally/Midway, and Premiere. Likewise, the talented artists, designers, creators, and programmers Davis has collaborated with over the years reads like a who's who of video gaming history: Eugene Jarvis, Tim Skelly, Ed Boon, Jeff Lee, Dave Thiel, John Newcomer, George Petro, Jack Haeger, and Dennis Nordman, among many others. The impact Davis has had on the video arcade game industry is deep and varied. At Williams, Davis created and maintained the revolutionary digitizing system that allowed actors and other photo-realistic imagery to be utilized in such games as Mortal Kombat, T2, and NBA Jam. When Davis worked on the fabled Us vs. Them, it was the first time a video game integrated a live action story with arcade-style graphics. On the one-of-a-kind Exterminator, Davis developed a brand new video game hardware system, and created a unique joystick that sensed both omni-directional movement and rotation, a first at that time. For Revolution X, he created a display system that simulated a pseudo-3D environment on 2D hardware, as well as a tool for artists that facilitated the building of virtual worlds and the seamless integration of the artist's work into game code. Whether you're looking for insights into the Golden Age of Arcades, would like to learn how Davis first discovered his design and programming skills as a teenager working with a 1960's computer called a Monrobot XI, or want to get the inside scoop on what it was like to film the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Aerosmith for Revolution X, Davis' memoir provides a backstage tour of the arcade and video game industry during its most definitive and influential period.

All games are potentially transformative experiences because they engage the player in dynamic action. When repurposed in an educational context, even highly popular casual games played online to pass the time can engage players in a way that deepens learning. Games as Transformative Experiences for Critical Thinking, Cultural Awareness, and Deep Learning: Strategies & Resources examines the learning value of a wide variety of games across multiple disciplines. Organized just like a well-made game, the book is divided into four parts highlighting classroom experiences, community and culture, virtual learning, and interdisciplinary instruction. The author crosses between the high school and college classroom and addresses a range of disciplines, both online and classroom practice, the design of curriculum, and the transformation of assessment practices. In addition to a wealth of practical exercises, resources, and lesson ideas, the book explains how to use a wide and diverse range of games from casual to massively multiplayer online games for self-improvement as well as classroom situations.

This book offers a thorough examination of digital work by women comedians in the US, exploring their use of digital media to perform jokes, engage with fans, remake their reputations, and become political activists This book argues that despite its many adverse effects, digital work is changing comedy, empowering women to create new comic forms and negotiate the contentious political climate incited by former President Donald. J. Trump Chapters are focused on video-podcasting, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the streaming platform Netflix - each containing informative case studies on significant women comedians who use them, including Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, Leslie Jones, Mindy Kaling, Colleen Ballinger, Lilly Singh, Ms. Pat, Whitney Cummings, Issa Rae, and others To understand their strategies, this book examines the popularity of their digital content, their career-outcomes in television and film, as well as the ups and downs of their critical reputations in magazines, newspapers, the trade press, and with their participatory audiences online This insightful and timely work will appeal to scholars researching and teaching in the areas of media studies, digital communication, gender studies and performance

This is the third edition of Character Development and Storytelling for Games, a standard work in the field that brings all of the teaching from the first two books up to date and tackles the new challenges of today. Professional game writer and designer Lee Sheldon combines his experience and expertise in this updated edition. New examples, new game types, and new challenges throughout the text highlight the fundamentals of character writing and storytelling. But this book is not just a box of techniques for writers of video games. It is an exploration of the roots of character development and storytelling that readers can trace from Homer to Chaucer to Cervantes to Dickens and even Mozart. Many contemporary writers also contribute insights from books, plays, television, films, and, yes, games. Sheldon and his contributors emphasize the importance of creative instinct and listening to the inner voice that guides successful game writers and designers. Join him on his quest to instruct, inform, and maybe even inspire your next great game.

Broadens the horizons of Chinese culture enthusiasts without expertise in animation, and helps to dismantle stereotypical perceptions of Chinese animated film culture as established in the discourses of Western animation studios. Answers the rising need for conducting thorough studies of Chinese mass culture and mechanisms of soft power and indoctrination, and thus helps to understand the cultural identity and heritage of China, which is becoming a global superpower and an aspiring world economic leader. Complements a niche existing in the general knowledge on Asian popular cultures.

This book provides a comprehensive understanding of the technology architecture, physical facility changes and - most importantly - the new media management workflows and business processes to support the entire lifecycle of the IP broadcast facility from an engineering and workflow perspective. Fully updated, this second edition covers the technological evolutions and changes in the media broadcast industry, including the new standards and specifications for live IP production, the SMPTE ST2110 suite of standards, the necessity of protecting against cyber threats and the expansion of cloud services in opening new possibilities. It provides users with the necessary information for planning, organizing, producing and distributing media for the modern broadcast facility. Key features of this text include: Strategies to implement a cost-effective live and file-based production and distribution system. A cohesive, big-picture viewpoint that helps you identify how to overcome the challenges of upgrading your plant. The impact live production is having on the evolution to IP. Case studies serve as recommendations and examples of use. New considerations in engineering and maintenance of IP and file-based systems. Those in the fields of TV, cable, IT engineering and broadcast engineering will find this book an invaluable resource, as will students learning how to set up modern broadcast facilities and the workflows of contemporary broadcasting.

Welcome to the second volume of Game Audio Programming: Principles and Practices - the first series of its kind dedicated to the art of game audio programming! This volume features more than 20 chapters containing advanced techniques from some of the top game audio programmers and sound designers in the industry. This book continues the tradition of collecting more knowledge and wisdom about game audio programming than any other volume in history. Both audio programming beginners and seasoned veterans will find content in this book that is valuable, with topics ranging from extreme low-level mixing to high-level game integration. Each chapter contains techniques that were used in games that have shipped, and there is a plethora of code samples and diagrams. There are chapters on threading, DSP implementation, advanced middleware techniques in FMOD Studio and Audiokinetic Wwise, ambiences, mixing, music, and more. This book has something for everyone who is programming audio for a game: programmers new to the art of audio programming, experienced audio programmers, and those souls who just got assigned the audio code. This book is for you!

Introduces the reader to the technical aspects of real-time visual effects. Built upon a career of over twenty years in the feature film visual effects and the real-time video game industries and tested on graduate and undergraduate students. Explores all real-time visual effects in four categories: in-camera effects, in-material effects, simulations and particles.

WALKS From Richard Williams' The Animator's Survival Kit comes key chapters in mini form. The Animator's Survival Kit is the essential tool for animators. However, sometimes you don't want to carry the hefty expanded edition around with you to your college or studio if you're working on just one aspect of it that day. The Animation Minis take some of the most essential chapters and make them available in smaller, lightweight, hand-bag/backpack size versions. Easy to carry. Easy to study. This Mini focuses on Walks. Walks are full of personality. Walks reveal the character, they tell the story of the person. In this Mini Richard Williams provides the building blocks of how to construct walks, using stick figures to make it easy to learn, copy and understand. The process will encourage you to invent and entertain.

Each Game Mechanisms Entry Contains: The definition of the mechanism An explanatory diagram of the mechanism Discussion of how the mechanism is used in successful games Considerations for implementing the mechanism in new designs

In this book, veteran game developers, academics, journalists, and others provide their processes and experiences with level design. Each provides a unique perspective representing multiple steps of the process for interacting with and creating game levels - experiencing levels, designing levels, constructing levels, and testing levels. These diverse perspectives offer readers a window into the thought processes that result in memorable open game worlds, chilling horror environments, computer-generated levels, evocative soundscapes, and many other types of gamespaces. This collection invites readers into the minds of professional designers as they work and provides evergreen topics on level design and game criticism to inspire both new and veteran designers. Key Features: Learn about the processes of experienced developers and level designers in their own words Discover best-practices for creating levels for persuasive play and designing collaboratively Offers analysis methods for better understanding game worlds and how they function in response to gameplay Find your own preferred method of level design by learning the processes of multiple industry veterans

This fully revised and updated third edition offers students and artists valuable insights into traditional color theory and its practical application using today's cutting-edge technology. The text is lavishly illustrated, stressing issues of contemporary color use and examining how today's artists and designers are using color in a multitude of mediums in their work. It is the only book that has parity between the male and female artists and designers represented, while containing more multicultural and global examples of art and design than any other text. This book begins with how we see color and its biological basis, progressing to the various theories about color and delving into the psychological meaning of color and its use. There are individual chapters on color use in art and design, as well as global and multicultural color use. One chapter investigates cross cultural life events such as marriages and funerals, while examining the six major religions' conceptual and psychological underpinnings of color use. The final chapter explores the future of color. Contemporary Color is the ideal text for color theory courses, but also for beginning art and design students, no matter what their future major discipline or emphasis may be. It provides the foundation on which to build their career and develop their own personal artistic voice and vision.

This book is a theoretical and practical deep dive into the craft of worldbuilding for video games, with an explicit focus on how different job disciplines contribute to worldbuilding. In addition to providing lenses for recognizing the various components in creating fictional and digital worlds, the author positions worldbuilding as a reciprocal and dynamic process, a process which acknowledges that worldbuilding is both created by and instrumental in the design of narrative, gameplay, art, audio, and more. Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games encourages mutual respect and collaboration among teams and provides game writers and narrative designers tools for effectively incorporating other job roles into their own worldbuilding practice and vice versa. Features: Provides in-depth exploration of worldbuilding via respective job disciplines Deep dives and case studies into a variety of games, both AAA and indie Includes boxed articles for deeper interrogation and exploration of key ideas Contains templates and checklists for practical tips on worldbuilding

Are you thinking about working in the board game industry? Here's what you need to know. There are so many jobs and roles that need to be filled in the board game industry. You might just have the right skills and experience to excel. But first you need to know what opportunities exist and what the hardest gaps are to fill! In this book, you'll discover * What jobs are really in demand * How you can get your foot in the door with a publisher * Jobs in the industry you've never even thought of * What other opportunities exist for people with skills just like yours With insights from over 40 industry pros, as well as the author's many years of experience, you'll be able to put your own skills and experience to great use in an amazing, growing industry.

Making a great board game and pitching it to publishers are two completely different things. If you've got a game that you want to share with the world but don't know what to do next, this book will help you navigate through exactly what steps to take. You'll discover: How to find the right publisher Exactly what publishers are looking for How to create a sell sheet that will actually sell your game How to negotiate the best deal and get paid more for your game What to look out for in contracts to make sure you don't get exploited You'll learn from Joe's experiences as a full-time board game designer and instructor, along with tips and stories from a dozen other published designers, plus the exact things that publishers want. Direct from 16 established publishers.

The first of its kind, this anthology in the burgeoning field of technology ethics offers students and other interested readers 32 chapters, each written in an accessible and lively manner specifically for this volume. The chapters are conveniently organized into five parts: I. Perspectives on Technology and its Value II. Technology and the Good Life III. Computer and Information Technology IV. Technology and Business V. Biotechnologies and the Ethics of Enhancement A hallmark of the volume is multidisciplinary contributions both (1) in "analytic" and "continental" philosophies and (2) across several hot-button topics of interest to students, including the ethics of autonomous vehicles, psychotherapeutic phone apps, and bio-enhancement of cognition and in sports. The volume editors, both teachers of technology ethics, have compiled a set of original and timely chapters that will advance scholarly debate and stimulate fascinating and lively classroom discussion. Downloadable eResources (available from www.routledge.com/9781032038704) provide a glossary of all relevant terms, sample classroom activities/discussion questions relevant for chapters, and links to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entries and other relevant online materials. Key Features: Examines the most pivotal ethical questions around our use of technology, equipping readers to better understand technology's promises and perils. Explores throughout a central tension raised by technological progress: maintaining social stability vs. pursuing dynamic social improvements. Provides ample coverage of the pressing issues of free speech and productive online discourse.

Computer Architectures is a collection of multidisciplinary historical works unearthing sites, concepts, and concerns that catalyzed the cross-contamination of computers and architecture in the mid-20th century. Weaving together intellectual, social, cultural, and material histories, this book paints the landscape that brought computing into the imagination, production, and management of the built environment, whilst foregrounding the impact of architecture in shaping technological development. The book is organized into sections corresponding to the classic von Neumann diagram for computer architecture: program (control unit), storage (memory), input/output and computation (arithmetic/logic unit), each acting as a quasi-material category for parsing debates among architects, engineers, mathematicians, and technologists. Collectively, authors bring forth the striking homologies between a computer program and an architectural program, a wall and an interface, computer memory and storage architectures, structures of mathematics and structures of things. The collection initiates new histories of knowledge and technology production that turn an eye toward disciplinary fusions and their institutional and intellectual drives. Constructing the common ground between design and computing, this collection addresses audiences working at the nexus of design, technology, and society, including historians and practitioners of design and architecture, science and technology scholars, and media studies scholars.

This volume offers a critical overview of digital reading practices and scholarly efforts to analyze and understand reading in the mediatized landscape Building on research about digital reading, born digital literature, and digital audiobooks, The Digital Reading Condition explores reading as part of a broader cultural shift encompassing many forms of media and genres Bringing together research from media and literary studies, digital humanities, scholarship on reading and learning, as well as sensory studies and research on multimodal and multisensory media reception, the authors address and challenge print-biased conceptions of reading that are still prevalent in research, whether the reading medium is print or digital They argue that the act of reading itself is changing, and rather than rejecting digital media as not suitable for sustained or focused reading practices, argue that the complex media landscape challenges us to rethink how to define reading as a mediated practice Presenting a truly interdisciplinary perspective on digital reading practices, this volume will appeal to scholars and graduate students in communication, media studies, new media and technology, literature, digital humanities, literacy studies, composition, and rhetoric

Description: This tutorial-based book allows readers to create a first-person game from start to finish using industry-standard (and free to student) tools of Maya, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine. The first half of the book lays out the basics of using Maya and Substance Painter to create game-ready assets. This includes polygonal modeling, UV layout, and custom texture painting. Then, the book covers rigging and animation solutions to create assets to be placed in the game including animated first-person assets and motion-captured NPC animations. Finally, readers can put it all together and build interactivity that allows the player to create a finished game using the assets built and animated earlier in the book. * Written by industry professionals with real-world experience in building assets and games. * Build a complete game from start to finish. * Learn what the pros use: construct all assets using the tools used at industries across the world. * All software used are free to students. * When complete, students will have a playable version of an FPS game. Jing Tian Li is a graduate of China's Central Academy of Fine Arts and New York's School of Visual Arts, where he earned an MFA in Computer Art. He currently is an Assistant Professor of 3D Animation & Game Design at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Kassandra Arevalo is an instructor of 3D Animation & Game Design at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. She previously worked as an animator at Immersed Games. Matt Tovar is an industry veteran animator. He has worked at Naughty Dog, Infinity Ward, and Sony Interactive on such games as The Last of Us, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and most recently Marvel's Avengers with Crystal Dynamics. He is an Assistant Professor of 3D Animation at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Analyses a variety of approaches to development and publishing, across a multitude of platforms and genres, to provide a new vision for the next twenty years of game development. Considers technical advances in adjacent markets and how they will impact the games industry over the next twenty years. Includes insightful interviews from leading game and entertainment industry figures.

This book examines the brief yet accelerated evolution of newsgames, a genre that has emerged from puzzles, quizzes, and interactives augmenting digital journalism into full-fledged immersive video games from open-world designs to virtual reality experiences. Critics have raised questions about the credibility and ethics of transforming serious news stories of political consequence into entertainment media, and the risks of trivializing grave and catastrophic events into mere games. Dowling explores both the negatives of newsgames, and how the use of entertainment media forms and their narrative methods mainly associated with fiction can add new and potentially more powerful meaning to news than traditional formats allow. The book also explores how industrial and cultural shifts in the digital publishing industry have enabled newsgames to evolve in a manner that strengthens certain core principles of journalism, particularly advocacy on behalf of marginalized and oppressed groups. Cutting-edge and thoughtful, The Gamification of Digital Journalism is a must-read for scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in multimedia journalism and immersive storytelling.

This unique survey of the career of Michael Dudok de Wit discusses all of his works and offers a glimpse into his private life. The biography of this European master of 2D animation, born in the Netherlands and based in London, is the first complete overview of the well-defined and canonic opus of this humble genius. Visually and thematically, Dudok de Wit's poetic and singular style of animation differs from the rest of contemporary independent animation production. This book reveals what still challenges and thrills Dudok de Wit in the art of animation and why he persistently continues to believe in the beauty of hand-drawn animation. Key Features The complete animation production of Michael Dudok de Wit, never-before reviewed in one volume An all-embracing approach regarding this auteur, unavailable elsewhere in one place (his biography, his peculiar method of work, his extracurricular activities) An ad hoc glossary of animation written by Michael Dudok de Wit and a critical reception of his body of work with a wide contribution of his colleagues and collaborators Filmography and bibliography Author Andrijana Ruzic graduated in History and Criticism of Art at the Universita degli Studi in Milan, Italy, where she fell in love with the medium of animation. She specialised in the History of Animated Film under Giannalberto Bendazzi's mentorship. For the past six years, she has curated the section dedicated to animated films at the International Comics Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a member of the Selection Board of Animafest Scanner, the symposium for Contemporary Animation Studies at the World Festival of Animated Film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. She writes about animation and art for the Belgrade weekly magazine Vreme.