In the past, not being able to program meant not being able to make video games. Now if you can draw a flow-chart you can use powerful State Machine technology to create your dream game! No-Code Video Game Development using Unity and Playmaker will teach you how to substitute flow-charts for code. As a complete course, it uses a project-based approach. The FPS project comes with over a hundred dollars worth of free #gamedev DLC: Unity Packages, Playmaker Templates, Character Models, Animations, Materials, and more! You'll also learn game design documentation and theory, Mecanim, Particle Systems, and UI. By the time you're done you'll have gained the skills needed to create your own dream game, all without writing any code!

Whether trying to land that first big gig or working to perfect the necessary skills to fill a game world with sound, Aaron Marks' Complete Guide to Game Audio 3rd edition will teach the reader everything they need to know about the audio side of the multi-million dollar video game industry. This book builds upon the success of the second edition with even more expert advice from masters in the field and notes current changes within the growing video game industry. The tools of the trade excerpts will showcase what professionals, like Marty O'Donnell, Richard Jacques and Tom Salta, use to create their work and to help newcomers in the field prepare their own sound studios. Sample contracts are reviewed within the text as well as helpful advice about contractual terms and negotiable points. These sample contracts can also be found as a downloadable zip for the reader's convenience. Aaron Marks also explores how to set your financial terms and network efficiently along with examples of how projects can go completely awry and achieving the best results in often complicated situations. Aaron Marks' Complete Guide to Game Audio serves as the ultimate survival guide to navigating an audio career in the video game industry. Key Features New, full color edition with a complete update of information. Added and expanded coverage of field recording for games, creating voiceovers, adaptive and interactive audio and other cutting edge sound creation and implementation techniques used within games. Update/Replacement of interviews. Include interviews/features on international game audio professionals New and expanded interview features from game composers and sound designers of every experience level such as Keith Arem, Bradley Meyer, Christopher Tin and Rodney Gates including many international professionals like Pasi Pitkanen, Henning Nugel and Christos Panayides. Expanded and updated game console coverage of the Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PS4. Includes new scripting and middleware concepts and techniques and review of powerful tools such as FMOD and Wwise.

The book provides an up-to-date introduction to the latest version of Unity and its workflow by guiding readers through various prototypes. These range from 2D to 3D game concepts for PC and mobile, will allow readers to get acquainted with several important concepts and allow them to become competent Unity developers able to learn at their own pace. The book starts by introducing Unity and proceeds in building a basic understanding of its main components by developing a first, simple 2D game before proceeding in developing a full casual game to development of a simple but immersive 3D game concept to be tested first on PC before exploring how to port it for mobile VR.using Google Cardboard.

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

Game studies has been an understudied area within the emerging field of digital media and religion. Video games can reflect, reject, or reconfigure traditionally held religious ideas and often serve as sources for the production of religious practices and ideas. This collection of essays presents a broad range of influential methodological approaches that illuminate how and why video games shape the construction of religious beliefs and practices, and also situates such research within the wider discourse on how digital media intersect with the religious worlds of the 21st century. Each chapter discusses a particular method and its theoretical background, summarizes existing research, and provides a practical case study that demonstrates how the method specifically contributes to the wider study of video games and religion. Featuring contributions from leading and emerging scholars of religion and digital gaming, this book will be an invaluable resource for scholars in the areas of digital culture, new media, religious studies, and game studies across a wide range of disciplines.

Digital interactive audio is the future of audio in media - most notably video games, but also web pages, theme parks, museums, art installations and theatrical events. Despite its importance to contemporary multi-media, this is the first book that provides a framework for understanding the history, issues and theories surrounding interactive audio. Karen Collins presents the work of academics, composers and sound programmers to introduce the topic from a variety of angles in order to provide a supplementary text for music and multimedia courses. The contributors cover practical and theoretical approaches, including historical perspectives, emerging theories, socio-cultural approaches to fandom, reception theory and case study analyses. The book offers a fresh perspective on media music, one that will complement film studies, but which will show the necessity of a unique approach when considering games music.

The book provides an up-to-date introduction to the latest version of Unity and its workflow by guiding readers through various prototypes. These range from 2D to 3D game concepts for PC and mobile, will allow readers to get acquainted with several important concepts and allow them to become competent Unity developers able to learn at their own pace. The book starts by introducing Unity and proceeds in building a basic understanding of its main components by developing a first, simple 2D game before proceeding in developing a full casual game to development of a simple but immersive 3D game concept to be tested first on PC before exploring how to port it for mobile VR.using Google Cardboard.

Artists and programmers often work together on complex projects in stressful environments and things don't always go smoothly. Miscommunication and misunderstandings are common as these two disciplines often use the same words to mean different things when they talk to each other. Unintentional slights can turn into long-held grudges and productivity grinds to a crawl. This is a "flip book" that contains two narratives in one. Turn the book one way and read one perspective; turn the book over and upside down and read the other perspective. The narratives can be read separately, one after the other, or in alternating chapters. Talking to Artists / Talking to Programmers can help anyone who wants to improve communication with artists and programmers. It's set up like a foreign language dictionary, so it addresses the cultural norms, attitudes and customs surrounding the words each group uses, so you'll know not just what the words in the glossary mean, you'll know why they're used that way and how to get communication flowing again. It addresses common reasons for communication problems between these two groups and provides specific suggestions for solutions. The unusual format allows for each side to be given equal weight - learn how to talk to artists starting on one side of the book, turn it over and learn how to talk to programmers. The whole book stresses the things artists and programmers have in common. Focused primarily on videogame developers, it also applies to other fields where tech and art have to work together, including web developers and teams building mobile apps. Anyone who wants to communicate better with programmers or artists - this book can help Features Lists of common problems and strategies for solving them Specific ideas for building bridges between departments Case studies from real teams Glossary of terms causing the most confusion Explanations for common friction points Approaches for fostering goodwill Solutions for team dynamics problems Specific suggestions for providing feedback Ideas for holding successful meetings

In this compelling book, Graeme Kirkpatrick argues that computer games have fundamentally altered the relation of self and society in the digital age. Tracing the origins of gaming to the revival of play in the 1960s counter culture, Computer Games and the Social Imaginary describes how the energies of that movement transformed computer technology from something ugly and machine-like into a world of colour and fun'. In the process, play with computers became computer gaming a new cultural practice with its own values. From the late 1980s gaming became a resource for people to draw upon as they faced the challenges of life in a new, globalizing digital economy. Gamer identity furnishes a revivified capitalism with compliant and streamlined' workers, but at times gaming culture also challenges the corporations that control game production. Analysing topics such as the links between technology and power, the formation of gaming culture and the subjective impact of play with computer games, this insightful text will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media, games studies and the information society.

Take your skyship pirate, haunted waif, or alien scientist to the next level with this fun, interactive book of exercises to help you build your RPG character's backstory-made specifically for the genres you love to play. You can now explore new RPG character ideas with this character backstory guide to the most popular RPG genres beyond fantasy, from sci-fi to horror and superhero to western-themed games. This latest guide from One Shot creator and RPG expert James D'Amato helps you build out an existing character or create a new one, with these activities that provide plenty of RPG fun before you even hit the gaming table. With activities to help you flesh out characters for fantasy, sci-fi, horror, x-punk, superhero and western campaigns (with an extra chapter of neutral exercises you can use whenever you like), this book has everything you need, whether you're looking to start a new character, build out an existing character you're currently playing, or explore new character ideas and genres.

Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are well-received at launch may fail to engage players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. That's why makers of successful video games like Fortnite and Assassin's Creed invest both time and money perfecting their UX strategy. These top video game creators know that a bad user experience can ruin the prospects for any game, regardless of its budget, scope, or ambition. The game UX accounts for the whole experience players have with a video game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in creating the optimal experience they want to deliver, including shipping higher quality games (whether indie, triple-A or "serious" games) and meeting business goals -- all while staying true to design vision and artistic intent. At its core, UX is about understanding the gamer's brain: understanding human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with cognitive science knowledge and user experience guidelines and methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better experience for their audience. "The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design" Is written by Celia Hodent -- a UX expert with a PhD in psychology who has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years, including at prominent companies such as Epic Games (Fortnite), Ubisoft, and LucasArts. Major themes explored in this book: Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include: "neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and learning. Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework in game development. Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user research). Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games, with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist. Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX strategy at both a project and studio level. This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of UX in games existing today.

The Art of Titanfall 2 is the ultimate guide to the development of Respawn Entertainment's fast-paced, visually stunning first-person shooter. Featuring an exclusive array of highly stylised concept art, sketches, 3D renders, maquette modelling, and commentary from key Respawn Entertainment team members, this is a must-have for any fan of the dynamic and destructive world of Titanfall 2.

Game AI Pro2: Collected Wisdom of Game AI Professionals presents cutting-edge tips, tricks, and techniques for artificial intelligence (AI) in games, drawn from developers of shipped commercial games as well as some of the best-known academics in the field. It contains knowledge, advice, hard-earned wisdom, and insights gathered from across the community of developers and researchers who have devoted themselves to game AI. In this book, 47 expert developers and researchers have come together to bring you their newest advances in game AI, along with twists on proven techniques that have shipped in some of the most successful commercial games of the last few years. The book provides a toolbox of proven techniques that can be applied to many common and not-so-common situations. It is written to be accessible to a broad range of readers. Beginners will find good general coverage of game AI techniques and a number of comprehensive overviews, while intermediate to expert professional game developers will find focused, deeply technical chapters on specific topics of interest to them. Covers a wide range of AI in games, with topics applicable to almost any game Touches on most, if not all, of the topics necessary to get started in game AI Provides real-life case studies of game AI in published commercial games Gives in-depth, technical solutions from some of the industry's best-known games Includes downloadable demos and/or source code, available at http://www.gameaipro.com

From early classics like Contact to marvels like High Speed, gaming publisher Williams dazzled arcade goers with its diverse range of quality pinball games. The age of video games catapulted the company into legend with blockbusters like Defender and Joust, and by the end of the 1980s it was the largest coin-op publisher in North America. Its acquisition of Bally/Midway began a period of hits that included Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, as well as the best-selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family. The history of Williams spans nearly six decades and is filled with great games, huge gambles and technical innovations that impacted every aspect of pinball and arcade video games. With interviews from over 40 former designers and executives from Williams/Bally/Midway, as well as information from hundreds of contemporaneous news reports and documents, this book presents a never-before-seen chronology of how the small company became a coin-op juggernaut. Thirty pinball and 26 video game classics are examined in depth with direct input from the people who made them, along with the story of the events that made and shaped one of gaming's greatest publishing houses.

This book helps you to create the digital games you love to play, using a non-technical approach to game design without the need for programming or artistic experience. Award-winning author Tracy Fullerton demystifies the creative process with clear and accessible guidance on the formal and dramatic systems of game design. Using examples of popular games, illustrations of design techniques, and refined exercises to strengthen your understanding of how game systems function, the book gives you the skills and tools necessary to create a compelling and engaging game. This fully updated 4th edition includes expanded coverage of new platforms and genres of play, including casual games and games for learning. It expands on agile development processes and includes a host of new perspectives from top industry game designers. Game Design Workshop puts you to work prototyping, playtesting, and revising your own games with time-tested methods and tools. These skills will provide the foundation for your career in any facet of the game industry including design, producing, programming, and visual design.

Imagine a time in the not too distant future when not only game companies but also the human resources, marketing and product development divisions of major corporations are hiring game designers. The time is coming when companies large and small, creative agencies, school systems, museums, libraries and public and governmental institutions will employ game designers to engage employees, customers, students and volunteers to generate new audiences and deepen commitments. The skills that a game designer brings, organizing and presenting a body of information in the most appropriate and entertaining way, are the ones needed by the twenty-first century organization. Designing Gamified Systems is a practical guide for practicing and aspiring game designers to put their unique and valuable skills to work to drive engagement, build motivation, and facilitate positive behavior.

Rather than the overused ideas of pervasive games or "gamification," this book uniquely focuses first and foremost on the partnership between the content expert or client and the game designer. It assumes that game systems are one more meaningful tool that can now be used to help organizations and individuals encourage people to care about them and support them. Providing a solid introduction to the fundamental principles of the game layer, it also offers a practical set of tools and activities to contextualize the practice within a variety of different scenarios. It includes interviews with industry leaders, content experts, game designers, museum professionals, and educators who are all using game practices and ideas in new and innovative ways. Catching a snapshot of this exciting moment while delivering enduring fundamentals, the book can be used in the classroom or can be read as a trade book, and will appeal to industry professionals, game designers and game design students."

This book explains how designing, playing and modifying computer games, and understanding the theory behind them, can strengthen the area of digital humanities. This book aims to help digital humanities scholars understand both the issues and also advantages of game design, as well as encouraging them to extend the field of computer game studies, particularly in their teaching and research in the field of virtual heritage. By looking at re-occurring issues in the design, playtesting and interface of serious games and game-based learning for cultural heritage and interactive history, this book highlights the importance of visualisation and self-learning in game studies and how this can intersect with digital humanities. It also asks whether such theoretical concepts can be applied to practical learning situations. It will be of particular interest to those who wish to investigate how games and virtual environments can be used in teaching and research to critique issues and topics in the humanities, particularly in virtual heritage and interactive history.

Make More Immersive and Engaging Magic Systems in Games

Game Magic: A Designer s Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice explains how to construct magic systems and presents a compendium of arcane lore, encompassing the theory, history, and structure of magic systems in games and human belief. The author combines rigorous scholarly analysis with practical game design advice in the form of a magical recipe book (grimoire).

The book gives you an in-depth understanding of the history and structure of magic to make your games richer and deeper. It shows how to set up tables of correspondences and spell components as well as how to write programming code integrating these components as part of game mechanics. It also illustrates how to divide a simulated world into domains of influence (such as alteration, conjuration, and necromancy) and how to use specific rule systems to simulate powers within these realms.

Showing you how to weave compelling magic into your games, the book is interspersed with examples that illustrate how to design and program magic systems. Working examples are available for download on a supporting website."

This student-friendly book provides an accessible overview of the primary debates about the effects of video games. It expands on the original The Video Game Debate to address the new technologies that have emerged within the field of game studies over the last few years. Debates about the negative effects of video game play have been evident since their introduction in the 1970s, but the advent of online and mobile gaming has revived these concerns, reinvigorating old debates and generating brand new ones. The Video Game Debate 2 draws from the latest research findings from the top scholars of digital games research to address these concerns. The book explores key developments such as virtual and augmented reality, the use of micro-transactions, the integration of loot boxes, and the growth of mobile gaming and games for change (serious games). Furthermore, several new chapters explore contemporary debates around e-sports, gamification, sex and gender discrimination in games, and the use of games in therapy. This book offers students and scholars of games studies and digital media, as well as policymakers, the essential information they need to participate in the debate.

The official Fortnite Loot Pack includes a variety of fun accessories featuring popular character sprays, icons, and more! Inside you'll find: 10 button pins1 iron-on patch3 stickers for your laptop or tech2 magnets

Discover the path to the big leagues It's time to prove all those people who said "video games are a waste of time" wrong. Esports has rewarded top gamers with prize money, glory, and even college scholarships. Want to get in on the action? This book puts you on the path to get your share of the growing world of esports. It helps you figure out the gear you need to be competitive, the games that drive esports, how to break into competitive play, and how to use online platforms to get attention. Written by the esports program director at the first Division I university to field an esports team, this book defines and demystifies the complex world of competitive video gaming. Get the gear for your first esports battles Gain recognition for your skills online or in tournaments Discover the path to earning scholarships in esports Build your online identity Get the insider tips you need to make your name in the esports universe.

The games industry is serious business and the role of a games designer has dramatically changed over just the last few years. Developers now have to rethink everything they know about the creative, technical and business challenges to adapt to the transition to games as a service. Games as a Service: How Free to Play Design Can Make Better Games has been written to help designers overcome many of the fears and misconceptions surrounding freemium and social games. It provides a framework to deliver better games rather than the 'evil' or 'manipulative' experiences some designers fear with the move away from wasteful Products to sustainable, trustworthy Services. Oscar Clark is a consultant and Evangelist for Everyplay from Applifier. He has been a pioneer in online, mobile and console social games services since 1998 including Wireplay (British Telecom), Hutchison Whampoa (3UK) and PlayStation (R)Home. He is a regular columnist on PocketGamer.Biz and is an outspoken speaker and moderator at countless games conferences on Games Design, Discovery, and Monetisation. He is also a notorious hat wearer.

Get ahead of the game with Unity 4. The Unity engine is the tool of choice for many indie and AAA game developers. Unity 4 Fundamentals gives readers a head start on the road to game development by offering beginners a comprehensive, step by step introduction to the latest Unity 4 engine. The author takes a theory-to-practice approach to demonstrate what Unity 4 has to offer which includes: Asset management tools Real-time lighting and lightmapping Particle systems Navigation and pathfinding.