1st Edition
Making Great Games An Insider's Guide to Designing and Developing the World's Greatest Video Games
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. This book is an excellent resource for those working directly on game design or production, for those aspiring to work in the field, or for anyone who has wondered how the world's greatest videogames get made.
Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part 1: The Games: Little Big Planet (Media Molecule) (interview - Chris Trottier/Game Designer/Spore); World of Warcraft (Blizzard) (interview - Robyn Wallace/Development Director/NBA Street V3); Diner Dash (Gamelab) (interview -Don Walters/Producer/Burger Shop 2); Half Life II (Valve) (interview - Richard Dansky/Game Writer/Splinter Cell: Conviction); Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Naughty Dog) (interview - Wade Mulhearn/Artist/God of War III); Rock Band (Harmonix) (interview - Peter McConnell/Composer/Brutal Legend); FarmVille (Zynga) (interview - Stefan Sinclair/Programmer/Halo 3); Bejeweled Twist (PopCap) (interview - Clint Jorgenson/Front End Designer/Skate 3); Madden NFL 10 (Electronic Arts) (interview - Stephen Kearin/Voice Actor/The Sims); World Of Goo (2D Boy) (interview - Rich Curren/Art Director/SSX On Tour); Part 2: Analysis: Commonalities: What Goes Right; Commonalities: What Goes Wrong; The Nature of High Performing Teams; Applying These Learnings to Your Game Projects; Hiring and Managing for Success (interview - Fields/External Producer/Need For Speed: Undercover)
Biography
Wyman, Michael
