Product Description

With an innovative, business-model approach, Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development provides the essentials needed to achieve long-term success with Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). This book takes a significant and valuable departure from traditional game development books by addressing MMOG development as a complex, multi-faceted, service-oriented business, instead of focusing solely on technical, artistic, or design techniques. The resulting multi-dimensional focus allows readers to design their game and organize their development process with the entire business in mind. Coverage includes the key differences between single player games and MMOGs, as well as how the various components of the development process, such as the business model, marketing plan, gaming community and technical constraints, influence one another and determine the success of the MMOG.

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Product Details

Publisher	Delmar Cengage Learning
ISBN	1418052671
Format	Paperback
Author	Rick Hall,Jeannie Novak
EAN	9781418052676
Label	Delmar Cengage Learning
Edition	1
Dewey Decimal Number	794.81526
Studio	Delmar Cengage Learning
Number Of Pages	288
Title	Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development
Publication Date	2008-04-15
Manufacturer	Delmar Cengage Learning

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Customer Reviews

absolutely a work of strong minds

Review by A. S. Busch, 2009-06-10

I only received the book about three days ago, and am currently on page 141 of about 250, so I want to say that I have not yet had time to finish the book. However, I'm so excited by it that I wanted to write this review anyway during a break from reading it.

The book is an MMOG enthusiast's dream. For a long time I have been interested in eventually breaking into the gaming industry, with an eye towards one day designing an MMORPG of my own. This book puts the whole process into great perspective, and being that my degree is in engineering, I can say that the business approaches and practices espoused in this book work in all facets of business, design, and planning. Indeed, if one looks closely there are abstract bits of wisdom throughout the book that apply to all of life, and it becomes clear while reading that there are bits of wisdom throughout all of life that must be applied to game design in order to produce a good game. I could not be more pleased with this book, and find myself repeatedly amazed at how professionally researched, organized, and written it is. It is extremely accessible to all readers, and works to provide a brilliant foundation for MMOG design in general.

While there is a great deal of breadth in the book, and it is accessible to all, only the most creative and intelligent minds will be able to fully grasp, digest, and appreciate everything it has to say. For this reason, it could be a great read for young gaming enthusiasts and industry leaders alike. In life, all great philosophical ideas are accessible to all, yet the full bouquet of intertwining reasoning will only be realized by the most brilliant. The same rings true of this book. I will be reading it more than once for my own enhanced benefit, as I admit that I cannot swallow at once all that it has to say.

The book would make a great gift for anyone who is fascinated by MMOG design, its history, or just sound business practices.

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Useful for many people- Good Read

Review by Infans_31, 2008-12-29

As a fairly academic reader, I found this book extremely accessible and think the style and presentation will appeal to many readers from various backgrounds. I was surprised at the great breadth of topics this book covered--so many aspects of game development explained. The book incorporates knowledge that would apply to anyone working in media production. The models and diagrams are applicable to most businesses and creative developments. Visual learners will be pleased with the multitude of presentation styles and images. A strong emphasis is put on creating a smooth production pipeline to avoid future errors that may not have even been considered. There are some worth details in ways to integrate constraints, places in production to improve, and structures to build that meet the natural multiplicity of online games. The text also questions the reader in the form of chapter review problems. The extremely thorough descriptions and steps through the process of development will endow the reader with a vocabulary to speak and question intelligently. For someone with little background, they will feel confident with a generous knowledge base on online games. For someone with industry experience, they will be able to implement new strategies and create stronger games with mass appeal and staying value.

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Game Development Essentials: Online Game Development by Rick Hall

Review by Patricia A. Bigley, 2008-12-04

As a seasoned industry professional and an Executive Recruiter in the game industry, I found this book to be a "must read" for everyone. It offers a great deal of information and detail. I was very impressed with the book and strongly recommend it. Pat Bigley, President Prime Candidate, Inc.

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A fun, easy read

Review by cheryl, 2008-12-03

I'm not a game maker, but it's really fun to understand how these MMOGs are made. This book was easy to read, explained the development process with some interesting anecdotes, and generally just answered a lot of the unexplained mysteries of how these games are made. The book is great fun to read, and even if you're just a MMOG addict, and not a MMOG maker, it's worth buying.

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An excellent resource for Game Development.

Review by Geek, 2008-12-03

This is a book for anyone who wants to truly understand what goes into making today's online games.

In a very straight-forward and readable manner, the book covers the many complex issues that make up today's development environment. It does an excellent job of establishing a project framework that works well in the creative element of a game design studio. This framework keeps the business side as its first focus but manages to do that without overwhelming the need for creativity and fun. Customer satisfaction and a successful product are the clear result of such a disciplined approach.

Whether you are planning on a career in game design or are already a seasoned professional, no matter if you are a senior producer, coder, or design game art, a thorough understanding of a game development methodology will benefit your career immensely.

I bought this book to gain a broader understanding of the issues surrounding the game development environment. I could not be happier with my choice.

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