Making Great Games: An Insider's Guide to Designing and Developing the World's Greatest Games

by Michael Wyman

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780240812854
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/30/2010
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Permissions xv

Part 1 The Games

Chapter 1 LittleBigPlanet 3

Team Role Interview: Lead Game Designer 19

Chapter 2 World of Warcraft 23

Team Role Interview: Development Director 36

Chapter 3 Diner Dash 39

Team Role Interview: Producer 50

Chapter 4 Half-Life 2 53

Team Role Interview: Game Writer 65

Chapter 5 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves 67

Team Role Interview: Senior Environment Artist 83

Chapter 6 Rock Band 85

Team Role Interview: Music Composer 99

Chapter 7 FarmVille 101

Team Role Interview: Programming Lead 111

Chapter 8 Bejeweled Twist 115

Team Role Interview: Presentation Art Director 127

Chapter 9 Madden NFL 10 129

Team Role Interview: Voice Actor 138

Chapter 10 World of Goo 141

Team Role Interview: Art Director 151

Part 2 Analysis

Chapter 11 Commonalities: What Goes Right 157

Iteration Is Paramount 158

Cabals Taking Over? 160

Beg, Borrow, and Steal 162

Focus on Talent 164

Use Your Whole Company 165

Playtesting as Production Driver 166

Miscellaneous 168

Wrap Up 171

Chapter 12 Commonalities: What Goes Wrong 173

Test, Test, Test 174

Bite the Bullet 176

Don't Ignore the Tutorial 178

Every Project Is Different 179

Beware the Prototype 181

Plan for Success 182

Wrap Up 183

Chapter 13 The Nature of High-Performing Teams 185

The Goal 186

The People 187

The Environment 189

The Process 190

Wrap Up 193

Chapter 14 Applying These Learnings to Your Game Projects 195

Team Roles 195

Development Phases 198

Wrap Up 206

Chapter 15 Hiring and Managing for Success 207

Hiring 207

Managing 210

A Word on Outsourcing 212

Wrap Up 212

Team Role Interview: External Producer 213

Index 215