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Books > Computing & IT > Computer software packages > Computer games
The design for Quest to Learn, an innovative school in New York City that offers a "game-like" approach to learning. Quest to Learn, an innovative school for grades 6 to 12 in New York City, grew out of the idea that gaming and game design offer a promising new paradigm for curriculum and learning. The designers of Quest to Learn developed an approach to learning that draws from what games do best: drop kids into inquiry-based, complex problem spaces that are built to help players understand how they are doing, what they need to work on, and where to go next. Content is not treated as dry information but as a living resource; students are encouraged to interact with the larger world in ways that feel relevant, exciting, and empowering. Quest to Learn opened in the fall of 2009 with 76 sixth graders. In their first semester, these students learned-among other things-to convert fractions into decimals in order to break a piece of code found in a library book; to use atlases and read maps to create a location guide for a reality television series; and to create video tutorials for a hapless group of fictional inventors. This research and development document outlines the learning framework for the school, making the original design available to others in the field. Elements in development include a detailed curriculum map, a budget, and samples of student and teacher handbooks.
Unity brings you ever closer to the "author once, deploy anywhere" dream. With its multiplatform capabilities, you can target desktop, web, mobile devices, and consoles using a single development engine. Little wonder that Unity has quickly become the #1 game engine out there. Mastering Unity is absolutely essential in an increasingly competitive games market where agility is expected, yet until now practical tutorials were nearly impossible to find. Creating Games with Unity and Maya gives you with an end-to-end solution for Unity game development with Maya. Written by a twelve-year veteran of the 3D animation and games industry and professor of 3D animation, this book takes you step-by-step through the process of developing an entire game from scratch-including coding, art, production, and deployment. This accessible guide provides a "non-programmer" entry point to the world of game creation. Aspiring developers with little or no coding experience will learn character development in Maya, scripts, GUI interface, and first- and third-person interactions.
If you like playing computer games, why not make your own? This book has all you need to build amazing games, including thrilling racing challenges, zany platform games, and fiendish puzzles. Follow the simple steps to become an expert coder, using the latest version of the popular programming language Scratch™ 3.0 in this new edition. Improve your coding skills and create your own games, before remixing and customizing them. Jumpy Monkey will show you how to simulate gravity in your games, or give Dog's Dinner a go to learn about collision detection. Pick up the fundamentals of computer programming in steps that make even the most difficult coding concepts fun and easy to understand. Don't just learn how computer code works - understand why it's done that way. Then share your games online and challenge friends and family to beat each other's scores. Once you 've whizzed through the book, the possibilities are endless!
Video games open portals into fantastical worlds where imaginative play prevails. The virtual medium seemingly provides us with ample opportunities to behave and act out with relative safety and impunity. Or does it? Sound Play explores the aesthetic, ethical, and sociopolitical stakes of our engagements with gaming's audio phenomena-from sonic violence to synthesized operas, from democratic music-making to vocal sexual harassment. Author William Cheng shows how the simulated environments of games empower designers, composers, players, and scholars to test and tinker with music, noise, speech, and silence in ways that might not be prudent or possible in the real world. In negotiating utopian and alarmist stereotypes of video games, Sound Play synthesizes insights from across musicology, sociology, anthropology, communications, literary theory, and philosophy. With case studies that span Final Fantasy VI, Silent Hill, Fallout 3, The Lord of the Rings Online, and Team Fortress 2, this book insists that what we do in there-in the safe, sound spaces of games-can ultimately teach us a great deal about who we are and what we value (musically, culturally, humanly) out here.
Learn to set up a Pi-based game development environment, and then develop a game with Lua, a popular scripting language used in major game frameworks like Unreal Engine (BioShock Infinite), CryEngine (Far Cry series), Diesel (Payday: The Heist), Silent Storm Engine (Heroes of Might and Magic V) and many others. More importantly, learn how to dig deeper into programming languages to find and understand new functions, frameworks, and languages to utilize in your games. You'll start by learning your way around the Raspberry Pi. Then you'll quickly dive into learning game development with an industry-standard and scalable language. After reading this book, you'll have the ability to write your own games on a Raspberry Pi, and deliver those games to Linux, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. And you'll learn how to publish your games to popular marketplaces for those desktop and mobile platforms. Whether you're new to programming or whether you've already published to markets like Itch.io or Steam, this book showcases compelling reasons to use the Raspberry Pi for game development. Use Developing Games on the Raspberry Pi as your guide to ensure that your game plays on computers both old and new, desktop or mobile. What You'll Learn Confidently write programs in Lua and the LOVE game engine on the Raspberry Pi Research and learn new libraries, methods, and frameworks for more advanced programming Write, package, and sell apps for mobile platforms Deliver your games on multiple platforms Who This Book Is ForSoftware engineers, teachers, hobbyists, and development professionals looking to up-skill and develop games for mobile platforms, this book eases them into a parallel universe of lightweight, POSIX, ARM-based development.
Im Zuge der Digitalisierung werden Gestaltung und Management der Digital Customer Experience zunehmend wertvoller. Technologiefuhrer diverser Branchen sind besonders dafur bekannt, digitale Interaktionen zwischen Nutzern, Drittanbietern und weiteren Akteuren erfolgreich zu organisieren. In diesem essential wird die Videospieleplattform Steam mit der Fallstudienmethode untersucht. Basierend auf der Analyse von Steam werden Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet, die auch fur Unternehmen in traditionellen Branchen anwendbar sind. Schwerpunkte bilden hierbei die Orientierung von Services und Serviceportfolio an Kundenbedurfnissen, das Management von Konsumententechnologie sowie die Entwicklung von Vertrauen und Loyalitat durch Verankerung von Werten und Normen auf einer digitalen Plattform. Die Handlungsempfehlungen werden anschliessend in der Automobilbranche, bei TV-Streaminganbietern und anhand einer Plattform fur Autoreparaturen beispielhaft illustriert.Der Autor Benjamin Spottke lehrt und forscht am Institut fur Wirtschaftsinformatik der Universitat St. Gallen.
Create a fully working multiplayer game from scratch using TypeScript, Socket.IO, and the community edition of Phaser.js. You will achieve amazing feats in the browser without having to install any software. This book teaches you how to use the Phaser game engine APIs to tap into physics, and how to utilize HUD information and fire lasers. Let's Build a Multiplayer Phaser Game dives into the details to show you how to create a multiplayer game from beginning to end. Once you have finished this book, you will be well versed in creating not only a game, but also an application that you can extend with new functionality to enjoy with your friends. What You'll Learn Discover the ins and outs of Socket.IO for real-time web communication Use TypeScript to allow your project to be typed and self-documenting See how gaming mechanics work to make a game entertaining Get a deeper understanding of how to structure your working directory and your code Scale what you have created Who This Book Is For Developers who want to know how to create and structure a complex online game
Create your first turn-based multiplayer game using GameMaker Studio 2's built-in networking functions as well as using a simple NodeJS server. This book introduces you to the complexities of network programming and communication, where the focus will be on building the game from the ground up. You will start with a brief introduction to GameMaker Studio 2 and GML coding before diving into the essential principles of game design. Following this, you will go through an introductory section on NodeJS where you will learn how to create a server and send and receive data from it as well as integrating it with GameMaker Studio. You will then apply multiplayer gaming logic to your server and unlock multiplayer game features such as locating a player, syncing their data, and recording their session. What You Will Learn Discover the architecture of GameMaker Studio 2 Add new features to your game with NodeJS modules Integrate GameMaker Studio 2 with NodeJS Master GameMaker Studio 2's built-in networking functions Who This Book Is For GameMaker Studio users who want to understand how the networking components of GMS 2 work. Basic JavaScript knowledge is required.
You don t need to be a wizard to transform a game you like into a game you love. Imagine if you could give your favorite PC game a more informative heads-up display or instantly collect all that loot from your latest epic battle. Bring your knowledge of Windows-based development and memory management, and Game Hacking will teach you what you need to become a true game hacker. Learn the basics, like reverse engineering, assembly code analysis, programmatic memory manipulation, and code injection, and hone your new skills with hands-on example code and practice binaries. Level up as you learn how to: Scan and modify memory with Cheat Engine Explore program structure and execution flow with OllyDbg Log processes and pinpoint useful data files with Process Monitor Manipulate control flow through NOPing, hooking, and more Locate and dissect common game memory structures You ll even discover the secrets behind common game bots, including: Extrasensory perception hacks, such as wallhac
Learn iPhone and iPad cocos2D Game Development provides a rock-solid introduction to the cocos2d iPhone game engine and related tools. It focuses on the process of creating several games made entirely with cocos2d and little-to-no iPhone SDK and OpenGL code. By creating 2-3 sample games over the course of the book, you'lllearn key concepts of the cocos2d game engine and relevant tools like Zwoptex (TextureAtlas), ParticleDesigner (Particle Effects), and others. The example games are modeled after popular App Store games so that they are relevant, recognizable, and immediately fun and inspiring. The games increase in complexity andhighlight common recurring cocos2d beginner questions.As you move along, you'll learnabout possible stumbling blocks and how to navigate them successfully.As you move frombeginning to advanced, you'llencountergeneral game programming wisdom, tips for performance improvement, as well as pointers to alternative implementations and further reading. What you'll learn Familiarity with the core cocos2d game engine API and the Box2d physics engine Understanding of the process and best practices of game development, in the context of cocos2d and its related tools Enthusiasm and excitement to createyour own games paired with a realization thatyou areable to create games which can compete on the App Store Where to go from here: further information and alternative implementations Who this book is for The book is aimed at beginning game developers looking for an easier and even more powerful way to create compelling 2D graphics using OpenGL and Objective-C. It is assumed that the reader will have some knowledge of object-oriented programming and the Apple and iPhone/iPad developer environment. Check out the forum for Learn iPhone and iPad cocos2D Game Development: http: //cocos2d-central.com Table of Contents Introduction Getting Started Essentials Your First Game Game Building Blocks Sprites In-Depth Scrolling with Joy Shoot 'em Up Particle Effects Working with Tilemaps Isometric Tilemaps Physics Engines Pinball Game Game Center Out of the Ordinary
This book constitutes the proceedings of the Third Joint International Conference on Serious Games, JCSG 2017, held in Valencia, Spain, in November 2017. This conference bundles the activities of the 8th International Conference on Serious Games Development and Applications, SGDA 2017, and the 7th Conference on Serious Games, GameDays 2017. The total of 23 full papers, 3 short papers, and 4 poster papers was carefully reviewed and selected from 44 submissions. The topics covered by the conference offered participants a valuable platform to discuss and learn about the latest developments, technologies and possibilities in the development and use of serious games with a special focus on how different fields can be combined to achieve the best possible results.
Classical music is everywhere in video games. Works by composers like Bach and Mozart fill the soundtracks of games ranging from arcade classics, to indie titles, to major franchises like BioShock, Civilization, and Fallout. Children can learn about classical works and their histories from interactive iPad games. World-renowned classical orchestras frequently perform concerts of game music to sold-out audiences. But what do such combinations of art and entertainment reveal about the cultural value we place on these media? Can classical music ever be video game music, and can game music ever be classical? Delving into the shifting and often contradictory cultural definitions that emerge when classical music meets video games, Replay Value offers a new perspective on the possibilities and challenges of trying to distinguish between art and pop culture in contemporary society.
Computer games are one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving media of our time. Revenues from console and computer games have now overtaken those from Hollywood movies; and online gaming is one of the fastest-growing areas of the internet. Games are no longer just kids' stuff: the majority of players are now adults, and the market is constantly broadening. The visual style of games has become increasingly sophisticated, and the complexities of game-play are ever more challenging. Meanwhile, the iconography and generic forms of games are increasingly influencing a whole range of other media, from films and television to books and toys. This book provides a systematic, comprehensive introduction to the analysis of computer and video games. It introduces key concepts and approaches drawn from literary, film and media theory in an accessible and concrete manner; and it tests their use and relevance by applying them to a small but representative selection of role-playing and action-adventure games. It combines methods of textual analysis and audience research, showing how the combination of such methods can give a more complete picture of these playable texts and the fan cultures they generate. Clearly written and engaging, it will be a key text for students in the field and for all those with an interest in taking games seriously.
Welcome to the exciting world of game programming! If you're already familiar with the C++ programming language and want to learn how to program games, this book is for you. Game Programming in C++: Start to Finish will help you learn how to turn your own game fantasies into playable realities! Over the course of the book, you'll learn the popular techniques and practices behind today's games. Not only will you add a lot of theory to your game programming toolkit, but you'll also create a small basic game from scratch - SuperAsteriodArena. While you'll focus on using the SDL and the OpenGL libraries to learn game programming, you'll also learn the essential Windows principles that you'll need to create just about any kind of game with any other API such as DirectX. This easy-to-follow book takes current game programming information and filters it down to a practical level. Each chapter and subsection builds upon previous chapters and topics in a tutorial format, allowing you to progress at your own pace. As you work through the book, you'll build the SuperAsteriodArena game, beginning with engine creation and 3D programming with SDL and OpenGL. From there you'll move on to animation effects, audio, collision detection, networking, and finalizing the game. A variety of tools are used throughout, including Visual Studio and OpenGL, SDL, Autodesk 3ds Max, and the Audacity sound tool.
How game designers can use the psychological phenomenon of loss aversion to shape player experience. Getting something makes you feel good, and losing something makes you feel bad. But losing something makes you feel worse than getting the same thing makes you feel good. So finding $10 is a thrill; losing $10 is a tragedy. On an "intensity of feeling" scale, loss is more intense than gain. This is the core psychological concept of loss aversion, and in this book game creator Geoffrey Engelstein explains, with examples from both tabletop and video games, how it can be a tool in game design. Loss aversion is a profound aspect of human psychology, and directly relevant to game design; it is a tool the game designer can use to elicit particular emotions in players. Engelstein connects the psychology of loss aversion to a range of phenomena related to games, exploring, for example, the endowment effect-why, when an object is ours, it gains value over an equivalent object that is not ours-as seen in the Weighted Companion Cube in the game Portal; the framing of gains and losses to manipulate player emotions; Deal or No Deal's use of the utility theory; and regret and competence as motivations, seen in the context of legacy games. Finally, Engelstein examines the approach to Loss Aversion in three games by Uwe Rosenberg, charting the designer's increasing mastery.
Go through the steps necessary to create high-speed 2D retro-style games. This easy-to-read-and-follow one of a kind book on BlitzMax game programming also covers some 3D programming. BlitzMax for Absolute Beginners includes game application projects such as The Great Escape, Tank Attack, and Paratrooper. These will help you build your skills as you go. Have you ever wanted to program your own computer game? Never felt you could? Well, now you can. What You'll Learn Program computer games from scratch with BlitzMax Produce high-quality arcade games with sound and graphics Utilize the power of OpenGL to create fantastic 3D effects Who This Book Is For Those new to game programming and those new to BlitzMax.
Get started creating video games using Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and learning the fundamentals of game development. Through hands-on, step-by-step tutorials, you will learn to design engaging environments and a build solid foundation for more complex games. Discover how to utilize the 3D game design software behind the development of immensely popular games for PC, console, and mobile. Beginning Unreal Game Development steers you through the fundamentals of game development with UE4 to design environments that both engage the player and are aesthetically pleasing. Author David Nixon shows you how to script logic, define behaviors, store data, and create characters. You will learn to create user interfaces, such as menus, load screens, and head-up displays (HUDs), and manipulate audio to add music, sound effects, and dialogue to your game. The book covers level editors, actor types, blueprints, character creation and control, and much more. Throughout the book, you'll put theory into practice and create an actual game using a series of step-by-step tutorials. With a clear, step-by-step approach, Beginning Unreal Game Development builds up your knowledge of Unreal Engine 4 so you can start creating and deploying your own 3D video games in no time. What You Will Learn Learn the fundamentals of game design Understand how to use Unreal Engine 4 Design amazing levels for your characters to play in Script logic to control the behavior of the world you create Who This Book Is For This book is for beginners with no prior game design or programming experience. It is also intended for video game enthusiasts who are brand-new to the world of game development and want to learn how to design a game from scratch using UE4.
To create successful game apps, developers need to know how touch-input, real-time graphics, and sound come together. Focusing on graphics and sound in game development, this book enables both newcomers and more advanced professionals to get started with iOS game development. The author leads readers on a well-marked path through the various technologies involved in iOS and game development. He covers the coding and building of games using Apple's UIKit and Core Graphics API, allowing readers to immediately release games on the App store.
An investigation of independent video games-creative, personal, strange, and experimental-and their claims to handcrafted authenticity in a purely digital medium. Video games are often dismissed as mere entertainment products created by faceless corporations. The last twenty years, however, have seen the rise of independent, or "indie," video games: a wave of small, cheaply developed, experimental, and personal video games that react against mainstream video game development and culture. In Handmade Pixels, Jesper Juul examine the paradoxical claims of developers, players, and festivals that portray independent games as unique and hand-crafted objects in a globally distributed digital medium. Juul explains that independent video games are presented not as mass market products, but as cultural works created by people, and are promoted as authentic alternatives to mainstream games. Writing as a game player, scholar, developer, and educator, Juul tells the story of how independent games-creative, personal, strange, and experimental-became a historical movement that borrowed the term "independent" from film and music while finding its own kind of independence. Juul describes how the visual style of independent games signals their authenticity-often by referring to older video games or analog visual styles. He shows how developers use strategies for creating games with financial, aesthetic, and cultural independence; discusses the aesthetic innovations of "walking simulator" games; and explains the controversies over what is and what isn't a game. Juul offers examples from independent games ranging from Dys4ia to Firewatch; the text is richly illustrated with many color images.
Now in its third edition, the classic book on game design has been completely revised to include the latest developments in the game industry. Readers will learn all the fundamentals of concept development, gameplay design, core mechanics, user interfaces, storytelling, and balancing. They'll be introduced to designing for mobile devices and touch screens, as well as for the Kinect and motion-capture gameplay. They'll learn how indie developers are pushing the envelope and how new business models such as free-to-play are influencing design. In an easy-to-follow approach, Adams offers a first-hand look into the process of designing a game, from initial concept to final tuning. This in-depth resource also comes with engaging end-of-chapter exercises, design worksheets, and case studies.
Distrust. Division. Disparity. Is our world in disrepair? Ethics and civics have always mattered, but perhaps they matter now more than ever before. Recently, with the rise of online teaching and movements like #PlayApartTogether, games have become increasingly acknowledged as platforms for civic deliberation and value sharing. We the Gamers explores these possibilities by examining how we connect, communicate, analyze, and discover when we play games. Combining research-based perspectives and current examples, this volume shows how games can be used in ethics, civics, and social studies education to inspire learning, critical thinking, and civic change. We the Gamers introduces and explores various educational frameworks through a range of games and interactive experiences including board and card games, online games, virtual reality and augmented reality games, and digital games like Minecraft, Executive Command, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Fortnite, When Rivers Were Trails, Politicraft, Quandary, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The book systematically evaluates the types of skills, concepts, and knowledge needed for civic and ethical engagement, and details how games can foster these skills in classrooms, remote learning environments, and other educational settings. We the Gamers also explores the obstacles to learning with games and how to overcome those obstacles by encouraging equity and inclusion, care and compassion, and fairness and justice. Featuring helpful tips and case studies, We the Gamers shows teachers the strengths and limitations of games in helping students connect with civics and ethics, and imagines how we might repair and remake our world through gaming, together.
Discover the stunning concept art and developer commentaries behind the latest game in the genre-defining Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. The global balance of power is teetering on the brink of collapse. A diverse cast of international special forces and freedom fighters work within the gray area of their rules of engagement. The battle lines in this modern-day conflict are blurred. The stage is set in multiple theaters of conflict, from iconic European cities to the volatile expanses of the Middle East. Welcome to Call of Duty (R): Modern Warfare (R). This exciting book provides a peek behind the curtain at game developers, Infinity Ward. With over 200 full color pages filled with amazing images, character profiles, photo-realistic locations and comments from the team who made the game, this is an unmissable book for fans of the series and lovers of the video game artwork alike. |
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