Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design

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The authors are Flint Dille and John Zurr, two experienced game developers who also added samples of their own work for readers to learn from.

If there’s one book you can expect to be assigned while studying in a college game design program, it’s Rules of Play. The reason this scene resonated so strongly with me was that this was word for word my own response to the discovery that such a machine would be coming to American shores. I mean, give or take a word. The impact of gaming systems on my young life was indelible, stamping my day-to-day routines with their sizzling brand. I had owned game systems before the NES, but it was that particular machine that unveiled a whole new tone to the possibility of digital entertainment. If you want a game design book that trades lengthy theoretical language for delightful illustrations, look no further. The authors of the book are Karl Kapp, a professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University, Lucas Blair, founder of serious game studio Little Bird games, and Rich Mesch, an expert with 25 years in the field of experiential and contextualized learning. Then sometime last year during the COVID Pandemic, I came across an amazing podcast that caught my attention so intensely ice not been able to miss an episode since. Cue, Rob Dial. Mindset Mentor.

I had a lot of hope for this book, as it touches on a number of topics that I find really interesting. Specifically, I'm interested in stories where characters struggle to find what it is they're passionate about in life while navigating the expectations of others, especially parents. Also, growing up in the 90s, I strongly relate to video games, to the way they can become an all-consuming world. The serenitea pot has an inner store where you can buy blueprints to craft all kinds of items to decorate the place. But the store also allows you to exchange the currency you accumulate for other items such as mora, experience books, and even weak resin. How does it work? Level Up: Improve Your Work Ethic While Having a Balanced Mental Health Journey" is a must-read book for individuals seeking to achieve success in their personal and professional lives. This book is a comprehensive guide that provides practical advice and strategies for improving your work ethic while maintaining a balanced mental health journey.

This book is an essential read for anyone interested in design, not just games really, but anything interactive. It completely changed the way I think about design, and the process I work through when trying to come up with new ideas. This book is amazing. In his heart, Dennis wants to be a gamer. He’s been transfixed with them since he was a young boy, but his father would never allow it, saying sacrifice makes us who we are and there’s no time for games if you want to succeed. Dennis swallows his hurt, as his Dad taught him, and focuses intently on his studies. When his father passes away, however, Dennis finally gets to game. Things happen, and Dennis is a man of extremes. Along the way, we're introduced to three actually human characters who each try to pull Dennis toward one extreme or another. Takeem would have Dennis join him in the professional gaming circuit. Ipsha emphasizes the essentiality of doing as one's parents request and/or expect. And Kat strikes the note of individualism, demanding that Dennis learn to be his own man and grow into the kind of person who does well by doing what he most wants. Part of it was expectations: with a title like Level Up, and a cover that looks like a GameBoy, I was expecting more to do with gaming culture; perhaps the protagonist has to enter into a game or live his life as a game, or something… but instead, it was about sacrifices and honoring family.While Scott Rogers doesn’t have the same relevant professional experience as authors of other game design books, he nonetheless does an amazing job of taking readers through game development from start to finish. Calling these perspectives ‘lenses’, the author covers basic game design principles that are useful for games of all genres and platforms. The author, Tracy Fullerton, is a game designer who leads the Game Innovation Lab at the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. A unique entry on this list, Game Feel attempts to give readers a look at how game designers create “feel”, the meta-sensation of a player’s involvement with a game. The moment I caught wind of the book he was to release, TBH, I was a tad skeptical at first. I thought, aww man here we go. He is turning into all the others and it has to be the downfall of what I built up in my mind as a respectable leadership power. Low and behold I could NOT have been more wrong!

The author, Jesse Schell, is an award-winning designer of Disney online games and once served as the chair of the International Game Developers Association. Once you enter The Abyss, in each chamber you will encounter different enemies, because of this you have to be aware of what characters you should use for every situation. Although something of a ‘sequel’ to an earlier book, this Fieldbook is nonetheless an excellent read all on its own. If your’e new to game devoloment, this book is an awsome guide. It’s like, having an instructor on tap. Or a friend helping with home work. An awsome resourse at your side while learning UE4. Level Up hit those marks, but not quite to the extent American Born Chinese did. While it still focused on family and dynamics of the culture (this time discussing youth culture rather than that of Asian-Americans, though there is a bit of that as well), it didn’t resonate quite as much with me.

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The book also comes with plenty of references to successful games along with useful illustrations that clearly present design methods and techniques. Game Feel also concludes with an interesting take on some of the possible developments of game sensation yet to be utilized by developers. I was looking for resources to help me on my journey of making a GTA clone in Dreams ps4. I found this book really comprehensive on the many aspects of game design. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in making games. Topics such as human perception, sound, the use of metaphors, and ancillary indicators are covered to help reveal their importance in crafting a captivating digital world.

Things have changed now that plenty of excellent game design books are around to provide more knowledge of what it takes to create games. Topics covered by the book include writing the story, game script, game bible, design document, and technical content for your game. The Abyss is an “easy” way to farm experience, besides the experience books, you also get many moras and primogems. Although the first 8 floors can be done once, getting the rewards yet again, once. The second part (the hardest of course), will give you a bit less rewards, but the good thing is that you can repeat these floors every 15 days and get those primogems, mora and experience. How does it work? The book also leads you through the game design process while analyzing each step a designer must take to build their ideas. Readers will learn the advanced techniques and knowledge needed for integrating a story into any game to craft a captivating, emotional experience.

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Like film, music, and novels, one way to grow as a game designer is by immersing yourself in the respective entertainment medium. Dial's core message is clear: lasting success isn't about grand gestures but the accumulation of daily micro-actions. He introduces a six-step process—Focus, Work, Persist, Rest, Reward, Repeat—that empowers readers to break free from procrastination and self-doubt. What sets this book apart is its fusion of personal anecdotes and scientific insights. Dial shares stories of clients he's coached, offering relatable examples from various life domains while explaining the brain's adaptability through neuroplasticity. Challenges for Game Designers was written by Brenda Brathwaite, an award-winning game developer with more than 30 years of industry experience, and Ian Schreiber, a game design professor at Ohio University who has also helped program and design several published game titles. It's a worthwhile story and pretty well-told. The art is well-conceived and the watercolouring a beautifully simple touch. It just that at the end of the day, because the characters weren't as well-developed as they could have been, it was hard to care for their struggles and needs. Level Up approaches greatness but runs out of quarters before it can get there.