Game Programming Books - Page 16

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects, Vol. 1: The Essentials (3rd Edition, Version 6.5)

Trish Meyer; Chris Meyer, Trish Meyer, Chris Meyer

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Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Trish and Chris Meyer share their years of real-world production experience in the critically acclaimed Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects. Learn how the program thinks as these award-winning artists share the tips and techniques they use in their own work. This full-color guide is packed with visual examples, while the accompanying DVD is loaded with projects that reinforce important skills you can apply to your own work.

Creating Motion Graphics is divided into two volumes. Volume 1: The Essentials is for all users of the version 6.5 Standard edition. It covers the core concepts and tools you need to tackle virtually every job, including keyframe animation, masking, mattes, 3D space, and over 100 plug-in effects. This thoroughly updated third edition features new chapters on mastering the new Type tool for dynamic text animation, plus Animation Presets for saving and recalling your work--as well as coverage of the hundreds of shortcuts and enhancements introduced in version 6.0 and 6.5 of this powerful tool. An introductory tutorial ensures that even the newest user can get up to speed quickly.

Topics include:

- Mastering complex animation through keyframe and velocity control - Blending imagery using masks, mattes, and modes - Building groups and hierarchies through parenting and nested comps - Thorough coverage of 3D layers, cameras, and lights - Exploring the new Type tool, as well as Text and Animation Presets

Includes DVD-ROM with hundreds of movies, stills, objects, and audio clips, plus free plug-ins and more. Includes Tryout version of Adobe After Effects 6.5 (Mac or Windows).

Also available: Volume 2: Advanced Techniques covers topics such as integrating with Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D programs, motion tracking, keying, video and film issues, alpha channels, as well as Professional edition-specific features.

Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames (Charles River Media Game Development)

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

As computer games become more and more like Hollywood productions, the need for good story lines increases. Research shows that stories are highly valued by game players, so today's studios and developers need good writers. Creating narrative - a traditionally static form - for games is a major challenge. Games are at their heart dynamic, interactive systems, so they don't follow the guidelines and rules of film or T.V. writing. Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames addresses these issues and is the first book written to demystify this emerging field. Through the insights and experiences of practicing game writers, the book captures a snapshot of the narrative skills employed in today's game industry. This unique collection of practical articles provides the foundations to the craft of game writing. The articles, written by member of the International Game Developer's (IDGA) Game Writer's SIG, detail aspects of the process from the basics of narrative and non-linear narrative to writing comedy for games and creating compelling characters. Throughout the articles there is a strong emphasis on the skills developers and publishers will expect a game writer to have. The book is suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, and is a detailed guide to all the techniques of game writing. This book is an essential read for anyone wishing to get into this exciting field, particularly for new game writers wanting to hone their skills, and film and T.V. scriptwriters who want to learn how to transfer their skills to the games industry.

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop CS2

Mike Wooldridge, Linda Wooldridge

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

It's intended for normal people 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

This book was great for me. I am a web application developer (database and code not graphics) and all I need to know is basics and I don't want to spend hours, days, years to learn it. This book is quick and concise and gets you going without having to wade through exhaustive text. If you are a graphics artist that does photoshop all day, every day, then get a book that is intended for learning that depth of knowledge. If you are a typical person that just needs to create or edit stuff for occasional professional use or just at home, this is a great book.

Editorial Review:

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something - and skip the long-winded explanations? If so, then this book is for you. Open it up and you'll find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 150 Photoshop CS tasks. Each task-based spread includes these great features to get you up and running on Photoshop CS2 in no time:
* Helpful sidebars that offer practical tips and tricks
* Succinct explanations that walk you through step by step
* Full-color screen shots that demonstrate each task
* Two-page lessons that break big topics into bite-sized modules

Learn how to
* Browse and sort images in Bridge
* Change image size and resolution
* Paint and draw with color
* Create duotone images
* Apply layer and filter effects

Game Production Handbook, 2/E(w CD-ROM) (Computer Science)(Game Development)

Heather Maxwell Chandler

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Game Production Handbook, Second Edition will present information that a producer, lead, or studio manager needs to know in order to successfully develop a game from concept to gold master. The general game development topics such as pre-production, production, testing, and code release will be covered, along with more specific topics such as how to organize voice-over and mo-cap shoots, creating cinematics, working with marketing, localizations, working with external contractors, writing documentation, and project management practices. New material includes additional information on project and personnel management, new technologies, online gaming issues and middleware, and updated examples from next-generation games. It includes new interviews with industry experts who will discuss insider knowledge and real world examples of what works and what doesn t work in game development. A fictitious game project is used to fully illustrate the production cycle, documentation, and other production concepts. The book has a CD-ROM that includes all the templates/forms, so anyone can immediately apply the principles discussed in the book.

Photoshop CS All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies

Barbara Obermeier

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Editorial Review:

* The complete For Dummies Photoshop resource-ten minibooks with more than 800 pages of tips, techniques, and plain-English explanations
* Covers Photoshop fundamentals, image essentials, selections, painting, drawing and typing, working with layers, channels and masks, filters and distortions, retouching and restoration, Photoshop and the Web, and Photoshop and print
* Explains how to create and manage layers, use channels and masks, make corrections with filters, fix flaws and imperfections, and much more
* Updated and revised throughout for Photoshop "X," which Adobe expects to release in Fall 2003
* Features sixteen pages of full-color examples
* Written by veteran For Dummies author Barbara Obermeier, a leading design and graphics author

The Complete Guide to Torque X

John Kanalakis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A must for any would be Xbox 360 programmer 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Xbox 360 is one of the major players in today's console gaming market, and many people leap at the chance to develop for it. "The Complete Guide to Torque X for XNA" is a guide to using the Torque X framework for creating games for the powerful home console. A framework with many powerful and flexible tools for developers, mastering them is key to making an excellent game for Microsoft's video game juggernaut. With samples of code and finished work, "The Complete Guide to Torque X for XNA" is a must for any would be Xbox 360 programmer.

Editorial Review:

For the first time in history, Microsoft has opened up its exclusive gaming platform to anyone who is interested in creating console games. Now, anyone can create a game for the Xbox 360 console without a publishing contract or expensive and hard-to-get developer versions of the console. The Torque X Framework makes game development even easier, with a rich game engine framework and a robust set of design tools. The Complete Guide to Torque X unravels the Torque X Framework and tool-set to provide game developers with a clear and comprehensive guide to creating games for the Xbox 360.

Information Design

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Illustrates Why Info Design Is More Than Just Flowcharts 5 out of 5 stars.
37 of 39 people found this review helpful.

I am a professional Information Architect; However, I picked up the book without any preconcieved notions or superficial expectations. I found especially illuminating (and actually empathisized with) the comparisons between IAs conceptualizing Information Design and Traditional Architects conceptualizing "wayfinding" through building structures. For those of you who are looking for a Home Deopt style "How-To" manual on creating intuitive interface design for software applications; you simply have to surf the web for 1001 lessons on HOW NOT TO do it. Seriously, the only effective Information Design training program is years of experience in software development. A "blueprint" or plan is key to useful execution, but there is a lot more to good Information Design than a pile of flowcharts. The best an author can do is to share some of his/her insight on ergonomic design with the rest of us. While many of the reviewers found this book's exposition of visionary and philosophical approaches to design impractical; I found it to be both informative and refreshing. Information design is not about how rigidly organized the branching structure is; instead, it's about how the user "moves through" an application (hopefully with pleasure and ease of use). This calls for a combination of clever engineering and artistic design, and cannot be accomplished simply by "keeping all your ducks in a row" The most significant aspect of good Info Design, in the end, is clear, intuitive, useable interface.

Editorial Review:

foreword by Richard Saul Wurman

Information design is the newest of the design disciplines. As a sign of our times, when the crafting of messages and meaning is so central to our lives, information design is not only important--it is essential. Contemporary information designers seek to edify more than to persuade, to exchange more than to foist upon. With ever more powerful technologies of communication, we have learned that the issuer of designed information is as likely as the intended recipient to be changed by it, for better or worse.

The contributors to this book are both cautionary and hopeful as they offer visions of how information design can be practiced diligently and ethically, for the benefit of information consumers as well as producers. They present various methods that seem to work, such as sense-making and way-finding. They make recommendations and serve as guides to a still young but extraordinarily pervasive--and persuasive--field.

Game Programming With Python (Game Development Series)

Sean Riley

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If C and C++ are the languages of choice for game programmers, why should you consider using Python? Game Programming with Python explores this question in depth and teaches you why and how Python can reduce your development time, improve your technical designs, and make the entire development process more efficient.

Game Programming with Python is about building games using Python. It deals with general concepts of game development and specifics that apply when using Python for game development. Some of the general topics include simulations, game architectures, graphics, networking, and user interfaces. The Python-specific topics covered include Python development strategies, using Python for data-driven systems, performance tuning, modules and packages, and interfaces between Python and other programming languages. Additionally, a series of increasingly complex examples are developed throughout the book using Python.

Python is already being used by professional game developers in a number of popular commercial games, including the award winning Star Trek ® Bridge Commander™ (Totally Games), Freedom Force™ (Irrational Games), and Earth & Beyond™ (Electronic Arts). Games such as these use Python in three major ways: as a full-fledged programming language to develop real software systems; as a scripting language to control and interface between systems written in other languages; and as a data language to describe game rules and game objects. Throughout the book, each of these major uses of Python is discussed along with the differences between them.

Written for Python programmers interested in learning game development, as well as game developers interested in using Python, the book assumes you have some programming background and a basic grasp of software engineering principles. Some knowledge of the game development process is also assumed, although a concise overview is provided.

Key Features
* Explains why and how Python can reduce your development time, improve your technical designs, and make your entire development process more efficient
* Teaches you how to use Python for game development with three fully functional sample games, example programs for specific topics, and a library of game infrastructure code
* Shows how to develop game infrastructure in a modular, flexible way using key technologies such as OpenGL graphics and TCP/IP networking
* Describes key areas and algorithms of game programming, including artificial intelligence, dynamic content generation, collision systems, network protocol design, user interfaces and game application structure
* Shows how Python can interact with other languages in game environments, including writing extension modules and extension types, and embedding Python as a scripting language

On the CD!
* Open source libraries and tools
* Code from within the book to build three functional games and other example programs

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Microsoft Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/ NT, Pentium II 400mhz or equivalent, 64MB physical RAM, video card with 4MB VRAM, 60GB disk space. You also need to have Python. Optional: OpenGL hardware accelerated graphics card, 28.8K modem or TCP/IP network connection.

Macromedia Director MX 2004 Bible

Brian Underdahl, John R. Nyquist, Robert Martin

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Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

my "secret weapon" for learning Director 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was recently taking a college course where we were required to use Director. The course didn't have a required book but I picked this one up anyway. This book has been a godsend to me. So many times I wondered "how would I do such and such?", and a quick glance inside the book gave me answer after answer. The book is very well layed out, and well indexed. The descriptions are well written, and there are plenty of screen shots to remove any doubt about what you have to do to accomplish various things. It is perfect as a reference and if you are using Director, you'll want it on your bookshelf, believe me.

Editorial Review:

* The ultimate guide to creating professional presentations for CDs, DVDs, kiosks, Web sites, and desktop computers with Macromedia Director
* Step-by-step tutorials and reference resources help both novices and experienced users get the most out of Director
* Completely revised to cover enhancements to Director, including new support for Flash components, new ECMAScript language (based on the same standard as the popular JavaScript and ActionScript), improved dynamic and server-side support, and new 3D support and tools
* Covers both Windows XP and Mac OS X platforms and discusses working in the authoring environment, production and editing, programming with Classic Lingo, controlling assets and movies with scripts, and much more
* Bonus CD-ROM includes source files and finished projects (still images, audio, and videos) from the tutorials in addition to valuable trial software and freeware

Teaching by Design: Using Your Computer to Create Materials for Students With Learning Differences

Kimberly S. Voss

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Features:

• high quality
• Special outlet purchase.
• Classic design.

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Editorial Review:

(2005 ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award: Finalist in Education Category)
TEACHING BY DESIGN shows readers how to use the computer to design meaningful educational materials for children and adults with special needs. A synthesis of computer graphics, education, and crafting, this book represents the author's considerable expertise in customizing educational materials for her daughter with multiple disabilities as well as teaching other parents and teachers to create them too.

Full of instructions for designing and adapting materials and strategies for using them--including a time-saving CD-rom of templates--TEACHING BY DESIGN is useful to parents and teachers of students of all ages with a wide range of disabilities. Design and customize lotto boards, interactive spelling cards, game pieces, playing cards, matching games, menus, fill-in-the-blank decals, handwriting transparencies, and more, to teach visual perception, math, language, communication, reading, handwriting, and self-help skills.

This book is loaded with illustrations and supportive anecdotal information and is divided into three parts:
Controlling Variables explains how presentation (media, text, images, and layout) affects learning and how to make appropriate design choices based on your child's needs and preferences;

Graphic Skills provides a mini-tutorial on computer graphics programs including Free-Hand, Illustrator, AppleWorks, Paint Shop Pro, CorelDraw, and Microsoft PowerPoint;

The Recipes include over thirty sets of step-by-step instructions for creating projects, from Interactive Books to Coloring Within the Lines and from Restaurant Menus to Telling-Time Worksheet. The CD-rom of graphic templates gives users a headstart in the design process.

With this book, you can make learning for a child with special needs immeasurably easier, richer, and fun for both of you.