Hollywood is under attack from videogames. Movies defined the 20th century but games are now pushing them aside as the medium that captures our time, fascination and money. Generation Xbox digs into the love-hate relationship between games and cinema that has led us to this point. It's a story of disaster, triumph and Angelia Jolie in hot pants. Learn how Steven Spielberg's game-making dreams fell apart and why Silicon Valley pioneers wooed Stanley Kubrick. Discover the story behind the failed Halo movie, how videogame tech paved the way for Avatar, and what companies like Ubisoft and Valve are doing to take gaming to the next level. Based on more than 100 interviews with leading figures from videogames and Hollywood, Generation Xbox is the definitive history of an epic power struggle that has reshaped the entertainment landscape. Are you ready to play?

Basics of Game Design is for anyone wanting to become a professional game designer. Focusing on creating the game mechanics for data-driven games, it covers role-playing, real-time strategy, first-person shooter, simulation, and other games. Written by a 25-year veteran of the game industry, the guide offers detailed explanations of how to design the data sets used to resolve game play for moving, combat, solving puzzles, interacting with NPCs, managing inventory, and much more. Advice on developing stories for games, building maps and levels, and designing the graphical user interface is also included.

The Rough Guide to Videogames is the ultimate guide to the world's most addictive pastime. Both a nostalgic look at the past and a celebration of the latest in joystick-wrecking wonders, this book covers the full story from the first arcade machines to the latest digital delights. Easy access to 75 of the greatest games of all time, from Civilization and Pro Evolution Soccer to We Love Katamari and World of Warcraft. The guide profiles the stories behind the software giants, famous creators and the world's favourite characters, including Mario, Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog. All the gadgets and devices for consoles, hand-helds, phones and PCs are explored as well as the wider world of gaming, from websites and movies to books.

Welcome to the Dark Knight System, a weapon which can be used against virtually every opening White can play! In the Dark Knight System, Black begins with 1...Nc6 and adopts a dark-square strategy. The Dark Knight System is a potent mix of several other openings, blending portions of the King's Indian, Pirc, Scotch and Tango, but it contains many independent lines too. It forces White onto his own devices very early on in the game. When forced to improvise, even strong players are prone to playing weak moves or expending their time and energy in the opening. In this book, FIDE Master James Schuyler invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Black opening. Drawing on over 25 years' experience with 1...Nc6, he presents a repertoire for Black, studies the important tactical and strategic ideas, examines key issues such as move orders, and tells you everything you need to know about the Dark Knight System.

A repertoire for Black with 1...Nc6
Covers 1 e4, 1 d4, 1 c4 and other moves
Packed with new ideas and critical analysis

Bring your video game ideas to life with 2D Game Building for Teens! Written for anyone with an interest in creating video games, this book will show you how to use the Torque Game Builder, a simple drag-and-drop game engine, to make your very own games to play and share. Following easy-to- understand techniques and directions, you'll work your way through hands-on tutorials that help you put your new skills to use right away as you build simple to more complex games.

This highly informative book, written by veteran gaming columnist Goldberg, is billed as the first of its kind, spanning 50 years of video game history with its zany personalities, many trends, and marketing coups. The video game industry boasts revenues equaling that of Hollywood and a huge consumer base of 70% of Americans playing its games, Goldberg reveals. He details the ebb-and-flow of video game history and stories of its creators such as Ralph Baer, Nolan Bushnell, Hiroshi Yamauchi, William "Tripp" Hawkins, Dan and Sam Houser, Graeme Devine, and Jason Kapulka. His coverage of the development of games like Tennis for Two, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Dungeons & Dragons, Myst, Sims, and Grand Theft Auto will appeal not only to nerds and gamers in Goldberg's easily accessible anecdotes but to those who grew up with these games through generations.

Ready to give your design skills a real boost? This eye-opening book helps you explore the design structure behind most of today's hit video games. You'll learn principles and practices for crafting games that generate emotionally charged experiences-a combination of elegant game mechanics, compelling fiction, and pace that fully immerses players.

In clear and approachable prose, design pro Tynan Sylvester also looks at the day-to-day process necessary to keep your project on track, including how to work with a team, and how to avoid creative dead ends. Packed with examples, this book will change your perception of game design.

Welcome to Game Coding Complete, Fourth Edition, the newest edition of the essential, hands-on guide to developing commercial-quality games. Written by two veteran game programmers, the book examines the entire game development process and all the unique challenges associated with creating a game. In this excellent introduction to game architecture, you'll explore all the major subsystems of modern game engines and learn professional techniques used in actual games, as well as Teapot Wars, a game created specifically for this book. This updated fourth edition uses the latest versions of DirectX and Visual Studio, and it includes expanded chapter coverage of game actors, AI, shader programming, LUA scripting, the C# editor, and other important updates to every chapter. All the code and examples presented have been tested and used in commercial video games, and the book is full of invaluable best practices, professional tips and tricks, and cautionary advice.

The Game Maker's Companion is the long-awaited sequel to The Game Maker's Apprentice. This book picks up where the last book left off, advancing your game development journey with some seriously impressive gaming projects. This time you'll learn how to make professional-quality platform games with solid collision detection and slick control mechanisms and you'll get acquainted with a long-lost icon of platform gaming history on the way.

This book covers Flash for the everyday developer. The average Flash developer doesn't have luxurious timelines, employers who understand the value of reusability, or the help of an information architect to design a usable experience. This book helps bridge the gap for these coders who may be used to C++, Java, or C# and want to move over to Flash. Griffith covers real-world scenarios pulled from his own experiences developing games for over 8 years in the industry.

This book by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Game Writing Special Interest Group focuses on various aspects of working as a professional game writer, including how to break in to game writing, writing manuals, narrative design, writing in a team, working as a freelancer, working with new intellectual property, and more. It includes exercises and writing samples; additional writing samples are available from the book's website.

Build the Next Great iOS Game with Cocos2D!
Cocos2D is the powerhouse framework behind some of the most popular games in the App Store. If you’ve played Tiny Wings, Angry Birds, Mega Jump, Trainyard, or even Super Turbo Action Pig, then you’ve played a game that uses Cocos2D or Box2D physics. The beauty of Cocos2D is its simplicity. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when you start developing an iOS game, especially if you look at things like OpenGL ES, OpenAL, and other lower level APIs. Writing a game for the iPhone and iPad does not have to be that difficult, and Cocos2D makes game development fun and easy.

XNA 3.0 GAME DEVELOPMENT FOR TEENS is a complete guide to entry level programming and computer game development using XNA 3.0 and the Visual C# 2008 Express programming language for beginners. This book shows readers how to create and execute computer games on their PC, and then how to port their PC games over to their Xbox 360 or Zune player. This book is for anyone looking to begin creating their own computer games with XNA 3.0 and Visual C# 2008 Express.

Design and implement video game sound from beginning to end with this hands-on course in game audio. Music and sound effects speak to players on a deep level, and this book will show you how to design and implement powerful, interactive sound that measurably improves gameplay. If you are a sound designer or composer and want to do more than just create audio elements and hand them over to someone else for insertion into the game, this book is for you. You'll understand the game development process and implement vital audio experiences-not just create music loops or one-off sound effects.