Featuring interviews with the creators of 39 popular video games--including Halo 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Medal of Honor and Metroid Prime--this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the origins of some of the most iconic shooter games. Interviewees recount endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega-publishers, the growth of the genre and the creative processes that produced some of the industry's biggest hits, cult classics and indie successes.

"Game Graphics Programming" examines the many different techniques and effects that are used to create cutting-edge graphics in todayas video games and how to implement them. The book takes a detailed look at computer graphics, exploring both the theory and application of each algorithm and effect and how they are structured and executed to generate the rendered result. Detailed C++ source code and pseudocode are used as examples throughout the book to demonstrate the methods being taught, but the techniques presented can be used with any programming language or tool. Youall begin with an introduction to basic 2D and 3D game graphics tools and components including common game mathematics, colors and pixels, and computer memory, as well as ray tracing and rasterization techniques and programmable shaders. Once youave reviewed the foundations of game graphics, youall go more in-depth with shading and surfaces, direct and global illumination, special effects, and rendering nature. After the how and why of each technique is presented, youall also examine optimizations that can be done to improve performance and alternative methods. "Game Graphics Programming" presents you with all of the information you need to efficiently and effectively create eye-catching graphical scenes for video games.

This book presents the development of a gaming quality model to predict the gaming Quality of Experience (QoE) of players that could be used for planning the network service or quality monitoring of cloud gaming services. The author presents a model that is developed following a modular structure approach that keeps the different types of impairments separately. The book shows how such a modular structure allows developing a sustainable model as each component can be updated by advances in that specific research area or technology. The presented gaming quality model takes into account two modules of video quality and input quality. The latter considers the interactivity aspects of gaming. The video quality module offers a series of models that differ depending on the level of access to the video stream information, allowing high flexibility for service providers regarding the positions of measuring points within their system. In summary, the present book focuses on (1) creation of multiple image/video and cloud gaming quality datasets, (2) development of a gaming video classification, and (3) development of a series of gaming QoE models to predict the gaming QoE depending on the level of access to the video stream information.

This book presents a comprehensive guide to the design of playing robots and the related play experiences. Play is a natural activity for building and improving abilities, and it reveals important particularly for persons with disabilities. Many social, physical and cultural factors may hinder children with disabilities from fully enjoying play as their peers. Autonomous robots with specific characteristics can enhance the ludic experience, having implications for the character of the play and presenting opportunities related to autonomy and physical movement, the very nature of robots. Their introduction into play thus provides everybody, and in particular persons with disabilities, new possibilities for developing abilities, improving general status, participating in social contexts, as well as supporting professionals in monitoring progress. This book presents a framework for the design of playful activities with robots, developed over 20 years' experience at AIRLab - POLIMI. Part 1 introduces the play concepts and characteristics, and research results about play of children with different kinds of impairments. Part 2 focuses on implementing robots able to play. The design of playful activities is discussed, as well as the necessary characteristics for them to be useful in both general play and activities involving disability-related limitations. In Part 3, the defined framework is used to analyze possibilities involving robots available on the toy market, robots developed at research labs, and robots to be developed in the next future. The aim of the book is to give developers, caregivers, and users a set of methodological tools for selecting, exploring, and designing inclusive play activities where robots play a central role.

For two decades, Rockstar Games have been making games that interrogate and represent the idea of America, past and present. Commercially successful, fan-beloved, and a frequent source of media attention, Rockstar's franchises are positioned as not only game-changing, ground-breaking interventions in the games industry, but also as critical, cultural histories on America and its excesses. But what does Rockstar's version of American history look like, and how is it communicated through critically acclaimed titles like Red Dead Redemption (2010) and L.A. Noire (2011)? By combining analysis of Rockstar's games and a range of official communications and promotional materials, this book offers critical discussion of Rockstar as a company, their video games, and ultimately, their attempts at creating new narratives about U.S. history and culture. It explores the ways in which Rockstar's brand identity and their titles coalesce to create a new kind of video game history, how promotional materials work to claim the "authenticity" of these products, and assert the authority of game developers to perform the role of historian. By working at the intersection of historical game studies, U.S. history, and film and media studies, this book explores what happens when contemporary demands for historical authenticity are brought to bear on the way we envisage the past - and whose past it is deemed to be. Ultimately, this book implores those who research historical video games to consider the oft-forgotten sources at the margins of these games as importance spaces where historical meaning is made and negotiated. Watch our talk with the author Esther Wright here: https://youtu.be/AaC_9XsX-CQ

- The first book dedicated to exploring key video games from the 1970s to present day. - Provides a highly accessible overview of the history of video games from PONG, Pac-Man and Tetris to Minecraft, Animal Crossing and Assassin's Creed. - The selection covers a range of historical periods and platforms, genres, commercial impact, artistic choices, contexts of play, typical and atypical representations, uses of games for specific purposes, uses of materials or techniques, specific subcultures, repurposing, transgressive aesthetics, interfaces, moral or ethical impacts, and more.

1 feel privileged that the J(jh Advances in Computer Games Conference (ACG 10) takes place in Graz, Styria, Austria. It is the frrst time that Austria acts as host country for this major event. The series of conferences started in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1975 and was then held four times in England, three times in The Netherlands, and once in Germany. The ACG-10 conference in Graz is special in that it is organised together with the 11th World Computer Chess Championship (WCCC), the Sth Computer Olympiad (CO), and the European Union Y outh Chess Championship. The 11 th WCCC and ACG 10 take place in the Dom im Berg (Dome in the Mountain), a high-tech space with multimedia equipment, located in the Schlossberg, in the centre of the city. The help of many sponsors (large and small) is gratefully acknowledged. They will make the organisation of this conference a success. In particular, 1 would like to thank the European Union for designating Graz as the Cultural Capital of Europe 2003. There are 24 accepted contributions by participants from all over the world: Europe, Japan, USA, and Canada. The specific research results ofthe ACG 10 are expected to tind their way to general applications. The results are described in the pages that follow. The international stature together with the technical importance of this conference reaffrrms the mandate of the International Computer Games Association (ICGA) to represent the computer-games community."

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.

This book argues that videogames address contemporary, middle-class anxieties about poverty in the United States. The early chapters consider gaming as a modern form of slumming and explore the ways in which titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and World of Warcraft thematize poverty. The argument turns to the field of literary studies to identify analytical frameworks for addressing and understanding these themes. Throughout, the book considers how the academic area of inquiry known as game studies has developed over time, and makes use of such scholarship to present, frame, and value its major claims and findings. In its conclusion, the book models how poverty themes might be identified and associated for the purpose of gaining greater insights into how games can shape, and also be shaped by, the player's economic expectations.

This book explores how gamification techniques are used to leverage users' natural desires for achievement, competition, collaboration, learning and more. Compared to other books on this topic, it gives more than just an introduction and develops the readers understanding through frameworks and models, based on research to make it easier to develop gamified systems. The concept of gamification achieved increased popularity in 2010 when a number of softwares and services started explaining their products as a 'gamification' design. Gamification Mindset explains how game elements and mechanics are important, how video games are learning systems and examines how video game aesthetics are vital in the development of gamification. The book will challenge some common beliefs when it comes to gamifications' abilities to immerse and change the user's intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Gamification Mindset aims to develop new models in gamification to enable easier gamification scenarios. It is a comprehensive analysis and discussion about gamification and serves as a useful tool, since it acquaints readers with gamification and how to use it, through illustrated practical theoretical models. Academic researchers, students, educators and professional game and gamification designers will find this book invaluable.

This book explores how virtual place-based learning and research has been interpreted and incorporated into learning environments both within and across disciplinary perspectives. Contributing authors highlight the ways in which they have employed a variety of methodologies to engage students in the virtual exploration of place. In the process, they focus on the approaches they have used to bring the real world closer through virtual exploration. Chapters examine how the resources of the urban environment have been tapped to design student research projects within the context of an interdisciplinary course. In this way, authors highlight how virtual place-based learning has employed the tools of mapping and data visualization, information literacy, game design, digital storytelling, and the creation of non-fiction VR documentaries. This book makes a valuable contribution to the literature, offering a model of how the study of place can be employed in creative ways to enhance interdisciplinary learning.

An unacknowledged, global phenomenon in the sphere of computer applications, digital sport, plays an enormous part in training and performance enhancement. Digital Sport for Performance Enhancement and Competitive Evolution: Intelligent Gaming Technologies is the first book to provide an overview of the increasing level of digitization in sport including areas of gaming and athlete training. A cutting-edge reference source within its field, this book discusses sport consumers and the playing of computer games drawing from academicians and practitioners from varied disciplines and approaches.

The Art of Game Design guides you through the design process step-by-step, helping you to develop new and innovative games that will be played again and again. It explains the fundamental principles of game design and demonstrates how tactics used in classic board, card and athletic games also work in top-quality video games. Good game design happens when you view your game from as many perspectives as possible, and award-winning author Jesse Schell presents over 100 sets of questions to ask yourself as you build, play and change your game until you finalise your design. This latest third edition includes examples from new VR and AR platforms as well as from modern games such as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, Free to Play games, hybrid games, transformational games, and more. Whatever your role in video game development an understanding of the principles of game design will make you better at what you do. For over 10 years this book has provided inspiration and guidance to budding and experienced game designers - helping to make better games faster.

The must-have collectible compendium, continuing the extensive lore compilation of the Destiny universe. Destiny Grimoire Anthology, Volume IV: The Royal Will, unravels the making and methods of two of Destiny's most powerful monarchs-Mara Sov, the Queen of the Awoken and Oryx, the Taken King. Through a curated selection of lore surrounding their legends, these pages explore beyond their storied rise to power and ill-fated confrontation among the rings of Saturn to reveal a deeper understanding of the mysterious Awoken and examine the very essence of Light and Dark.

Provides a clear and concise overview of how AI is used in game development Gives a brief overview of the history of AI in games Considers the different models, techniques and algorithms that are used in creating game AI

a collection of interviews from renowned author, David L. Craddock

The best of the best in gaming from a single decade: 19881998! As most gamers know, this ten-year period is incredibly crucial. It was during this time that the NES reached its zenith with such titles as Contra and Super Mario Bros. 3, the Sega Genesis blew everyone away with Sonic the Hedgehog, the Super Nintendo released to critical acclaim, the Sony PlayStation took video games to the next level, and the Nintendo 64 broke new ground with 3-D Mario and Zelda. Amazing! This book covers the era in great detail, with each game getting an in-depth essay that includes history, development info, nostalgic stories, and much more. The author wrote more than a dozen of the essays, with other writers and industry notables contributing essays on their favorite games as well. Finally, the follow-up to The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 19771987 is here!

The Art and Lore of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint. --- Stranded in a deadly, hostile environment, even an elite US Special Operator will face a true battle for survival. Future Press presents a unique companion book that follows the theme of survival as it runs through Ghost Recon Breakpoint, from its characters and dialogue to its world design and gameplay. Discover what it takes to create a game, a story and a world dedicated to testing the limits of what a Ghost can survive. -- Part Lore Book: What motivates a person to become a member of Ghost Team, the most highly trained Special Operators in the world? And what can make a Ghost hunt down his former brothers-in-arms? The lore material and detailed bios in this book provide additional insight into the events that have shaped Nomad, Walker and the cast of authentic, believable characters that inhabit this world. Learn the history, connections and motivations that have brought them all to Auroa. -- Part Art Book: Tour the creation of the Auroa archipelago, an environment as detailed and meticulously crafted as any fictional setting you've ever explored. This book is packed with all of the concept artwork that helped to bring Ubisoft Paris's futuristic utopian vision to life. -- Part Reference Book: Acquiring and upgrading the tools necessary for survival is at the core of Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Every weapon, vehicle and piece of gear available at launch is presented with detailed stats, and we use our strategy guide expertise to dissect the survival systems that make Breakpoint such a unique experience. -- All Access: Every part of this book is peppered with commentary from the development team at Ubisoft Paris and their military consultants, allowing for an unprecedented, all-angles look behind the curtain of such an ambitious production. -- Incredible Bonus Content: Each book comes with a code for a DLC pack of exclusive cosmetic items. We've also included a huge multi-purpose poster of the game world, with every point of interest marked on it.

This book will be a key contribution to both Gothic and digital game scholarship as it argues for close proximity between Gothic culture and the videogame medium itself This book explores the many ways Gothic literature and media have informed videogame design The book moves beyond the study of generic influences of horror on digital gaming, and focuses in on the Gothic, a less visceral mode tending towards the unsettling, the uncertain and the uncanny The book will have resonance with scholars and students in both Gothic and digital game scholarship, as well as those interested in Gothic novels, media and popular culture, digital games and interactive fiction

This book explores the impact of a video game's degree of realism or fictionality on its linguistic dimensions, investigating the challenges and strategies for translating realia and irrealia, the interface of the real world and the game world where culture-specificity manifests itself. The volume outlines the key elements in the translation of video games, such as textual non-linearity, multitextuality, and playability, and introduces the theoretical framework used to determine a game's respective degree of realism or fictionality. Pettini applies an interdisciplinary approach drawing on video game research and Descriptive Translation Studies to the linguistic and translational analysis of in-game dialogs in English-Italian and English-Spanish language pairs from a corpus of three war video games. This approach allows for an in-depth look at the localization challenges posed by the varying degree of realism and fictionality across video games and the different strategies translators employ in response to these challenges. A final chapter offers a comparative analysis of the three games and subsequently avenues for further research on the role of culture-specificity in game localization. This book is key reading for students and scholars interested in game localization, audiovisual translation studies, and video game research.

The last decade has witnessed the rise of big data in game development as the increasing proliferation of Internet-enabled gaming devices has made it easier than ever before to collect large amounts of player-related data. At the same time, the emergence of new business models and the diversification of the player base have exposed a broader potential audience, which attaches great importance to being able to tailor game experiences to a wide range of preferences and skill levels. This, in turn, has led to a growing interest in data mining techniques, as they offer new opportunities for deriving actionable insights to inform game design, to ensure customer satisfaction, to maximize revenues, and to drive technical innovation. By now, data mining and analytics have become vital components of game development. The amount of work being done in this area nowadays makes this an ideal time to put together a book on this subject. Data Analytics Applications in Gaming and Entertainment seeks to provide a cross section of current data analytics applications in game production. It is intended as a companion for practitioners, academic researchers, and students seeking knowledge on the latest practices in game data mining. The chapters have been chosen in such a way as to cover a wide range of topics and to provide readers with a glimpse at the variety of applications of data mining in gaming. A total of 25 authors from industry and academia have contributed 12 chapters covering topics such as player profiling, approaches for analyzing player communities and their social structures, matchmaking, churn prediction and customer lifetime value estimation, communication of analytical results, and visual approaches to game analytics. This book's perspectives and concepts will spark heightened interest in game analytics and foment innovative ideas that will advance the exciting field of online gaming and entertainment.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the bestselling and most influential video games of the past decade. From the return of world-threatening dragons to an ongoing civil war, the province of Skyrim is rich with adventure, lore, magic, history, and stunning vistas. Beyond its visual spectacle alone, Skyrim is an exemplary gameworld that reproduces out-of-game realities, controversies, and histories for its players. Being Dragonborn, then, comes to signify a host of ethical and ideological choices for the player, both inside and outside the gameworld. These essays show how playing Skyrim, in many ways, is akin to "playing" 21st century America with its various crises, conflicts, divisions, and inequalities. Topics covered include racial inequality and white supremacy, gender construction and misogyny, the politics of modding, rhetorics of gameplay, and narrative features.