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.

A First Course in Game ProgrammingMost of today's commercial games are written in C++ and are created using a game engine. Addressing both of these key elements, Programming 2D Games provides a complete, up-to-date introduction to game programming. All of the code in the book was carefully crafted using C++. As game programming techniques are introduced, students learn how to incorporate them into their own game engine and discover how to use the game engine to create a complete game. Enables Students to Create 2D GamesThe text covers sprites, animation, collision detection, sound, text display, game dashboards, special graphic effects, tiled games, and network programming. It systematically explains how to program DirectX applications and emphasizes proper software engineering techniques. Every topic is explained theoretically and with working code examples. The example programs for each chapter are available at www.programming2dgames.com.

The evolution of story-telling is as old as the human race; from the beginning, when our ancestors first gathered around a campfire to share wondrous tales through oral traditions, to today, with information and stories being shared through waves and filling screens with words and images. Stories have always surrounded us, and united us in ways other disciplines can't. Storytelling for Interactive Digital Media and Video Games lays out the construct of the story, and how it can be manipulated by the storyteller through sound, video, lighting, graphics, and color. This book is the perfect guide to aspiring storytellers as it illustrates the different manner of how and why stories are told, and how to make them "interactive." Storytelling features heavy game development as a method of storytelling and delivery, and how to develop compelling plots, characters, settings, and actions inside a game. The concept of digital storytelling will be explored, and how this differs from previous incarnations of mediums for stories Key Features: Explores the necessary elements of a story (setting, character, events, sequence, and perspective) and how they affect the viewer of the story Discusses media and its role in storytelling, including images, art, sound, video, and animation Explores the effect of interactivity on the story, such as contest TV, web-based storytelling, kiosks, and games Shows the different types of story themes in gaming and how they are interwoven Describes how to make games engaging and rewarding intrinsically and extrinsically

Working with Video Gamers and Games in Therapy moves beyond stereotypes about video game addiction and violence to consider the role that games play in psychological experiences and mental health. Chapters examine the factors that compel individual gamers to select and identify with particular games and characters, as well as the different play styles, genres, and archetypes common in video games. For clinicians looking to understand their clients' relationships with video games or to use games as a therapeutic resource in their own practice, this is a thoughtful, comprehensive, and timely resource.

Discover the methods and techniques required for creating immersive design visualization for industry. This book proposes ways for industry-oriented design visualization from scratch. This includes fundamentals of creative and immersive technology; tools and techniques for architectural visualization; design visualization with Autodesk Maya; PBR integration; and texturing, material design, and integration into UE4 for immersive design visualization. You'll to dive into design and visualization, from planning to execution. You will start with the basics, such as an introduction to design visualization as well as to the software you will be using. You will next learn to create assets such as virtual worlds and texturing, and integrate them with Unreal Engine 4. Finally, there is a capstone project for you to make your own immersive visualization scene. By the end of the book you'll be able to create assets for use in industries such as game development, entertainment, architecture, design engineering, and digital education. What You Will Learn Gain the fundamentals of immersive design visualization Master design visualization with Autodesk Maya Study interactive visualization with UE4 Create your immersive design portfolio Who This Book Is For Beginning-intermediate learners from the fields of animation, visual art, and computer graphics as well as design visualization, game technology, and virtual reality integration.

"This book focuses on the history of video games, consoles, and home computers from the very beginning until the mid-nineties, which started a new era in digital entertainment. The text features the most innovative games and introduces the pioneers who developed them. It offers brief analyses of the most relevant games from each time period. An epilogue covers the events and systems that followed this golden age while the appendices include a history of handheld games and an overview of the retro-gaming scene"--Provided by publisher.

Learn simple yet powerful, modern-day techniques used in various gaming genres, including casual and puzzle, strategy and simulation, action-adventure, and role-playing. This book is your pocket-sized guide to designing interesting and engaging mechanics for any type of game. Exploring Game Mechanics is a cornucopia of concepts related to gameplay mechanics that you can use to create games that are fun and rewarding to play. Dive into key gameplay elements that improve the player experience, such as implementing in-game tutorials, controlling the flow of player-choice-based games, and building a game narrative through storytelling. Understand how to establish the game's end goal for the player to work towards by creating quests, missions, and objectives. Explore the key ideas behind creating immersive game worlds, generating better NPCs and enemies, and controlling the in-game economy. Finally, discover the unique mechanics that make established industry games so successful. What You Will Learn Discover the key elements that make gameplay immersive and entertaining Develop players and NPCs through customization and levelling up Gain insight into the tried-and-tested concepts behind modern-day games Who Is This Book ForGame development enthusiasts with little to no knowledge of game mechanics will find the content informative and useful.

In this new and improved third edition of the highly popular Game Engine Architecture, Jason Gregory draws on his nearly two decades of experience at Midway, Electronic Arts and Naughty Dog to present both the theory and practice of game engine software development. In this book, the broad range of technologies and techniques used by AAA game studios are each explained in detail, and their roles within a real industrial-strength game engine are illustrated. New to the Third Edition This third edition offers the same comprehensive coverage of game engine architecture provided by previous editions, along with updated coverage of: computer and CPU hardware and memory caches, compiler optimizations, C++ language standardization, the IEEE-754 floating-point representation, 2D user interfaces, plus an entirely new chapter on hardware parallelism and concurrent programming. This book is intended to serve as an introductory text, but it also offers the experienced game programmer a useful perspective on aspects of game development technology with which they may not have deep experience. As always, copious references and citations are provided in this edition, making it an excellent jumping off point for those who wish to dig deeper into any particular aspect of the game development process. Key Features Covers both the theory and practice of game engine software development Examples are grounded in specific technologies, but discussion extends beyond any particular engine or API. Includes all mathematical background needed. Comprehensive text for beginners and also has content for senior engineers.

Human brains can be seen as knowledge processors in a distributed system. Each of them can achieve, conscious or not, a small part of a treatment too important to be done by one. These are also "hunter / gatherers" of knowledge. Provided that the number of contributors is large enough, the results are usually better quality than if they were the result of the activity of a single person, even if it is a domain expert. This type of activity is done via online games.

This book explores hybrid play as a site of interdisciplinary activity-one that is capable of generating new forms of mobility, communication, subjects, and artistic expression as well as new ways of interacting with and understanding the world. The chapters in this collection explore hybrid making, hybrid subjects, and hybrid spaces, generating interesting conversations about the past, current and future nature of hybrid play. Together, the authors offer important insights into how place and space are co-constructed through play; how, when, and for what reasons people occupy hybrid spaces; and how cultural practices shape elements of play and vice versa. A diverse group of scholars and practitioners provides a rich interdisciplinary perspective, which will be of great interest to those working in the areas of games studies, media studies, communication, gender studies, and media arts.

A laugh-out-loud 'best of' selection of TommyInnit's most weird and wonderful quotes - plus much more - carefully selected to BLOW YOUR MIND by him and best friend Wilbur Soot. 'Nah, I think I'd be a pretty bad shark' 'What if God was just legs?' 'We're really just chilling, fellas' Born sometime in the early 2000s, TommyInnit's first job was a YouTuber. No, really, we're not joking, the very first job he had was a YouTuber. For the last three years, he's been mouthing off on the internet to anyone who will listen. So far, that's over 40 million followers. Will there ever be an end to TommyInnit's rampant flurry of success? Probably. And Wilbur Soot has been right by his side. Wilbur first started his career as a young man staring at the wall until he also became a YouTuber. He also discovered a little activity some may call 'singing'. In The Quote Book, TommyInnit covers a wealth of topics from cars-that-grow-teeth to slime people, and from things that be crazy to octopi. Curated and edited by Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit is about to change your life one word at a time. Unless, dear reader, you read two words at a time, like he does. Featuring: A day in the life Inside TommyInnit's brain What TommyInnit would do if he was God Life advice from Wilbur Love poetry and history lessons, TommyInnit style Wilbur's attempts to reason with TommyInnit

Game Devs & Others: Tales from the Margins tell the true stories of life in the industry by people of color, LGBTQIA and other marginalized identities. This collection of essays give people a chance to tell their stories and to let others know what life on the other side of the screen is like when you're not part of the supposed "majority". Key Features This book is perfect for anyone interested in getting into the games industry who feels they have a marginalized identity For those who wish to better diversify their studio or workplace who may or may not have access to individuals that could or would share their stories about the industry Includes initiatives aimed at diversifying the industry that have a positive or negative impact on the ongoing discussions Coverage of ajor news items about diversity, conferences aimed at or having diversity at its core of content and mission are discussed Included essays are written with as little game dev specific jargon as possible, makeing it accessible to people outside the industry as well as those in the scene but that may not have all the insider lingo

Want to develop games for Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7? This hands-on book will get you started with Microsoft's XNA 4.0 development framework right away -- even if you have no experience developing games. Although XNA includes several key concepts that can be difficult for beginning web developers to grasp, "Learning XNA 4.0" shortens the learning curve by walking you through the framework in a clear and understandable step-by-step format.

Each chapter offers a self-contained lesson with illustrations and annotated examples, along with exercises and review questions to help you test your understanding and practice new skills as you go. Once you've finished this book, you'll know how to develop your own sophisticated games from start to finish. Learn game development from 2D animation to 3D cameras and effects Delve into high-level shader language (HLSL) and introductory artificial intelligence concepts Build three complete, exciting games using 2D, 3D, and multiplayer techniques Develop for and deploy your games to the Xbox 360 and Windows Phone 7

Surviving Game School speaks about what to expect in a top game design or game development college program, and what to expect once students get out. Making games is not at all the same as playing games. Uncommonly blunt, the book reveals the rigors - and the joys - of working in this industry. Along the way the book touches on themes of time management, creativity, teamwork, and burnout. The authors explore the impact working in the game industry can have on personal relationships and family life. The book closes with advice about life's goals and building and keeping a sensible balance between work and everything else. Key Features: What you can expect from a top college Game Design Program, from an experienced college professor What to expect while working in the games industry, from 25-year veteran game developer. How to find an industry job after gaining a relevant college degree How to build and maintain a satisfying career in the games industry

The drums of war thunder once again . . . World of Warcraft redefined online gaming for millions and millions of people, and in the fifteen years since its launch, each new chapter in the game's story has been bolstered through the Blizzard Entertainment's incredible cinematics. The Cinematic Art of World of Warcraft: Volume I goes behind the scenes with the team who built the game's stunning movies. With never-before-seen concept art and accounts of the creative and technical process, this is the definitive visual gallery of how countless artists brought the world of Azeroth to life in incredible detail and motion. The first installment in a new series, The Cinematic Art of World of Warcraft: Volume I is a visual chronicle covering the cinematics from the beginning of World of Warcraft through to the Warlords of Draenor expansion.

Windows 8 presents an incredible opportunity for distributing and monetizing HTML5 games, and this guide shows how you can profit from it. You'll learn everything you need to know about porting your original web-based JavaScript game to the new "touch-first" version of Windows, as well as several options for selling your game in Windows Store. Windows 8 is a big leap forward for developers because it treats HTML5 as a first-class citizen, alongside C# and C++. Interactive development expert Jesse Freeman explains how Windows 8 works, gets you started with Visual Studio Express (it's free!), and uses a case study to show you how to port an HTML5 game with ease. Learn which games and JavaScript libraries work best on Windows 8 Adjust artwork for different screen resolutions and Windows 8 features Accommodate mouse, keyboard, touch, and other game controls Optimize your game to run well on any Windows 8 device Understand the steps for publishing your game to Windows Store Explore fixed price, trial mode, ad support, and in-app purchase options Use a web-first workflow to ensure your game runs on many other platforms

The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games is a first of its kind textbook and must-have reference guide for everything you ever wanted to know about sound for games. This book provides a basic overview of game audio, how it has developed over time, and how you can make a career in this industry. Each chapter gives you the background and context you will need to understand the unique workflow associated with interactive media. The practical, easy to understand interactive examples provide hands-on experience applying the concepts in real world situations.

Learn to design and create video games using the Java programming language and the LibGDX software library. Working through the examples in this book, you will create 12 game prototypes in a variety of popular genres, from collection-based and shoot-em-up arcade games to side-scrolling platformers and sword-fighting adventure games. With the flexibility provided by LibGDX, specialized genres such as card games, rhythm games, and visual novels are also covered in this book. Major updates in this edition include chapters covering advanced topics such as alternative sources of user input, procedural content generation, and advanced graphics. Appendices containing examples for game design documentation and a complete JavaDoc style listing of the extension classes developed in the book have also been added. What You Will Learn Create 12 complete video game projects Master advanced Java programming concepts, including data structures, encapsulation, inheritance, and algorithms, in the context of game development Gain practical experience with game design topics, including user interface design, gameplay balancing, and randomized content Integrate third-party components into projects, such as particle effects, tilemaps, and gamepad controllers Who This Book Is For The target audience has a desire to make video games, and an introductory level knowledge of basic Java programming. In particular, the reader need only be familiar with: variables, conditional statements, loops, and be able to write methods to accomplish simple tasks and classes to store related data.

Master game design and digital art principles simultaneously with this all-in-one guide to creating games in the cutting-edge game engine Unity. Reworked for C# and Unity 2018 & 2019, and bursting with images and tutorials, Penny de Byl's Holistic Game Development with Unity will help the reader gain the multidisciplinary skills needed to succeed in the independent game industry. Holistic Game Development with Unity includes new coverage on Augmented Reality, Networking, and Virtual Reality such as the Oculus Rift. Supplementary material, including instructional videos, discussion forums and art assets are provided in the companion website located at www.holistic3d.com. Learn to combine the beauty of art and the functionality of programming in de Byl's third edition for Unity game development. Key features: Art and programming in Unity, the only one-stop shop for individual developers and small teams looking to tackle both tasks. Proven step-by-step tutorials show you how to design and structure an entire game in Unity with art assets. Revised to cover the Unity game engine versions 2018 and 2019. New coverage of Nav Meshes, Augmented Reality, Mobile Builds and Mecanim. An introduction to essential two- and three-dimensional mathematical and physics concepts. A portfolio of royalty free reusable game mechanics. Revamped and expanded accompanying website, www.holistic3d.com, features project source code, instructional videos, art assets, author blog, and discussion forums. Additional challenge questions and lesson plans are available online for an enhanced learning experience.

In a scant fifteen years, video and computer games have grown into a $6-billion-a-year global industry, sucking up ever-increasing amounts of leisure time and disposable income. In arcades, living rooms, student dorms, and (admit it) offices from Ohio to Osaka, video games have become a fixture in people's lives, marking a tectonic shift in the entertainment landscape.
Now, as Hollywood and Silicon Valley rush to sell us online interactive multimedia everything, J. C. Herz brings us the first popular history and critique of the video-game phenomenon. From the Cold War computer programmers who invented the first games (when they should have been working) to the studios where the networked 3-D theme parks of the future are created, Herz brings to life the secret history of Space Invaders, Pac Man, Super Mario, Myst, Doom, and other celebrated games. She explains why different kinds of games have taken hold (and what they say about the people who play them) and what we can expect from a generation that has logged millions of hours vanquishing digital demons.
Written with 64-bit energy and filled with Herz's sharp-edged insights and asides, Joystick Nation is a fascinating pop culture odyssey that's must-reading for media junkies, pop historians, and anyone who pines for their old Atari.

A mysterious group of phantom thieves skulks in the shadows of Tokyo, changing the hearts of corrupt adults. But behind their masks are--normal teenagers and a talking black cat?! PERSONA 5: MEMENTOS MISSION is an all-new mystery featuring the cast of PERSONA 5. IN THIS VOLUME: Phantom thieves Makoto and Haru infiltrate a maid cafe, while strange "space aliens" appear in Akihabara! With so much going on, the time Ren has for sleep keeps getting shorter and shorter... Will the phantom thieves be able to find their targets in Mementos, and change their hearts?!

Master game design and digital art principles simultaneously with this all-in-one guide to creating games in the cutting-edge game engine Unity. Reworked for C# and Unity 2018 & 2019, and bursting with images and tutorials, Penny de Byl's Holistic Game Development with Unity will help the reader gain the multidisciplinary skills needed to succeed in the independent game industry. Holistic Game Development with Unity includes new coverage on Augmented Reality, Networking, and Virtual Reality such as the Oculus Rift. Supplementary material, including instructional videos, discussion forums and art assets are provided in the companion website located at www.holistic3d.com. Learn to combine the beauty of art and the functionality of programming in de Byl's third edition for Unity game development. Key features: Art and programming in Unity, the only one-stop shop for individual developers and small teams looking to tackle both tasks. Proven step-by-step tutorials show you how to design and structure an entire game in Unity with art assets. Revised to cover the Unity game engine versions 2018 and 2019. New coverage of Nav Meshes, Augmented Reality, Mobile Builds and Mecanim. An introduction to essential two- and three-dimensional mathematical and physics concepts. A portfolio of royalty free reusable game mechanics. Revamped and expanded accompanying website, www.holistic3d.com, features project source code, instructional videos, art assets, author blog, and discussion forums. Additional challenge questions and lesson plans are available online for an enhanced learning experience.

Drawing on decades of experience, Beep to Boom: The Development of Advanced Runtime Sound Systems for Games and Extended Reality is a rigorous, comprehensive guide to interactive audio runtime systems. Packed with practical examples and insights, the book explains each component of these complex geometries of sound. Using practical, lowest-common-denominator techniques, Goodwin covers soundfield creation across a range of platforms from phones to VR gaming consoles. Whether creating an audio system from scratch or building on existing frameworks, the book also explains costs, benefits and priorities. In the dynamic simulated world of games and extended reality, interactive audio can now consider every intricacy of real-world sound. This book explains how and why to tame it enjoyably.

The popular Postmortem column in Game Developer magazine features firsthand accounts of how some of the most important and successful games of recent years have been made. This book offers the opportunity to harvest this expertise with one volume. The editor has organized the articles by theme and added previously unpublished analysis to reveal successful management techniques. Readers learn how superstars of the game industry like Peter Molyneux and Warren Spector have dealt with the development challenges such as managing complexity, software and game design issues, schedule challenges, and changing staff needs.

Shareware Heroes is a comprehensive, meticulously researched exploration of an important and too-long overlooked chapter in video game historyShareware Heroes: Independent Games at the Dawn of the Internet takes readers on a journey, from the beginnings of the shareware model in the early 1980s, the origins of the concept, even the name itself, and the rise of shareware's major players - the likes of id Software, Apogee, and Epic MegaGames - through to the significance of shareware for the 'forgotten' systems - the Mac, Atari ST, Amiga - when commercial game publishers turned away from them.This book also charts the emergence of commercial shareware distributors like Educorp and the BBS/newsgroup sharing culture. And it explores how shareware developers plugged gaps in the video gaming market by creating games in niche and neglected genres like vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-ups (e.g. Raptor and Tyrian) or racing games (e.g. Wacky Wheels and Skunny Kart) or RPGs (God of Thunder and Realmz), until finally, as the video game market again grew and shifted, and major publishers took control, how the shareware system faded into the background and fell from memory.