Game Programming Books - Page 13

Dead Rising(tm) Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames))

BradyGames

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's a great walkthrough... but not a great guide. 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I love Dead Rising but I wanted to know everything about the game so I got the strategy guide. When looking though the guide I found everything I needed to know and even more, but I soon found that not everything that I needed was in this book (It might be in the book, but it's not easy to find)

The guide starts off pretty good it shows you the controls, moves, characters and story. Next it brings you into a walkthrough that practically tells you actually what to do from who to save, when to take picture, what item you need and where to get them on your way there. It's a very nice walkthrough, tells you everything you need to know.

The only thing that bugs me is at the end of the guide, where they have the list of all the weapons, books, and food items. For instant, the weapons, if you want to know where the BATTLE AX is located it doesn't tell you, but you can find them mention where to grab the BATTLE AX in the walkthrough, so now you have to go searching of it in the walkthrough. Same thing goes for the book they tell you exactly what the book does, but never tells you which book store it's located in. If they just added a map of where all the weapons and book are I would have given it 5 stars.

It's still a good guide but its better as a walkthrough then a guide. And as I mention before, it dose have everything but it's hidden in the walkthrough which you don't really have time to search, since every second counts.

Editorial Review:

BradyGames’ Dead Rising Official Strategy Guide includes the following:

• A complete walkthrough covering side missions and how to achieve alternate endings.
• Detailed item and equipment lists.
• Extensive bestiary.
• Game secrets revealed!

Platform: Xbox 360

Genre: Action/Adventure

This product is available for sale in North America only.

The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology

Amazon Price: $38.40 List Price: $48.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The MIT Press Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $34.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Game Design Reader is a one-of-a-kind collection on game design and criticism, from classic scholarly essays to cutting-edge case studies. A companion work to Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman's textbook Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, The Game Design Reader is a classroom sourcebook, a reference for working game developers, and a great read for game fans and players.

Thirty-two essays by game designers, game critics, game fans, philosophers, anthropologists, media theorists, and others consider fundamental questions: What are games and how are they designed? How do games interact with culture at large? What critical approaches can game designers take to create game stories, game spaces, game communities, and new forms of play?

Salen and Zimmerman have collected seminal writings that span 50 years to offer a stunning array of perspectives. Game journalists express the rhythms of game play, sociologists tackle topics such as role-playing in vast virtual worlds, players rant and rave, and game designers describe the sweat and tears of bringing a game to market. Each text acts as a springboard for discussion, a potential class assignment, and a source of inspiration. The book is organized around fourteen topics, from The Player Experience to The Game Design Process, from Games and Narrative to Cultural Representation. Each topic, introduced with a short essay by Salen and Zimmerman, covers ideas and research fundamental to the study of games, and points to relevant texts within the Reader. Visual essays between book sections act as counterpoint to the writings.

Like Rules of Play, The Game Design Reader is an intelligent and playful book. An invaluable resource for professionals and a unique introduction for those new to the field, The Game Design Reader is essential reading for anyone who takes games seriously.

An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging with DVD

Cheryl Cabrera

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Discover the concepts and techniques required to rig engaging CG character models with Maya in this unique book and DVD package. The stunning color images show just what you can achieve, and the detailed step-by-step tutorials show exactly how to achieve them.

Every technique and tip is backed up with practical tutorials, using the models, student work and tutorial assets on the companion DVD to offer a crash course in this vital skill. With Cheryl Cabrera you'll learn about:

Designing your first Biped Character; Creating your first Biped Character - Modeling Basics, Biped Character Facial Expressions, Texturing Basics; Skeleton setup for a Biped Character Joint Placement; Control Rig setup for a Biped Character - IK and FK; Wrapping up the setup; Skinning your Character

* Use simple NURBS and polygon modeling in Maya for greater flexibility in your workflow
* Create control rig setups for a biped character - both IK and FK
* Put your new skills to work with the models and tutorial assets on the free DVD!

Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media

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Editorial Review:

Shortlisted for the 2008 Diana Jones Award. and Finalist, 2007 Front Line Awards, given by Game Developer Magazine.

Games and other playable forms, from interactive fictions to improvisational theater, involve role playing and story—something played and something told. In Second Person, game designers, authors, artists, and scholars examine the different ways in which these two elements work together in tabletop role-playing games (RPGs), computer games, board games, card games, electronic literature, political simulations, locative media, massively multiplayer games, and other forms that invite and structure play.

Second Person—so called because in these games and playable media it is "you" who plays the roles, "you" for whom the story is being told—first considers tabletop games ranging from Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs with an explicit social component to Kim Newman's Choose Your Own Adventure-style novel Life's Lottery and its more traditional author-reader interaction. Contributors then examine computer-based playable structures that are designed for solo interaction—for the singular "you"—including the mainstream hit Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and the genre-defining independent production Façade. Finally, contributors look at the intersection of the social spaces of play and the real world, considering, among other topics, the virtual communities of such Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) as World of Warcraft and the political uses of digital gaming and role-playing techniques (as in The Howard Dean for Iowa Game, the first U.S. presidential campaign game).

In engaging essays that range in tone from the informal to the technical, these writers offer a variety of approaches for the examination of an emerging field that includes works as diverse as George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards series and the classic Infocom game Planetfall.

Second Person features three complete tabletop role-playing games that demonstrate some of the variations possible in the form: in John Tynes's Puppetland, players take on the roles of puppets in a land ruled by the villainous Punch; Greg Costikyan's Bestial Acts imports the techniques of Bertolt Brecht's theater of alienation into a dark role-playing structure; and in James Wallis's The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the gameplay revolves around spinning elaborate tales in the style of the famous raconteur.

Photoshop Elements 3 For Dummies

Deke McClelland, Galen Fott

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Buy the book to learn more. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've had Photoshop Elements for some time but was only scratching the surface on what it could do. This easy to read book has shown many, many functions to me that has made the money spent on the software much more of a value to me. I've jumped around chapters to focus on what was most important to me. Don't feel you need to sit and read cover to cover - start with what you want to learn. At times a boring subject the authors fit in humor.

Editorial Review:

• What the book covers: the key features including: creating amazing panoramas, performing single click color adjustments, correcting image shadow and highlight problems, attaching edited photos to your E-mail, creating Adobe PDF slideshows, creating Web photo galleries of your images, discovering creative tips and techniques, automating repetitive tasks, and more. Includes both Windows and Mac coverage.
• Updated coverage of the new version: updated and revised throughout for the latest Photoshop Elements release.
• Series features: Information presented in the straightforward but fun language that has defined the Dummies series for over ten years.

Break Into The Game Industry: How to Get A Job Making Video Games

Ernest Adams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

For true neophytes, primary, high schoolers, college applicants. Not experienced hobbyists or graduates 3 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

My quick review of Break Into the Game Industry - How to get a job making video games by Ernest Adams.

This book is a very light read and aimed specifically at real neophytes who enjoy games and are giving a passing thought at doing something in games for a living without much knowledge of the industry. If you've grown up with the industry and are doing the indie or trying to break in thing, this isn't for you. Book can be pretty much read in one night, and for a lot of people there's a lot you can skim.

However, I would recommend this book VERY STRONGLY as a purchase for high school or even primary school children researching this as a possible career path. It pretty much covers a lot of things you need to get started *early*. Don't wait till you hit "working age" to start like I did. It's the only book out there that really targets kids and not working professionals trying to get in. It spends an entire chapter (and more) on how you should plan your education, what to look for, courses that will help etc. This stuff is good stuff, not the usual BS from "How to choose a college" guides.

There is also a very good summary of publishing contracts in there, that might be unfamiliar territory for a lot of people. Even though it wasn't new to me, I'm still photocopying it for something I can refer to if anything as a very good summary reference (I borrowed the book ).

Some of the best stuff is at the end in the appendices. There are huge lists of game companies and schools for anybody that is looking to apply at either. Book mentions that they are available at gamasutra as well but it doesn't hurt to have a hard copy. There is also the IGDA curriculum framework in there too, something which I wish my current school would have spent more time taking to heart instead of just looking at buzzwords.

Bottom line is, this is still a loaner for the most part. If you've been highly specialised in one area, this book can help catch you up from a more generalist perspective. There are some great war stories in there as well, but I can't recommend buying the book just for them. For anyone at primary school level, or looking at college this book should merit serious consideration as a purchase.

Editorial Review:

Find out from an industry veteran exactly what you need to do to become a game designer, tester, artist, producer, programmer, writer, soundtrack composer, videographer, or sales/marketing professional. You'll get full-spectrum coverage of positions available within the game industry as well as details on how a game is created--from start to finish--and much more.

Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories - Official Strategy Guide for PlayStation 2

BradyGames

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This is a MUST for all the 100% COMPLETION Hunters... 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.

As I almost passed all the story-line missions, I looked at my stats and realized that I only completed 43% of the game. I realized that there were some rampages and races that I didn't complete, but I still knew that I missed a lot of game here! I bought this guide and it made me realized that there are side missions out there that I didn't even knew existed like "Avenging Angels" or "See the Sight Before Your Flight" side missions.

This is a huge 225-page guide full of stats, maps and pictures that give you how-to-walkthrough of every mission. There is also a vehicle "showroom" section that shows you every single vehicle in the game, including vehicle's speed and handling score. The same is done for weapons sections.

This guide includes every nook and crany; however, if you are an expert, you may not need a lot of stuff that is in there. For example, it tells you what exactly going one during wanted levels(1-star is where one cop chases you...and 6-star is where the military takes over, etc.) If you're an expert, you may not need that information, but its still nice to know its there, as this guide is for a GTA expert and GTA newbie alike.

Also, I did find some misc. errors in the guide. On a map where the parked vehicles are shown, it states that Deimos SP is parked on the Cedar Grove highway, when in fact, its Phobos VT that is parked there. I'm sure there are a few minor errors here and there, but its hard to penalize the overall score based on that because the positives heavily outweight the negaives.

The final 50 pages of the guide are a MUST for anyone who wants to beat the game 100%. It gives you details of all the side missions, as well as, a full-page map, which shows you where every rampage and hidden package is located. Also, shows you where every weapon and police bribe is located as well as payphones where you have contacts calling you for street races.

Bottom Line: There are websites out there which will tell you how to beat the game, so you may not want to buy this game for walkthrough alone. However, if you want to 100% complete this game, this is a must, especially it being a $10 bargain.

Editorial Review:

BradyGames’ Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PS2) Official Strategy Guide includes the following:

• A complete walkthrough of every mission.
• Extensive area maps of Liberty City plot the precise location of weapons, armor, health, bribes, adrenaline and more.
• A virtual showroom of every mode of transportation available.
• Secret locations and items revealed!

Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Action/Adventure

This product is available for sale worldwide.

Game Programming All in One, Second Edition

Jonathan S. Harbour

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

An excelent learning tool. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Harbour presents everything in a simple manner with very little presumptions. He provides useful information on entering the game industry and making money from your games. Although the cd can have some trouble installing, it still makes for an exceptional learning tool.

Editorial Review:

Create your own high-caliber games with some of the same tools used by professional game developers! If you have a working knowledge of C or C++, then "Game Programming All in One, 2nd Edition" can get you started on your journey. It uses hands-on projects to explain each new subject and includes many sample programs to reinforce the material in each chapter. Begin by learning about cross-platform game programming, writing code that will run under Windows®, Linux®, Mac OS® X, and many other systems. Enhance your skills by working through the core features of the Allegro game library and writing code to load images, manipulate sprites, scroll the background, use double-buffering, read a joystick, detect collisions, and implement other core features of any game. You will gain experience by creating a complete game and adding features to it in each new chapter. You will also learn how to write a scrolling platform game and a vertical shooter.

Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, Second Edition: A Programmer's Guide

James M. Van Verth, Lars M. Bishop

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Editorial Review:

Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, 2nd edition presents the core mathematics necessary for sophisticated 3D graphics and interactive physical simulations. The book begins with linear algebra and matrix multiplication and expands on this foundation to cover such topics as color and lighting, interpolation, animation and basic game physics. Essential Mathematics focuses on the issues of 3D game development important to programmers and includes optimization guidance throughout.

The new edition Windows code will now use Visual Studio.NET. There will also be DirectX support provided, along with OpenGL - due to its cross-platform nature. Programmers will find more concrete examples included in this edition, as well as additional information on tuning, optimization and robustness.

The book has a companion CD-ROM with exercises and a test bank for the academic secondary market, and for main market: code examples built around a shared code base, including a math library covering all the topics presented in the book, a core vector/matrix math engine, and libraries to support basic 3D rendering and interaction. There is also an associated website with updates and code patches, and PowerPoint slides from presentations.

--Simple game engine with math, rendering, and input libraries on the CD-ROM, so that game developers can immediately start applying the techniques they learn in a basic codebase.
--Exercises on the CD-ROM for educators to use for course material
--Code samples shown throughout the book for real-world application

Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition (New Riders Games)

Andrew Rollings, David Morris

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Game Architecture and Design: A New Edition is a revision of the classic that you have been waiting for! This is a detailed guide to game design and planning from first concept to the start of development, including case studies of well known games. Originally published in 1999, Game Architecture and Design, has been updated by the original authors Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris. They tap back into what they teach so well and update this classic with skills and techniques found in the industry today. With more than just re-usable code, it's a comprehensive study that deals specifically with the issues of game design, team building and management, and game architecture. Through the use of real-world experiences and case studies, Andrew and Dave share it all. They show you what's worked and why as well as what to avoid and how to fix any errors. This intelligent and well-argued book is a glimpse into the often-disordered world of game development. Readers will gain solid advice and know-how that can bring some order to the often-chaotic world found in game development.