Do demons and devils have free will? Does justice exist in Menzoberranzan? What's the morality involved with player characters casting necromancy and summoning spells?

"Dungeons & Dragons and Philosophy" probes the rich terrain of philosophically compelling concepts and ideas that underlie "Dungeons & Dragons," the legendary fantasy role-playing game that grew into a world-wide cultural phenomenon. A series of accessible essays reveals what the imaginary worlds of "D&D" can teach us about ethics, morality, metaphysics and more.Illustrates a wide variety of philosophical concepts and ideas that arise in "Dungeons & Dragons" gameplay and presents them in an accessible and entertaining mannerReveals how the strategies, tactics, improvisations, and role-play employed by "D&D" enthusiasts have startling parallels in the real world of philosophyExplores a wide range of philosophical topics, including the nature of free will, the metaphysics of personal identity, the morality of crafting fictions, sex and gender issues in tabletop gameplay, and friendship and collaborative storytellingProvides gamers with deep philosophical insights that can lead to a richer appreciation of "D&D" and any gaming experience

This book is an important collection for scholars and students interested in the critical analysis of digital games, and will be of interest across several disciplines including game studies, game design and development, internet studies, visual studies, cultural studies, communication studies, and media studies, as well as disability studies The book explores the opportunities and challenges people with disabilities experience in the context of digital games from the perspective of three related areas: representation, access and inclusion, and community Drawing on key concerns in disability media studies, the book brings together scholars from disability studies and game studies, alongside game developers, educators, and disability rights activists, to reflect upon the increasing visibility of disabled characters in digital games Chapters explore the contemporary gaming environment as it relates to disability on platforms such as Twitch, Minecraft, and Tingyou, while also addressing future possibilities and pitfalls for people with disabilities within gaming given the rise of virtual reality applications, and augmented games such as Pokemon Go The book also asks how game developers can attempt to represent diverse abilities, taking games such as BlindSide and Overwatch as examples

Infertility Comics and Graphic Medicine examines women's graphic memoirs on infertility, foregrounding the complex interrelationship between women's life writing, infertility studies, and graphic medicine. Through a scholarly examination of the artists' use of visual-verbal codes of the comics medium in narrating their physical ordeals and affective challenges occasioned by infertility, the book seeks to foreground the intricacies of gender identity, embodiment, subjectivity, and illness experience. Providing long-overdue scholarly attention on the perspectives of autobiographical and comics studies, the authors examine the gendered nature of the infertility experience and the notion of motherhood as an ideological force which interpolates socio-cultural discourses, accentuating the potential of graphic medicine as a creative space for the infertile women to voice their hitherto silenced perspectives on childlessness with force and urgency. This interdisciplinary volume will be of interest to scholars and students in comics studies, the health humanities, literature, and women's and gender studies, and will also be suitable for readers in visual studies and narrative medicine.

Sie kAnnen viel Zeit und Nerven sparen, wenn Sie sich mit Office immer besser auskennen! Grund genug, um sich von Peter Weverka in die Programme und die Funktionen von Office 2016 einfA1/4hren zu lassen. Sie finden in diesem umfassenden Werk A1/4bersichtliche Anleitungen fA1/4r die tAglichen Aufgaben mit Office und vielfAltige Tipps und Anregungen, die Ihnen helfen, Ihre Arbeit effektiver zu gestalten. Das Buch ist A1/4bersichtlich strukturiert, sodass Sie schnell finden, was Sie brauchen. Lernen Sie neben den Grundlagen auch die weiterfA1/4hrenden Techniken fA1/4r die wichtigsten Office-Programme kennen: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access und Publisher.

A must-have collection of Office 2010 application Bibles, written by the world's leading experts

Talk about a bargain Office 2010 Library offers enormous savings on four invaluable resources that boast nearly 5,000 pages and cover the core Office programs: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Word. The world's leading experts of these applications provide you with an arsenal of information on the latest version of each program. Three CDs are also included that feature bonus material, including helpful templates, worksheets, examples, and more to enhance your Microsoft Office 2010 experiences. Features four essential books on the most popular applications included in the Office 2010 suite: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and WordExcel 2010 Bible?serves as an indispensable reference for Excel users, no matter your level of expertise, and updates you on the latest Excel tips, tricks, and techniques Access 2010 Bible?offers a thorough introduction to database fundamentals and terminologyPowerPoint 2010 Bible?shows you how to use the new features of PowerPoint 2010 and make successful presentationsWord 2010 Bible?begins with a detailed look at all the new features in Word 2010 and then expends to cover more advanced, intricate topics

"Office 2010 Library" presents you with all-encompassing coverage that you won't find anywhere else

Including the latest Microsoft 365 features and enhanced support for Mac users, Cengage's Illustrated Series (R) Collection, Microsoft (R) Office 365 (R) & PowerPoint (R) 2021 Comprehensive, 2nd edition, helps you quickly master the nuances of Microsoft (R) Office. Its concise, student-friendly approach uses a proven two-page layout that allows you to work through an entire task without turning the page. Each module begins with a brief overview of the principles covered while large, full-color screen images illustrate what you see on your computer. Module Learning Objectives are mapped to Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification objectives, and module scenarios are based on Burning Glass market insights data -- helping you sharpen the critical skills you need for real-world success. In addition, MindTap and SAM (Skills Assessment Manager) online resources help maximize your study time -- and results.

Welcome to Game Audio Programming: Principles and Practices! This book is the first of its kind: an entire book dedicated to the art of game audio programming. With over fifteen chapters written by some of the top game audio programmers and sound designers in the industry, this book contains more knowledge and wisdom about game audio programming than any other volume in history. One of the goals of this book is to raise the general level of game audio programming expertise, so it is written in a manner that is accessible to beginners, while still providing valuable content for more advanced game audio programmers. Each chapter contains techniques that the authors have used in shipping games, with plenty of code examples and diagrams. There are chapters on the fundamentals of audio representation and perception; advanced usage of several different audio middleware platforms (Audiokinetic Wwise, CRI ADX2, and FMOD Studio); advanced topics including Open Sound Control, Vector-Based Amplitude Panning, and Dynamic Game Data; and more! Whether you're an audio programmer looking for new techniques, an up-and-coming game developer looking for an area to focus on, or just the one who got saddled with the audio code, this book has something for you. Cutting-edge advanced game audio programming concepts, with examples from real games and audio engines Includes perspectives of both audio programmers and sound designers on working and communicating together Coverage not just on game audio engine design, but also on implementing audio tools and working with sound designers providing a comprehensive perspective on being an audio programmer

All games are potentially transformative experiences because they engage the player in dynamic action. When repurposed in an educational context, even highly popular casual games played online to pass the time can engage players in a way that deepens learning. Games as Transformative Experiences for Critical Thinking, Cultural Awareness, and Deep Learning: Strategies & Resources examines the learning value of a wide variety of games across multiple disciplines. Organized just like a well-made game, the book is divided into four parts highlighting classroom experiences, community and culture, virtual learning, and interdisciplinary instruction. The author crosses between the high school and college classroom and addresses a range of disciplines, both online and classroom practice, the design of curriculum, and the transformation of assessment practices. In addition to a wealth of practical exercises, resources, and lesson ideas, the book explains how to use a wide and diverse range of games from casual to massively multiplayer online games for self-improvement as well as classroom situations.

This adapted version of CBSD for the Fundamentals Series explores the characteristics of IT-driven business services, their requirements and how to gather the right requirements to improve the service lifecycle throughout design, development and maintenance until decommissioning. By understanding IT-driven business services and anchoring them in a service design statement (SDS), you will be able to accelerate the translation of the needs of the business to the delivery of IT-intensive business services. Product overview CBSD supports portfolio, programme and project management by identifying key questions and structuring the creative process of designing services. Insight into the CBSD approach to deriving an SDS is therefore a practical and powerful tool to help you: - Promote a coherent design so that fundamental issues and requirements of needs are mapped, based on different perspectives between demand and supply; - Gain insight into the dynamics between stakeholders within an enterprise; - Reflect on and formulate a practical and realistic roadmap; and - Guide the development, build, programme management and maintenance of IT-driven business services. CBSD complements existing frameworks such as TOGAF(R), IT4IT, BiSL(R) Next and ITIL(R) by focusing on business architecture, a subject rarely discussed before designing an IT-intensive, complex business service. Who should read this book This book is intended for anyone responsible for designing and implementing IT-driven services or involved in their operation. This includes: - Internal and external service providers, such as service managers, contract managers, bid managers, lead architects and requirement analysts; - Business, financial, sales, marketing and operations managers who are responsible for output and outcome; - Sales and product managers who need to present and improve service offerings; - Developers who need to develop new and improved services; - Contract managers and those responsible for purchasing; and - Consultants, strategists, business managers, business process owners, business architects, business information managers, chief information officers, information systems owners and information architects. Collaborative Business Design: The Fundamentals is part of the Fundamentals Series. Authors Brian Johnson has published more than 30 books, including a dozen official titles in the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), all of which are used worldwide. He designed and led the programme for ITIL version 2. He has fulfilled many roles during his career, including vice president, chief architect, senior director and executive consultant. One of his current roles is chief architect at the ASL BiSL Foundation, which provides guidance on business information management to a wide range of public and private-sector businesses in the Benelux region. Brian is chief architect for the redesign of all guidance and is the author of new strategic publications. Leon-Paul de Rouw studied technical management and organisation sociology. He worked for several years as a consultant and researcher in the private sector. Since 2003, he has been a programme manager with the central government in the Netherlands. He is responsible for all types of projects and programmes that focus on business enabled by IT.

For thirty years, Blizzard has been pushing boundaries and breaking expectations of what it means to draw for video games. Get a glimpse behind the curtain at how art has evolved at Blizzard and meet some of the artists who've shaped Blizzard's style and range to what it is today. Discover how art cross-pollinated amongst game teams and how grassroots movements from fans inspired some of Blizzard's most iconic artwork. With insights from more than fifty artists, animators, designers, and storytellers, this sweeping compendium is fans' ultimate keys to the kingdom of three decades in Blizzard artistry.

The latest edition provides a comprehensive foundation for image and video compression. It covers HEVC/H.265 and future video coding activities, in addition to Internet Video Coding. The book features updated chapters and content, along with several new chapters and sections. It adheres to the current international standards, including the JPEG standard.

Video project deadlines are brutal, budgets are tight, and everyone is stressed. Anything that saves time, simplifies life, or improves results is a good thing. This book is a great thing! Packed with tips, techniques, shortcuts, and hidden gems, this book turns you into an editing powerhouse. Renowned digital media innovator Larry Jordan delivers concise, well-tested techniques to make you more productive right now, without wasting time. These techniques are selected, organized, and illustrated to deliver maximum practical value directly to you. Edit faster. Edit better. Edit easier. These power tips solve problems-fast: Plan your projects to save time on deadlines Tweak your system and software to optimize performance Organize media to make it easier to find Wield the advanced, yet hidden, features unique to Final Cut Pro Make the most of Final Cut's audio tools, from edit to final mix Master video and computer technology to avoid problems Take control of the nearly infinite effects in Final Cut Pro An essential reference for Apple Final Cut Pro editors. Also by Larry Jordan: Techniques of Visual Persuasion shows you how to use images to grab the attention of the viewer long enough to powerfully share a message and move them to action. Available at Peachpit and major resellers today.

Since 1980, in-the-know computer gamers have been enthralled by the unpredictable, random, and incredibly deep gameplay of Rogue and those games inspired by it, known to fans as "roguelikes." For decades, this venerable genre was off the radar of most players and developers for a variety of reasons: deceptively simple graphics (often just text characters), high difficulty, and their demand that a player brings more of themselves to the game than your typical AAA title asks. This book covers many of the most prominent titles and explains in great detail what makes them interesting, the ways to get started playing them, the history of the genre, and more. It includes interviews, playthroughs, and hundreds of screenshots. It is a labor of love: if even a fraction of the author's enthusiasm for these games gets through these pages to you, then you will enjoy it a great deal. Key Features: Playing tips and strategy for newcomers to the genre Core roguelikes Rogue, Angband, NetHack, Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, ADOM, and Brogue The "lost roguelikes" Super Rogue and XRogue, and the early RPG dnd for PLATO systems The Japanese console roguelikes Taloon's Mystery Dungeon and Shiren the Wanderer Lesser-known but extremely interesting games like Larn, DoomRL, HyperRogue, Incursion, and Dungeon Hack "Rogue-ish" games that blur the edges of the genre, including Spelunky, HyperRogue, ToeJam & Earl, Defense of the Oasis, Out There, and Zelda Randomizer Interviews with such developers as Keith Burgun (100 Rogues and Auro), Rodain Joubert (Desktop Dungeons), Josh Ge (Cogmind), Dr. Thomas Biskup (ADOM), and Robin Bandy (devnull public NetHack tournament) An interview regarding Strange Adventures in Infinite Space Design issues of interest to developers and enthusiasts Author Bio: John Harris has bumped around the Internet for more than 20 years. In addition to writing the columns @Play and Pixel Journeys for GameSetWatch and developer interviews for Gamasutra, he has spoken at Roguelike Celebration. John Harris has a MA in English Literature from Georgia Southern University.

Official art book of the Marvel's Midnight Suns video game, packed with interviews with the creative team behind the game, as well as stunning concept art created during the development process. When the demonic Lilith and her fearsome horde unite with the evil armies of Hydra, it's time to unleash Marvel's dark side. As The Hunter, your mission is to lead an unlikely team of seasoned Super Heroes and dangerous supernatural warriors to victory. Can legends such as Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and Blade put aside their differences in the face of a growing apocalyptic threat? If you're going to save the world, you'll have to forge alliances and lead the team into battle as the legendary Midnight Suns-Earth's last line of defence against the underworld. Marvel's Midnight Suns - The Art of the Game captures the creative process of this much-anticipated game. The exclusive concept art and in-game renderings created by the talented development team-creating the game in collaboration with Marvel-are shown in glorious detail in this lush, hardback volume. Characters, locations, gadgets, weapons, monsters, enemies, and much more are all accompanied by unique insights from the artists and developers behind the game. So step into the world of Marvel's Midnight Suns - and rise up against the darkness!

Using a unique in-depth, case-based approach, Cengage's NEW PERSPECTIVES COLLECTION, MICROSOFT (R) 365 (R) & OFFICE (R) 2021 INTERMEDIATE thoroughly prepares you for the Microsoft (R) Office (R) Specialist (MOS) certification exam -- and success in your future career. As you apply Microsoft (R) Office (R) skills to real-world business scenarios based on Burning Glass market insights, you will sharpen your critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Professional tips and insights incorporated throughout provide context and relevancy to real-world practice, while ProSkills Boxes help strengthen your employability skills, including written and verbal communication. Updated coverage of Microsoft (R) 365 (R) features and enhanced support for Mac users are also included. In addition, MindTap and up-to-date SAM (Skills Assessment Manager) online resources provide interactive study tools to help maximize your study time -- and results.

Shareware Heroes is a comprehensive, meticulously researched exploration of an important and too-long overlooked chapter in video game historyShareware Heroes: Independent Games at the Dawn of the Internet takes readers on a journey, from the beginnings of the shareware model in the early 1980s, the origins of the concept, even the name itself, and the rise of shareware's major players - the likes of id Software, Apogee, and Epic MegaGames - through to the significance of shareware for the 'forgotten' systems - the Mac, Atari ST, Amiga - when commercial game publishers turned away from them.This book also charts the emergence of commercial shareware distributors like Educorp and the BBS/newsgroup sharing culture. And it explores how shareware developers plugged gaps in the video gaming market by creating games in niche and neglected genres like vertically-scrolling shoot-'em-ups (e.g. Raptor and Tyrian) or racing games (e.g. Wacky Wheels and Skunny Kart) or RPGs (God of Thunder and Realmz), until finally, as the video game market again grew and shifted, and major publishers took control, how the shareware system faded into the background and fell from memory.

The first step in making your ideas a reality SketchUp offers a vast array of tools that help you get your building, woodworking, and design plans out of your head and into a real model. Even if you've never dabbled in the software, SketchUp All-in-One For Dummies makes it easy to get started as quickly as the ideas pop into your head! Providing real-world insight from top SketchUp insiders, these six-books-in-one teach you how to tackle the basics of the program and apply those skills to real-world projects. You'll discover the basics of modeling as they apply to either free or paid versions of SketchUp before diving into creating models to use for making objects, constructing buildings, or redesigning interiors. Navigate the SketchUp product mix Get familiar with the basics of modeling View and share your models Make your architecture, interior design, and woodworking dreams a reality You have tons of great ideas--and now you can harness this powerful software to bring them to life.

Get up and running fast with the PowerPoint 2019 PowerPoint continues to be the go-to tool for business presentations. The software helps anyone who needs to communicate clearly by creating powerful and effective slideshow presentations featuring data in the form of charts, clip art, sound, and video. You can even use it to create presentations for the Web. In PowerPoint 2019 For Dummies, expert Doug Lowe shows you how to use this popular tool to make show-stopping presentations that will get your message across -- and your audience excited. Create a slide presentation with special effects Work with master slides and templates Collaborate with other users in the cloud Add charts, clip art, sound, and video Want to learn to use PowerPoint quickly and efficiently? Look no further!

A uniquely cross-disciplinary and cross-experience book written as an accessible guide for people new to storytelling in games, new to games as a practice, and those eager to develop their existing practices & knowledge around storytelling in games. Offers careful, clear, and practical advice for understanding creative writing, in the context of games, and in discovering and developing your own games writing practice. Focuses on writing, not narrative design, as an area underdeveloped in the context of games storytelling.

This book covers the distinguishing characteristics and tropes of visual novels (VNs) as choice-based games and analyzes VNs like 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors; Hatoful Boyfriend; and Monster Prom, some of the best examples of the genre as illustrations. The author covers structuring branching narrative and plot, designing impactful and compelling choices, writing entertaining relationships and character interactions, understanding the importance of a VN's prose, and planning a VN's overall narrative design and story delivery. The book contains exercises at the end of chapters to practice the techniques discussed. By the end of the book, if the reader finishes all the exercises, they may have several portfolio pieces or a significant portion of their own VN project designed. Features: Discusses different aspects and genres of VNs, what makes them enjoyable, and successful techniques developers can incorporate into their own games Analyzes various VNs and choice-based games that use these successful techniques Shares tips from developers on portfolio pieces, hiring a team to work on VNs, and plotting and outlining VNs Branching Story, Unlocked Dialogue: Designing and Writing Visual Novels is a valuable resource for developers and narrative designers interested in working on VNs. The book will show them how they can design their own VN projects, design branching narratives, develop entertaining plots and relationships, design impactful and compelling choices, and write prose that's a pleasure to read.

Ranging from blockbuster movies to experimental shorts or documentaries to scientific research, computer animation shapes a great part of media communication processes today. Be it the portrayal of emotional characters in moving films or the creation of controllable emotional stimuli in scientific contexts, computer animation's characteristic artificiality makes it ideal for various areas connected to the emotional: with the ability to move beyond the constraints of the empirical "real world," animation allows for an immense freedom. This book looks at international film productions using animation techniques to display and/or to elicit emotions, with a special attention to the aesthetics, characters and stories of these films, and to the challenges and benefits of using computer techniques for these purposes.

Shellito's Discovering GIS and ArcGIS Pro provides students with hands-on work with GIS software, while explaining the "how" and "why" behind each application. Software changes quickly-the theory has a longer shelf life. The goal of Discovering GIS and ArcGIS Pro is to teach students how to combine GIS concepts with ArcGIS Pro software skills, preparing students for successful careers in the real world. Each chapter focuses on using a variety of ArcGIS tools in a real-world context. At the start of each chapter, a scenario puts the student in a particular role with a number of tasks to accomplish.

"Game Feel" exposes "feel" as a hidden language in game design that no one has fully articulated yet. The language could be compared to the building blocks of music (time signatures, chord progressions, verse) - no matter the instruments, style or time period - these building blocks come into play. Feel and sensation are similar building blocks where game design is concerned. They create the meta-sensation of involvement with a game.
The understanding of how game designers create feel, and affect feel are only partially understood by most in the field and tends to be overlooked as a method or course of study, yet a game's feel is central to a game's success. This book brings the subject of feel to light by consolidating existing theories into a cohesive book.
The book covers topics like the role of sound, ancillary indicators, the importance of metaphor, how people perceive things, and a brief history of feel in games.
The associated web site contains a playset with ready-made tools to design feel in games, six key components to creating virtual sensation. There's a play palette too, so the desiger can first experience the importance of that component by altering variables and feeling the results. The playset allows the reader to experience each of the sensations described in the book, and then allows them to apply them to their own projects. Creating game feel without having to program, essentially. The final version of the playset will have enough flexibility that the reader will be able to use it as a companion to the exercises in the book, working through each one to create the feel described.
--Swink demystifies this crucial, fundamental, and unexplored aspect ofgame design with case studies, fully interactive examples
--Interviews with industry luminaries and in-depth examination of many classic games from a fresh angle.
--What draws players in? Makes them addicted to game play? Feel is the key element that is so central to game design. Finally a book that covers the topic in an in-depth, practical way, with interactive exercises.
--Website: Fully playable interactive playset with ready-made tools for game and feel design, six key components to creating virtual sensation, and a play palette - so that designers can first experience the sensations before applying to own projects.