Game Architecture and Design - Softcover

Rollings, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1576104257 ISBN 13: 9781576104255

Publisher: Coriolis Group,U.S., 2000

Synopsis

A guide to computer game design, architecture, and management explores the application of design principles, shares the experiences of game programmers, and offers an overview of game development software

About this title

Review

With plenty of detail drawn from the trenches of actual projects, Game Architecture and Design makes a compelling case that game developers should adopt some of the same software management strategies used by other computer companies. This provocative title is sure to be of interest to any programmer or manager who works in the gaming industry.

This book stands out with its real-world perspective on the video game business. Its authors share dozens of case studies and anecdotes from the field, including some behind-the-scenes details on some well-known recent titles. Besides notable successes, there are plenty of stories of what can go wrong. (One of the most entertaining sections here presents interviews with game industry experts, who universally argue against formal software process while describing the many problems of writing games.) This text succeeds in showing that long hours, missed deadlines and mediocre software may be the result of sloppy (or non-existent) design and management techniques and a "hacker" mentality on the part of programmers.

Besides a diagnosis of what doesn't work, the authors offer several potential cures. They show that proper design, planning and project management (used in mainstream business computing) can improve gaming software. The authors predict that in the future, "software factories" will use third party engines, re-usable objects and other tools, along with team organisation and management, to create better games.

After showing off the steps needed for designing and developing game software successfully, the authors also provide a full-fledged example(using DirectX and C++) to help get you started. Anyone who wants a glimpse into the often disordered world of game development--and advice that can help bring some order to the chaos--should read this intelligent and provocatively argued book, which challenges conventional thinking on the best way to develop entertainment software. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.com

From the Author

Game development is changing
The philosophy behind this book is stark and simple: If you are failing to plan you are planning to fail. This is a book in four parts, and it's intended for everyone who is or intends to be involved in game development. Each part addresses issues specific to one group in the development team, but we put them all together between two covers because we believe that the whole team, from managers to testers, benefits from knowing about each other's responsibilities. Part One (160 pages) is "Game Design". It goes into considerable detail about game theory and strategy. There is also a lot of material about game balance, conceptual design, interactive storytelling techniques, and creative "texture". This part concludes with a look at where game design is headed, and you can read that chapter on the nemo website. Part Two (180 pages) is "Team Building & Management". This focuses mainly on creating our "software factory" model. Some programmers used to slack, gung-ho working methods aren't going to like the methodologies suggested in this chapter but they are an inevitable consequence of the increasing complexity and team size of today's projects. The reality is that development is a holistic process. You cannot talk about design methodology without addressing the question of team structure and management. We maintain this is vital information that any complete work on the topic must include. Part Three (300 pages) is "Game Architecture". This is the biggest section, and it deals with soft and hard architecture, design patterns, and applying OO methods to ensure robustness and reusability. The aim of this section is to bring opportunities for reuse and modularity to an often under-specified area of game development, and allowing the developers to benefit from the increased project trackability and robustness that this allows for. Part Four(80 pages) takes some sample designs and show how to evolve from a high concept to a software plan to a thoroughly detailed technical design. I wish I'd had this book when I'd started out in the industry. If you're a game designer, it will teach you to think about game design in a new light. If you're a developer, we think it could save you a lot of headaches, heartaches and wasted hours. And if you're a manager, it might just save your project!

Edition details

• Publisher: Coriolis Group,U.S.
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1576104257
• ISBN 13: 9781576104255
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 600