Books in the Game Design series

Games, Design and Play completely demystifies the art of videogame design, by taking a play-focused and process-oriented approach that walks readers through every step, and provides a complete toolkit for creating compelling game experiences. Part I introduces the key concepts, terminology and principles of game design. Step by step, the authors lay a strong foundation for exploring the broader expressive potential of games, and helping readers learn to think like a game designer. Each chapter is accompanied by play and design exercises to help put its key concepts into action. In Part II, Macklin and Sharp turn to the practice of videogame design, introducing a powerful four-step iterative process: conceptualize, prototype, playtest, evaluate. For each step, Macklin and Sharp illustrate successive loops through this iterative cycle, from idea to finished game. Readers will construct the game they've designed using the open source tool "Processing" - designed specifically to help non-programmers write code.

World-renowned VR developer and instructor Mitch McCaffrey offers tested "recipes" for performing each common VR task and overcoming many complex development challenges. McCaffrey's recipes contain step-by-step instructions, while also empowering readers with concise explanations of the underlying theory and math. Students will get immediate results, as they gain as much knowledge of the "big picture" as desired. McCaffrey covers everything from development terminology to best practices, and offers specific guidance for using Unreal Engine 4 VR with Oculus Rift, Vive, GearVR, AndroidVR, Steam, and other environments. He discusses both seated and standing VR, trace interactions, teleportation, UMG and 3D menus, inverse kinematics, motion control, comfort mode, VR optimization, and more. He also presents a full VR rollercoaster project, including expert techniques for avoiding motion sickness.