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50 Books for Everyone in the Games Industry

Posted by Zonk on from the my-christmas-list dept.

Ground Glass writes "Over at Next Generation there's a comprehensive feature on the books that everyone in games should read. It's by game designer and author Ernest Adams, and attacks the medium from every possible angle. Adding these books to your Amazon wishlist could only give you a better understanding of where games have been and where they are (and should be) going."

50 comments

  1. I guess... by Gice · · Score: 2, Interesting

    As is the case with 50 xxx of anything, one has to, in this case, also seperate the wheat from the chaff. Some of those books are excellent reads, others seem like somewhat of a stretch to relate to either the interests of a gamer or a game programmer, or game theorist.

    --
    __
    1. Re:I guess... by Rachel+Lucid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The main complaint should be "Why are these books useful to me" versus "What the hell is RELEVANT to what I want to do?"

      World-builders and game artists will learn more from the open-ended game narratives as they will from the lone comic offering (and fuck, I can think of PLENTY of books they should've offered from that perspective), while actual business people and those looking to pitch game offerings will appreciate the history books and the more office-politic-style offerings.

      Anyone even thinking of developing the mythical 'one-developer game' could use a smattering more of the actual game design and programming, but really needs everything from the coding to the story to the interfacing, And the girl-gender books are good examples how to (and more importantly, NOT to) appeal to a specific demographic.

      The entire list, in and of itself, is useless. A breakdown of which books are relevant to which people would have been better.

  2. Snow Crash. by torpor · · Score: 2, Interesting


    I remember, oh how long ago now it seems (1993), visiting the makers of a very fine game (Spectre VR), a company called Velocity, who had "Snow Crash" (Neal Stephenson) as required reading for all programmers. A very fond memory indeed, sitting in Embarcadero, watching the subs and the whales in San Francisco Bay, following along to Hiro P and the gang, while I boned up on my required reading for the job. Pleasant.

    Seems to me not much has changed since then, and things (SecondLife) are pretty much as predicted. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    So I say this, if you had to have one book for games programmers to read, and not 10, which would it be?

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    1. Re:Snow Crash. by revlayle · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A "do it yourself" adventure book!

    2. Re:Snow Crash. by kfg · · Score: 1

      So I say this, if you had to have one book for games programmers to read, and not 10, which would it be?

      Halliday & Resnick; Fundamentals of Physics, which isn't even on the list of 50.

      KFG

    3. Re:Snow Crash. by necro2607 · · Score: 1

      Neuromancer. :)

    4. Re:Snow Crash. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      So I say this, if you had to have one book for games programmers to read, and not 10, which would it be?

      J.L. Borges.

      No, really: he anticipated everything in Stephenson, Sterling, and the rest of those guys.

    5. Re:Snow Crash. by guardian-ct · · Score: 1

      Nice... If you can get the math right for Fundamentals of Physics, just about all other math required for video games should be simple to pick up and learn.

      I may be biased, I've read that book.

  3. Bullseye. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ""Over at Next Generation there's a comprehensive feature on the books that everyone in games should read."

    Everyone? Or just the complainers?

  4. Printer Friendly link by flonker · · Score: 2, Informative

    Printer Friendly link for those of us who hate clicking next every 2 seconds.

    http://www.next-gen.biz/index2.php?option=com_cont ent&task=view&id=3962&Itemid=2&pop=1&page=0

    1. Re:Printer Friendly link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Printer friendly is people friendly, because people are printers and printers are WHALES.

  5. Print by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Much better link: http://www.next-gen.biz/index2.php?option=com_cont ent&task=view&id=3962&Itemid=2&pop=1&page=0

    'Print' is your friend.

  6. Game people read...? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    So do people in the video game industry read anything besides the girly magazines for girly men? When I worked at Accolade/Infogrames/Atari for six years, I was considered an oddball for reading a book on project management even though I was a lead QA testers. Then again, I never considered myself to be a "game" tester. Why limited yourself?

    1. Re:Game people read...? by Stormie · · Score: 1
      When I worked at Accolade/Infogrames/Atari for six years, I was considered an oddball for reading a book on project management even though I was a lead QA testers.
      I can assure you that during my couple of years in the games industry, I never came across a lead or manager who had ever read a book on project management. Or ever seemed likely to.
  7. My own recommendations by ludomancer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You could come up with this same list of books by just visiting your local bookstore and picking up everything on games. He only mentions a few things outside of that. Disappointing.

    I'd hoped he was going to recommend reading books like, say, Charles Dickens, or some Oscar Wilde, or a science magazine. Nothing is better to draw inspiration from than media you have very little contact with already. I think if you sat a developer down with a pile of game books, and another developer down with a pile of classic literature or something, the latter would ultimately produce the more unique experience because he would be exposed to new ideas outside of the realm of interactive media.

    Just a thought.

    1. Re:My own recommendations by Danse · · Score: 2, Funny
      I think if you sat a developer down with a pile of game books, and another developer down with a pile of classic literature or something, the latter would ultimately produce the more unique experience because he would be exposed to new ideas outside of the realm of interactive media.

      Nah. He'd probably just produce a game called "Moby Dick Extreeeme Whale Hunting" which would play much like the old Jaws game on Nintendo.
      --
      It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
    2. Re:My own recommendations by joe_bruin · · Score: 1

      Most game developers already know how to code, and probably have ideas as to how their plots will go. Here is a great book that addresses what most game developers don't know:

      Game Development Business and Legal Guide by Ashley Salisbury

      Highly recommended

  8. No Neuromancer??? by Nevynxxx · · Score: 1

    Ok, so the inspiration section includes LoTR, DND players handbook, all of the star treck series, and the hunt for red october, but doesn't include either Neuromancer, or the Matrix.....

    What with the web section, and the sociology section I would have thought at least Neuromancer would make it....

    1. Re:No Neuromancer??? by Dreamlandlocal · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Prescribed inspiration = BIG... FAT... ZZZ... Since DND is, to a large extent, a derivative of Tolkein's work anyway there is not much left on the table here. Orcs and Elves, Star Trek and The Hunt for Red October... Relatively slim pickings IMO! (And boy have some of those been done before!) Some of the most inspired games I have played* (and I am focusing on traditional elements like plot and characterization in particular) are a long way from what is recommended. *The Longest Journey, Deus Ex and Grim Fandango and even games like Pikmin, Max Payne (2) or Ico.

    2. Re:No Neuromancer??? by east+coast · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Since DND is, to a large extent, a derivative of Tolkein's work anyway there is not much left on the table here.

      Really? So you don't consider the logical mathematical structure of D&D a good model to review? As in inspiration for the types of structure that a game coder would need to understand?

      Either you don't code or you've never considered that when stuff like Telegard came out it was more about D&D than Tolkien... actually, a lot more.

      Granted D&D PHG 1st edition isn't a blueprint for creating a game but it's a pretty good overview of some of the things to consider.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  9. Uh huh by AKAImBatman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, the article certainly has a lot of hemming and hawing over "Game Design". Just about every book ever published on the subject is included. Unfortunately, this is just a fluff piece. Reading these books won't suddenly force you to understand how to design games, they will merely provide useful tips that may or may not prove to be helpful. (Some of the tips may even be bad ideas!)

    Let me ask you, the Slashdot readers. Can anyone explain to you how to be the next DaVinci or Picasso? Can anyone tell you how to write the next great Symphony? Can anyone tell you how to make the next blockbuster movie?

    The answer in all cases should be an emphatic "No". These are the areas of artistry that reflect their creators' desire to express themselves. You can't tell someone how to do these things, you can only offer suggestions on how to polish and commercialize them.

    It's the same with video games. A *good* video game reflects the complexity and intensity of its author. It expresses things in an interactive media that can't be expressed in other ways. People wonder why Mario was such a good side scroller while something like The Rocketeer was considered bland. What made Half-Life so special when there was a market full of First Person Shooters? Why Wing Commander succeeded where so many other shooters failed.

    If you analyse these questions, the answer becomes obvious. The amatuer game designer merely plays with game mechanics with no rhyme or reason behind his changes. He may combine things that are popular, or try to cram in every cool thing he's ever seen done in a game. (With apologies to the author, 2Hard4U is an excellent example of this.) The end result, however, feels like game mechanics squished together rather than a cohesive system.

    The master game designer has a vision in his mind of what a game should be. He only adds mechanics as required by his vision. He then tweaks and polishes and tweaks again until every last mechanic finds a balance with all the other game mechanics. The final work represents his vision for what a game should be, rather than merely a hope that combining concepts will be fun.

    I saw an interesting interview with Shigeru Miyamoto at one point. Apparently, Mr. Miyamoto had created games like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., and Zelda based on imaginings he had while walking through the nearby woods. He imagined things like trap doors in the sky, or meeting interesting creatures at the lake. He formed these concepts into little stories which he then sought to tell using the limited canvas of the electronic games platform. The result was all the little intracasies that made these games great. Mario was able to become a giant. He could climb through the sky on a beanstalk. He could smash bricks. Link grew into a man after starting from nothing. He met interesting creatures, and had to defend against enemies. So on and so forth.

    So if you want to be a game designer, you have to learn that it's about more than just the technology. You have to have a vision for what your game should be about. Once you have that vision, following it through to its logical conclusion is the only way to make a great game.

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    1. Re:Uh huh by xtracto · · Score: 1

      Let me ask you, the Slashdot readers. Can anyone explain to you how to be the next DaVinci or Picasso? Can anyone tell you how to write the next great Symphony? Can anyone tell you how to make the next blockbuster movie?

      I know how.

      First, you must throw away every preconception of the subject (or art) you will work on (drawing, painting, game development, etc). In the case of game development you have to erase from your mind your mind things like "game genre" and "oriented to X type of people". Of course, doing the next "picaso like" game wont make it a blockbuster release. Lots of the people we remember as geniuses and greatest were (unfortuately) seen as crazy (and were poor) on their times. It is just *after* they die that their art start taking value.

      Now, for the second part of your question "how to make a blockbuster movie" or game of course, we already have the recipe. A blockbuster game is something like GTA. You just have to create something similar, shoot people, slap women and all that will guaranty you tons of sells. It does not mean that it is good, it is just what the average of the people like (hence it is what most people will buy).

      --
      Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
    2. Re:Uh huh by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1
      A blockbuster game is something like GTA. You just have to create something similar, shoot people, slap women and all that will guaranty you tons of sells.

      Hmmm... perhaps I should have used the term "Timeless Classic" rather than "blockbuster". :)
      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    3. Re:Uh huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed.

      I have casual interest in game design (I do design non-game software software for a living, but like to read about this stuff)

      So, I have "Rules of Play, by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman".

      It is a pathetic self-serving piece of trash. Over looooong, no real ideas or material. It tries very hard to be some kind of definite abtract reference, but fails on too many levels to be worthwhile.

      Having this in the list destroyed all credibility. It really seems like "look, look, game design is a real industry ! We have *more* than 50 books !"

    4. Re:Uh huh by jackbird · · Score: 2, Insightful
      First, you must throw away every preconception of the subject (or art) you will work on (drawing, painting, game development, etc). In the case of game development you have to erase from your mind your mind things like "game genre" and "oriented to X type of people".

      You skipped a step. You need to bone up on Craft. Picasso was classically trained, and his early work shows him to have developed an exceptional mastery of academic painting. It was only then that he could begin to adequately address the failure of representational painting in the age of photography. If you skip the step where you get really really good at working within the established traditions, you won't know which rules to break or how.

      This was not necessarily as true for the earliest designers, as they were creating the tradition as they went, but still applied to some degree then (see: Spacewar and Pong, Relative popular success of), and most certainly does now.

    5. Re:Uh huh by jackbird · · Score: 2, Insightful
      GTA:VC IS a timeless classic. It's gaming's Birth of a Nation.

      Horrendously offensive content, but so brilliant in structure and execution that it informs many, many games that followed in many, many ways.

    6. Re:Uh huh by Fool_Errant · · Score: 1

      It's not just art that's like that... it's in every field. If there is a 'classical' tradition in a field, most of the greatest innovators that changed that tradition came up out of that tradition.

      Those who don't understand history often can't move forward. They don't know where they are, so they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of others. It may sound like a cliche, but as far as artistry goes, that is the case. If you understand a tradition fully, you can understand it's strengths and weaknesses, and therefore learn over time to change a style to address a weakness it had. If you have not studied it, you cannot recognize the mistakes that have been made without great effort. Most innovators outside of that model simply were innovators because the field did not exist for a long time prior to their work, even in the sciences, because there were no mistakes that had yet been made.

  10. The list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    The writeups are good, but here's the list for the lazy.

    THEORY
    Trigger Happy: The Inner Life of Videogames, by Steven Poole
    Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi
    Rules of Play, by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman
    Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds, by Jesper Juul
    Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism, by Ian Bogost

    DESIGN PRACTICE
    Fundamentals of Game Design, by Ernest Adams and Andrew Rollings
    21st Century Game Design, by Chris Bateman and Richard Boon
    Gender-Inclusive Game Design, by Sheri Graner Ray
    A Theory of Fun for Game Design, by Raph Koster
    Balance of Power: International Politics as the Ultimate Global Game, by Chris Crawford
    Digital Game-Based Learning, by Marc Prensky

    WRITING
    Game Writing: Narrative Skills for Videogames, edited by Chris Bateman

    GRAPHIC DESIGN
    Creating the Art of the Game, by Matthew Omernick
    Envisioning Information, all by Edward Tufte
    Pause and Effect: The Art of Interactive Narrative, by Mark Stephen Meadows

    MUSIC AND AUDIO
    The Fat Man on Game Audio: Tasty Morsels of Sonic Goodness, by George Alastair 'The Fat Man' Sanger

    ONLINE GAMES AND COMMUNITY
    Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide, by Jessica Mulligan and Bridgette Petrovsky
    Designing Virtual Worlds, by Richard Bartle
    Community Building on the Web: Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities, by Amy Jo Kim

    THE HISTORY OF GAMES
    The Oxford History of Board Games, by David Parlett
    The Ultimate History of Video Games, by Steven L. Kent
    Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age 1971 - 1984, by Van Burnham

    SOCIOLOGY
    Joystick Nation, by J.C. Herz
    Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence, by
    Gerard Jones
    What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, by James Paul Gee
    Everything Bad Is Good for You, by Steven Johnson
    From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games, edited by Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins
    Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon, edited by Joseph Tobin

    PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND BUSINESSES
    The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, by Frederick P. Brooks
    Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd edition by Tom Demarco and Timothy Lister
    Postmortems from Game Developer, edited by Austin Grossman
    Game Over, Press Start to Continue, by David Sheff, with new material by Andy Eddy
    Masters of Doom, by David Kushner
    Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution by Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby
    The Xbox 360 Uncloaked by Dean Takahashi

    OTHER MEDIA AND USEFUL DISCIPLINES
    Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud
    Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, by Robert McKee
    A Pattern Language, by Christopher Alexander et al
    The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman

    DEEP BACKGROUND
    Homo Ludens, by Johan Huizinga
    Man, Play, and Games, by Roger Caillois
    The Ambiguity of Play, by Brian Sutton-Smith
    Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, by Marshall McLuhan

    INSPIRATIONS
    The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
    Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, by various authors
    Star Trek, originated by Gene Roddenberry
    The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy
    Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
    The Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
    Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace, by Janet H. Murray

  11. 50 Books!! Who has time to read? by KnarfO · · Score: 1

    ... I've got to work on leveling up my Titan Quest character, and hit the next LAN party!

    --


    "Creativity is allowing ones self to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep" - Scott Adams
  12. Uh huh-Exposition. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Let me ask you, the Slashdot readers. Can anyone explain to you how to be the next DaVinci or Picasso? Can anyone tell you how to write the next great Symphony? Can anyone tell you how to make the next blockbuster movie?"

    Of course. You must be new here? :)

    "The answer in all cases should be an emphatic "No". These are the areas of artistry that reflect their creators' desire to express themselves. You can't tell someone how to do these things, you can only offer suggestions on how to polish and commercialize them."

    Suggestions? Is that what they're called?

  13. Film Theory by Cy+Sperling · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I see film theory missing from that list. The movies have been around for long enough that the form has distilled a very effective common language for visual storytelling. It never ceases to amaze me how poorly many games work story-wise that could be improved with basic film storytelling techniques. Cut scenes alone are mini-movies, and yet often are missing out on the use of good editing and shot set-up. Any game that is attempting to tell a story needs to be concerned not only with script, but with visual compisition, editing and pacing, lighting, camera movement etc.

    1. Re:Film Theory by sowth · · Score: 1

      You obviously have no clue why most people play video games. Most real gamers hate cut-scenes and "stories". They break up gameplay and add no real value. People play games to have interactive fun, not watch a movie.

      Camera placement should be first person (meaning where your avatar's eyes are looking, the camera points. You are supposed to be seeing through your avatar, not staring at his/her ass.)

      Visual composition in games is just recreating real world objects in a realistic fashon. If it is a decent game, the user will be able to control where the camera goes and what it looks at. If you have decent models, then it will be no different than the real world. If the user wants to look at a tree or arch rock formation, he/she can do so. Having the game follow tracks like a train can make the user have a good visual experience (and make it easy to program), but that method sucks.

      Editing and pacing---what editing? This is an interactive thing, not a bunch of video clips. Similar problem with pacing, but you can control pacing somewhat with how many enemies (or whatever interactive elements) are in the game. Films won't help much there--good testers will tell you if the pace is too intense or to slow, however the user should have the option to set how intense the game should be--plenty of games have easy/hard options. In the end the user will control where the game goes and the speed of travel--unless you made a non-interactive train. Why do you think GTA was so succesful? Because you could do anything you want. If you want to join gang A or B, go for it. If you want to just putter around jacking cars and beating up people, the programmers said, "have fun." None of that "you have to go from point A to B then C, oh look a monster, press the X button until it is dead."

      Lighting may be the only place you could have a point, but I think just putting in realistic lighting, or where the machine can't handle so many lights, just use the standard light in the sky technique.

      Movies and video games are completely different things. Whenever AI becomes developed enough for interactive characters, they won't be getting inspiration from films, but great books and those who write them. The things movies could "offer"--jiggling boobs and explosions don't need great sources of "inspiration" anyway.

      The non-gamers who don't want to play a game, but just sit and watch can buy movies.

    2. Re:Film Theory by Cy+Sperling · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Your hyperbole aside, many people play games because of story- otherwise we'd all still be playing pretty versions of Tetris. To deny that games and movies don't share some of the same territory in visual storytelling is naive. Most games nowadays do tell a story one way or another. Storytelling in games SHOULD be interactive, but that doesn't mean that the storytelling should be ham-handed and clumsy. RPGs with poor storytelling are inherently broken. Not every game is a 1st person shooter clone. You cite GTA which is 3rd person- and does quite a bit of cinematic storytelling. I would argue that the storytelling and cutscenes in GTA are part of it's charm and success. Rockstar understands how to weave cinematic storytelling into a hugely interactive setting. Sure you don;t play the cutscenes in GTA, but they are entertaining and contribute to the immersion in the story and game-world. Not every game uses a free camera either. Resident Evil 1, 2 & 3, for example, made excellent use of a fixed camera- and did so in a nicely cinematic way. I am not suggesting that games become movies- I am suggesting that movies have a refined and well developed visual language that we all inately understand and that games can use that to their advantage. When you complain that cutscenes interrupt play, I submit it is because the cutscenes are poorly executed, distracting and ineffective specifically because they are created without an understanding of how visual storytelling works. As for creating objects and light in a realistic fashion- that is just ridiculous. Reality is boring- we experience it every day. Games, like movies, represent a heightened state of reality- where the unexpected can happen- where the unreal unfolds plainly before our eyes- where we can experience the fantastic as if it were real. You can't tell me that World of Warcraft is succesful because of it'srealism. Precisely the opposite. Games and movies create worlds. The escape from what is real is exactly the point.

    3. Re:Film Theory by sowth · · Score: 1

      So I guess we're calling any post which disagrees with you a hyperbole?

      So you are saying Pac-Man was a pretty version of Tetris? Donkey Kong? What about Unreal or Unreal Tournament? Or Quake? Doom? Those games may have had something resembling a story or plot, however they were pretty much a joke. Gamers loved those games because they had fun gameplay and some of them had an immersive environment.

      I used GTA as an example because of the gameplay, not the perspective. In fact, the only version I played was GTA 2, and it had a satellite view likely due to limitations of the machines it played on. The artifical view certainly made it less immersive--how often are you floating 100 feet above your body?

      I also don't think you understand what makes an RPG. That genre is more or less based on the principle of the user creating a character and working with the character to make it grow. Any stories are usually for explaining why the character is there or give the character something to do. They are often simplistic at best, but accepted because the story isn't the reason the game was bought in the first place.

      There are very few videogames where the story isn't total laughable crap. Warcraft 2 is one, however the story is in the manual, not the game.

      When I complain about cutscenes, I am saying nothing should stop gameplay. Ever. I don't mind the villan chatting away or clues being given or something being presented, however I should still be able to control my character. They should just play the sound clip and let me hack away at the beast.

      ...and then you go into the fixed camera of the Resident Evil games? Have you ever tried to play them??? I had #3 and Zero, and the fixed camera made moving and targeting quite difficult. Yeah, I suppose this series was one exception where the story was a great compliment to the game. However the interface didn't work. Just look at all the complaints about the "tank" like interface.

      Resident Evil's clunky remote-control-tank control interface was a necessary evil ... But here is the same crappy control we had in 1996 made worse by the small directional pad and tiny graphics of the DS. In some of the wider shots, it can be very difficult to see which way your avatar is facing, and since facing is the basis for movement in RE's turn-left/right-push-up-to-walk-forward control layout, this can create some frustrating moments. Okay, I admit it: I wanted to smash my DS even more than I wanted to smash my PS1 controller 10 years ago.
      -- Will ' Jayson' Hill -- Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Review

      What about card games? They are nothing like a movie. They have no plot. From what I've seen, my mother seems to play them the entire time she is home, and she is retired, so that is a lot of time. If the game doesn't entertain her, then why does she play it so much. The only other games she plays are hangman, the memory game (where you match blocks with the same symbol), some sort of line game, and a codebreaker game. None of those have movie qualities or have a story. I know these are the only games she plays because I fix her computer nothing else is installed.

      I know video games and movies are not realistic. I was talking about realizm of the objects and such. No one is going to belive a game which is just made up of simple geometric shapes and blobs...unless that is part of the game. If you use characters which look like real people or at least some reasonable facsimile, trees, mountains, dirt paths and such, the user will be much more likely to believe the environment.

      By the way, you separate paragraphs using the <p> tag.

  14. Game Over, Press Start to Continue by Bones3D_mac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I read the original version of this one back when it had the longer title, Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children, about twelve years ago. It's a pretty entertaining read and even goes back into Nintendo's history prior to their entry into the video game industry. (For those who don't already know, Nintendo was already several decades old, prior to their entry into the video games arena, as a playing card manufacturer.)

    Most interesting of all though, is how they describe Hiroshi Yamauchi throughout the book. He almost has mafia-like qualities about him and apparently operated the company in that manner, taking no crap from anyone.

    Definitely worth a look if you're into what goes on behind the curtain of the company that gave us Mario.

    --


    8==8 Bones 8==8
    1. Re:Game Over, Press Start to Continue by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

      Seconded. I first read the "Press Start to Continue" version of the book after finding it in the clearance bin at Gamestop for $2. It is just as informative on the history of Nintendo as a video game empire, as it is on the diverse personalities that broght it about.

      Sadly, the book seems to be out of print now, but it is still in demand. My $2 paperback seems to be going for insane prices on Amazon's secondhand market, from $35 to almost $200... now I wish I'd bought the rest out of that clearance bin!

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    2. Re:Game Over, Press Start to Continue by masterzora · · Score: 1
      (For those who don't already know, Nintendo was already several decades old, prior to their entry into the video games arena, as a playing card manufacturer.)

      Of course, by "several decades" you mean "nearly ten decades".

      --
      Remember, open source is free as in speech, not free as in bear.
    3. Re:Game Over, Press Start to Continue by Bones3D_mac · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I forgot whether or not it had been an entire century or not. I knew it was somewhere in that ballpark though.

      --


      8==8 Bones 8==8
    4. Re:Game Over, Press Start to Continue by kujanomiko · · Score: 1

      I love that book. I read the second edition, updated with Gumpei Yokoi's passing. I was only 12 at the time though, but what stuck to me was the story about Howard Lincoln and Minoru Arakawa going to Russia to secure the rights to Tetris. They ended up in a crappy hotel room and played poker (or some other card game) to figure out who got the one bed. It reminded me that these people were human, and not just the Gaming Gods that gave us great games.

  15. Click print to avoid ads by Animats · · Score: 1

    Use this link for the printable version on one page, instead of ten tiny pages full of banner ads.

  16. Death March by mad.frog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Having worked in said industry long enough to know better, I can unequivocally say the one book I WISH I had read prior to taking said job is "Death March -- The Complete Software Developer's Guide to Surviving 'Mission Impossible' Projects" by Edward Yourdon.

    http://www.amazon.com/Death-March-Developers-Impos sible-Computing/dp/0130146595

  17. For the lazy... by huckamania · · Score: 1

    who don't want to wait for the movie versions, here they are...

    Tron -- Required viewing.
    Matrix -- Required viewing after Tron.
    Dungeons and Dragons -- Required viewing.
    LotR -- Required viewing after Dungeons and Dragons.
    Star Wars 1-3 -- Required viewing (sorry).
    Star Wars 4-6 -- Required viewing after SW 1-3.
    Star Trek: the Movie -- Required viewing.
    Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan -- Required veiwing after Star Trek: the Movie.

    I could keep going, but what's the point...

    Required gaming would be a better subject and I could probably come up with 50 games in a heartbeat.

    1. Re:For the lazy... by datawhore · · Score: 1

      I think we're confusing 'geek pop culture' with REQUIRED reading for games. I appreciate the list, but none of these are required - only a good understanding of mechanics and the 'classical' notion of games design is required, not content that appeals to an oversaturated demographic. In fact, I ascribe to a philosophy of 'dont get boxed in by other people's ideas'. Watch these movies 1000 times each, and every game you design will be exactly like these movies - completely derivative. Never watch them, and your imagination may stumble upon something really cool.

  18. Katamari? by batbertus · · Score: 1

    I'll wait forever on that Katamari art book, won't I? Not prepared to die so young.

  19. Re:My own recommendations MOD UP!! by DaPhoenix · · Score: 1

    Having read "The Rules of Play" during my schooling at The Guildhall, I can honestly say that book is a complete waste of paper. The author's tone was almost child-like, so much so I expected to see "Gee Wiz! and "COOOOL DUUUDE!" at the end of any particular paragraph... Upon seeing it listed, I immediately agreed with the above poster. Mod him up.

    --
    -- -=innocent ramblings from the mind of an insomniatic programmer=-
  20. That's not Sonya! by indigozeal · · Score: 1

    In the book is entitled From Barbie to Mortal Kombat, then why is it Sarah Bryant next to Barbie on the cover?

  21. Second Life != Snow Crash by patio11 · · Score: 1

    I'm sorry, I remember Snow Crash being funny, stylish, and freaking cool and not being a run-down virtual Las Vegas where the choice of avatars was limited to B, S, and M. Second Life seems to have nailed the "other people can crash your brain by uploading a virus into it" (look at any screenshot of the game, blam, BSoD in your cerebral cortex). Unfortunately, they haven't got:

    1) An Eskimo with muscles the size of small nation states and a nuclear weapon on his motocycle
    2) An Italian grandfather cum pizza baron who also happens to be a mobster who attacks said Eskimo with a razor blade over a point of honor (mostly), and wins
    3) Man's best friend reimagined as a genetically engineered cyborg freakazoid who perishes in a self-induced fiery inferno after breaking the sound barrier to reach ...
    4) ... an annoying brat with poor discretion in men but a very interesting after-school job
    5) And, of course, somebody who couldn't decide whether he wanted to be a black samurai or a Japanese programmer so he just decided on "badass" and then named himself Protagonist so, out of all the other badasses in the book, you'd know who to root for.

    I think there was also some mumbo-jumbo about a computer virus, the Internet, and whatnot. Ho hum. If I wanted that, I'd go to Second Life.

    --
    Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
  22. My "Required Gaming" list by Hakubi_Washu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I fully agree that a "Required Gaming" list should accompany the "Reading" and "Watching" ones, so I decided to try and come up with one. I have separated the list into categories (I wouldn't call them genre) and within each category I suggest playing the games in order. And, yes, there are exactly 50 in this list.

    Required Gaming
    Arcade

    This category in a way even more dead than the platformer below, but some classics have to be played nonetheless.

    1. Space Invaders
    2. Pacman

    First person Shooters

    Naturally this is what many people think about first, when they hear the term "Computer Game", basically because it's the category most closely associated with 3D-Engines, which get most of the press for years now.

    1. Doom II - If you even have to ask why you should play this one, get the biz out of your head
    2. Die by the sword - A good look at "mature" in the early days, with detachable limbs and a swear voice pack
    3. Half-Life - A nice introduction to story in FPSs
    4. Manhunt - How to make even bloodthirsty players cringe
    5. Unreal Tournament
    6. Doom 3 - How to make one big engine show-off that gets really old really fast

    Platformers

    While this category is practically dead now, it was of great influence in the gaming middle-ages and could offer opportunities for those with a creative idea.

    1. Prince of Persia - the original, please, not the 3D versions
    2. Duke Nukem 2 - so you understand where that character came from
    3. Commander Keen, Keen Dreams
    4. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - How to clone Sonic and make a cooler game at the same time

    Beat'em Ups

    Well, they're brainless fun, nothing more to say, playing just a couple should suffice IMHO.

    1. Mortal Kombat
    2. Tekken 3
    3. Soul Calibur

    Simulations

    This is a difficult category, as many games in it could be listed elsewhere or not be considered "games" per se.

    1. Sim City
    2. Sim City 4 - To get an idea about progress in the series
    3. The Sims - The best-selling video game ever, like it or not
    4. Microsoft Flight Simulator (any newer version)

    Strategy Games

    I have to admit not knowing much about these, a the category doesn't appeal to me.

    1. Dune 2000
    2. Command & Conquer
    3. Age of Empires
    4. Darwinia - I don't understand what the fuzz is about, I find this game terrible, but people seem to enjoy it, and be it for its perceived independence
    5. Master of Orion 2

    Adventures

    Now this category might be a bit overrepresented due to my love for it, but claims of its death are greatly exaggerated.

    1. Zak McKracken - Nothing beats using your CashCard with the sign on the yak to reach the airport in Katmandu
    2. Monkey Island
    3. Monkey Island 2
    4. Monkey Island 3 - You really need to get the progression to this point
    5. Monkey Island 4 - How to alienate all your fans by going 3D
    6. Sam & Max
    7. Star Trek Judgement Rites - On logical puzzles instead of funny ones
    8. The dig - On serious adventures
    9. Kana little sister - Technically a japanese dating simulation, this is a great example of how to evoke emotion (Hey, I cried at the end, something no other game ever managed to do)
    10. Myst - Before the sims, this was the best-selling video game, like it or not as well
    11. Riven - The sequel to Myst and probably the reference in logical puzzle design, immersion, both graphically and sound related and compelling, though difficult for impatient or reading-/listening-challenged gamers to discover, story
    12. Daemonica - A budget title, but with great mood, evocative narration, etc.

    Roleplaying Games

    While I love Pen & Paper gaming, computers always pose a problem, because they can't react like a human could. I feel thus compelled to include few titles that don't deserve the categorization, but would commonly be given it by game

    1. Re:My "Required Gaming" list by grumbel · · Score: 1

      Some additions:

      Adventures:
      - The Last Express (to see an adventure that plays in realtime instead of waiting for the player to act)
      - Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy (dito, but implemented in a different way)
      - Façade (dito, also shows that storys don't need monsters and crazy to be interesting)
      - The Longest Journey

      Strategy:
      - XCom:UFO (best thing that ever happened in the genre, great demonstration on how to combine different modes of gameplay into a single game)
      - Syndicate (to see that RTS can be much more then endless series of Dune2 clones)
      - Total Annihilation (probally dito, even so I havn't played it myself)

      First person Shooters:
      - Operation Flashpoint (to see that interactive worlds can be much more interesting then prescripted events and that genre rules are ment to be broken)
      - Riddick (to see that you character doesn't have to feel and move like a sliding cylinder)

      2D Platformer:
      - Another World (to see a game that breaks pretty much all rules of the genre, beside one of the most athmospheric games ever created)
      - Yoshis Island (to see that breaking trends, i.e. 3D sprites, can be a good thing)
      - Super Mario Bros 3 (to see that awesome game design can work even with 8bit)

      Simulations:
      - EF2000
      - Falcon 4.0
      - Mechwarrior 3 (even non-real vehicles can be simulated in a realistic fashion)

      Racing Games:
      - Super Mario Kart[SNES] (the game that pretty much invented the genre as we know it today)
      - Grand Prix Legends

      Roleplaying Games:
      - DeusEx
      - Paper Mario

      Space:
      - Wing Commander 3 & 4 (to see one of the best uses of real actors in a game)
      - Tie Fighter
      - Elite (to see that whole galaxys don't need more then a few kilobyte of storage space when done right)

    2. Re:My "Required Gaming" list by John+Gaming+Target · · Score: 1

      Making lists like this is seriously flawed.

      Neither of your lists include Tetris, Street Fighter II, Super Mario 64, Tomb Raider, any Final Fantasy game or any sports game. All of which would be very important for your "required gaming" list.

      I'd love to see someone try to make a real list of "canon" games someday though.