This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2016, held in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in December 2016. The 27 revised regular papers presented together with 14 poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 55 submissions. The papers cover topics such as games and sustainability; games for math and programming; games and health; games and soft skills; games and management; games and learning; game development and assessment; and mobile games.

Featuring a striking selection of forty removable posters, this collection contains full-color art of the characters, environments, and key scenes from the best-selling Uncharted franchise. With incredible images of fortune hunter Nathan Drake as he navigates territories around the world, embarks on high-stakes expeditions, and faces relentless enemies, this poster book will take fans back to the immersive world of Uncharted.

The aim of this book is to collect and to cluster research areas in the field of serious games and entertainment computing. It provides an introduction and gives guidance for the next generation of researchers in this field. The 18 papers presented in this volume, together with an introduction, are the outcome of a GI-Dagstuhl seminar which was held at Schloss Dagstuhl in July 2015.

Gain the skills required to create fun and compelling games using GameMaker: Studio, and its GML programming language. In this full-color book you'll learn 24 practical programming elements that are important when creating any game. Each section includes an introduction to a new programming element, some examples, a worksheet, and mini projects to allow you to test your new knowledge. After completing all elements, you will put into action what you have learned in a classic arcade style game. In Practical GameMaker: Studio, you will create a fully featured game, with guidance and in color, using version 1.4. After each section you'll see how you'll apply what you've learned to the final game, and discover additional projects to try. These mini projects include a separate scoring guide, and a working example for each, which is useful if you're using this book in an educational environment. Similarly, the book also contains a number of assignments, which you may include as part of any associated coursework in your classes. What You Will Learn Use GameMaker: Studio and GameMaker Language (GML) to create games Work with GML variables, conditionals, drawing, keyport I/O, objects, and events Create GML sprites, health/lives, alarms, collisions, and rooms Improve your game with GML backgrounds, sound and music, splash screens and menus, and effects< Include GML random and AI movements in your game Use GML loops, arrays, ds_lists, paths, and scripts Who This Book Is For Experienced game developers new to GameMaker or for those with at least some prior exposure or experience with GameMaker: Studio but who are new to GML.

This compact book introduces the concepts of Java lambdas and parallel streams in a concise form. It begins by introducing new supporting features such as functional interfaces, default methods and more. After this, the author demonstrates how streams can be parallelized in a very simple way-within certain limits, no knowledge about the thread management is needed. Nevertheless, some basic elements in the context of parallelism need to be considered. Here, the book provides a variety of information and best practices. What You Will Learn Master lambdas and streams Work with the default method Harness streams and the stream() function Use Stream and Spliterator Take advantage of parallel streams Work with collectors and concurrency Who This Book Is For Experienced Java programmers and developers. div>

Learn the psychological constrictions of attention, perception, memory, disposition, motivation, and social influence that determine whether customers will be receptive to your digital innovations. Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology fills a need for entrepreneurs, designers, and marketing professionals in the application of foundational psychology to user-experience design. The first generation of books on the topic focused on web pages and cognitive psychology. This book covers apps, social media, in-car infotainment, and multiplayer video games, and it explores the crucial roles played by behaviorism, development, personality, and social psychology. Author David Evans is an experimental psychology Ph.D. and senior manager of consumer research at Microsoft who recounts high-stakes case studies in which behavioral theory aligned digital designs with the bottlenecks in human nature to the benefit of users and businesses alike. Innova tors in design and students of psychology will learn: The psychological processes determining users' perception of, engagement with, and recommendation of digital innovations Examples of interfaces before and after simple psychological alignments that vastly enhanced their effectiveness Strategies for marketing and product development in an age of social media and behavioral targeting Hypotheses for research that both academics and enterprises can perform to better meet users' needs Who This Book Is For Designers and entrepreneurs will use this book to give their innovations an edge on what are increasingly competitive platforms such as apps, bots, in-car apps, augmented reality content. Usability researchers and market researchers will leverage it to enhance their consulting and reporting. Students and lecturers in psychology departments will want it to help land employment in the private sector. Praise "Bottlenecks' is a tight and eminently actionable read for business leaders in startups and enterprises alike. Evans gives us a rich sense of key psychological processes and even richer examples of them in action." - Nir Eyal, Author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products "Clients frequently ask our UX researchers and designers for deeper truths about why certain designs work and others fail. Bottlenecks offers practical explanations and evidence based on the idea that human cognition did not begin with the digital age." - John Dirks, UX Director and Partner, Blink UX "Bottlenecks brings together two very important aspects of user experience design: understanding users and translating this into business impact. A must-read for anyone who wants to learn both." - Josh Lamar, Sr. UX Lead, Microsoft Outlook

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2015, held in Rome, Italy, in December 2015. The 33 revised full papers and 15 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 102 submissions. The papers presented cover a variety of aspects and knowledge fields. They are grouped around the following topics: games for health, games for mobility, pervasive gaming and urban mobility.

#1 Amazon Best Seller! Which games are worth playing?The 50 best games: From pixelated pioneer adventures to stunning space odysseys, the boundaries of the video game world are expanding every day. Grand epics and gritty mysteries. Fierce competition and friendly cooperation. Powerful emotions and uproarious laughter. Video games are fantastically diverse and wonderfully creative, but not all games are created equal. With so many games out there on so many different consoles, computers, and devices, how do you decide which games are worth playing? Backed by years of writing about games professionally and decades spent playing them, Chris Watters lays out a list of 50 games to entertain and enlighten you. Whether you're trying to learn more about the world of gaming or strengthening your claim to true gaming fluency, these are the games you'll want to play, and why you'll want to play them.

Updated for RPG Maker MV using JavaScript, Make a 2D RPG in a Weekend shows you how to create your very own dungeon crawler game in RPG Maker MV in a single weekend. The entire process, from start to finish, is covered within this book. You will see a variety of dungeon maps and events, all broken down for your convenience.One of the hardest parts of game development is actually finishing a game, but it is also one of the most important steps on the way to becoming a game developer. If you have yet to finish a game, this book will give you the confidence and resources you need to finally be able to create your very own RPG. Once you've completed the game in this book, you'll be able to modify it as much as you like, adding new monsters and quests, and you'll have the skills to go on to create your second game all by yourself. Among the topics covered in this book are: Creating various types of enemy encounters via the use of the eventing system, and JavaScript replacing the old Ruby commands. Creating a special area that allows the player to pick their character of choice instead of being forced to play a particular character. Clever uses of events to create items that allow the player to return to town instantly and summon vehicles to their side. What You'll Learn: Create playable characters that have different attributes and play styles. Create a wide variety of weapons, armors, and items for the player to purchase, find, and use. JavaScript is now used throughout. Design dungeon levels with specific goals in mind. Create treasure chests with random contents or contents based on the player's character. Create doors that require keys or puzzles to unlock. Create a variety of enemy encounters. Who This Book is For: Make a 2D RPG in a Weekend is for anyone who has ever wanted to create a game from scratch. All you need is this book and a copy of RPG Maker MV.

In the wake of a miraculous happening, it becomes apparent that hope lives on. There is a reason to go on fighting. The destruction of the Dark Hour may erase all memories of their days fighting together... but they will not forget.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Games and Learning Alliance, GALA 2014, held in Bucharest, Romania, in July 2014. The 15 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 26 submissions. The papers presented cover a variety of aspects and knowledge fields. They are grouped into four sessions: pedagogy, technology, design, and applications.

Beginning Python Games Development, Second Edition teaches you how to create compelling games using Python and the PyGame games development library. It will teach you how to create visuals, do event handling, create 3D games, add media elements, and integrate OpenGL into your Python game. In this update to the first ever book to cover the popular open source PyGame games development library, you'll stand to gain valuable technical insights and follow along with the creation of a real-world, freely downloadable video game. Written by industry veterans and Python experts Will McGugan and Harrison Kinsley, this is a comprehensive, practical introduction to games development in Python. You can also capitalize upon numerous tips and tricks the authors have accumulated over their careers creating games for some of the world's largest game developers.

"Concepts of game programming are explained well, and no prior knowledge of Swift language programming is required. ... The images and audio provided are professional and clean." William Fahle, Computing Review, May 31, 2016 Swift Game Programming for Absolute Beginners teaches Apple's Swift language in the context of four, fun and colorful games. Learn the Swift 2.0 language, and learn to create game apps for iOS at the same time - a double win! The four games you'll develop while reading this book are: Painter Tut's Tomb Penguin Pairs Tick Tick These four games are casual, arcade-style games representing the aim-and-shoot, casual, puzzle, and platform styles of game play. Professionally developed game assets form part of the book download. You'll get professionally drawn sprites and imagery that'll have you proud to show your learning to friends and family. The approach in Swift Game Programming for Absolute Beginners follows the structure of a game rather than the syntax of a language. You'll learn to create game worlds, manage game objects and game states, define levels for players to pass through, implement animations based upon realistic physics, and much more. Along the way you'll learn the language, but always in the context of fun and games. Swift is Apple's new programming language introduced in 2014 to replace Objective-C as the main programming language for iOS devices and Mac OS X. Swift is a must learn language for anyone targeting Apple devices, and Swift Game Programming for Absolute Beginners provides the most fun you'll ever have in stepping over the threshold toward eventual mastery of the language.

How do you make a video game? Advanced Game Design with HTML5 and JavaScript is a down to earth education in how to make video games from scratch, using the powerful HTML5 and JavaScript technologies. This book is a point-by-point round up of all the essential techniques that every game designer needs to know. You'll discover how to create and render game graphics, add interactivity, sound, and animation. You'll learn how to build your own custom game engine with reusable components so that you can quickly develop games with maximum impact and minimum code. You'll also learn the secrets of vector math and advanced collision detection techniques, all of which are covered in a friendly and non-technical manner. You'll find detailed working examples, with hundreds of illustrations and thousands of lines of source code that you can freely adapt for your own projects. All the math and programming techniques are elaborately explained and examples are open-ended to encourage you to think of original ways to use these techniques in your own games. You can use what you learn in this book to make games for desktops, mobile phones, tablets or the Web. Advanced Game Design with HTML5 and JavaScript is a great next step for experienced programmers or ambitious beginners who already have some JavaScript experience, and want to jump head first into the world of video game development. It's also great follow-up book for readers of Foundation Game Design with HTML5 and JavaScript (by the same author) who want to add depth and precision to their skills. The game examples in this book use pure JavaScript, so you can code as close to the metal as possible without having to be dependent on any limiting frameworks or game engines. No libraries, no dependencies, no third-party plugins: just you, your computer, and the code. If you're looking for a book to take your game design skills into the stratosphere and beyond, this is it!

Make a 2D RPG in a Weekend shows you how to create your very own dungeon crawler game in RPG Maker VX Ace in a single weekend. The entire process, from start to finish, is covered within this book. You will see a variety of dungeon maps and events, all broken down for your convenience.One of the hardest parts of game development is actually finishing a game, but it is also one of the most important steps on the way to becoming a game developer. If you have yet to finish a game, this book will give you the confidence and resources you need to finally be able to create your very own RPG. Once you've completed the game in this book, you'll be able to modify it as much as you like, adding new monsters and quests, and you'll have the skills to go on to create your second game all by yourself. Among the topics covered in this book are: * Creating various types of enemy encounters via the use of the eventing system. * Creating a special area that allows the player to pick their character of choice instead of being forced to play a particular character. * Clever uses of events to create items that allow the player to return to town instantly and summon vehicles to their side.

C++ is the language behind most of today's computer games. This 96-page C++ Game Development Primer takes you through the accelerated process of writing games for otherwise experienced C++ programmers. After reading this book, you'll have the fundamental know-how to become a successful and profitable game applications developer in today's increasingly competitive indie game marketplace. For those looking for a quick introduction to C++ game development and who have good skills in C++, this will get you off to a fast start. C++ Game Development Primer is based on Learn C++ for Game Development by the same author, giving you the essentials to get started in game programming without the unnecessary introduction to C++.

This book looks at the two most popular ways of using Java SE 6 to write 3D games on PCs: Java 3D (a high-level scene graph API) and JOGL (a Java layer over OpenGL). Written by Java gaming expert, Andrew Davison, this book uses the new Java (SE) 6 platform and its features including splash screens, scripting, and the desktop tray interface. This book is also unique in that it covers Java game development using the Java 3D API and Java for OpenGL--both critical components and libraries for Java-based 3D game application development

Gain the skills that will get you into game design

Bring fantasy creatures and settings to life, and launch a lucrative career

There's gold in them thar games, and here's your mining kit! Find out how to design, model, and animate characters, give your settings detail and dimension, create a storyboard, add dialogue, produce special effects, plan a game, and more. You'll even get an overview of essential software, and tips for landing a job in the game industry.

Discover how to Create realistic motion Develop a game concept Model a complete character from scratch Add a skeleton rig to your character Find out how to use particles and dynamics Sync facial movements with soundtracks

If you're new to C++ but understand some basic programming, then Learn C++ for Game Development lays the foundation for the C++ language and API that you'll need to build game apps and applications. Learn C++ for Game Development will show you how to: Master C++ features such as variables, pointers, flow controls, functions, I/O, classes, exceptions, templates, and the Standard Template Library (STL) Use design patterns to simplify your coding and make more powerful games Manage memory efficiently to get the most out of your creativity Load and save games using file I/O, so that your users are never disappointed Most of today's popular console and PC game platforms use C++ in their SDKs. Even the Android NDK and now the iOS SDK allow for C++; so C++ is growing in use for today's mobile game apps. Game apps using C++ become much more robust, better looking, more dynamic, and better performing. After reading this book, you'll have the skills to become a successful and profitable game app or applications developer in today's increasingly competitive indie game marketplace. The next stage is to take the foundation from this book and explore SDKs such as Android/Ouya, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo DS, DirectX, Unity3D, and GameMaker Studio to make your career really take off.

Master the fundamental programming skills needed to create your own computer games in GameMaker. This book shows how to use GameMaker to build and publish cross-platform games. Each chapter covers a certain programming element, including layers, variables, and so on. You will also learn how to design levels in your games, draw sprites to populate your virtual worlds, and build GUIs for your menus and game interfaces. GameMaker Fundamentals also provides a thorough introduction to the GameMaker Language (GML). Practical example projects reinforce the concept discussed in each chapter. On completing this book, you will have a thorough understanding of how to create games from scratch using game design and programming principles using GameMaker and GML. What You Will Learn Review core programming features required for sound knowledge of GameMaker Master how to combine GML to orchestrate game actions Utilize GameMaker's layers to create exciting games Set up player control Who Is This Book For Those new to GameMaker or game programming in general; it assumes no prior knowledge or skill set.

Unity for Absolute Beginners walks you through the fundamentals of creating a small third-person shooter game with Unity. Using the free version of Unity to begin your game development career, you'll learn how to import, evaluate and manage your game resources to create awesome third-person shooters. This book assumes that you have little or no experience with game development, scripting, or 3D assets, and that you're eager to start creating games as quickly as possible, while learning Unity in a fun and interactive environment. With Unity for Absolute Beginners you'll become familiar with the Unity editor, key concepts and functionality. You'll learn how to import, evaluate and manage resources. You'll explore C# scripting in Unity, and learn how to use the Unity API. Using the provided art assets, you will learn the fundamentals of good game design and iterative refinement as you take your game from a simple prototype to a quirky, but challenging variation of the ever-popular first-person shooter. As can be expected, there will be plenty of destruction, special effects and mayhem along the way. Unity for Absolute Beginners assumes that you have little or no experience with game development, scripting, or 3D assets, but are eager to get up-to-speed as quickly as possible while learning Unity in a fun and interactive environment.

Game Development Tool Essentials provides must-have tips and tricks from industry professionals for strengthening and streamlining your game tools pipeline. Everyone knows the game tools pipeline is important, but in the current environment of shrinking budgets and increased time pressure, developers often have to settle for inefficient, ad hoc, messy pipelines. This unique book will break you out of that cycle. The practical, expert insights contained within will enable you to work faster and more efficiently, so you can spend more time making cool things. Game Development Tool Essentials pools the knowledge and experience of working developers over four critical aspects of the game tools pipeline: asset and data management, geometry and models, Web tools, and programming. Within those sections, you will learn cutting-edge techniques on essential subjects such as COLLADA rendering, exporting and workflow; asset management and compiler architecture; and moving tools to the cloud. If you're a game developer, you need Game Development Tool Essentials. Covers readily available tools and tools developers can build themselves. Presents 96 code samples, 81 illustrations, and end-of-chapter references. Special chapter on moving tools to the cloud.