Book description
Want to design your own video games? Let expert Scott Rogers show you how!
If you want to design and build cutting-edge video games but aren't sure where to start, then the SECOND EDITION of the acclaimed Level Up! is for you! Written by leading video game expert Scott Rogers, who has designed the hits Pac Man World, Maximo and SpongeBob Squarepants, this updated edition provides clear and well-thought out examples that forgo theoretical gobbledygook with charmingly illustrated concepts and solutions based on years of professional experience.
Level Up! 2nd Edition has been NEWLY EXPANDED to teach you how to develop marketable ideas, learn what perils and pitfalls await during a game's pre-production, production and post-production stages, and provide even more creative ideas to serve as fuel for your own projects including:
Developing your game design from the spark of inspiration all the way to production
Learning how to design the most exciting levels, the most precise controls, and the fiercest foes that will keep your players challenged
Creating games for mobile and console systems - including detailed rules for touch and motion controls
Monetizing your game from the design up
Writing effective and professional design documents with the help of brand new examples
Level Up! 2nd Edition is includes all-new content, an introduction by David "God of War" Jaffe and even a brand-new chili recipe -making it an even more indispensable guide for video game designers both "in the field" and the classroom.
Grab your copy of Level Up! 2nd Edition and let's make a game!
Table of contents
-
- Foreword
- Introduction: Press Start!
- Level 1: Welcome, N00bs!
- Level 2: Ideas
- Level 3: Writing the Story
-
Level 4: You Can Design a Game, but Can You Do the Paperwork?
- Writing the GDD, Step 1: The One-Sheet
- Writing the GDD, Step 2: The Ten-Pager
- Writing the GDD, Step 3: Gameplay Progression
- Writing the GDD, Step 4: The Beat Chart
- Writing the GDD, Step 5: The Game Design Document (and the Awful Truth about Writing It)
- Writing the GDD, Step 6: Above All, Don’t Be a Jerk
- Level 5: The Three Cs, Part 1: Character
- Level 6: The Three Cs, Part 2: Camera
- Level 7: The Three Cs, Part 3: Controls
- Level 8: Sign Language: HUD and Icon Design
-
Level 9: Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Level 9
- The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Themes
- The Name Game
- Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned from Disneyland
- Following Procedure
- You’ve Got the Beat
- Re-using Re-use
- The Gary Gygax Memorial Mapping Section
- Sandbox Play
- Illusional Narrative
- The Dave Arneson Memorial Mapping Section
- Wrapping Up Mapping
- Gray Matters
- Leave the Training Level for Last
- Levels without Characters
-
Level 10: The Elements of Combat
- 400 Quatloos on the Newcomer!
- Put ‘Em Up!
- And a One and a Two . . .
- The Big Finish
- Live by the Sword . . .
- Now You Have to Kiss Me
- Let’s Get Defensive
- Dodging the Bullet
- On Guarding
- State of the Art Bang Bang
- The Best Gun for You
- Run and Gun
- Not Just Shooting
- Dang it, Jones! Where Doesn’t It Hurt?
- Death: What Is It Good For?
- Conflict Without Combat
-
Level 11: They All Want You Dead
- Sizing Up the Enemy
- Bad Behavior
- How Rapid is Rapid?
- Movement Style
- Bring on the Bad Guys
- I Love Designing Enemies
- I Hate You to Pieces
- Non-Enemy Enemies
- How to Create the World’s Greatest Boss Battle
- Who’s the Boss?
- Size Matters
- Location, Location, Location
- Why Not to Create the World’s Greatest Boss Battle
- Level 12: The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics
- Level 13: Now You’re Playing with Power
- Level 14: Multiplayer—The More the Merrier
- Level 15: Everybody Wins: Monetization
- Level 16: Some Notes on Music
- Level 17: Cutscenes, or No One’s Gonna Watch ‘Em Anyway
- Level 18: And Now the Hard Part
- Continue?
- BONUS LEVEL 1: The One-Sheet Sample
- BONUS LEVEL 2: The Ten-Page Design Document.Sample
- BONUS LEVEL 3: Game Design Document Template
- BONUS LEVEL 4: The Medium-Sized List of.Story.Genres
- BONUS LEVEL 5: Game Genres
- BONUS LEVEL 6: The Big List of Environments
- BONUS LEVEL 7: Mechanics and Hazards
- BONUS LEVEL 8: Enemy Design Template
- BONUS LEVEL 9: Boss Design Template
- BONUS LEVEL 10: High-Concept Pitch Presentation
- BONUS LEVEL 11: Achievement Unlocked: Exactly Like Making Chili
- About the Author
Product information
- Title: Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, 2nd Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: April 2014
- Publisher(s): Wiley
- ISBN: 9781118877166
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