Videogame development is usually seen as a male dominated field; even playing videogames is often wrongly viewed as a pastime for men only. But behind the curtain, women have always played myriad important roles in gaming. From programmers to artists, designers to producers, female videogame developers endure not only the pressures of their jobs but also epic levels of harassment and hostility. Jennifer Brandes Hepler's Women in Game Development: Breaking the Glass Level-Cap gives voice to talented and experienced female game developers from a variety of backgrounds, letting them share the passion that drives them to keep making games. Key Features Experience the unique stories of nearly two dozen female game developers, from old-school veterans to rising stars. Understand the role of women in videogames, from the earliest days of development to the present day. Hear first-hand perspectives from working professionals in fields including coding, design, art, writing, community management, production and journalism. Get tips for how to be a better ally and make your company and teams more inclusive. Learn about the obstacles you face if you're an aspiring female developer, and how to overcome them. Meet the human face of some of the women who have endured the industry's worst harassment... and kept on going.

Get a head start on making your games efficiently by avoiding common design and development pitfalls. Video games combine art and programming; this unique position has opened up opportunities for many pitfalls. This book takes you through the fundamentals of game making and the usual mistakes and bad practices that can harm your games. We start with the common difficulties and challenges, ways to find the gaps, and game design. Next, we discuss game engines and other tools you need to choose while making a game, how you should choose them, and the design documents you need to make. We also cover simple but important tweaks in game mechanics as well as the look and feel of your game. We will also discuss conventions for naming, code structuring, project structuring, and coding. Your thought process will be guided in a way that you can look for the proper approach to make a successful game. The book sheds light upon how to improve the overall game experience and finalize the game for release. Along the journey, we will explore some interesting stories of games and mythology as well. By the end of the book, you will know about the basic life cycle of a game development process and how to not make a game. What You Will Learn Discover the fundamentals of game design See some intermediate coding tricks to make your games better Grasp the pitfalls to avoid while designing and programming games Master the different conventions and practices for file naming and structuring your projects Who This Book Is For People who want to make games. Basic programming experience is assumed.

The Essential Guide to Flash Games is a unique tool for Flash game developers. Rather than focusing on a bunch of low-level how-to material, this book dives straight into building games. The book is divided into specific game genre projects, covering everything from old classics such as a Missile Command-style game, to hot new genres such as retro evolved. The chapters build in complexity through the book, and new tools are introduced along the way that can be reused for other games.The game projects covered start simple and increase in complexity as more and more tools are added to your tool chest. Ten full game projects are discussed in detail. Each solves a very different game development problem and builds on the knowledge gained from the previous project. Many advanced game development techniques are covered, including particle systems, advanced controls, artificial intelligence, blitting, scrolling, and more. What you'll learn Flash/Flex ActionScript 3 game development How to apply object-oriented game development techniques How to solve a wide variety specific Flash game programming problems How to develop a game engine and set of tools that can be reused How to implement ten different games (in styles ranging from retro to modern Flash games) How to optimize various games Who this book is for

This book is for intermediate Flash developers, Flash game developers, game developers looking to move to the Flash platform, and experienced web developers who want to learn how to make games. Table of Contents The Second Game Theory Creating an AS3 Game Framework Creating Super Click Laying the Groundwork for Flak Cannon Building the Flak Cannon Game Loop Laying the Groundwork for No Tanks Creating the Full No Tanks Game Creating the Color Drop Casual Puzzle Game Creating the Dice Battle Puzzle Game Blit Scrolling in a Tile-Based World Creating an Optimized Post-Retro Game Creating a Viral Game: Tunnel Panic

With the murder case closed and the true killer apprehended, Soji Seta prepares to leave Inaba. But as the full truth about the Midnight Channel is revealed, the Investigation Team discovers they have one final challenge to face. It's the grand finale of the Persona 4 manga!

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.

Now that Apple has introduced the GameKit framework to its iOS SDK, you can integrate Game Center features directly into your iPhone and iPad apps. This concise cookbook shows you how it's done, with 18 targeted recipes for adding leaderboards, user authentication, achievements, multiplayer games, and many other features.

How do you display players' scores and achievements? How do you create Game Center accounts and add friends? Each recipe in this book includes a simple code solution you can put to work immediately, along with a detailed discussion that offers insight into why and how the recipe works.

Recipes include techniques to: Set up Game Center for an iOS App Use block objects and Grand Central Dispatch to write Game Center apps Authenticate a local player in Game Center Use iTunes Connect to create leaderboards and achievements Retrieve leaderboard and achievement information programmatically Handle players' state changes in multiplayer games

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are a special genre of computer games that bring the tabletop role-playing experience of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to the computer screen. Thisnew edition inlcudes two new chapters: The Modern Age, and a chapter on Indies and Mobile CRPGs. The new modern age chapter will cover, among other topics, Kickstarter/FIG crowdfunded projects such as Torment: Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity. It'll also bring the book up to date with major games such as Dragon Age, Witcher, Skyrim. Expanded info in first chapter about educational potential of CRPGs. Color figures will be introduced for the first time. Key Features gives reviews of hundreds of games across many platforms. comprehensive book covering the history of computer RPGs. comprehensive index at the back, letting you quickly look up your favourite titles

A potent new book examines the overlap between our ecological crisis and video games Video games may be fun and immersive diversions from daily life, but can they go beyond the realm of entertainment to do something serious-like help us save the planet? As one of the signature issues of the twenty-first century, ecological deterioration is seemingly everywhere, but it is rarely considered via the realm of interactive digital play. In Playing Nature, Alenda Y. Chang offers groundbreaking methods for exploring this vital overlap. Arguing that games need to be understood as part of a cultural response to the growing ecological crisis, Playing Nature seeds conversations around key environmental science concepts and terms. Chang suggests several ways to rethink existing game taxonomies and theories of agency while revealing surprising fundamental similarities between game play and scientific work. Gracefully reconciling new media theory with environmental criticism, Playing Nature examines an exciting range of games and related art forms, including historical and contemporary analog and digital games, alternate- and augmented-reality games, museum exhibitions, film, and science fiction. Chang puts her surprising ideas into conversation with leading media studies and environmental humanities scholars like Alexander Galloway, Donna Haraway, and Ursula Heise, ultimately exploring manifold ecological futures-not all of them dystopian.

iPhone games are hot Just look at the numbers. Games make up over 25 percent of total apps and over 70 percent of the most popular apps. Surprised? Of course not Most of us have filled our iPhone or iPod touch with games, and many of us hope to develop the next best-selling, most talked-about game.

You've probably already read and mastered Beginning iPhone 3 Development; Exploring the iPhone SDK, the best-selling second edition of Apress's highly acclaimed introduction to the iPhone and iPod touch by developers Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche . This book is the game-specific equivalent, providing you with the same easy-to-follow, step-by-step approach, more deep technical insights, and that familiar friendly style.

While games are all about fun, at the same time, they're serious business. With this Beginning iPhone Games Development book, you're going to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty with some hardcore coding. While you may have written games before, this book will take you further, immersing you in the following topics: Game graphics and animation with UIKit, Quartz, Core Animation, and OpenGL ES Game audio with OpenAL, MediaPlayer Framework, AV Foundation, and AudioSession Game networking with GameKit, Bonjour, and Internet sharing

For those looking for iPad game development coverage and/or iOS 5 SDK specific game coverage, check out the published Beginning iOS 5 Games Development by Lucas Jordan from Apress. What you'll learn Efficient methods for drawing in 2D and 3D to the iPhone screen Game-specific animation techniques with Core Animation To use OpenGL ES for more complex and realistic gaming backgrounds and action Numerous ways to add music to enhance the gaming experience How to give your users access to their iPhone libraries from within games The tools and techniques of 3D audio for creating even more realistic gaming experiences How to do networking right, including two-player games over Bluetooth and multiplayer games over Wi-Fi Who this book is for

All game developers who desire to create iPhone and/or iPod touch games. Table of Contents A Revolutionary Gaming Platform Games for Everyone, Anytime, Anywhere Developing iPhone Games Peeking Inside the iPhone Toolbox Moving Images on a Small ScreenUIKit Controls She Shoots, She Hits, She Scores Flipping Out and Sweeping Away with Core Animation OpenGL Basics: Wrapping Your Head Around the OpenGL AP Putting It Together: Making a Game in OpenGL The Next Steps: Atlases, Sprites, and ParticlesOh My Introduction to Core Audio Making Noise with OpenAL 3D AudioTurning Noise into Game Sound Streaming: Thumping, Pulse-Quickening Game Excitement Networking for iPhone Games: Introductio Going Head to Head Party Time Connecting with the Outside World Putting It All Together: Now Comes the Fun Part

XNA 3.0 brings you the ability to create games that will run not just on the PC and Xbox 360, but also on the Zune mobile device. While creating games for Zune is, in many ways, similar to working on the other platforms, it also presents its own unique set of challenges and opportunities. Smaller screens, limited storage, and less processing power all affect the way you need to think about designing and implementing your games.

Zune Game Development Using XNA 3.0 is a comprehensive book that will guide you through the many aspects of XNA game development and their specific implementations on the Zune platform. The book addresses Zune game development concepts in detail and shows you how to apply them in practical, stepbystep examples, building complete, working XNA 3.0 examples along the way that you can download and play. What you'll learn Design practical games for the Zune. Discover the ways in which you can develop content for the Zune. Understand what makes the development of Zune games different from the development of PC and console games. Create Zune games, from the simple to the complex, with complete working examples for you to play and learn from. Use the XNA 3.0 Framework to play music from Zune's library and your own custom sounds to enrich your games. Understand how to take advantage of Zune's wireless system to create multi-player games. Who this book is for

This book is aimed at gaming enthusiasts with a good understanding of basic C# (the language underlying XNA) who want to create games for the Zune media player. Some knowledge of common game elements such as sprites, game loops, and animation would be helpful but is not required. (Readers looking for such a foundation can consultBeginning XNA 3.0 Game Programming for a comprehensive primer.)

Expert Guidance on the Math Needed for 3D Game ProgrammingDeveloped from the authors' popular Game Developers Conference (GDC) tutorial, Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, Third Edition illustrates the importance of mathematics in 3D programming. It shows you how to properly animate, simulate, and render scenes and discusses the mathematics behind the processes. New to the Third EditionCompletely revised to fix errors and make the content flow better, this third edition reflects the increased use of shader graphics pipelines, such as in DirectX 11, OpenGL ES (GLES), and the OpenGL Core Profile. It also updates the material on real-time graphics with coverage of more realistic materials and lighting. The Foundation for Successful 3D ProgrammingThe book covers the low-level mathematical and geometric representations and algorithms that are the core of any game engine. It also explores all the stages of the rendering pipeline. The authors explain how to represent, transform, view, and animate geometry. They then focus on visual matters, specifically the representation, computation, and use of color. They also address randomness, intersecting geometric entities, and physical simulation. An Introduction to Creating Real and Active Virtual WorldsThis updated book provides you with a conceptual understanding of the mathematics needed to create 3D games as well as a practical understanding of how these mathematical bases actually apply to games and graphics. It not only includes the theoretical mathematical background but also incorporates many examples of how the concepts are used to affect how a game looks and plays. Web ResourceA supplementary website contains a collection of source code, supporting libraries, and interactive demonstrations that illustrate the concepts and enable you to experiment with animation and simulation applications. The site also includes slides and notes from the authors' GDC tutorials.

In the vein of their cult-classic dark fantasy titles Demon's Souls (2009) and the Dark Souls franchise (2011, 2014, 2016), game developers FromSoftware released the bleak Gothic horror Bloodborne in 2015. Players are cast in the role of hunters in a hostile land, probing the shadowy city of Yharnam in search of "paleblood." The game achieved iconic status as both a horror and an action title for its rich lore and for the continuity of story elements through all aspects of game design. This first full-length study examines Bloodborne's themes of dangerous knowledge and fatal pride and its aesthetics in the context other works on game studies, horror and the Gothic. The book's three parts focus on lore and narrative, the game's nightmarish world, and its mechanics.

Wolfgang Engel's GPU Pro 360 Guide to 3D Engine Design gathers all the cutting-edge information from his previous seven GPU Pro volumes into a convenient single source anthology that covers the design of a 3D engine. This volume is complete with articles by leading programmers that focus on various aspects of 3D engine design such as quality and optimization as well as high-level architecture. GPU Pro 360 Guide to 3D Engine Design is comprised of ready-to-use ideas and efficient procedures that can help solve many computer graphics programming challenges that may arise. Key Features: Presents tips & tricks on real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data on common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, mobile devices Covers specific challenges involved in creating games on various platforms Explores the latest developments in rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering Takes practical approach that helps graphics programmers solve their daily challenges

A source of inspiration and nostalgia, The Little Book of Video Games is a lighthearted collection of 70 of the most iconic and influential classic video games. From arcade favorites like Pong, Pac-Man, Galaga, Dragon's Lair, or Street Fighter to home console and PC games like The Oregon Trail, Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Myst, or Final Fantasy -- this accessible guide covers them all. With an brief introduction about the history and evolution of video games, as well as its significance in popular culture, this charming package comes packed with engaging profiles of classic video games from their creation up to the 2000s, plus sidebars about game genres, consoles, and more. Accompanied by graphic spot art, as well as surprising facts and trivia, this book is perfect for fans of all levels. Revisit your favorites, find something new, or play your way through, The Little Book of Video Games offers a way for everyone to learn, share, and enjoy their favorite classic video games without having to press a power button.

Direct3D 11 offers such a wealth of capabilities that users can sometimes get lost in the details of specific APIs and their implementation. While there is a great deal of low-level information available about how each API function should be used, there is little documentation that shows how best to leverage these capabilities. Written by active members of the Direct3D community, Practical Rendering and Computation with Direct3D 11 provides a deep understanding of both the high and low level concepts related to using Direct3D 11. The first part of the book presents a conceptual introduction to Direct3D 11, including an overview of the Direct3D 11 rendering and computation pipelines and how they map to the underlying hardware. It also provides a detailed look at all of the major components of the library, covering resources, pipeline details, and multithreaded rendering. Building upon this material, the second part of the text includes detailed examples of how to use Direct3D 11 in common rendering scenarios. The authors describe sample algorithms in-depth and discuss how the features of Direct3D 11 can be used to your advantage. All of the source code from the book is accessible on an actively maintained open source rendering framework. The sample applications and the framework itself can be downloaded from http://hieroglyph3.codeplex.com By analyzing when to use various tools and the tradeoffs between different implementations, this book helps you understand the best way to accomplish a given task and thereby fully leverage the potential capabilities of Direct3D 11. Key Features Presents the high level concepts used to design algorithms Describes the nuts and bolts of how to implement the algorithms Explains each of the major components of the Direct3D 11 library Shows how Direct3D 11 can be used in a variety of real-world situations Provides source code and sample programs on a supplementary website

Designed for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, 3D Graphics for Game Programming presents must-know information for success in interactive graphics. Assuming a minimal prerequisite understanding of vectors and matrices, it also provides sufficient mathematical background for game developers to combine their previous experience in graphics API and shader programming with the background theory of computer graphics. Well organized and logically presented, this book takes its organizational format from GPU programming and presents a variety of algorithms for programmable stages along with the knowledge required to configure hard-wired stages. Easily accessible, it offers a wealth of elaborate 3D visual presentations and includes additional theoretical and technical details in separate shaded boxes and optional sections. Maintaining API neutrality throughout to maximize applicability, the book gives sample programs to assist in understanding. Full PowerPoint files and additional material, including video clips and lecture notes with all of the figures in the book, are available on the book's website: http://media.korea.ac.kr/book Key Features Presents the theory and mathematics of real-time graphics and its applications to game design Provides boxed MathNotes that can be accessed as required without interrupting the flow of the text Includes homework problems and more than 300 detailed figures Offers ancillary material on a companion website Solutions manual available upon qualified course adoption

Do you aspire to become a concept artist in the video game industry but don t know where to start? The Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video Games: An Insider s Guide for Students is a comprehensive book that gives aspiring artists an honest, informative, and concise look at what it takes to do just that. Author Eliott Lilly uses his own student work as a teaching tool along with personal experiences to help you on your journey. From finding the right school and getting the most out of your education, to preparing your portfolio and landing your first job, the advice and strategies Eliott offers are organized for easy reference and review. The book also features an extensive list of resources that students will find useful, as well as interviews with renowned concept artists David Levy, Sparth, Stephan Martiniere, Ben Mauro, and Farzad Varahramyan, all offering their own invaluable advice. With his firsthand knowledge about the ins and outs of the video game industry, Eliott Lilly is an exceptional guide who can help prepare you for the long journey toward realizing your ambitions."

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are a special genre of computer games that bring the tabletop role-playing experience of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to the computer screen. Thisnew edition inlcudes two new chapters: The Modern Age, and a chapter on Indies and Mobile CRPGs. The new modern age chapter will cover, among other topics, Kickstarter/FIG crowdfunded projects such as Torment: Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity. It'll also bring the book up to date with major games such as Dragon Age, Witcher, Skyrim. Expanded info in first chapter about educational potential of CRPGs. Color figures will be introduced for the first time. Key Features gives reviews of hundreds of games across many platforms. comprehensive book covering the history of computer RPGs. comprehensive index at the back, letting you quickly look up your favourite titles

The immensely popular Grand Theft Auto game series has inspired a range of reactions among players and commentators, and a hot debate in the popular media. These essays from diverse theoretical perspectives expand the discussion by focusing scholarly analysis on the games, particularly Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Part One of the book discusses the fears, lawsuits, legislative proposals, and other public reactions to Grand Theft Auto, detailing the conflict between the developers of adult oriented games and various new forms of censorship. Depictions of race and violence, the pleasure of the carnivalistic gameplay, and the significance of sociopolitical satire in the series are all important elements in this controversy. The second section of the book approaches the games as they might be studied absent of the controversy. These essays study why and how players meaningfully play Grand Theft Auto games.

Considered a sign of the 'coming of age' of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine's depiction of Ayn Rand's philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes

When it comes to game programming, C++ is the name of the game. If you aspire to move from game player to game creator, it all starts with learning the fundamentals of C++ and game-programming basics. With BEGINNING C++ THROUGH GAME PROGRAMMING, FOURTH EDITION, you will find an up-to-date and thorough introduction to everything you need to get started-with no previous programming experience required. In the new fourth edition of this popular guide to learning C++, you will work with a complete program while learning each new concept and a game program at the end of each chapter. A final game project at the end of the book draws together everything you've learned. Written with the beginning programmer in mind, BEGINNING C++ THROUGH GAME PROGRAMMING, FOURTH EDITION is a great way to get started in game programming.

Though in existence for only a few decades, video games are now firmly established in mainstream culture all around the planet. Every year new games are produced, and every year new favorites emerge. But certain characters have become so iconic that they withstand both time and the shifting interests of players. Such creations permeate other elements of popular culture-from graphic novels to film-and are known not only to dedicated gamers but to the general public as well. In 100 Greatest Video Game Characters, readers can learn about some of the most popular and influential figures that have leapt from computer monitors and television screens and into the public consciousness. The entries in this volume provide general facts about the characters as well as explore their cultural significance. The entries include the following information: *Game developer *Year character was established *Video game franchise In addition, the book examines the commonalities of various video game characters to help readers better understand their popularity and how they operate within the video games and the industry itself. Whether casually looking up information on video game characters or researching what these icons says about society, readers will enjoy this entertaining and informative volume. Comprehensive and engaging, 100 Greatest Video Game Characters will appeal to fans and scholars alike.

This Open Access book is a must-have for anyone interested in real-time rendering. Ray tracing is the holy grail of gaming graphics, simulating the physical behavior of light to bring real-time, cinematic-quality rendering to even the most visually intense games. Ray tracing is also a fundamental algorithm used for architecture applications, visualization, sound simulation, deep learning, and more. Ray Tracing Gems II is written by industry experts with a particular focus on ray tracing, and it offers a practical means to master the new capabilities of current and future GPUs with the latest graphics APIs. What You'll Learn: The latest ray tracing techniques for developing real-time applications in multiple domains Case studies from developers and studios who have shipped products that use real-time ray tracing. Guidance, advice and best practices for rendering applications with various GPU-based ray tracing APIs (DirectX Raytracing, Vulkan Ray Tracing) High performance graphics for 3D graphics, virtual reality, animation, and more Who This Book Is For:Game and graphics developers who are looking to leverage the latest hardware and software tools for real-time rendering and ray tracing to enhance their applications across a variety of disciplines.