Book

Wyman, Michael Thornton.

Making great games : an insider's guide to designing and developing the world's greatest video games / Michael Thornton Wyman.

Oxford, UK ; Burlington, MA : Focal Press, 2011.

xiv, 219 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm

"Join videogame industry veteran Michael Thornton Wyman on a series of detailed, behind-the-scenes tours with the teams that have made some of the most popular and critically acclaimed videogames of the modern era. Drawing on insider's perspectives from a wide variety of teams, learn about the creation of a tiny, independent game project (World of Goo), casual game classics (Diner Dash, Bejeweled Twist), the world's most popular social game (FarmVille) as well as the world's most popular MMORPG (World of Warcraft), PC titles (Half Life 2) to AAA console games (Madden NFL 10), and modern-day masterpieces (Little Big Planet, Rock Band, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves). Hear directly from the creators about how these games were made, and learn from their stories from the trenches of videogames production." - product description.

Video games -- Authorship -- Case studies.

Video games -- Design -- Case studies.

Case studies.

Includes index.

Acknowledgments Introduction Permissions THE GAMES -- LittleBigPlanet Team Role Interview: Lead Game Designer World of Warcraft Team Role Interview: Development Director Diner Dash Team Role Interview: Producer Half-Life 2 Team Role Interview: Game Writer Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Team Role Interview: Senior Environment Artist Rock Band Team Role Interview: Music Composer FarmVille Team Role Interview: Programming Lead Bejeweled Twist Team Role Interview: Presentation Art Director Madden NFL 10 Team Role Interview: Voice Actor World of Goo Team Role Interview: Art Director ANALYSIS -- Commonalities: What Goes Right Iteration Is Paramount Cabals Taking Over? Beg, Borrow, and Steal Focus on Talent Use Your Whole Company Playtesting as Production Driver Miscellaneous Wrap Up Commonalities: What Goes Wrong Test, Test, Test Bite the Bullet Don't Ignore the Tutorial Every Project Is Different Beware the Prototype Plan for Success Wrap Up The Nature of High-Performing Teams The Goal The People The Environment The Process Wrap Up Applying These Learnings to Your Game Projects Team Roles Development Phases Wrap Up Hiring and Managing for Success Hiring Managing A Word on Outsourcing Wrap Up Team Role Interview: External Producer Index

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