. The book also shows a lot of images in color--somewhat rare these days, esp. for technical books. The book comes with a CD that has tons of samples--you're sure to find something that piques your interest. If you want to get up to speed in SVG, buy this book!
Book Description
At the heart of any great computer game are expertly designed levels: the locales and stages that define gameplay. And at the core of any strong game development team are the level designers: the people who create the spaces and environments that you move through while playing the game. And because level design doesn’t require a fine arts or programming degree, it’s one of the best avenues into a career in game development. Level Design for Games: Creating Compelling Game Experiences is the definitive guide to level design, both for aspiring game developers, and for industry pros looking for practical, best-practice tips and advice.
With over ten years of experience with some of the industry’s top developers, Phil Co starts the reader at the very beginning of the
game development process, explaining the level designer’s role in the all-important preproduction phase. Co then moves into the
production phase, using a fictional level to demonstrate how to create and refine your level.
Packed with screenshots, diagrams, and real-world examples, this book gives you all the tools you need to build your own professional-grade
level, including level narratives, descriptions, diagrams, and templates. Chapter assignments help you practice what you’ve learned, and the demo of Epic’s UnrealEngine2 Editor (UnrealEd), included on the companion CD-ROM, gives you hands-on experience
with an industry-standard tool.
Phil Co has a degree in architecture from the University of Virginia but opted instead for a career in video games. Starting out as a tester at SEGA, he’s been a level designer since 1996 for some of the best-regarded game developers in the industry, including Cyclone Studios, Blizzard, and Valve Software, makers of the hugely popular “Half-Life” series. Phil lives in Seattle with his wife and son.
“Anyone interested in a level design career should read this book. Phil does an excellent job covering all
the aspects of level design across several game genres.”
—Rob Pardo, Vice President of Game Design,
Blizzard Entertainment
“An indispensable guide to the theory, process, and practice of level design.”
—Robin Walker, Designer, Valve Software
“This book contains a wealth of valuable information for anyone
interested in Level Design. It is one of the few books I would
recommend to my gaming students.”
—Todd Robinson, Game Design Instructor,
Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book!.......2006-05-21
This is an excellent book. It is straightforward and delivers very useful information. This book is devoid of the fluff, generalizations and pseudo-intellectual chatter so many books in the game development/design genre contain. This author speaks from experience, which is evident from his bio, but more so from the flow and genuine voice of his writing. I am particularly cynically and harsh on books in this genre so I didn't write this review lightly.
Amazon.com
3D Studio Max R3: f/x & Design does not try to cover everything you need to know about Kinetix's complex and flexible 3-D graphics and animation system. Instead, it focuses on two specific features: materials and modeling. By narrowing the focus of the book, the authors have the breathing room needed to concentrate on these two important facets.
The 140-page section on materials goes into precise detail on creating and using diffuse maps, bump and displacement maps, animated maps, animated maps for effects, and raytraced and anisotropic effects. Realistic materials like glass and metals and effects materials like glowing edges and dissolving surfaces are explored. All of the projects and files used in all chapters are available on the enclosed CD-ROM.
Following "Materials" is 130 pages on modeling. The use of MeshSmooth and other Max modeling and model distortion tools is demonstrated, as is using the Morpher modifier. The section on SurfaceTools is the lion's share of the modeling section, and rightly so. Any Max user should have control of this advanced modeling tool.
3D Studio Max R3: f/x & Design also looks beyond materials and modeling. The book features a well-written section discussing Max's new rendering features, lighting, and material fundamentals, as well as a section covering MaxScript and some plug-ins.
If your Max skills have reached a plateau and you're ready for the next level, f/x & Design might be the book that'll jumpstart those skills into the next realm of 3-D animation and design. --Mike Caputo
Book Description
Discusses the latest changes to the software from R2/2.5 to R3. Shows in a step-by-step format how to create advanced special effects, such as building a human face, modeling creatures, and more. Addresses MAX's compatibility with other products, such as NewTek LightWave 3D, Adobe Photoshop, and others.
Customer Reviews:
Money badly spent.......2003-06-06
I specifically targeted this book because of the disintegrate material effect but was unable to follow it cos of missing parts in the tutorials/scenes. upon trying to work it out my self , I still havent I will have to put this book in the toilet as emergency toilet paper. I was really dissappointed when I sent emails to coriolis to try and get the proper tut file scenes (2 years ago) and still havent recieved any feedback, this is so frustrating. I'll never buy another coriolis text again.
My Favorite Max book.......2001-04-13
Wow, I don't know if they have awards for these kinds of books, but Jon Bell should be able to run away with this one.
He covers a lot of great stuff in this book including all the new things that R3 has. Including Flex, the new material options, plus it has some sweet models you can try. Like the SR-71 Blackbird, and an alien.
The CD that comes with is also the best to come around in a long time. It includes a bonus material library, hordes of free plugins including Greeble!, lots of free maps and chapter files. The Cd itself is worth the 40-50 bucks.
This one is worth the money!
Great Book with Cool Textures, Models and Plugins!.......2000-07-26
If you want to get more out of 3D Studio MAX, then this book's for you. The chapters on advanced materials and lighting helped me create better-looking scenes immediately, and the special-effects stuff (including the great Greeble plugin) is well worth the price of the book. Highly recommended!
Lots of pretty pictures, poor tutorials.......2000-05-23
This book isn't much more than a picutre book, showing what 3D Studio MAX R3 is capable of. The tutorials are poorly put together, and some of them are missing steps which for some users might not be able to complete them. Not a book I recommend buying.
A given in anyone's library.......2000-05-13
If there were ever 2 things I couldn't do well they were making good Materials and Organic Modelling...until I bought this book. Unlike other books that tell you how to recreate their effects, this book tells you what the steps presented do, allowing you to recreate and tweak them as you need. Excellent book!
Book Description
As a level designer in the game industry you can determine exactly what the player sees, hears, and feels in the game. The reward of seeing your game on a store shelf or hearing people talk about one of your levels is an incredibly fulfilling experience. If this is a path you want to take, Game Level Design will show you the way.This book is about the fundamentals of level design: it teaches you common procedures for designing, drafting, and creating interactive environments for games. It explains what level design is, where it came from, and, most important, how to plan, design, and construct levels professionally for modern-day computer and video games. Throughout the book, practical explanations and demonstrations use the basic, advanced, and real-world techniques needed to create game levels for hit titles. It also uses historical examples, interviews with outstanding level designers, and a focus on professional level design, to teach game developers of all levels, from amateur "mod" mappers to seasoned multi-title veterans, how to implement these techniques into your own projects. Although the content in the book uses many examples from popular genres, such as first-person shooters (FPS), action adventures, and real-time strategy (RTS) games, the approach is designed to teach level design as a genre- and platform-independent craft. All games need to take place in environments, and by extension, the rules of level design apply to all games to some degree, so with the skills and techniques you learn here, you'll be ready for any level challenge.
Book Description
Sudoku fever is on! Which book in the Martial Arts Sudoku series will provide the perfect challenge for you? The skill level recommended to solve these puzzles is ranked in the same way as Japanese karate levels—by different colored belts. Easy sudokus bore you, but The Black Belt collection never will. It’s the ultimate thrill for pros like you.
Average customer rating:
- Utterly Confused
- Truely awful
- Disappointed after I bought it.
- Disappointed after I bought it.
- The Best Buy For ADO.NET
|
Microsoft ADO.NET Professional Projects
Sanjeev Rohilla , and
Surbhi Malhotra
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
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ASP.NET at Work: Building 10 Enterprise Projects with CDROM
ASIN: 1931841543 |
Book Description
Use ADO.NET to accomplish real-world, professional tasks. ADO.NET Professional Projects is your key to unlocking the power of ADO.NET. Each project focuses on a specific concept and is based on a real-world situation. Enhance your skills as you work through eleven projects including creating a MyEvents application, designing a credit card application, developing a score updates application, and creating a movie ticket booking application. When you are finished, you will have the skills necessary to modify projects to fit your professional needs.
Customer Reviews:
Utterly Confused.......2004-06-09
I am new to ADO.NET and have some working code in my projects, but wanted to know more about ADO.NET. This books has only confused me. I had a better understanding before I read this book.
Truely awful.......2003-03-22
I also bought this book because of the 5 star review and the approach seemed interesting (the rating was probably given by the author himself, a friend, or someone that want's to drag everybody along in his misery of buying this).
This book author describes in detail what sizes, colors, fonts of the buttons need to be for an application example, but then rushes very quick over the code, skipping difficult parts.
If you're not advanced into ADO.NET, you'll feel very much left behind by the author. And if you are advanced in ADO.NET, you don't need this at all. Do not buy this.
I can't believe this thing got published.
Highly unrecommended.
Disappointed after I bought it........2003-03-14
Last month I searched for an ADO.Net book, I found this book got a full 5 star, I couldn't wait running to a local book store and purchased this title. After I read it, I was disappointed. I recommend another book "Pragmatic ADO.NET: Data Access for the Internet World", which is a better title.
Disappointed after I bought it........2003-03-14
Last month I searched for an ADO.Net book, I found this book got a full 5 star, I couldn't wait running to a local book store and purchased this title. After I read it, I was disappointed. I recommend another book "Pragmatic ADO.NET: Data Access for the Internet World", which is a better title.
The Best Buy For ADO.NET.......2002-07-06
This book is the best buy for those who wants a real hand-on with ADO.NET. I bought this book and started reading it very casually. The book slowly and gradually guided me from the beginner's to advanced level in ADO.NET. I am not a VB.NET programmer, but I know VB6 pretty well and the VB.NET appendix was a bonus in that direction. This book has given me tremendous confidence on the subject.
Book Description
If you're like most gamers, you're always looking for more gameplay from your favorite games! Well now, thanks to today's technology and the tools developers are including in games, you can. Using the game editors that come with your game, or the free gmax software, you can create your own characters, weapons, objects, levels, and other assets. These tools might seem intimidating at first but once you overcome the initial hurdles, you'll find that you can achieve almost anything with them. Introduction to Level Design for PC Games is one of the best ways to get started. It teaches you everything you need to know about the fundamentals of game creation, so that the assets you create will work well with your favorite game. The focus throughout the book is on creating and texturing geometry for levels, but the concepts you learn and the tools covered in gmax can easily be applied to all types of asset creation. Plus, you'll begin to make the transition from player to creator, by learning many of the fundamental skills needed to become a marketable level designer. If you want to make game levels that many others will enjoy, you need to start with multiplayer levels, so the book covers popular multiplayer games, particularly First Per son Shooters (FPS). Working through the tutorials, you'll create a complete level and many of its objects. You'll find out everything you need to know to create all the elements of a level --geometry, textures, and exporting. And once you've mastered these skills, you can explore game industry jobs and salary ranges to see if this is your future!
Customer Reviews:
The entire book screams 'Amateur'.......2004-03-25
I think the general concensus of the body of reviews here is pretty much spot on.
I am a student studying game design at University and I had hoped this book would offer some insight into Level Design.
Unfortunately the book reads like something a tweleve year old would write for school and panders to its target audience (presumably teenage boys) by using phrases like:
"Some levels that are moderately easy to create in a short period of time would be a Quake, Doom, or Unreal level. They area all about being cool and have nothing to do with story"
"they are all about being cool" - did an author REALLY write something like that? Shame on you!
It is grammatically hideous and absolutely superficial with regard to level design. The book frequently contradicts itself and whilst I can only assume it offers good tips on using GMax, it offers absolutely no insight into making levels fun.
None of the opinions are backed up:
"It is important to create intelligent systems of programming where several solutions are available to the player." Is it? why?
"Try to design levels for combat in all areas." Really? why? is the initial level of half life (VERY little combat) not a good level? Do the 'quiet' areas of levels not increase suspense.
If you want to learn GMax, this book may be suitable - I use XSI, I never read the 'tutorials' on GMax.
If you want to learn about level design, look elsewhere. I think I probably LOST a few IQ points reading the book. I feel dumber already.
Very weak.......2004-02-02
First, a bit on where I come from. I've been mapping for games such as Descent, FreeSpace, Red Faction, and Unreal Tournament as a hobbyist since 1997. There are very few books written on the subject of level design and so any book with the pontifical title of "Introduction to Level Design" would catch my attention. Sadly, this is a text that simply isn't worth your time.
The majority of the book is a tutorial to gMax, a stripped-down version of discreet's 3D Studio Max software. This is bookended by discussions on the theory and then jobs in the industry.
It's in the former section that the book loses all credibility. Here are a few choice quotes:
(pg. xviii) "If you want to make game levels that many others will enjoy, you must make multiplayer levels. There is not a good market for single player levels, mainly due to the fact that they have little replay value." [This might be true for the hobbyist, however a map designer interested in breaking into the industry, of whom this book tries to appeal, simply must have several single player levels under his/her belt. Single player levels are more demanding, requiring cohesive stories, scripting, and usually more convincing architecture. Not to mention that there are still far, far more single player games on the market than multiplayer-oriented ones.]
(pg. xxi) "Probably the best way to get a job creating levels is exposure. One was is creating levels and posting them on the various game sites. The forums give feedback and encouragement to the novice designers. Maybe think about how this quote is a great 'hook' to get the reader interested, I know it is in a later chapter (11) but maybe it could be deleted there or not. This quote validate the Level Designer as an up and coming desired position. I think it is better in the front end than the back end to the casual bookstore browser." [Yes, this was a sloppy editing comment that was not removed from the final version of the book. Alarms go off because of this blatant error in the Introduction. Was this book even edited?]
(pg. 9) "Building a great level is truly just lots of trial and error and a little talent." [Baloney. There is a huge amount of artistic and modeling talent behind the best levels. It is not a crap shoot that makes a great level, it is skilled design.]
Here's my advice. Build levels and build them well. Voraciously seek feedback and advice from others in the mapping community and implement their suggestions wisely. In this way you get better. No book can tell you how to design good levels just as no book can tell you how to write the next great American novel. These are learning experiences that you must learn and discover for yourself. There exist forums on the Internet for every major gaming community. Other mappers are more than willing to help newcomers, so seek their advice! This entire journey of improvement and discovery is precisely what makes map design such a fascinating hobby!
Unfortunately, Mr. Clayton's background seems to limit him to 3DS Max modeling. As a result, this book is a simplistic treatment on the ins and outs of gMax. It is clear that the actual level design process sorely lacks detailed explanation. In other words, this book is predominantly a modeling tutorial disguised as level design tutorial. But pretty models do not make a good map. A solid foundation in gameplay fundamentals is crucial to complement the visuals. Sadly, Mr. Clayton's book is sorely lacking in that regard.
Fluffy, no substance.......2003-12-01
"Level Design using gmax" would have been a much better title. I was expecting a book that covered general theory of level design. Instead, this book is focused entirely on gmax. That isn't a bad thing, but it is not what the title implies. The book consists of 1 chapter breezing over design, 1 chapter on architecture, and then 6 chapters of gmax, with one chapter of photoshop in the middle.. The final chapter covers careers in the game industry.
The book is full of fluff and padding. For example, the book is written specifically for multiplayer, 3D FPS levels, which makes the book useless to anyone interested in any other kind of game. Despite this, the author wastes pages explaining all the types of pc games out there, from 2d to rpg to sims. The last chapter has interviewing tips, like not to lie on your application and sending the thank-you note after an interview. Gee, thanks, but I have a book on resumes. How about some design tips?
This book desperately needed an editor. The author meanders around with no purpose, and repeats the same information 2 pages later. "Mod" is defined at least three times in the first chapter, and he repeatedly explains how people who make levels for games are called "level designers" or "modders". The same Frank Lloyd Wright picture is used in multiple chapters. I laughed out loud on page xxi of the introduction, where the publisher printed the author's notes ("Maybe think about how this quote is a great "hook" to get the reader interested, I know it is in a later chapter (11) but maybe it could be deleted there or not. This quote validates the Level Designer as an up and coming desired position. I think it is better in the front end than the back end to the casual bookstore browser." Finally something useful in the book, even if it is on selling lame game design books, not on level design.
Charles River Media usually puts out good, solid books with a lot of valuable information. They should be ashamed of this one.
Webgun -stick to programming art is not for you!.......2003-09-26
Unlike the last review done by the assistant manager for a Hardee's, I found the book to be very informative. Introduction to is just that. The book starts out with some good preparation methods on how to plan the design of the game, then goes into some architectual theory and fundamentals.
Most games done by novices look like a novice did them totally missing the basics of design all together. They think the sizzle is in the programming(like Mr.Hardee's). Level design is about the way the game looks and feels, not totally code. (If you look up qualifications for a level designer, they want Max or Maya and Photoshop then some C++ ablities. )The gmax chapters were a good crash course on "Baby 3DSM", I use the daddy version -3D Studio Max , and found the gMax looked and operated very similar, way to go Discreet! The Photoshop tutorials were informative and good for some quick textures, the best textures are the real ones though. The Careers chapter was informative and gave me a little more knowledge about salaries and expectations. Good Job Andy! The book was worth it!
don't be fooled by the title!.......2003-07-06
What a rip-off. There is very little info. about design in this book, and what is here is nothing specific. Chapter 1 is an overview of design info., chapter 2 an overview of building architecture info. 7 of the remaining 9 chapters are a gmax tutorial or about using gmax, 1 chapter is a photoshop tutorial, and 1 chapter is about careers in the gaming industry ( I guess the book wasn't thick enough and they needed to add pages ). If you are interested in a book about using gmax, possibly look here, but I don't think it is worth the full price. There are many online gmax resources/tutorials available for free, and other books devoted to gmax if you need a hard copy. If you are looking for detailed case studies of the 'whys' of level DESIGN, look somewhere else.
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- MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-290, 70-291, 70-293, 70-294): Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Core Requirements, Second Edition
- Mike Meyers' A+ Guide to Operating Systems
- Missed Fortune 101: A Starter Kit to Becoming a Millionaire
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