50 great reads for game developer wannabes

Ever thought of making a game, but don’t know where to start? We suggest you prepare yourself by getting as much info as possible. Yes, you could go on the net and read all the necessary articles about planning, developing, writing, and selling the product, but it would be too time-consuming, if not downright confusing.

It was fortunate then, that Ernest Adams, (more info on this bear of man regarding his ideas on gaming’s cultural appeal and the battle over who gets to write the game’s storyline) author of “Game Design” and game industry guru, was able to compile a list of 50 books for everyone in the industry.

How did he end up with the list? He first addressed the following questions a gamer would be interested in such as: What are games (and videogames)? What has been the history of video games? How are games related to other media, and what might we learn from those media? How and why do people play games? And finally, how (in general terms) should we design and build them? After that, he organized the listing of the books according to topics that might answer the questions earlier.

Here are a couple of books most of you might be interested in:
For the MMO freaks out there, you can start reading “Designing Virtual Worlds,” by Richard Bartle. This huge book (768 pages) deals more with 25 years of the author’s experience on nearly every subject, from geography design to the ethics of censorship. Something most can learn from before even thinking of doing a massive game.

The arcade historians can take a look at “The Ultimate History of Video Games,” by Steven L. Kent. Although it deals more with the U.S. side of the story like how Pinball started, the moral panics over games affecting the young, and some legal cases that influenced gaming today.

While for the counter-culture, underground gamers, the article offers, “Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution” by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby (If you want to know more about Aaron you can view his thoughts on why the ESRB should go and his recommendations for a new Rating System).

For more details on what the other books are, you’ll have to read the article.  We hope that we were able to help you on your way to becoming a great game developer. If you have any other recommendations or disagreements with the list, you can put it in the comment section below. Happy reading!

Ever thought of making a game, but don’t know where to start? We suggest you prepare yourself by getting as much info as possible. Yes, you could go on the net and read all the necessary articles about planning, developing, writing, and selling the product, but it would be too time-consuming, if not downright confusing.

It was fortunate then, that Ernest Adams, (more info on this bear of man regarding his ideas on gaming’s cultural appeal and the battle over who gets to write the game’s storyline) author of “Game Design” and game industry guru, was able to compile a list of 50 books for everyone in the industry.

How did he end up with the list? He first addressed the following questions a gamer would be interested in such as: What are games (and videogames)? What has been the history of video games? How are games related to other media, and what might we learn from those media? How and why do people play games? And finally, how (in general terms) should we design and build them? After that, he organized the listing of the books according to topics that might answer the questions earlier.

Here are a couple of books most of you might be interested in:
For the MMO freaks out there, you can start reading “Designing Virtual Worlds,” by Richard Bartle. This huge book (768 pages) deals more with 25 years of the author’s experience on nearly every subject, from geography design to the ethics of censorship. Something most can learn from before even thinking of doing a massive game.

The arcade historians can take a look at “The Ultimate History of Video Games,” by Steven L. Kent. Although it deals more with the U.S. side of the story like how Pinball started, the moral panics over games affecting the young, and some legal cases that influenced gaming today.

While for the counter-culture, underground gamers, the article offers, “Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution” by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby (If you want to know more about Aaron you can view his thoughts on why the ESRB should go and his recommendations for a new Rating System).

For more details on what the other books are, you’ll have to read the article.  We hope that we were able to help you on your way to becoming a great game developer. If you have any other recommendations or disagreements with the list, you can put it in the comment section below. Happy reading!