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.

In introducing new students to video game development, there are two crucial components to consider: design and implementation. Unity 3D and PlayMaker Essentials: Game Development from Concept to Publishing provides theoretical background on topics such as characters, stories, level design, interface design, audio, game mechanics, and tools and skills needed. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic, with topics building upon each other so that by the end of the book you will have looked into all the subjects relevant to creating your own game. The book transitions from discussion to demonstrations of how to implement techniques and concepts into practice by using Unity3D and PlayMaker. Download boxes are included throughout the book where you can get the version of the game project under discussion or other content to add to the project, as well as any supplementary video tutorials that have been developed. Addressing both theoretical and practical aspects, Unity 3D and PlayMaker Essentials enables you to understand how to create a game by having you make a game. By gradually completing your own design document through the course of the book, you will become familiar with core design principles while learning the practical skills needed to bring your unique game to life.

Follow a walkthrough of the Unity Engine and learn important 2D-centric lessons in scripting, working with image assets, animations, cameras, collision detection, and state management. In addition to the fundamentals, you'll learn best practices, helpful game-architectural patterns, and how to customize Unity to suit your needs, all in the context of building a working 2D game. While many books focus on 3D game creation with Unity, the easiest market for an independent developer to thrive in is 2D games. 2D games are generally cheaper to produce, more feasible for small teams, and more likely to be completed. If you live and breathe games and want to create them then 2D games are a great place to start. By focusing exclusively on 2D games and Unity's ever-expanding 2D workflow, this book gives aspiring independent game developers the tools they need to thrive. Various real-world examples of independent games are used to teach fundamental concepts of developing 2D games in Unity, using the very latest tools in Unity's updated 2D workflow. New all-digital channels for distribution, such as Nintendo eShop, XBox Live Marketplace, the Playstation Store, the App Store, Google Play, itch.io, Steam, and GOG.com have made it easier than ever to discover, buy, and sell games. The golden age of independent gaming is upon us, and there has never been a better time to get creative, roll up your sleeves, and build that game you've always dreamed about. Developing 2D Games with Unity can show you the way. What You'll Learn Delve deeply into useful 2D topics, such as sprites, tile slicing, and the brand new Tilemap feature. Build a working 2D RPG-style game as you learn. Construct a flexible and extensible game architecture using Unity-specific tools like Scriptable Objects, Cinemachine, and Prefabs. Take advantage of the streamlined 2D workflow provided by the Unity environment. Deploy games to desktop Who This Book Is For Hobbyists with some knowledge of programming, as well as seasoned programmers interested in learning to make games independent of a major studio.

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.

OpenGL ES is the standard graphics API used for mobile and embedded systems. Despite its widespread use, there is a lack of material that addresses the balance of both theory and practice in OpenGL ES. JungHyun Han's Introduction to Computer Graphics with OpenGL ES achieves this perfect balance. Han's depiction of theory and practice illustrates how 3D graphics fundamentals are implemented. Theoretical or mathematical details around real-time graphics are also presented in a way that allows readers to quickly move on to practical programming. Additionally, this book presents OpenGL ES and shader code on many topics. Industry professionals, as well as, students in Computer Graphics and Game Programming courses will find this book of importance. Key Features: Presents key graphics algorithms that are commonly employed by state-of-the-art game engines and 3D user interfaces Provides a hands-on look at real-time graphics by illustrating OpenGL ES and shader code on various topics Depicts troublesome concepts using elaborate 3D illustrations so that they can be easily absorbed Includes problem sets, solutions manual, and lecture notes for those wishing to use this book as a course text.

In the last few years, Android has progressed with the debut of better fonts, new User Interface and Experience (UI/UX) APIs, tablet considerations, multi-touch capabilities, multi-tasking, faster performance, improved battery management techniques, and now Google TV Android Apps for the Android game app developer repertoire. With actionable real-world source, Pro Android Games, Second Edition shows you how to build more sophisticated and addictive Android games, by leveraging the power of these recent advancements found in the new Android Jelly Beans development platform as well as those you've counted on in earlier releases. Multi-touch code gives these games and their players dynamic input and exchange ability, for a more realistic arcade game experience. Faster and better performance offers game players a more seamless, fun arcade experience like never before on Android. There is also improved native C/C++ integration with Android's NDK as well, which makes coding, compiling, and converting both productive and efficient with gains in app performance. Pro Android Games, Second Edition features the following improvements: Updates to the latest version of the Android SDK, NKD, plus the latest Eclipse IDE. Greater focus on tablets the ever changing device resolutions, and hardware specs. Native game development and hardware accelerated graphics. Bigger and Better Real World Engines, such as Quake I and II Plus an oldie from the previous edition: Doom Coverage of the new smart TV APIs (Google TV), UI, UX, multi-touch and multi-tasking features available with Android Jelly Bean. A look into the future with augmented reality Advanced techniques for improving your game playing experience including better multi-tasking, improved performance optimization, battery management and more. A Quake 3D-like game app case study You'll definitely have fun, and perhaps you'll even make some money. Enjoy What you'll learn Key advanced Android gaming techniques using the new Android SDK and NDK How to add and integrate multi-touch How to use Bluetooth controllers (Zeemote) More gaming tricks and tips, such as hybrid 3D graphics with OpenGL and JNI How to port, augment a 3D shooter Doom-like game app using OpenGL How to build a 3D shooter game like Quake and Quake II How and where to best deploy these game apps Who this book is for This book is for savvy Android app developers who are looking for professional or advanced techniques for porting, augmenting and building 3D game apps that are complex, fun and lucrative.

This book is geared towards both students as well as professionals who are looking to enter the mobile (tablet/smartphone) and PC (personal computer) industry as concept artists (for both 2D and 3D production pipelines) or 2D production artists (game-ready assets). This book is not specifically focused on game design or game development and is also not a 3D modeling or animation guide. However, certain aspects of game design, game development, and 3D modeling and animation will impact the visual development and art creation process. So, at points throughout we will explore topics such as game engine performance and game mechanics, though at a very high-level, bird's-eye, vantage point and only as they pertain to the visual development of the various assignments throughout this book. Through the completion of the exercises and assignments contained within Visual Development for Web & Mobile Games readers will be guided through the visual development process and execution of a variety of concepts and assets (final game art). This includes categories such as characters, props, and backgrounds, within an isometric design template. The categories themselves will relate more to their function within a very simple game design template than their completed visual representation (e.g., the "big build-able" category could be anything from a town square to a fire breathing dragon as long as it fits within the bare bones parameters of the asset types functionality). The concept, theme, and style of these assets, as well as the world they inhabit, will be completely up to the individual artist. Key Features Weaves knowledge of classic visual development principles and web/mobile game art production practices. Assignments and exercises at the end of every chapter allow the reader to create a game art project from start to finish. Examines both 2D/3D game art pipelines. Includes a companion website with project files, asset downloads & author created video tutorials.

This book teaches students and entry-level novices how to create games using the GameMaker engine. Readers will quickly hone their design skills with tutorials that are written so that beginners can quickly start building games while also providing lessons on how designers can 'level up' and add advanced options to their games. Readers will also have access to a website containing all the assets and resources to create their games, including sprites and animations, walk-through video tutorials of each lesson and music composed by professional musicians. Also provided are rubrics for instructors to use when grading student work or for readers learning on their own to evaluate their own work.

This book teaches students and entry-level novices how to create games using the GameMaker engine. Readers will quickly hone their design skills with tutorials that are written so that beginners can quickly start building games while also providing lessons on how designers can 'level up' and add advanced options to their games. Readers will also have access to a website containing all the assets and resources to create their games, including sprites and animations, walk-through video tutorials of each lesson and music composed by professional musicians. Also provided are rubrics for instructors to use when grading student work or for readers learning on their own to evaluate their own work.

The Unreal UDK features Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine 3, used to create bestselling games such as Infinity Blade for iOS, and popular console games like Borderlands and Bioshock. Now, you can build your own Unreal game for the iOS platform. Beginning iOS 3D Unreal Games Development covers using the Unreal UDK game creation system to create 3D games for the iOS platform, which includes the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.Specifically, this book covers: * UnrealScript programming language, going beyond the limitations of the visual Kismet scripting language * The Unreal UDK code framework, basic UDK tools and other UDK items needed to build a game * Various author-created game frameworks are presented and are used to illustrate the UnrealScript programming language and user input methods specific to the iOS mobile platform What you'll learn * What the UnrealScript programming language is and does * The basic Unreal UDK base code framework * What the basic Unreal tools used to make a game * What the key parts of the Unreal engine such as the physics engine * How to do the fundamentals of 3D games programming, including basic 3D math * What are the the basic frameworks of many different types of games * How to use the provided source code to build your own games using the frameworks as a reference Who this book is for Game programmers, both professional and hobbyists, interested in developing 3D games for the iOS platform using the Unreal UDK. Additionally, students using the Unreal UDK in their coursework.Finally, game designers who are not experienced programmers but are interested in learning enough about UnrealScript and the Unreal UDK to make small changes to game code created by contracted programmers (For example: changing code to increase the health of a player or change the message displayed when a player dies).

Recent years have seen an increase in public attention to identity and representation in video games, including journalists and bloggers holding the digital game industry accountable for the discrimination routinely endured by female gamers, queer gamers, and gamers of color. Video game developers are responding to these critiques, but scholarly discussion of representation in games has lagged far behind. Gaming Representation examines portrayals of race, gender, and sexuality in a range of games, from casuals like Diner Dash, to indies like Journey and The Binding of Isaac, to mainstream games from the Grand Theft Auto, BioShock, Spec Ops, The Last of Us, and Max Payne franchises. Arguing that representation and identity function as systems in games that share a stronger connection to code and platforms than it may first appear, the contributors to this volume push gaming scholarship to new levels of inquiry, theorizing, and imagination.

Game developers will use this book to gain a basic knowledge of programming artificial intelligence using Unity and C#. You will not be bored learning the theory underpinning AI. Instead, you will learn by experience and practice, and complete an engaging project in each chapter. AI is the one of the most popular subjects in gaming today, ranging from controlling the behavior of non-player characters to procedural generated levels. This book starts with an introduction to AI and its use in games. Basic moving behaviors and pathfinding are covered, and then you move through more complex concepts of pathfinding and decision making. What You Will Learn Understand the fundamentals of AI Create gameplay-based AI to address navigation and decision-making problems Put into practice graph theory and behavior models Address pathfinding problems Use the A* algorithm, the deus ex machina of pathfinding algorithms Create a mini stealth game Who This Book Is For Developers and programming enthusiasts with a basic knowledge of Unity and C# who want to understand and master the foundations of artificial intelligence in games

Do you make small leaps in your chair while attempting challenging jumps in Tombraider? Do you say ""Ouch!"" when a giant hits you with a club in Skyrim? Have you had dreams of being inside the underwater city of Rapture? Video games cast the player as protagonist in an unfolding narrative. Like actors in front of a camera, gamers' proprioception, or body awareness, can extend to onscreen characters, placing them ""physically"" within the virtual world. Sometimes players may even identify with the characters' ideological motivations. The author explores concepts central to the design and enjoyment of video games, including affect, immersion, liveness, presence, agency, narrative, ideology and the player's virtual surrogate - the avatar. Gamer and avatar are analyzed as a cybernetic coupling whose dynamics suggest a fulfillment of dramatist Atonin Artaud's vision of the ""body without organs.

Carry out the pre-planning, design, and programming of role playing games (RPGs) using the popular GameMaker: Studio in this very practical and fun book. Author Ben Tyers teaches you how to create a story or plotline for the RPG, apply aesthetics, and develop core and extended gameplay. Using Learn RPGs in GameMaker: Studio, you can design and build your own RPG using the GameMaker: Studio platform. Build your first game application and deploy in an app store, on Facebook, or just on a PC. Maybe, even, make a few bucks. What You'll Learn Use the GameMaker: Studio platform to design and build a role playing game Create a story for game design purposes, using a plot line and defining characters Discover the impact of aesthetics on art style, character separation, scene development, sound design and views Master core gameplay elements such as battles, exploration, scoring, and endings Work with extended gameplay elements such as collectibles, quirks, management, and saving Employ the various core and extended gameplay elements as appropriate to your RPG Who This Book Is For Game designers or developers looking to design and build their first role playing game using the GameMaker: Studio platform.

This book examines how video game mechanics and narratives can teach players skills associated with increased psychological well-being. It integrates research from psychology, education, ludology, media studies, and communication science to demonstrate how game play can teach skills that have long been associated with increased happiness and prolonged life satisfaction, including flexible thinking, openness to experience, self-care, a growth mindset, solution-focused thinking, mindfulness, persistence, self-discovery and resilience. The chapters in this volume are written by leading voices in the field of game studies, including researchers from academia, the video gaming industry, and mental health practitioners paving the way in the field of "geek therapy." This book will advance our understanding of the potential of video games to increase our psychological well-being by helping to mitigate depression, anxiety, and stress and foster persistence, self-care, and resilience.

This book will provide you with a comprehensive guide to developing games for both the Windows Mobile platform and the Windows Phone using the industry standard programming languages C# and VB .NET. You will be walked through every aspect of developing for the Windows Mobile platform-from setting up your development environment for the first time to creating advanced 3D graphics. Finally, you'll learn how you can make your applications available to others, whether distributing for free or selling online. Using extensive code samples throughout, you'll gather all the information needed to create your own games and distribute them successfully for others to enjoy. Aimed primarily at C# developers, almost everything in the book can be used in VB .NET too. For those areas where this is not the case, workarounds are suggested so that VB .NET developers are still able to use the techniques described.

Virtual reality is quickly becoming the next medium to communicate your ideas. Once siloed in make-believe world of science fiction, virtual reality can now touch any aspect of your life. This book shows you how to create original virtual reality content using the Unity game engine and the Virtual Reality Tool Kit. By the end of the book you'll be creating your own virtual reality experience using the fundamental building blocks within. You'll start by reviewing spatial computing, an emerging field that encompasses self-driving cars to space exploration. You'll also create your own virtual reality environments for use on headsets such as those from Oculus and HTC. Using the Unity3D game engine and the Virtual Reality Toolkit on a computer or laptop, you will walk through the fundamentals of virtual reality with as little code as possible. That is the beauty of Unity and the Virtual Reality Toolkit. You will discover how to use buttons in a virtual space, gaze-tracking for user input, and physics for enabling interaction between a human and a virtual space. From game design to education to healthcare to human resources, virtual reality offers new and creative ways to engage users, students, patients, customers, and more. Not a coding book, Virtual Reality with VRTK4 shows that you don't need to be a computer or graphics whiz to begin creating your own virtual reality experiences. What You'll Learn Grasp Virtual Reality Toolkit and its interaction with Unity3D Explore the fundamental science of virtual reality Review the inner workings of Unity3D and its integration with VRTK Understand the big picture of C# coding in Unity3D Incorporate head and hand movement into virtual experiences Who This Book Is For Creative professionals or students who are familiar with computer design programs and want to begin prototyping their own original virtual reality work as quickly as possible.

UDON Entertainment is back with an all-new classy compilation of the creative studio's Capcom artwork! This prestigous 300-page hardcover volume gathers UDON's artists' renditions of the casts of Street Fighter, Mega Man, Darkstalkers, and other classic Capcom franchises. Included are comic covers, video game endings, promotional art, costume designs, tribute art, and much more!

Delve into the concepts of physically based rendering (PBR) using Allegorithmic's Substance Painter. This book covers the integration of PBR textures with various 3D modeling and rendering packages as well as with the Unreal Engine 4 game engine. Beginning PBR Texturing covers all aspects of the software and guides you in implementing its incredible possibilities, including using materials, masks, and baking. Integration with both internal and popular external rendering engines is covered. This book teaches you the skills you need to use the texturing tool that is recognized by studios worldwide. You will know tips and tricks to implement the pipeline and speed up your workflow. What You Will Learn Know the fundamentals of PBR-based texturing from the ground up Create production-ready textured models from scratch Integrate PBR textures with standard 3D modeling and rendering applications Create portfolio-ready renders using offline renderers Who This Book Is For Beginners in the fields of 3D animation, computer graphics, and game technology