Make This Your First Book for Gamification
580185
As I began the process of gamification in my classroom, it was daunting and simply overwhelming.  Game mechanics are such an important concept to master.  Since I teach middle school, it was necessary for me to have a firm grip on how games work and also to have options and examples.  Middle school students eat, sleep, and breathe video games. Finding this book in my early stages of research has been nothing more than a game changer for me and my students.  I began with a kindle copy but quickly ordered a paper copy as I have read it twice now (I needed to fold the pages and write notes).  Whether you are a seasoned gamer or a new teacher with little gaming experience, Michael Matera will help you through the process of turning your curriculum into a highly engaging and interesting game. Students will be fighting to get to your class!  Mr. Matera fills his book with ready to use examples that have been tested in his classroom.  If gamification is what you are looking for, this should be your first book.
3665037
I'm a game developer. Although this book does not entirely focus on the game topic, but what it offers is applicable on the domain I'm in. What I've learnt the most is you need to be fast in releasing the product. Words inside push you through that mindset which I regard it as a true. Along the way, I've realized several keys of being entrepreneur that I'm still missing. It's a direct hit to self and it can reflect what happens to me in real life, yes I have to improve on that.

Also I love how he expresses things out in less but concise and direct words. You'll get to the point in every page you read.
3088851
I know all of the current reviews read 'a bit over the top', but if you read this book, you will be more than happy to join us in praising this book in the same, gushing manner.  I have been playing AD&D since 1981.  I started DM'ing just six months into my gaming career, and I learned much of what this book espouses over the years, the hard way.  If I had read this book during my first year of GM'ing, I would have benefited so very much, I laugh thinking about how much fun I, and my players, would be having today...

This book is full of cartoons which tie directly in with the text.  It truly is hilarious gamer humor, which had me laughing out loud with nearly every page.  My family wondered if I was losing my mind, in a laughing, cajoling way.  The humor is poignant, and it helps gamers to not take themselves too seriously.

While I do not follow the XDM rules (I still play 2nd Ed. AD&D, and I really like it, in spite of the author's suggestions), the concepts, and ideas, are applicable, even if you choose to follow a different set of rules for your games.

The price seemed a little steep, before I got it.  I was genuinely concerned with what I was buying for my money, but now, I would not hesitate to fork over the cash again, should I lose my copy.  It is sooo  good, and sooo funny!  I shared this with a friend who is a Star Wars RPG game master...  He was thrilled with it, and the suggestions it has.  The rules you play, do not matter.  The ideas, and suggestions within this book, are applicable to any RPG rules:  the rules mechanics may vary, but the story-telling principles remain the same.  If I could recommend only one single GM'ing book, this would be it, without question.  Buy it -- you won't regret it!!!  Cheers!
3107599
I love the premise of this book: Get 100 games designers, publisher, editors, inventors and so on to write a short essay about their favorite game.

And in that, the book delivers on its promise. That is exactly what you get here; a collection of very short essays (roughly 2 1/2 pages each) that most often give a short background of the game being praised and then reasons for the praise.

I have already learned about several games I'd never even heard of, including one that completely escaped my radar over the years: Fluxx.  Suffice to say I've now ordered a copy from the publisher of that game.  :)

Where the book falls sort (I feel) is in two places:

1) There are no pictures, graphics, illustrations of any kind in this book. It's all text. While I realize fancy images might have added to the length and therefore the cost of the book it might also have been nice to see some sort of visual representation of what are often very visually-oriented games.

2) There are no "old favorites" in this book. No one (apparently) loved Monopoly, Scrabble, Stratego or even chess enough to write an essay about it. While you could argue that many of the games included in the book are more advanced/mature that the short list of examples above, it's also true that old favorites often get to be that way for a reason.

Overall though, I found this to be a very entertaining book. The structure (the short essay-style) makes it easy to pick-up, read about a few games, then put it down until next time. There's no need to read the book in order to get some satisfaction out of it.
287036
I wish more books were formatted this way. Learn a concept, immediately put it into practice. There's no better way to learn and retain new concepts then that. Easy to give this five stars.

Also very clever of the author to ask you to leave a review and leave a link right there in the exercise. Game recognize game.
4751709
Five years ago when I decided I wanted to teach myself OpenGL, this was the book I bought. It gave me exactly the foundation I needed to write my several 3D engines and expand on my knowledge to learn all of the latest graphics techniques. I certainly owe a lot to this book for giving me the knowledge and the motivation. Enough about myself. This book is comprehensive in every subject it covers, and unlike a lot of the game development books out there, this one teaches you the basics from the ground up instead of resorting to the ineffective breadth-first mentality of throwing bits and pieces about a wide range of game development subjects. You might wonder, why learn from an out-dated book about mid-nineties graphics techniques? Well, you have to start somewhere so you might as well learn the basics thoroughly. Once you read this book, learning advanced techniques like shadow maps or HDR lighting is a piece of cake since you already know enough about OpenGL from this book to understand the more advanced reference materials out there. Nothing in this book is out-dated. Not only do you learn the basics of OpenGL, you learn how to properly design a 3D engine and a simple game. You also learn how to load MD2 models with key frame animation. Kudos to the authors for choosing an easy-to-parse format to start off with. Consider this book a stepping stone. You have to start a journey somewhere, and the best way to start is by building a solid foundation. Every bit of knowledge in this book is useful in some way or another. For a REAL beginning game development book, read this one instead of the "Design Your Own Game in 24 Hours" hacks. Finally, ignore the one-star reviews. This book deserves much more praise than it has been getting. If you are having trouble compiling stuff in there, you are only hurting yourself by learning programming via the cut-and-paste method. Try to really learn the concepts so you know enough to write your own code.
4074205
Now I've acquired many a player's guide over the years, some great, some not so great, but I have to admit, I couldn't ask for a better guide than this one.  First off:  It looks fantastic.  The artwork looks great.  There are charts for each job that are very easy to read.  The maps with the locations of hidden items and traps are especially helpful.  There are lists of all the items and pieces of equipment at the end of the book so you know just what to snatch up when you come across them, and they usually tell you when a particular character has a useful piece or set of equipment worth stealing.  They also have the new Melee and Rendevous battles placed in the book right after the storyline battles that have to be completed to unlock them.  Now I've beaten the original Playstation version more times than I care to admit, and I've got to say, "This guide has EVERYTHING!"  They have all the tricks and secrets that, while considered cool glitches when the game first came out, are now the staples of building your own personal dream team.  As much as I've played this game, this guide has strategies that I'd never even thought of for certain classes' ability set ups and equipment combinations that make you nigh unstoppable.  This is the ultimate guide for the ultimate strategy RPG.  Brady games always does a fantastic job, and this guide is no exception.  Bravo.
3833540
If your goal is to learn the different strategies, then this is the book!
1350689
It's finally here - the most lucid and definitive read on gamification and loyalty in the market. Written by the visionary Bunchball founder, Rajat Paharia, it distills all you need to know about the science of motivation and positive psychology, the current hot trend Big Data, and gamification. These form the core tenets of Loyalty 3.0. Rajat lays out Bunchball's secret sauce - an actionable plan that anyone can apply in their business (or their daily lives) and benefit immensely. All this in less than 250 breeze-to-read pages. A must read.
901007
This is hands down an excellent book. Most Unity books out there are hit or miss. This one is definitely a hit.

If I were to say who the target audience is for this book. I would lean more towards the intermediate C# programmer and someone familiar with how Unity works. Although the author provides excellent information on the inner workings of Unity's 2D systems. There isn't much hand holding. The right balance is there for you to not get lost but to also stretch your knowledge at the end of each chapter. The author pretty much encourages the reader to push themselves and take the learned content further.

*A dedicated and confident beginner could have a go at the text but prepared to push yourself if you are a newbie coder. It gets pretty heavy at times and that is a good thing!
** I also haven't had to look up the errata after going through 3/4's of the book. The instructions are clear, focused, and the code works. Imagine that...

For what it is worth this is about as complete of a book you can get on developing a 2D game with Unity. Not only do you walk away with knowing how to approach 2D game development. You're also provided with excellent tips and best practices for architecting your game and additional tips on how to avoid common rookie mistakes.

I thoroughly have enjoyed this book thus far. Honestly, I almost passed on it because the base game is an RPG. I'm so glad I didn't pass it up as the knowledge gained is applicable beyond the genre itself.

Definitely a joy to read.

At the half way mark you'll already have an excellent grasp on how to approach 2D gaming with Unity.

If other books have left you scratching your head or you're still lost in the woods. Then this book is your beacon for sure.

Ashley. Please write more Unity books. Thank you for this one.
3754019
This is going to be a wonderful series of interactive books that will especially appeal to reluctant readers. It's part Choose Your Own Adventure, part dice game, and a completely engaging story. As the adventure unfolds, the reader plays along by rolling dice to determine the outcome of the battles the main character faces. Written skillfully in second person, the reader becomes that main character. The story stand alone without the game, but for those who love gaming, it's the best of both worlds. In this first book, you, your best friend, and your little sister are trapped in the Gamekeeper's world, and only defeating him will free you. You meet others who have been there longer, but you can't be sure who you can trust. Read the story. Roll the dice. Beat the Gamekeeper if you can.
2884508
I am in the process of designing a game for the iPad and other tablets based on games I created 40 years ago as a student.  I wanted to get a well-rounded idea of what makes up a game, how they differ and what makes a game great.  I bought and learned a great deal from the game history and design books of Crawford, Parlett, Aldrich, Koster, Schell, Chen, Prensky, Adams & Dormans, Fullerton, McGuire & Jenkins, Bjork & Holopainen, and Salen & Zimmerman.  But it struck me that none of them really reached high enough, knitting together the best we can learn from Poker, Canasta, Risk, Diplomacy, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Othello, and many other games from different parts of the game industry.  This book is the first book that really rises to that level and stays there, seeking the most important characteristics and distinguishing features of games great and small.  It is like a curtain has opened up; these authors are at the early stages of understanding this field in the way that we understand other aspects of society, culture, commerce, media, and art like we understand film and architecture.  I congratulate the authors and highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to really understand what games are all about, not just the superficial differences or the technical skills to execute a game design.
4107475
Great job gootecks! I think this is a great book for anyone new or anyone trying to identify what's wrong with their game.

Very comprehensive guide on an effect way to think during battle as well as training mode ideas to help specific aspects of your game. Easy to read and everything is laid out very easy to understand.
1601059
How many wizards and sages have pondered over dusty leather tomes in countless adventures... Vecna, Otiluke, Mordenkainen, wherefore art thou? How many characters have sought power from the crumbling pages of a dread lich's spellbooks? What better way to add to your game's atmosphere (and your credit card bill) than to have a LEATHERBOUND TOME instead of a "simple" book? This is so perfectly aimed at real gamers. What marketing genius... All I can say is DO IT TO THE OTHER TWO CORE BOOKS (only, please...) AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!
4122505
Being an avid gamer since the age of 5, this book is a great beginners guide to understanding how to build your own games. Love the easy conversational tone as well as how the book clearly enumerates a no-frills approach to game creation. Finished this over a weekend.
772319
First time gamer here. Eloy makes it really easy to understand. Its very fun! I love the pre made characters. To easily throw together a game, to try things out.
1447207
I'm a mother of a teen and a tween-aged sons who have dabbled at drawing manga and making anime on computer software. They are gamers who enjoy xBox360. I had this book and program in mind for them. This is our first foray into this area, we're all newbies.

The short product description that was on the site at the time I ordered it from Amazon Vine was misleading. I thought it was the software itself. This is a book. The first 86 pages are general information about creating an RPG (which could apply to any software). On page 87 it explains this uses the software RPG Maker and tells you can download a free trial for 30 days. After 30 days if you want to keep using it, it costs $60.

In order to do the book review I downloaded the software on a laptop we bought a few weeks ago, the thing is still sparkling new and has hardly any programs on it to hog up space.  We could not get the software to work.

Over 250 more pages of the book are dedicated to walking the reader through designing an RPG using that software. I liked that the storytelling format of the hero's journey is interspersed between directions on what to click on the various screens. If you are using the program like you're supposed to then it makes perfect sense to have both a user manual of sorts combined with general video game development.  This is a good idea, to combine the basics of design with use of the software. It means the learner is taking abstract ideas and immediately putting them to use: putting them into context. It's a great way to make the learner realize that what they're reading is useful and important. The other way to go about this project is a person would to read a general book that is separate from the actual creation of the game using software then teach themselves how to use software (which may or may not have a decent user manual). Some people would do better with the more direct learn as you go and learn as you do method as author Duggan has conceptualized and brought to fruition with this book.

I am torn on how to rate this book.  Since this is a book review and the author Michael Duggan cannot be held accountable for problems with the software itself, I don't feel comfortable giving it a 1 star = I Hate It rating. Yet because the software won't function how can I figure out if the written directions are good or bad?  I certainly love the concept of this book. Thus I rate this 3 stars = It's Okay.

If you can't get the free trial of the software to work then you can always return the book for a refund...I wish you good luck with this software program.