Games
Resources geared toward the research, creative, and training needs of game developers.
What books do we have on game development?
Marriott Library gets new resources on Animation and Video Game Design regularly. Please suggest a purchase for needed books! Browse the Library's Catalog for books and eBooks:
- Library Catalog - Usearch This link opens in a new windowFind items available from campus libraries.
Here are a few books:
Game Design Workshop: A playcentric approach to creating innovative games by
Master the craft of game design so you can create that elusive combination of challenge, competition, and interaction that players seek. This design workshop begins with an examination of the fundamental elements of game design; then puts you to work in prototyping, playtesting and redesigning your own games with exercises that teach essential design skills. Workshop exercises require no background in programming or artwork, releasing you from the intricacies of electronic game production, so you can develop a working understanding of the essentials of game design.
Call Number: QA76.76.C672 F84 2008
Game Development Essentials Series by 1. Game project management (HD9993.E452 H54 2008)
2. An introduction (QA76.76.C672 N69 2012)
3. Game interface design (QA76.76.C672 N68 2013)
4. Mobile Game Development (QA76.76.C672 U54 2012)
Game Development with Unity by
The Unity engine game development tool is a multi-platform engine and editor rolled into one. It is an ideal development tool for independent developers and students, and many pro studios turn to it for fast prototyping. Unity allows developers to create a single game and release it on many platforms including Android, iOS, and the web. This completely updated edition of GAME DEVELOPMENT WITH UNITY is a tutorial-style guide that provides a complete overview of the Unity editor along with step-by-step projects covering every basic functional aspect, from asset importing to publishing. Each chapter includes tutorials and small assignments geared toward making a larger game. You will learn the basics of design and level theory and prototyping concepts in the virtual world. You will also learn how to polish and publish your finished game. A companion website features software, sample levels, source code and more. Start learning Unity today with GAME DEVELOPMENT WITH UNITY, SECOND EDITION.
Call Number: eBook
Gaming Representation: Race, gender, and sexuality in video games by
Recent years have seen an increase in public attention to identity and representation in video games, including journalists and bloggers holding the digital game industry accountable for the discrimination routinely endured by female gamers, queer gamers, and gamers of color. Video game developers are responding to these critiques, but scholarly discussion of representation in games has lagged far behind. Gaming Representation examines portrayals of race, gender, and sexuality in a range of games, from casuals like Diner Dash, to indies like Journey and The Binding of Isaac, to mainstream games from the Grand Theft Auto, BioShock, Spec Ops, The Last of Us, and Max Payne franchises. Arguing that representation and identity function as systems in games that share a stronger connection to code and platforms than it may first appear, the contributors to this volume push gaming scholarship to new levels of inquiry, theorizing, and imagination.
Call Number: Marriott Library GV1469.17.S63 G38 2017
Learning Unreal Engine Game Development by
A step-by-step guide that paves the way for developing fantastic games with Unreal Engine 4 About This Book Learn about game development and the building blocks that go into creating a game A simple tutorial for beginners to get acquainted with the Unreal Engine architecture Learn about the features and functionalities of Unreal Engine 4 and how to use them to create your own games Who This Book Is For If you are new to game development and want to learn how games are created using Unreal Engine 4, this book is the right choice for you. You do not need prior game development experience, but it is expected that you have played games before. Knowledge of C++ would prove to be useful. What You Will Learn Learn what a game engine is, the history of Unreal Engine, and how game studios create games Explore the Unreal Engine 4 editor controls and learn how to use the editor to create a room in a game level Understand the basic structures of objects in a game, such as the differences between BSP and static meshes Make objects interactive using level blueprints Learn more about computer graphics rendering; how materials and light are rendered in your game Get acquainted with the Material Editor to create materials and use different types of lights in the game levels Utilize the various editors, tools, and features such as UI, the particle system, audio, terrain manipulation, and cinematics in Unreal Engine 4 to create game levels In Detail Unreal Engine 4 is a powerful game development engine that provides rich functionalities to create 2D and 3D games across multiple platforms. Many people know what a game is and they play games every day, but how many of them know how to create a game? Unreal Engine technology powers hundreds of games, and thousands of individuals have built careers and companies around skills developed using this engine. Learning Unreal Engine 4 Game Development starts with small, simple game ideas and playable projects that you can actually finish. The book first teaches you the basics of using Unreal Engine to create a simple game level. Then, you'll learn how to add details such as actors, animation, effects, and so on to the game. The complexity will increase over the chapters and the examples chosen will help you learn a wide variety of game development techniques. This book aims to equip you with the confidence and skills to design and build your own games using Unreal Engine 4. By the end of this book, you'll have learnt about the entire Unreal suite and know how to successfully create fun, simple games. Style and approach This book explains in detail what goes into the development of a game, provides hands-on examples that you can follow to create the different components of a game, and provides sufficient background/theory to equip you with a solid foundation for creating your own games."
Call Number: eBook
Let's Design: Combat by
Inside these pages, aspiring level designers will find fantastic and great tips that will help to improve their level design. All of this insightful knowledge is presented in a digestible way so no matter your level in the industry you will be able to not only grasp but easily apply these tips to your own work.
Call Number: QA76.76.C672 P437 2020
Making Games for Impact by
Designing games for learning- case studies show how to incorporate impact goals, build a team, and work with experts to create an effective game. Digital games for learning are now commonplace, used in settings that range from K-12 education to advanced medical training. In this book, Kurt Squire examines the ways that games make an impact on learning, investigating how designers and developers incorporate authentic social impact goals, build a team, and work with experts in order to make games that are effective and marketable. Because there is no one design process for making games for impact-specific processes arise in response to local needs and conditions-Squire presents a series of case studies that range from a small, playable game created by a few programmers and an artist to a multimillion-dollar project with funders, outside experts, and external constraints. These cases, drawn from the Games + Learning + Society Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, show designers tackling such key issues as choosing platforms, using data analytics to guide development, and designing for new markets. Although not a how-to guide, the book offers developers, researchers, and students real-world lessons in greenlighting a project, scaling up design teams, game-based assessment, and more. The final chapter examines the commercial development of an impact game in detail, describing the creation of an astronomy game, At Play in the Cosmos, that ships with an introductory college textbook.
Call Number: eBook
Mobile game development with Unity: Build once, deploy anywhere by
Do you want to build mobile games, but lack game development experience? No problem. This practical guide shows you how to create beautiful, interactive content for iOS and Android devices with the Unity game engine.
Call Number: eBook
Multimodal Semiotics and Rhetoric in Videogames by Call Number: GV1469.17.S63 H355 2018
Multithreading for Visual Effects by
Tackle the Challenges of Parallel Programming in the Visual Effects Industry In Multithreading for Visual Effects, developers from DreamWorks Animation, Pixar, Side Effects, Intel, and AMD share their successes and failures in the messy real-world application area of production software. They provide practical advice on multithreading techniques and visual effects used in popular visual effects libraries (such as Bullet, OpenVDB, and OpenSubdiv), one of the industry's leading visual effects packages (Houdini), and proprietary animation systems. This information is valuable not just to those in the visual effects arena, but also to developers of high performance software looking to increase performance of their code. Diverse Solutions to Solve Performance Problems After an introductory chapter, each subsequent chapter presents a case study that illustrates how the authors used multithreading techniques to achieve better performance. The authors discuss the problems that occurred and explain how they solved them. The case studies encompass solutions for shaving milliseconds, solutions for optimizing longer running tasks, multithreading techniques for modern CPU architectures, and massive parallelism using GPUs. Some of the case studies include open source projects so you can try out these techniques for yourself and see how well they work.
Call Number: TR897.7 .W38 2015
Reality Is Broken by
Visionary game designer Jane McGonigal reveals how we can harness the power of games to solve real-world problems and boost global happiness. More than 174 million Americans are gamers, and the average young person in the United States will spend ten thousand hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. According to world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal, the reason for this mass exodus to virtual worlds is that videogames are increasingly fulfilling genuine human needs. In this groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of gaming, McGonigal reveals how we can use the lessons of game design to fix what is wrong with the real world. Drawing on positive psychology, cognitive science, and sociology, Reality Is Broken uncovers how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy and utilized these discoveriesto astonishing effect in virtual environments. Videogames consistently provide the exhilarating rewards, stimulating challenges, and epic victories that are so often lacking in the real world. But why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for escapist entertainment alone? Her research suggests that gamers are expert problem solvers and collaborators because they regularly cooperate with other players to overcome daunting virtual challenges, and she helped pioneer a fast-growing genre of games that aims to turn gameplay to socially positive ends. In Reality Is Broken, she reveals how these new alternate reality games are already improving the quality of our daily lives, fighting social problems such as depression and obesity, and addressing vital twenty-first-century challenges-and she forecasts the thrilling possibilities that lie ahead. She introduces us to games like World Without Oil, a simulation designed to brainstorm-and therefore avert- the challenges of a worldwide oil shortage, and Evoke, a game commissioned by the World Bank Institute that sends players on missions to address issues from poverty to climate change. McGonigal persuasively argues that those who continue to dismiss games will be at a major disadvantage in the coming years. Gamers, on the other hand, will be able to leverage the collaborative and motivational power of games in their own lives, communities, and businesses. Written for gamers and nongamers alike, Reality Is Broken shows us that the future will belong to those who can understand, , and play games. Watch a Video
Call Number: GV1201.38 .M34 2011 and online eBook
Replay: The history of video games by
A comprehensive overview of the evolution of video games covering topics such as, "Atari revolution;" "rise of cartridge-based consoles;" American video game industry; international video game industry; "Apple Mac;" "Nintendo Entertainment System;" Sega video games; PlayStation video games; and "girl gaming."
Call Number: GV1469.3 .D66 2010
Understanding Video Games by
From Pong to virtual reality,Understanding Video Games, 4th Edition, takes video game studies into the next decade of the twenty-first century, highlighting changes in the area, including mobile, social, and casual gaming. In this new edition of the pioneering text, students learn to assess the major theories used to analyze games, such as ludology and narratology, and gain familiarity with the commercial and organizational aspects of the game industry. Drawing from historical and contemporary examples, the student-friendly text also explores the aesthetics of games, evaluates the cultural position of video games, and considers the potential effects of both violent and "serious" games. Extensively illustrated and featuring discussion questions, a glossary of key terms, and a detailed video game history timeline, this new edition is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, and teachers interested in examining the ways video games continue to reshape entertainment and society.
Call Number: eBook and GV1469.3 .E44 2020
Video Game Law in a Nutshell by
Video Game Law in a Nutshell guides you through a video game's entire legal life cycle. You can use this book to: Learn to spot legal issues in video game development and publishing; Help your organization/clients avoid liability and maximize legal protections; Confidently chart a path through complex territory, including esports and global game ratings. Written by two practicing, in-house video game lawyers and professors, this book provides a well-organized, practical guide to one of law's most exciting subjects.
Call Number: Faust Law Library KF3994 .N22 2018
Wandering Games by
An analysis of wandering within different game worlds, viewed through the lenses of work, colonialism, gender, and death. Wandering in games can be a theme, a formal mode, an aesthetic metaphor, or a player action. It can mean walking, escaping, traversing, meandering, or returning. In this book, game studies scholar Melissa Kagen introduces the concept of "wandering games," exploring the uses of wandering in a variety of game worlds. She shows how the much-derided Walking Simulator-a term that began as an insult, a denigration of games that are less violent, less task-oriented, or less difficult to complete-semi-accidentally tapped into something brilliant- the vast heritage and intellectual history of the concept of walking in fiction, philosophy, pilgrimage, performance, and protest. Kagen examines wandering in a series of games that vary widely in terms of genre, mechanics, themes, player base, studio size, and funding, giving close readings to Return of the Obra Dinn, Eastshade, Ritual of the Moon, 80 Days, Heaven's Vault, Death Stranding, and The Last of Us Part II. Exploring the connotations of wandering within these different game worlds, she considers how ideologies of work, gender, colonialism, and death inflect the ways we wander through digital spaces. Overlapping and intersecting, each provides a multifaceted lens through which to understand what wandering does, lacks, implies, and offers. Kagen's account will attune game designers, players, and scholars to the myriad possibilities of the wandering ludic body.
Call Number: eBookPublication Date: 2022
Where can I find publishers & presses who publish game studies materials?
Browse the new publications from these presses. If the UofU doesn't own the book you want, then Suggest A Purchase.
- The MIT PressCategories include Programming Games, Game Theory, Virtual & Augmented Reality, and more
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