Game Design Essentials

An easy-to-follow primer on the fundamentals of digital game design The quickly evolving mobile market is spurring digital game creation into the stratosphere, with revenue from games exceeding that of the film industry. With this guide to the basics, you'll get in on the game of digital game design while you learn the skills required for storyboarding, character creation, environment creation, level design, programming, and testing. Teaches basic skill sets in the context of current systems, genres, and game-play styles Demonstrates how to design for different sectors within gaming including console, PC, handheld, and mobile Explores low-poly modeling for game play Addresses character and prop animation, lighting and rendering, and environment design Discusses the path from concept to product, including pre- and post-production Includes real-world scenarios and interviews with key studio and industry professionals With Game Design Essentials , you'll benefit from a general-but-thorough overview of the core art and technology fundamentals of digital game design for the 21st century. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents at a Glance Contents Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Who Should Read This Book What Is Covered in This Book Chapter 1: Game Design Origins What Is a Game? History: Going Way Back Going Electronic And Now We Are Digital The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 2: Gameplay Styles What Defines a Gameplay Style? Clustering Game Types Playing for Fun and to Learn Entertainment Software Rating Board The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 3: Core Game Design Concepts Writing the Game Creating the Characters Designing Props Creating Environments Understanding the Basics of Animation Understanding Cinematics and Cutscenes The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 4: Visual Design Developing Concept Art Previsualization The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 5: Detailed Development of Visuals Overview of Designing Graphics 3D Models Color, Texture, and Lighting Animation The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 6: Navigation and Interfaces Guides for the Player Interface Design Testing! The Essentials and Beyond Chaper 7: Designing Levels and the Game Design Document Level Design Spatial Design Hub-and-Spoke Design The Game Design Document The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 8: Sound Organization and Planning Music Ambient Sound Sound Effects Speech Sound-Based Computer Games The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 9: Job Descriptions, Game Tracking, and Legal Issues Job Descriptions Pipelines Tracking Progress Copyrights and Licenses The Essentials and Beyond Chapter 10: Distribution and Marketing Platforms Online Using Games for Marketing Marketing of Games The Essentials and Beyond Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix B: Education, Training, and Working in Games Education Getting Started in the Field Applying for Jobs and Internships Networking Appendix C: Game Design Document Red Harvest Overview Player Characters Narrative Levels Interface—HUD Index An easy-to-follow primer on the fundamentals of digital game designThe quickly evolving mobile market is spurring digital game creation into the stratosphere, with revenue from games exceeding that of the film industry. With this guide to the basics, you'll get in on the game of digital game design while you learn the skills required for storyboarding, character creation, environment creation, level design, programming, and testing. Teaches basic skill sets in the context of current systems, genres, and game-play stylesDemonstrates how to design for different sectors within gaming including console, PC, handheld, and mobileExplores low-poly modeling for game playAddresses character and prop animation, lighting and rendering, and environment designDiscusses the path from concept to product, including pre- and post-productionIncludes real-world scenarios and interviews with key studio and industry professionalsWith Game Design Essentials, you'll benefit from a general-but-thorough overview of the core art and technology fundamentals of digital game design for the 21st century. Briar Lee Mitchell is a partner in the gaming company Star Mountain Studios, as well as a creator of the successful adventure game Apparitions, made with SyFy's ghost hunters, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. She was previously a lead artist at Universal Studios Games Division, overseeing the art for K-6 edutainment computer games. Her career began in the 1980s with Lucasfilm and the Smithsonian on their first interactive laserdisc, The Life and Times of Albert Einstein. Mitchell has a master's degree in medical and biological illustration from the University of California, San Francisco, and she has worked for Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Yale medical institutions producing medical/forensic illustrations and animations. She has also taught courses in visual effects, animation, and game art design at the college level

An easy-to-follow primer on the fundamentals of digital game design

The quickly evolving mobile market is spurring digital game creation into the stratosphere, with revenue from games exceeding that of the film industry. With this guide to the basics, you'll get in on the game of digital game design while you learn the skills required for storyboarding, character creation, environment creation, level design, programming, and testing.

• Teaches basic skill sets in the context of current systems, genres, and game-play styles
• Demonstrates how to design for different sectors within gaming including console, PC, handheld, and mobile
• Explores low-poly modeling for game play
• Addresses character and prop animation, lighting and rendering, and environment design
• Discusses the path from concept to product, including pre- and post-production
• Includes real-world scenarios and interviews with key studio and industry professionals

With Game Design Essentials, you'll benefit from a general-but-thorough overview of the core art and technology fundamentals of digital game design for the 21st century.

A guide to designing games for all platforms covers game types, components, playback systems, visual and sound elements, the game design document, marketing, and other details, and offers suggestions on how to get started in the field