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Blood, sweat, and pixels : the triumphant, turbulent stories behind how video games are made / Jason Schreier.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Harper, [2017]Edition: First editionDescription: xxi, 278 pages ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780062651235
  • 0062651234
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Online version:: Blood, sweat, and pixels.DDC classification:
  • 794.8 23
LOC classification:
  • GV1469.3 .S37 2017
Other classification:
  • BUS070030 | GAM013000
Contents:
Introduction -- Reporting note -- Pillars of eternity -- Uncharted 4 -- Stardew Valley -- Diablo III -- Halo wars -- Dragon age: Inquisition -- Shovel Knight -- Destiny -- The Witcher 3 -- Star Wars 1313 -- Epilogue.
Summary: "You've got your dream job--making video games. You have a great project, great designs, and clever controls. One morning, you get a call from your producer. Turns out that wall-jumping trick won't work because the artists don't have time to design a separate animation just for the plumber to move that way. Also, your lead designer keeps micromanaging the programmers, which is driving them crazy. Your E3 demo is due in two weeks, and you know there's no way you can get it done in less than four. You'll have to cut out some of the game's biggest features just to hit your deadlines. And suddenly the investor is asking if maybe you can slash that $10 million budget down to $8 million, even if you have to fire a few people to make it happen? Welcome to video game development. In his years covering the industry, Jason Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Schreier takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. His reputation for great storytelling and fly-on-the-wall detail will provide readers with the clearest picture yet of what actually goes on behind the scenes. Each chapter will cover a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams. The chapters will also focus on a variety of subjects in the process, from building the basics to adjusting for fan reaction post-launch. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels will give readers an unparalleled inside look at one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: In his years covering the industry, Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. Here he takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. Each chapter covers a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"The stories in this book make for a fascinating and remarkably complete pantheon of just about every common despair and every joy related to game development." -- Rami Ismail, cofounder of Vlambeer and developer of Nuclear Throne

Developing video games--hero's journey or fool's errand The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes readers on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean--it's nothing short of miraculous.

Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings--even as it nearly ripped their studio apart.

Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell--and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.

Includes bibliographical references.

"You've got your dream job--making video games. You have a great project, great designs, and clever controls. One morning, you get a call from your producer. Turns out that wall-jumping trick won't work because the artists don't have time to design a separate animation just for the plumber to move that way. Also, your lead designer keeps micromanaging the programmers, which is driving them crazy. Your E3 demo is due in two weeks, and you know there's no way you can get it done in less than four. You'll have to cut out some of the game's biggest features just to hit your deadlines. And suddenly the investor is asking if maybe you can slash that $10 million budget down to $8 million, even if you have to fire a few people to make it happen? Welcome to video game development. In his years covering the industry, Jason Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Schreier takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. His reputation for great storytelling and fly-on-the-wall detail will provide readers with the clearest picture yet of what actually goes on behind the scenes. Each chapter will cover a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams. The chapters will also focus on a variety of subjects in the process, from building the basics to adjusting for fan reaction post-launch. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels will give readers an unparalleled inside look at one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world"-- Provided by publisher.

In his years covering the industry, Schreier has often heard developers say that any game actually released is a miracle. Here he takes you behind the scenes of some of the biggest recent games to share never-before-told stories of the struggles and failures the development teams faced along the way. Each chapter covers a different game, from major studios with nine-figure budgets to indie games with half a dozen people on their teams.

Introduction -- Reporting note -- Pillars of eternity -- Uncharted 4 -- Stardew Valley -- Diablo III -- Halo wars -- Dragon age: Inquisition -- Shovel Knight -- Destiny -- The Witcher 3 -- Star Wars 1313 -- Epilogue.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Jason Schreier is the news editor at Kotaku, a leading website covering the industry and culture of video games. He has also covered the video-game world for Wired and has contributed to a wide range of outlets including the New York Times, Edge, Paste, Kill Screen, and the Onion News Network.

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