This book provides readers with an introductory resource for learning how to create compelling games using the open source Python programming language and Pygame games development library. Authored by industry veteran and Python expert Will McGugan, readers are treated to a comprehensive, practical introduction to games development using these popular technologies. They can also capitalize upon numerous tips and tricks the author has accumulated over his career creating games for some of the world's largest gaming developers.

In this latest work, Selfe and Hawisher explore the complexly rendered relationship between computer gaming environments and literacy development by focusing on the stories of computer gamers in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Using the words and observations of individual gamers, this book offers historical and cultural analyses of literacy development, practices, and values.

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Do you have what it takes to become a game developer? With this hands-on book, you'll learn quickly and easily how to develop computer games with Microsoft's XNA 3.0 framework-not just for your PC, but for Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune as well. Written by an experienced university-level game development instructor, Learning XNA 3.0 walks you through the framework in a clear and understandable step-by-step format. Each chapter offers a self-contained lesson with lots of illustrations and annotated examples to help you master key concepts. Once you finish the book, you'll know how to develop sophisticated games from start to finish. Learn game development concepts from 2D animation to 3D cameras and effects Delve into high-level shader language (HLSL) and introductory artificial intelligence concepts Develop three complete and exciting games using 2D,3D and multiplayer concepts Develop and deploy games to the Xbox 360 and the Microsoft Zune

While teaching XNA to beginning game developers, author Aaron Reed noticed that several key concepts were difficult for students to grasp. Learning XNA 3.0 was written specifically to address those issues. With this book, you can test your understanding and practice new skills as you go with unique "Test Your Knowledge" exercises and review questions in each chapter. Why wait? Amaze your family and friends by building your own games for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune-with Learning XNA 3.0. "An outstanding book Teaches you XNA development in a smart way, starting from 2D basics and going into 3D and shader development. What I really like is the 'peeling the onion' approach the author takes, which builds up knowledge from previous chapters." --David "LetsKillDave" Weller, CEO, Cogito Ergonomics, LLC, and former XNA program manager

Crafted to resemble a set of Abstergo case files, this immersive and interactive book provides a glimpse into the technology that allows characters to inhabit the lives of their ancestors - a cornerstone of the Assassin's Creed narrative. In-depth and beautifully illustrated, the Assassin's Creed Manual will grant a never-before-seen look at the inner workings of the fictional corporation at the heart of the blockbuster franchise.

Let's face it, especially these days, there's a lot going on and things are constantly coming at us to the point where overload sets in and mentally our brain is just not handling it. If that describes you, there's something you can do about it starting now. Get your hands on "Train Your Brain: Mental Toughness Training For Winning In Life Now " You can't go wrong with this book because it's written to improve your cognitive skills and throughout the process your brain will not be overworked. Think about this as like building a figurative mental shield around your brain; one that's so tough that unless it's good for something, anything outside of it can't get in and overwhelm you. The training in this book will help you to bring about this mental toughness or shield that will in general improve your life. Once you start seeing what a positive difference these improved cognitive skills can make for you, you'll wonder why you didn't start putting these things into practice sooner.

The unusual marriage of Romantic ballet and artificial intelligence is an intriguing idea that led a team of interdisciplinary researchers to design iGiselle, a video game prototype. Scholars in the fields of literature, physical education, music, design, and computer science collaborated to revise the tragic narrative of the nineteenth-century ballet Giselle, allowing players to empower the heroine for possible "feminine endings." The eight interrelated chapters chronicle the origin, development, and fruition of the project. Dancers, gamers, and computer specialists will all find something original that will stimulate their respective interests. Contributors: Vadim Bulitko, Wayne DeFehr, Christina Gier, Pirkko Markula, Mark Morris, Sergio Poo Hernandez, Emilie St. Hilaire, Nora Foster Stovel, Laura Sydora

Atari Inc. - Business is Fun, the book that goes behind the company that was synonymous with the popularization of 'video games.'
Nearly 8 years in the making, Atari Inc. - Business is Fun is comprised of thousands of researched documents, hundreds of interviews, and access to materials never before available.
An amazing 800 pages (including nearly 300 pages of rare, never before seen photos, memos and court documents), this book details Atari's genesis from an idea between an engineer and a visionary in 1969 to a nearly $2 billion dollar juggernaut, and ending with a $538 million death spiral during 1984. A testament to the people that worked at this beloved company, the book is full of their personal stories and insights. Learn about topics like:
* All the behind the scenes stories surrounding the creation of the company's now iconic games and products.
* The amazing story of Atari's very own "Xerox PARC" research facility up in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains
* The full recounting of Steve Jobs's time at Atari, with comments from the people he worked with on projects and the detailed story of the creation of Atari Breakout, including input by Steve Wozniak on his development of the prototype, and how it couldn't be used and another Atari engineer would have to make the final production Breakout arcade game instead.
* The creation of "Rick Rats Big Cheese Restaurants" which later became "Chuck E. Cheese's"
* How Atari Inc. faltered and took down an entire industry with it before being put on the chopping block.
If you've ever wanted to learn about the truth behind the creation of this iconic company told directly by the people who made FUN for a living, then this is the book for you

Take it to the next level! Bursting with the biggest games, latest trends, and hottest news, Next Level Games Review 2023 is the ultimate annual gaming guide. Inside you'll discover a recap of the last twelve months in gaming and a preview of what's coming soon, plus an exclusive intro written by YouTube, TV, and radio presenter Julia Hardy. Whether you want to relive the action in Deathloop, learn about the exciting new Steam Deck, get a head start in Switch Sports, explore Minecraft biomes, become an MMO champion, join the Guardians of the Galaxy aboard the Milano, catch new Diamond and Pearl Pokemon, check out indie adventures, build your Ultimate Team in FIFA, or return to The Lands Between in Elden Ring, this guide is a game-changer! 200+ GAMES: Find out surprising stats and entertaining facts on over 200 games, including Mario, Demon Slayer, Forza, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact, Roblox, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Sonic, Final Fantasy, Madden NFL, and The Legend of Zelda. PERFECT FOR NEW GAMERS: Packed with tips and tricks for new and young gamers, plus a special glossary section so you can learn the lingo. ESPORTS CHAPTER: Catch up on all the news and read fascinating trivia on the top eSports games, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, Dota 2, and Overwatch. INSIDER INFO: Get the inside take from gaming experts and learn all about your favourite game studios, including FromSoftware, EA, Bandai Namco, 343, Eidos Montreal, and Gearbox Software.

When it comes to game programming, C++ is the name of the game. If you aspire to move from game player to game creator, it all starts with learning the fundamentals of C++ and game-programming basics. With BEGINNING C++ THROUGH GAME PROGRAMMING, FOURTH EDITION, you will find an up-to-date and thorough introduction to everything you need to get started-with no previous programming experience required. In the new fourth edition of this popular guide to learning C++, you will work with a complete program while learning each new concept and a game program at the end of each chapter. A final game project at the end of the book draws together everything you've learned. Written with the beginning programmer in mind, BEGINNING C++ THROUGH GAME PROGRAMMING, FOURTH EDITION is a great way to get started in game programming.

The Maverick SRPG system is a pen & paper role-playing-game, (RPG) that introduces a new level of customization to the world of fantasy, sci-fi, modern, and horror role-playing.

Players customize their race, class, vehicles, and equipment. Game Masters customize monsters, buildings, and entire worlds with ease.

This book includes the full rules for the Maverick SRPG system, from character creation and item creation, to adventure creation, and everything in-between. For additional content, please visit us at, www.gamingmecca.Maverick.com.

Visionary game designer Jane McGonigal reveals how we can harness the power of games to solve real world problems and improve our day-to-day living.

Gain a thorough understanding of animation and character rigging using Autodesk 3ds Max to create realistic character animations. This book is split into three modules that are subsequently divided into chapters. The first module is the foundation module: in this module you'll cover, among other topics, the 12 cardinal principles of animation with reference to classic real-world examples and famous movies/animation shots. Using these, the further chapters explore using key frames and graph editors to obtain fluid motion in your animations. Practical examples are used to better explain which feature suits a particular scenario. The second module, called the backbone module, introduces you to deformation tools and their use for character animation. Further chapters cover driven animations, constraints posed by bones, bipeds, and the CAT tools available in 3ds Max 2019. The final module, the lifeline module, encourages you to bring your character to life by applying principles learnt in the previous modules. Here you will be guided on how to retarget animations from one character to other characters or rigs. On completing Character Rigging and Advance Animation, you will be able to create character rigs for bipeds and quadrupeds with ease, animating them with life-like motion. What You Will Learn Understand the 12 principles of animation Set up an animation-ready character rig from scratch Master the deformation tools available for animation Who This Book Is For Readers who are familiar with 3ds Max at a basic level and are looking at getting into character rigging and animation.

This book will provide insider tips, traps, and techniques on how to create 3d assets for use in computer games and simulation systems. The book will consist of a series of tutorials, starting with simpler models and moving up to more complex builds. As the book comes to us directly from successful game artists within commercial game development circles (Gahan and contributors) aspiring game artists will also find keen insights on how to get ahead in the game industry, i.e. how to prepare your personal portfolio to provide an edge in this extremely competitive world of game development. The strength of this book is that it teaches all of the important game modeling elements of 3ds Max: character modeling, environment modeling, mapping. The book covers how to model, texture and animate credible game characters and levels using 3ds max. As readers move from tutorial to tutorial, they will be building their own portfolio of high quality work. The DVD contains countless examples of what's hot and what's not in 3D modeling and also enough support images and photos to keep the budding artist busy for months. Features of this title include: step-by-step project files for each chapter; all the relevant texture files and source photos used to create the texture maps applied to the 3D projects; extras - panoramic skies, small scene objects and a many texture maps and models so that artists can create whole scenes very quickly without starting from scratch each time; royalty free stock photos that artists can use in their own texture maps, models and scenes; and, additional material on the book's bonus website. Author Andy Gahan is a seasoned professional and leading industry expert. Gahan is a key member of an award-winning game team recently scoring number 1 hits in Japan, Europe and America with the Playstation 3 smash hit MotorStorm. Game Modeling techniques offered in this book with artist's potential portfolio in mind. Find out what Art Directors and Managers are looking for. Essentials of 3D game modeling covered - Characters, Vehicles, Assets and Scenes - including lighting and rendering. Find additional tutorials and even contact the author on the book's website.

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.

Professional XNA(R) Programming

Building Games for Xbox 360(R) and Windows(R)with XNA Game Studio 2.0, 2nd Edition

This improved and updated edition of the bestseller will get you up and running quickly with building games for Xbox 360 and the Windows platform. Professional game developer and Microsoft MVP Benjamin Nitschke begins by explaining how to install the free XNA Game Studio 2.0 and then goes on to share essential advice for using it in a productive way.

Before you know it, each successive chapter will have you developing small games that increase in difficulty. By using the chapters as building blocks, you'll evolve from 2D programming to 3D, and you'll ultimately create a full-blown graphics engine that can be used for more advanced game projects. Plus, you'll get an inside look at six fully functional games, including the popular Racing Game and the new Dungeon Quest.

What you will learn from this book

Tips for adding music and sound with XACT

Techniques for creating unique visual effects through Shaders

Ways to access keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controllers with XInput

How to write your own XNA graphics engine and create a game engine

How to manage content in XNA

Myriad ways of fine-tuning, debugging, and troubleshooting

How to make sure games run on the Xbox 360

Ways to generate landscapes and tracks

How to take advantage of XNA's new networking APIs

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to create games on the Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. Experience with C# or a similar .NET language is necessary, but previous game programming is not required.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by workingprogrammers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

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.

Uncover the secrets of the game industry's best programmers with the newest volume of the Game Programming Gems series With over 60 all new techniques, Game Programming Gems 4 continues to be the definitive resource for developers. Written by expert game developers who make today's amazing games, these articles not only provide quick solutions to cutting-edge problems, but they provide insights that you'll return to again and again. They'll spark your creativity and inspire your own discoveries. For the past few years, the game industry has been on an incredible journey of exploration and innovation. In conjunction with this journey, the scope of the Game Programming Gems series has broadened as well. With the variety of new platforms available, coverage has been expanded to include alternative languages and third party APIs. Most code is written in C++, but some interpreted languages (Java and Python) are also represented. The graphics articles make use of OpenGL, DirectX, and the various available shader languages. Volume 4 also includes an all new physics section that teaches innovative techniques for implementing real-time physics that will help you create emergent gameplay. To make searching between all four volumes of the series easy and efficient, we have added a cumulative index. This new volume is a definite must-have resource for every game programmer's library!

Your guide to creating the perfect gaming PC

Turn your PC into a hot-rod gaming machine with this unique guide to hardware and operating system performance. To meet the demanding requirements of today's popular PC games, you need to know how to supercharge your PC for maximum game performance. PC hardware expert and avid computer gamer Loyd Case offers you helpful tips for tweaking and tuning your PC without spending a fortune. You'll learn about the latest in 3D graphics technology, tips for tweaking your existing operating system and hardware, ways to enhance your multi-player experience, and much more. Get this book and take your gaming experience to the next level!Enable small- and large-scale multiplayer game play via LAN or Internet Develop a PC upgrade plan to fit your budget and choose the right 3D hardware Learn about mod design and tools to create cool mods of your own Measure your system's performance and pick up valuable OS and in-game tweaks Discover how graphics, audio, physics, and AI game features affect PC performance Explore APIs within today's popular games including DirectX and OpenGL

Do you want to build mobile games, but lack game development experience? No problem. This practical guide shows you how to create beautiful, interactive content for iOS and Android devices with the Unity game engine. Authors Jon Manning and Paris Buttfield-Addison (iOS Swift Game Development Cookbook) provide a top-to-bottom overview of Unity's features with specific, project-oriented guidance on how to use them in real game situations. Over the course of this book, you'll learn hands-on how to build 2D and 3D games from scratch that will hook and delight players. If you have basic programming skills, you're ready to get started. Explore the basics of Unity, and learn how to structure games, graphics, scripting, sounds, physics, and particle systems Use 2D graphics and physics features to build a side-scrolling action game Create a 3D space combat simulator with projectile shooting and respawning objects, and learn how to manage the appearance of 3D models Dive into Unity's advanced features, such as precomputed lighting, shading, customizing the editor, and deployment

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.

Starting with the basics of game creation and the artistic skills necessary to get started, this book provides the inside track on how to forge a career in the world of video game art. Included are detailed breakdowns of the training and portfolio samples you'll need to make these jobs your own. It features interviews with video game art professionals who've worked for top gaming companies. In How to Become a Video Game Artist, veteran video game designer Sam R. Kennedy provides the inside track on everything you need to forge a career in the world of video game art. Starting with the basics of game creation and a look at the artistic skills necessary to get started, Kennedy spotlights specific, key roles for creators - from concept artists to character animators to marketing artists and beyond. Each chapter features screenshots from popular video games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon and World of Warcraft; interviews with video game art professionals who've worked for top gaming companies like BioWare, Blizzard, and Ubisoft; step-by-step examples of actual game art; and detailed breakdowns of the training and portfolio samples you'll need to make these jobs your own.