The Video Game Theory Reader brings together exciting new work on video games as a unique medium and nascent field of study - one that is rapidly developing new modes of understanding and analysis. This pioneering collection addresses the many ways video games are reshaping the face of entertainment and our relationship with technology. In the volume, leading Media Studies scholars develop new theoretical tools and concepts to study video games. Drawing upon examples from widely popular games ranging from Space Invaders to Final Fantasy, the contributors discuss the relationship between video games and other media; the shift from third- to first-person games; gamers and the gaming community; and the important sociological, cultural, industrial, and economic issues that surround gaming.

This engaging book presents the essential mathematics needed to describe, simulate, and render a 3D world. Reflecting both academic and in-the-trenches practical experience, the authors teach you how to describe objects and their positions, orientations, and trajectories in 3D using mathematics. The text provides an introduction to mathematics for game designers, including the fundamentals of coordinate spaces, vectors, and matrices. It also covers orientation in three dimensions, calculus and dynamics, graphics, and parametric curves.

This project-based tutorial covers the creation of 3D assets in a game engine, from concept to implementation. You will learn the 3D pipeline using Maya and Substance Painter, which are industry-standard programs used for content creation in game development. You also will know how to add them and work with them in Unity. The book begins with an overall look at the production of game development and the different roles in creating assets. Then, starting with Maya, you learn how to start with a concept and take it through the entire production pipeline: base mesh, UV mapping, high poly, texturing, rigging, and animation. You will be working on one asset project throughout the entire book to understand how one phase leads to the next one. Lastly, you will cover asset placement and integration into Unity. What You Will Learn Build a thorough knowledge of the 3D game asset production workflow Understand how each phase leads up to the next one Know how 3D assets are implemented into Unity Texture, rig, and animate the 3D model Export and import the 3D asset or model Understand the iterative design process Who This Book Is For 3D artists, from beginners to specialists, who are interested in learning the 3D production pipeline of game assets as a whole

Ideology and the Virtual City is an exploration of modern society and the critical value of popular culture. It combines a prescient social theory that describes how `neoliberal' ideology in today's societies dominates our economic, political and cultural ideals, with an entertaining exploration of narratives, characters and play structures in some of today's most interesting videogames. The book takes readers into a range of simulated urban environments that symbolise the hidden antagonisms of social life and create outlandish resolutions through their power fantasies. Interactive entertainment can help us understand the ways in which people relate to a modern `common sense' neoliberal background, in terms of absorbing assumptions, and questioning them.

Video games have long been seen as the exclusive territory of young, heterosexual white males. In a media landscape dominated by such gamers, players who do not fit this mold, including women, people of color, and LGBT people, are often brutalized in forums and in public channels in online play. Discussion of representation of such groups in games has frequently been limited and cursory. In contrast, "Gaming at the Edge" builds on feminist, queer, and postcolonial theories of identity and draws on qualitative audience research methods to make sense of how representation comes to matter.

In "Gaming at the Edge," Adrienne Shaw argues that video game players experience race, gender, and sexuality concurrently. She asks: How do players identify with characters? How do they separate identification and interactivity? What is the role of fantasy in representation? What is the importance of understanding market logic? In addressing these questions Shaw reveals how representation comes to matter to participants and offers a perceptive consideration of the high stakes in politics of representation debates.

Putting forth a framework for talking about representation, difference, and diversity in an era in which user-generated content, individualized media consumption, and the blurring of producer/consumer roles has lessened the utility of traditional models of media representation analysis, Shaw finds new insight on the edge of media consumption with the invisible, marginalized gamers who are surprising in both their numbers and their influence in mainstream gamer culture.

Understand real-world game development concepts using JavaFX game engine called FXGL. The core focus of the book is on developing a standalone game or application with FXGL. We will start with an overview of the book followed by requisite concepts from Java and JavaFX that will be used throughout this book. Next, we will learn about the FXGL game engine and its wide range of real-world game development techniques. In the following chapter, we learn about entity-component model used in FXGL to create a powerful abstraction of the game world. The next chapter builds on this, where we develop a platformer game using the physics engine and a popular external tool called Tiled. An important concept of games AI is covered in the following chapter. Visually complex features related to graphics and rendering as well as UI elements and animation system in FXGL will be discussed in the next chapter. The following chapter is dedicated to non-game applications that can be developed using FXGL. The last two chapters cover packaging and deployment of JavaFX and FXGL applications and discussion on future projects. The key take-away skill from this book is the ability to develop professional-level applications and games with FXGL. During the course of this book, you will have produced a range of cross-platform applications and games using FXGL, reinforcing the game development concepts covered throughout. What You Will Learn* Understand use of advanced Java and JavaFX concepts * Learn about real-world game development concepts in a general-purpose programming language* Master professional cross-platform, desktop and mobile, games using the FXGL game engine Who Is This Book ForThis book is for beginners in Java and/or JavaFX who wish to develop apps and games with FXGL, while improving Java and JavaFX skills.

Master the art of programming games for Android using the Unity3D game engine. This book will help you understand basic concepts of game development in Unity. By the end of Beginning Unity Android Game Development, you will have the knowledge to confidently build an Android game. The book starts by explaining simple programming concepts to make beginners comfortable with the jargon. You will then learn to navigate around the Unity interface and use basic tools (hand, move, rotate, scale, and rect). You will also be acquainted with the creation of basic 3D objects in the game while understanding the purpose of several of Unity's windows. In the last chapters, you will learn to create a simple game for Android using the concepts studied in the previous chapters. Scripts will be written to handle the behaviors of the player and enemies as well as to handle other aspects of the game. The author shares tips along the way to help improve in-game performance, such as switching to the universal rendering pipeline when targeting mobile platforms. At the end of the book, you will have a solid knowledge in making basic Android games that can be upgraded later to make more complex games. What You Will Learn Explore basic Unity and C# programming concepts and scripting for Android games Navigate around the Unity interface and use its basic tools Make the most of popular components and features of Unity Write an Android game with optimizations Who This Book Is For Absolute beginners learning to program games for the Android platform using Unity3D. Basic knowledge of programming would be beneficial for the reader but is not required.

Learn All the Design & Development Skills You Need to Make Great Games with Unity, the World's Most Popular Professional Game Engine If you want to design and develop games, there is no substitute for strong, hands-on experience with modern techniques and tools. That is exactly what this book provides. Leading instructor and indie game developer Jeremy Gibson Bond covers all three disciplines that you need to succeed: game design theory, rapid iterative prototyping, and practical programming. Building on two previous best-sellers, this Third Edition contains hundreds of improvements across more than 400 new pages, all designed to make it even easier to understand and more useful in modern game development. The five game tutorials have been thoroughly revised and expanded to cover even more best practices for prototyping and development, and all examples now use Unity 2020.3 LTS (Long Term Support), a stable and feature-rich standard for years to come. The new content includes greatly enhanced tutorials, a chapter on Unity's high-performance Data-Oriented Tech Stack (DOTS), new Coding Challenges to help you transition to making your own games from scratch, and tips on next steps after you have finished the book. The revamped website includes playable versions of all example games, plus an exciting new tool that provides immediate feedback on potential errors in your own code. Part I: Game Design and Paper Prototyping Use the Layered Tetrad to understand and design powerful interactive experiences. Explore the core game design practices of paper prototyping, testing, and iteration. Learn effective strategies for staying on track and on schedule. Get tips for finding a rewarding job in today's industry. Part II: Programming C# in Unity Learn C# from the basics through class inheritance, object-oriented programming, and data-oriented design. Part III: Game Prototype Tutorials Implement games across five genres: arcade, casual physics, space shooter, solitaire card game, and top-down adventure game. Each game is designed to be easily extensible into your own projects.Take three games from prototype to "first playable" through new extended tutorial chapters that refi ne the games further than in previous editions of the book. NEW! Part IV: Next Steps Tackle the new, growing library of Coding Challenges, a proven method for transitioning from tutorials to creating your own projects from scratch.Get ideas and resources for new projects to tackle on your own.

Learn about editor scripting in Unity, including different possible methods of editor customization to fit your custom game workflow or even to create assets that could be published on the Asset Store to earn a passive income. The knowledge of editor scripting, although rarely covered in books, gives a game developer insight into how things work in Unity under the hood, which you can leverage to create custom tools that empower your unique game idea. This book starts with the very basics of editor scripting in Unity, such as using built-in attributes to customize your component's editor and creating custom editors and windows with IMGUI and UI Toolkit. Next, we move to a general use case example by creating an object spawner EditorTool for the scene view. Later, we dive straight to in-depth stats and detailed case studies of two Unity assets: ProArray and Rhythm Game Starter. Here you'll get more context on how editor scripting is used in published assets. You will also learn how to set up a better workflow for editor scripting, asset publishing, maintenance, and iterative updates. You will leverage the power of modern web technology to build a documentation site with GitBook and DocFX. Finally, you will see some tips and tricks for automating asset versioning and changelogs. What You Will Learn Get started with Editor scripting in Unity Work with advanced editor topics such as custom EditorWindows and EditorTool Structure your C# code with namespaces and asmdef Use IMGUI and UI Toolkit for creating editor GUIs Master packaging and selling your own editor tools Set up a better workflow for asset publishing, maintenance, and iterative updates Who This Book Is For Readers who want to learn about editor scripting to improve their game-development process and create tools for themselves. Moderate experience with C# and a fundamental knowledge of Unity is expected.

Take a deep dive into creating large-scale, multiplayer games with Unity 3D, using Mirror Networking and a variety of powerful transports. You will learn the fundamentals of RPC/Command multiplayer architecture and dig deeper into networking and data persistence to achieve scalable, highly performant, large-scale, multiplayer games in Unity. This book explains how to develop multiplayer games using Unity within a commercial or enterprise environment. You will take a look at the networking fundamentals behind multiplayer games, including packets and the importance of keeping packets small. Next, you will look into Mirror Networking and see how to leverage a variety of transport layers to achieve large-scale, multiplayer games. Using Unity 3D as the core focus, you will get an understanding of the RPC/Command architecture and how you can utilize different authoritative structures to best suit your needs. You will also learn how to scale your architecture and explore industry-leading methods of deploying your game to the masses. You will also get a solid understanding of networking principles. The book wraps up with advice from leading experts who shed light on past mistakes and provide valuable insights for your next project. This book breaks down daunting concepts into easy-to-understand pieces of knowledge to help you create your first multiplayer game. It is a must-read for any developer looking to understand multiplayer games and networking. What You Will Learn Learn advanced multiplayer concepts and how to use them Understand the key concepts for creating multiplayer virtual experiences Know the basics of computer networking and how to employ them Deploy large, scalable multiplayer infrastructures for your games Gain insights from other industry professionals Who Is This Book For Intermediate to advanced Unity 3D developers looking to understand multiplayer networking and deploying large-scale products. Having a solid understanding of C# and Unity is required, and having an understanding or prior experience with networking principles such as IPv4 would be advantageous.

This two-volume set LNCS 12789 and 12790 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on HCI in Games, HCI-Games 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, which took place in July 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. The papers of HCI-Games 2021, Part II are organized in topical sections named: Serious Games; Gamification and Learning; Mixed and Virtual Reality Games.

This two-volume set LNCS 12789 and 12790 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on HCI in Games, HCI-Games 2021, held as part of the 23rd International Conference, HCI International 2021, which took place in July 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The total of 1276 papers and 241 posters included in the 39 HCII 2021 proceedings volumes was carefully reviewed and selected from 5222 submissions. The papers of HCI-Games 2021, Part I, are organized in topical sections named: Experience Design in Games; User Engagement and Game Impact; Game Mechanics.

Develop a 2D game engine that will give you the experience and core understanding of foundational concepts for building complex and fun 2D games that can be played across the Internet via popular web browsers. This book is organized so that the chapters follow logical steps of building a game engine and integrates concepts accordingly. Build Your Own 2D Game Engine and Create Great Web Games isolates and presents relevant concepts from software engineering, computer graphics, mathematics, physics, game development and game design in the context of building a 2D game engine from scratch. In this edition, all the code is based on updated versions of JavaScript with HTML5 and WebGL2: you will analyze the source code needed to create a game engine that is suitable for implementing typical casual 2D videogames. You will also learn about physics and particle system. The discussion of physics component includes rotations and popular physical materials such as wood, mud, and ice. The discussion of particle component has popular presets such as fire, smoke, and dust. By the end of the book, you will understand the core concepts and implementation details of a typical 2D game engine, learn insights into how these concepts affect game design and game play, and have access to a versatile 2D game engine that they can expand upon or utilize to build their own 2D games from scratch with HTML5, JavaScript, and WebGL2. What You Will Learn Understand essential concepts for building 2D games Grasp the basic architecture of 2D game engines Understand illumination models in 2D games Learn basic physics used in 2D games Find out how these core concepts affect game design and game play Learn to design and develop 2D interactive games Who Is This Book For Game enthusiasts, hobbyists, and anyone with little to no experience who are interested in building interactive games but are unsure of how to begin. This can also serve as a textbook for a junior- or senior-level "Introduction to Game Engine" course in a Computer Science department.

3D GAME PROGRAMMING ALL IN ONE, THIRD EDITION is perfect for anyone interested in learning the skills and processes involved in making 3D games. This new edition of the bestselling book shows you how to design and create every aspect of a fully featured game using the Torque 3D game engine. Starting with an introduction to game programming, this comprehensive book provides an overview of the gaming industry, game engines, programming, 3D concepts, texturing and modeling, and even audio engineering. After all the techniques are presented, you will use your new skills and the material on the DVD to create a game. The DVD contains everything you need to create a complete game, including all of the TorqueScript source code in sample and final form, the Torque 3D Tools Demo game engine, MilkShape 3D for 3D player and item modeling, The Gimp 2 for texture and image manipulation, Audacity for sound editing and recording, UVMapper for performing UV unwrapping tasks, and Torsion, the Integrated Development Environment tool for TorqueScript code.

Composing Music for Games is a guidebook for launching and maintaining a successful career as a video game composer. It offers a pragmatic approach to learning, intensified through challenging project assignments and simulations. Author Chance Thomas begins with the foundation of scoring principles applicable to all media, and then progresses serially through core methodologies specific to video game music. This book offers a powerful blend of aesthetic, technique, technology and business, which are all necessary components for a successful career as a video game composer.

This book presents concepts and methods for optimal training for decision making in crisis situations. After presenting some general concepts of decision-making during crisis situations, it presents various innovations for optimal training, such as serious games, scenario design, adapted animation of crisis exercises, observation and debriefing of exercises related to pedagogical objectives.

In the future, there are going to be millions of jobs with no one to fill them if more kids don't learn how to code. So why aren't more kids learning to program? Some think it's too hard, and others don't have parents who can help them because they don't know programming themselves. Learning to code with a tool like Scratch, an open source programming platform maintained by MIT, and having fun goals, like writing games, just might make a difference. That's where this book comes in. Hello, Scratch! is a how-to book that helps parents and kids work together to learn programming skills by creating new versions of old retro-style arcade games with Scratch. By building games, readers not only create fun finished products, but they'll learn important programming skills along the way. By the time readers are done, they'll be able to create their own games and understand the basics of computer programming and game design. Key Features: * Introduction to Scratch * Easy to follow examples * Step-by-step guide This book is for kids and their parents who want to learn to program while creating games. No programming experience needed! About the Technology: Scratch is a drag-and-drop programming language created by the college Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). What can you make with Scratch? The short answer is anything.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. From the bestselling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade's most renowned studios fell apart-and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next. Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it. The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark games-Bioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more-on to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely. Schreier's insider interviews cover hostile takeovers, abusive bosses, corporate drama, bounced checks, and that one time the Boston Red Sox's Curt Schilling decided he was going to lead a game studio that would take out World of Warcraft. Along the way, he asks pressing questions about why, when the video game industry is more successful than ever, it's become so hard to make a stable living making video games-and whether the business of making games can change before it's too late.

This updated bestseller provides an introduction to programming interactive computer graphics, with an emphasis on game development using DirectX 11. The book is divided into three main parts: basic mathematical tools, fundamental tasks in Direct3D, and techniques and special effects. It includes new Direct3D 11 features such as hardware tessellation, the compute shader, dynamic shader linkage and covers advanced rendering techniques such as screen-space ambient occlusion, level-of-detail handling, cascading shadow maps, volume rendering, and character animation. Includes a companion CD-ROM with code and figures. eBook Customers: Companion files are available for downloading with order number/proof of purchase by writing to the publisher at [email protected].

In depth investigation into a famous series of video games In just three episodes, the Bioshock series managed to score some big points amongst players' hearts. Spiritual successor of System Shock 2, the first Bioshock was an Irrational Games' game, lead by Ken Levine. Set in the 50's ambiance, with Art Deco levels, progression in Bioshock is possible through open and smart game mechanics, inciting the player to be creative and to use its environment. The saga is also filled with many profound and philosophical themes, while involving the player in every one of its aspects, many things granting the triptych of an iconic saga.

Dr. Alireza Tavakkoli's Game Development and Simulation with Unreal Technology covers the latest version of Unreal Technology. Since the 1990s Epic Games, Inc. has been leading the revolution of gaming graphics and Artificial Intelligence. Now, unreal technology is one of the most potent and prominent engines that is currently used in games. Its influence can be spotted in classic triple A titles like, Fortnite, Gears of War 2, Borderlands 2, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Tavakkoli goes into detail concerning the creation of game level designs, blueprint coding, shader programing, as well as artificial intelligence concepts to help readers in creating their own games. Game Development also includes a number of practice friendly extensions and concept modules to help solidify the reader's understanding of concepts and techniques. The book is divided into three sections that act as building blocks in order to facilitate the comprehension of the material. Key Features: Provides beginner level through advanced concepts in blueprint programming with the Unreal Engine 4.18 Hundreds of small/mid-scale projects developed as concept examples throughout the book which can be utilized in more comprehensive entertaining interactive computer simulations and games Chapter exercises will take the readers' understanding of Unreal Engine to the next level.

Welcome to the second volume of Game Audio Programming: Principles and Practices - the first series of its kind dedicated to the art of game audio programming! This volume features more than 20 chapters containing advanced techniques from some of the top game audio programmers and sound designers in the industry. This book continues the tradition of collecting more knowledge and wisdom about game audio programming than any other volume in history. Both audio programming beginners and seasoned veterans will find content in this book that is valuable, with topics ranging from extreme low-level mixing to high-level game integration. Each chapter contains techniques that were used in games that have shipped, and there is a plethora of code samples and diagrams. There are chapters on threading, DSP implementation, advanced middleware techniques in FMOD Studio and Audiokinetic Wwise, ambiences, mixing, music, and more. This book has something for everyone who is programming audio for a game: programmers new to the art of audio programming, experienced audio programmers, and those souls who just got assigned the audio code. This book is for you!

This book provides a comprehensive and practically minded introduction into serious games for law enforcement agencies. Serious games offer wide ranging benefits for law enforcement with applications from professional trainings to command-level decision making to the preparation for crises events. This book explains the conceptual foundations of virtual and augmented reality, gamification and simulation. It further offers practical guidance on the process of serious games development from user requirements elicitation to evaluation. The chapters are intended to provide principles, as well as hands-on knowledge to plan, design, test and apply serious games successfully in a law enforcement environment. A diverse set of case studies showcases the enormous variety that is possible in serious game designs and application areas and offers insights into concrete design decisions, design processes, benefits and challenges. The book is meant for law enforcement professionals interested in commissioning their own serious games as well as game designers interested in collaborative pedagogy and serious games for the law enforcement and security sector.

Despite its significant growth over the past five years, the mobile and social videogame industry is still maturing at a rapid rate. Due to various storage and visual and sound asset restrictions, mobile and social gaming must have innovative storytelling techniques. Narrative Tactics grants readers practical advice for improving narrative design and game writing for mobile and social games, and helps them rise to the challenge of mobile game storytelling. The first half of the book covers general storytelling techniques, including worldbuilding, character design, dialogue, and quests. In the second half, leading experts in the field explore various genres and types of mobile and social games, including educational games, licensed IP, games for specific demographics, branding games, and free to play (F2P). Key Features The only book dedicated to narrative design and game writing in social and mobile games, an explosive market overtaking the console gaming market. Provides tips for narrative design and writing tailored specifically for mobile and social game markets. Guides readers along with conclusions that include questions to help the reader in narrative design and/or writing. Explores real games to illustrate theory and best practices with analyses of game case studies per chapter, covering indie, social/mobile, and AAA games. Includes checklists to help readers critique their own narrative design/writing.

Discover how to create a simple game environment in Blender 3D, from modeling and texturing game assets, to placing them in a scene. You'll export and import game assets as well as look at open-source game engines that will work with your game assets. Creating Game Environments in Blender 3D introduces the power of Blender 3D when creating a low poly game environment. The book starts by discussing the basics of game terminology, such as knowing the difference between low poly and high poly assets and the types of game you're likely to work on. You'll also take a brief look at Blender's background and installation. The following chapters talk about the process for creating a simple game environment. This is discussed in detail along with a sample project. These chapters discuss the common tools for starting a game environment and the methods for enhancing your game environment, such as color fundamentals. The final chapter shows how you can export the game assets you created in Blender, how you can import game assets in Blender, and how to evaluate the different game engines available. This book shows you the exciting side of creating a game environment while showing the power of Blender. After reading it, you will feel confident about creating a game environment. What You Will Learn Use Blender to create low poly game environments Work with the common Blender tools for game environment design and development Discover how to use Blender features in depth Compare the Eevee and Cycles game engines Who This Book Is For Game environment artists who want to use Blender 3D to create a game environment. Some previous exposure to game design and development would be helpful, but not required.