Computer games are one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving media of our time. Revenues from console and computer games have now overtaken those from Hollywood movies; and online gaming is one of the fastest-growing areas of the internet. Games are no longer just kids' stuff: the majority of players are now adults, and the market is constantly broadening. The visual style of games has become increasingly sophisticated, and the complexities of game-play are ever more challenging. Meanwhile, the iconography and generic forms of games are increasingly influencing a whole range of other media, from films and television to books and toys.

This book provides a systematic, comprehensive introduction to the analysis of computer and video games. It introduces key concepts and approaches drawn from literary, film and media theory in an accessible and concrete manner; and it tests their use and relevance by applying them to a small but representative selection of role-playing and action-adventure games. It combines methods of textual analysis and audience research, showing how the combination of such methods can give a more complete picture of these playable texts and the fan cultures they generate. Clearly written and engaging, it will be a key text for students in the field and for all those with an interest in taking games seriously.

Start building commercial and playable games in Unity with C# through a series of practical projects ranging from a simple 2D game to adding AR/VR experiences with this full-color guide Key Features * Create game apps, including a 2D adventure game, a 3D first-person shooter, and more * Explore Unity's component-based approach to implementing features in Unity 2022 through a GameObject hierarchy based on C# scripts * Follow steps for publishing, marketing, and maintaining your games effectively Book Description Unity 2022 by Example is a complete introduction to building games in Unity following a project-based approach. You'll be introduced to the Unity game engine and the tools available for building and customizing a game exactly the way you want while maintaining a good code foundation to build upon. Once you get familiar with the fundamentals of Unity game development, you'll start creating a 2D collection game and an adventure game followed by a 3D first-person shooter game. You'll then explore advanced topics such as machine learning by creating AI-based enemy behavior, virtual reality by extending the first-person game, and augmented reality by exploring a farming sim in a real-world setting. These topics are completed in practice while building projects using the latest game tool kits. Finally, you'll learn how to commercialize your game by publishing it to a distribution platform and maintain and support it throughout its lifespan. As you progress, you'll gain real-world knowledge and experience by taking a game from conceptual design to completion. By the end of this Unity book, you'll have strong foundational knowledge of how to structure a Unity project that is both maintainable and extensible for commercially released games. What you will learn * Navigate and use the primary windows of the editor, and the new features introduced in Unity 2022 * Create new Unity game projects and add functionality with C# code * Specify your game design and break it down into systems and components for implementation * Create beautiful playable environments quickly and use them for both 2D and 3D games * Build player characters and use them to develop complete game mechanics, the core game loop, and win/lose conditions * Get up to speed with Unity Gaming Services available for creating commercially viable games Who This Book Is For If you find yourself struggling with completing game projects in Unity and want to follow best practices while maintaining a good coding structure, then this book is for you. Aspiring game developers, as well as anyone with some experience in developing games who wants to design basic playable and commercial games in Unity with a core loop, player verbs, simple mechanics, and win/lose conditions will find this book useful. Readers are expected to have experience with the Unity Editor interface and implementing functionality by creating C# scripts.

Computer games are one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving media of our time. Revenues from console and computer games have now overtaken those from Hollywood movies; and online gaming is one of the fastest-growing areas of the internet. Games are no longer just kids' stuff: the majority of players are now adults, and the market is constantly broadening. The visual style of games has become increasingly sophisticated, and the complexities of game-play are ever more challenging. Meanwhile, the iconography and generic forms of games are increasingly influencing a whole range of other media, from films and television to books and toys.
This book provides a systematic, comprehensive introduction to the analysis of computer and video games. It introduces key concepts and approaches drawn from literary, film and media theory in an accessible and concrete manner; and it tests their use and relevance by applying them to a small but representative selection of role-playing and action-adventure games. It combines methods of textual analysis and audience research, showing how the combination of such methods can give a more complete picture of these playable texts and the fan cultures they generate. Clearly written and engaging, it will be a key text for students in the field and for all those with an interest in taking games seriously.

Bill Gates, born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955, is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. In this "Who Was...? "biography, children will learn of Gates' childhood passion for computer technology, which led him to revolutionize personal computers. Through the success of his now-world-famous software company, Microsoft, Bill Gates became one of the wealthiest philanthropists in history.This fascinating story of a child technology genius is sure to captivate any audience

America's Digital Army is an ethnographic study of the link between interactive entertainment and military power, drawing on Robertson Allen's fieldwork observing video game developers, military strategists, U.S. Army marketing agencies, and an array of defense contracting companies that worked to produce the official U.S. Army video game, America's Army. Allen uncovers the methods by which gaming technologies such as America's Army, with military funding and themes, engage in a militarization of American society that constructs everyone, even nonplayers of games, as virtual soldiers available for deployment. America's Digital Army examines the army's desire for "talented" soldiers capable of high-tech work; beliefs about America's enemies as reflected in the game's virtual combatants; tensions over best practices in military recruiting; and the sometimes overlapping cultures of gamers, game developers, and soldiers. Allen reveals how binary categorizations such as soldier versus civilian, war versus game, work versus play, and virtual versus real become blurred-if not broken down entirely-through games and interactive media that reflect the U.S. military's ludic imagination of future wars, enemies, and soldiers.

Der Band bietet eine Zusammenschau theoretischer und praktischer Perspektiven, die sich rund um das Thema Videospiel, die Erhaltung von Information und die Beharrung auf traditionellen Designparadigmen ergeben. Die Beitrage gehen uber ihre jeweiligen Disziplinen von der verbindenden Metapher des Savegames (Speicherstandes) hinaus, um unterschiedlichste Aspekte des Designs, der Bewahrung und der Kritik von Spielen verfugbar und vernetzt nutzbar zu machen. Technische und kulturwissenschaftliche Zugange erganzen sich und stellen den Lesern multifunktionale Werkzeuge zur Nutzung, Schaffung und Analyse von Videospielen zur Verfugung. Die Herausgeber*innenProf. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Wilfried Elmenreich ist Informationstechniker am Institut fur Vernetzte und Eingebettete Systeme und halt einen Lehrstuhl fur Smart Grids an der Alpen-Adria-Universitat Klagenfurt. Mag. Dr. Rene Reinhold Schallegger arbeitet im Bereich der anglophonen Kulturwissenschaften sowie der Game Studies und ist Assoziierter Professor am Institut fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik. Felix Schniz MA ist Universitatsassistent und Doktoratsstudierender am Institut fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik der Alpen-Adria-Universitat Klagenfurt. Gemeinsam sind sie die Begrunder des Masterstudiengangs Game Studies and Engineering an der Alpen-Adria-Universitat Klagenfurt. Sonja Gabriel ist Hochschulprofessorin fur Medienpadagogik und Mediendidaktik an der KPH Wien/Krems und in der Padagog*innenbildung tatig. Sie forscht und publiziert im Bereich Digital Game-Based Learning und Wertevermittlung durch digitale Spiele. Mag. Gerhard Poelsterl ist Fachreferent fur Medienpadagogik im Bundeskanzleramt OEsterreich. Im Bereich Gaming ist er fur die Bundesstelle fur die Positivpradikatisierung von digitalen Spielen (BuPP.at) zustandig. Wolfgang B. Ruge MA ist Lektor an der Universitat Wien und Geschaftsfuhrer der Bildungsgrund. Agentur- und Kultur und Medienpadagogik KG.

Learn to set up a Pi-based game development environment, and then develop a game with Lua, a popular scripting language used in major game frameworks like Unreal Engine (BioShock Infinite), CryEngine (Far Cry series), Diesel (Payday: The Heist), Silent Storm Engine (Heroes of Might and Magic V) and many others. More importantly, learn how to dig deeper into programming languages to find and understand new functions, frameworks, and languages to utilize in your games. You'll start by learning your way around the Raspberry Pi. Then you'll quickly dive into learning game development with an industry-standard and scalable language. After reading this book, you'll have the ability to write your own games on a Raspberry Pi, and deliver those games to Linux, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. And you'll learn how to publish your games to popular marketplaces for those desktop and mobile platforms. Whether you're new to programming or whether you've already published to markets like Itch.io or Steam, this book showcases compelling reasons to use the Raspberry Pi for game development. Use Developing Games on the Raspberry Pi as your guide to ensure that your game plays on computers both old and new, desktop or mobile. What You'll Learn Confidently write programs in Lua and the LOVE game engine on the Raspberry Pi Research and learn new libraries, methods, and frameworks for more advanced programming Write, package, and sell apps for mobile platforms Deliver your games on multiple platforms Who This Book Is ForSoftware engineers, teachers, hobbyists, and development professionals looking to up-skill and develop games for mobile platforms, this book eases them into a parallel universe of lightweight, POSIX, ARM-based development.

Create a fully working multiplayer game from scratch using TypeScript, Socket.IO, and the community edition of Phaser.js. You will achieve amazing feats in the browser without having to install any software. This book teaches you how to use the Phaser game engine APIs to tap into physics, and how to utilize HUD information and fire lasers. Let's Build a Multiplayer Phaser Game dives into the details to show you how to create a multiplayer game from beginning to end. Once you have finished this book, you will be well versed in creating not only a game, but also an application that you can extend with new functionality to enjoy with your friends. What You'll Learn Discover the ins and outs of Socket.IO for real-time web communication Use TypeScript to allow your project to be typed and self-documenting See how gaming mechanics work to make a game entertaining Get a deeper understanding of how to structure your working directory and your code Scale what you have created Who This Book Is For Developers who want to know how to create and structure a complex online game

Im Zuge der Digitalisierung werden Gestaltung und Management der Digital Customer Experience zunehmend wertvoller. Technologiefuhrer diverser Branchen sind besonders dafur bekannt, digitale Interaktionen zwischen Nutzern, Drittanbietern und weiteren Akteuren erfolgreich zu organisieren. In diesem essential wird die Videospieleplattform Steam mit der Fallstudienmethode untersucht. Basierend auf der Analyse von Steam werden Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet, die auch fur Unternehmen in traditionellen Branchen anwendbar sind. Schwerpunkte bilden hierbei die Orientierung von Services und Serviceportfolio an Kundenbedurfnissen, das Management von Konsumententechnologie sowie die Entwicklung von Vertrauen und Loyalitat durch Verankerung von Werten und Normen auf einer digitalen Plattform. Die Handlungsempfehlungen werden anschliessend in der Automobilbranche, bei TV-Streaminganbietern und anhand einer Plattform fur Autoreparaturen beispielhaft illustriert.Der Autor Benjamin Spottke lehrt und forscht am Institut fur Wirtschaftsinformatik der Universitat St. Gallen.

Understanding Video Game Music develops a musicology of video game music by providing methods and concepts for understanding music in this medium. From the practicalities of investigating the video game as a musical source to the critical perspectives on game music - using examples including Final Fantasy VII, Monkey Island 2, SSX Tricky and Silent Hill - these explorations not only illuminate aspects of game music, but also provide conceptual ideas valuable for future analysis. Music is not a redundant echo of other textual levels of the game, but central to the experience of interacting with video games. As the author likes to describe it, this book is about music for racing a rally car, music for evading zombies, music for dancing, music for solving puzzles, music for saving the Earth from aliens, music for managing a city, music for being a hero; in short, it is about music for playing.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Third Joint International Conference on Serious Games, JCSG 2017, held in Valencia, Spain, in November 2017. This conference bundles the activities of the 8th International Conference on Serious Games Development and Applications, SGDA 2017, and the 7th Conference on Serious Games, GameDays 2017. The total of 23 full papers, 3 short papers, and 4 poster papers was carefully reviewed and selected from 44 submissions. The topics covered by the conference offered participants a valuable platform to discuss and learn about the latest developments, technologies and possibilities in the development and use of serious games with a special focus on how different fields can be combined to achieve the best possible results.

Get started creating video games using Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and learning the fundamentals of game development. Through hands-on, step-by-step tutorials, you will learn to design engaging environments and a build solid foundation for more complex games. Discover how to utilize the 3D game design software behind the development of immensely popular games for PC, console, and mobile. Beginning Unreal Game Development steers you through the fundamentals of game development with UE4 to design environments that both engage the player and are aesthetically pleasing. Author David Nixon shows you how to script logic, define behaviors, store data, and create characters. You will learn to create user interfaces, such as menus, load screens, and head-up displays (HUDs), and manipulate audio to add music, sound effects, and dialogue to your game. The book covers level editors, actor types, blueprints, character creation and control, and much more. Throughout the book, you'll put theory into practice and create an actual game using a series of step-by-step tutorials. With a clear, step-by-step approach, Beginning Unreal Game Development builds up your knowledge of Unreal Engine 4 so you can start creating and deploying your own 3D video games in no time. What You Will Learn Learn the fundamentals of game design Understand how to use Unreal Engine 4 Design amazing levels for your characters to play in Script logic to control the behavior of the world you create Who This Book Is For This book is for beginners with no prior game design or programming experience. It is also intended for video game enthusiasts who are brand-new to the world of game development and want to learn how to design a game from scratch using UE4.

Classical music is everywhere in video games. Works by composers like Bach and Mozart fill the soundtracks of games ranging from arcade classics, to indie titles, to major franchises like BioShock, Civilization, and Fallout. Children can learn about classical works and their histories from interactive iPad games. World-renowned classical orchestras frequently perform concerts of game music to sold-out audiences. But what do such combinations of art and entertainment reveal about the cultural value we place on these media? Can classical music ever be video game music, and can game music ever be classical? Delving into the shifting and often contradictory cultural definitions that emerge when classical music meets video games, Replay Value offers a new perspective on the possibilities and challenges of trying to distinguish between art and pop culture in contemporary society.

A uniquely cross-disciplinary and cross-experience book written as an accessible guide for people new to storytelling in games, new to games as a practice, and those eager to develop their existing practices & knowledge around storytelling in games. Offers careful, clear, and practical advice for understanding creative writing, in the context of games, and in discovering and developing your own games writing practice. Focuses on writing, not narrative design, as an area underdeveloped in the context of games storytelling.

Get started with mobile game development with this practical guide on how to use Unity 2022 and C# to build cross-platform mobile games and add augmented reality features to your projects Key Features * Create, deploy, and monetize immersive mobile games on Android and iOS platforms using Unity 2022 * Add augmented reality to your mobile projects to inject a real-world element into your games * Begin your mobile game development journey with step-by-step instructions and a demo game project Book Description Unity is an established player in the mobile game development sphere, and its new release, Unity 2022, has a lot of new features In Unity 2022 Mobile Game Development, the third edition in this popular series, as well as exploring these new features, you'll get to grips with this renowned game engine by building a mobile game and publishing it on the most popular mobile app stores The book takes a step-by-step and hands-on approach to building an endless runner game to help you learn the concepts of mobile game development. After you've set up your simple Unity project and got it ready for mobile development, you'll cover everything you need to know to build your game and publish it, from adding touch gestures to monetizing your game with Unity Ads and in-app purchases, from building a UI to integrating social media into your game. You'll gain insights into how players like and use your game using Unity's analytics tools, and you'll take your games into the real world with the augmented reality features of Unity 2022 and make them really shine By the end of the book, the power of Unity 2022 to build, optimize, and publish robust cross-platform mobile games with C# will be at your fingertips, widening your skillset and enhancing your credentials as a game developer What you will learn * Design responsive UIs for your mobile games * Detect collisions, receive user input, and create player movements * Create interesting gameplay elements using mobile device input * Add custom icons and presentation options * Keep players engaged by using Unity's mobile notification package * Integrate social media into your projects * Add augmented reality features to your game for real-world appeal Who This Book Is For If you are a game developer or mobile developer who wants to learn Unity and use it to build mobile games for iOS and Android, then this Unity book is for you. Prior knowledge of C# and Unity will be beneficial but is not mandatory

Welcome to the exciting world of game programming! If you're already familiar with the C++ programming language and want to learn how to program games, this book is for you. Game Programming in C++: Start to Finish will help you learn how to turn your own game fantasies into playable realities! Over the course of the book, you'll learn the popular techniques and practices behind today's games. Not only will you add a lot of theory to your game programming toolkit, but you'll also create a small basic game from scratch - SuperAsteriodArena. While you'll focus on using the SDL and the OpenGL libraries to learn game programming, you'll also learn the essential Windows principles that you'll need to create just about any kind of game with any other API such as DirectX. This easy-to-follow book takes current game programming information and filters it down to a practical level. Each chapter and subsection builds upon previous chapters and topics in a tutorial format, allowing you to progress at your own pace. As you work through the book, you'll build the SuperAsteriodArena game, beginning with engine creation and 3D programming with SDL and OpenGL. From there you'll move on to animation effects, audio, collision detection, networking, and finalizing the game. A variety of tools are used throughout, including Visual Studio and OpenGL, SDL, Autodesk 3ds Max, and the Audacity sound tool.

You don t need to be a wizard to transform a game you like into a game you love. Imagine if you could give your favorite PC game a more informative heads-up display or instantly collect all that loot from your latest epic battle. Bring your knowledge of Windows-based development and memory management, and Game Hacking will teach you what you need to become a true game hacker. Learn the basics, like reverse engineering, assembly code analysis, programmatic memory manipulation, and code injection, and hone your new skills with hands-on example code and practice binaries. Level up as you learn how to: Scan and modify memory with Cheat Engine Explore program structure and execution flow with OllyDbg Log processes and pinpoint useful data files with Process Monitor Manipulate control flow through NOPing, hooking, and more Locate and dissect common game memory structures You ll even discover the secrets behind common game bots, including: Extrasensory perception hacks, such as wallhac

Create games from start to finish while learning game design and programming principles using the GameMaker Studio 2 game engine and GameMaker Language (GML). Game Development with GameMaker Studio 2 covers all aspects of game design and development from the initial idea to the final release, using an award-winning game engine. You learn how to create real-world video games based on classic and legendary video game genres. Each game project introduces and explains concepts of game development and design and coding principles, allowing you to build a wide set of skills while creating an exciting portfolio to kick-start a career in game development. Author Sebastiano Cossu teaches you to design levels in your games, draw sprites to populate your virtual worlds, program game objects for interaction with the player, incorporate custom music and sound effects, build GUIs for your menus and game interfaces, and support keyboard, mouse, and gamepad controls in your projects. He shows you how to build cross-platform games to run on all desktop platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac OS) and publish them on the most popular game stores such as Steam, GOG, Humble Store, and Itch.io. What You'll Learn Create games for different genres Master GameMaker Language (GML) programming Apply game design principles Delve into game programming patterns Who This Book is For Video game enthusiasts interested in game development and design. No prior programming experience is required.

The design for Quest to Learn, an innovative school in New York City that offers a "game-like" approach to learning. Quest to Learn, an innovative school for grades 6 to 12 in New York City, grew out of the idea that gaming and game design offer a promising new paradigm for curriculum and learning. The designers of Quest to Learn developed an approach to learning that draws from what games do best: drop kids into inquiry-based, complex problem spaces that are built to help players understand how they are doing, what they need to work on, and where to go next. Content is not treated as dry information but as a living resource; students are encouraged to interact with the larger world in ways that feel relevant, exciting, and empowering. Quest to Learn opened in the fall of 2009 with 76 sixth graders. In their first semester, these students learned-among other things-to convert fractions into decimals in order to break a piece of code found in a library book; to use atlases and read maps to create a location guide for a reality television series; and to create video tutorials for a hapless group of fictional inventors. This research and development document outlines the learning framework for the school, making the original design available to others in the field. Elements in development include a detailed curriculum map, a budget, and samples of student and teacher handbooks.