Learn how to start your career making video games from game industry expert Jason W. Bay! This practical "question and answer" book offers insider advice, information, and inspiration on how to get a job and grow your career making video games.

Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are successful at launch may fail to engage and retain players in the long term due to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. The game user experience accounts for the whole experience players have with a video game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in creating the experience they want to deliver, shipping higher quality games (whether it is an indie game, AAA game, or "serious game"), and meeting their business goals while staying true to their design and artistic intent. In a nutshell, UX is about understanding the gamer’s brain: understanding human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with neuroscience knowledge and user experience guidelines and methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better experience for their audience. Key Features Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include: "neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and learning. Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework in game development. Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user research). Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games, with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist. Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX strategy at both a project and studio level. Offers unique insights from a UX expert and PhD in psychology who has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of UX in games existing today.

Welcome to a book written to challenge you, improve your brainstorming abilities, and sharpen your game design skills! Challenges for Game Designers: Non-Digital Exercises for Video Game Designers is filled with enjoyable, interesting, and challenging exercises to help you become a better video game designer, whether you are a professional or aspire to be. Each chapter covers a different topic important to game designers, and was taken from actual industry experience. After a brief overview of the topic, there are five challenges that each take less than two hours and allow you to apply the material, explore the topic, and expand your knowledge in that area. Each chapter also includes 10 "non-digital shorts" to further hone your skills. None of the challenges in the book require any programming or a computer, but many of the topics feature challenges that can be made into fully functioning games. The book is useful for professional designers, aspiring designers, and instructors who teach game design courses, and the challenges are great for both practice and homework assignments. The book can be worked through chapter by chapter, or you can skip around and do only the challenges that interest you. As with anything else, making great games takes practice and Challenges for Game Designers provides you with a collection of fun, thought-provoking, and of course, challenging activities that will help you hone vital skills and become the best game designer you can be.

Provides an overview of the game industry and offers advice from experienced professionals on entering the video game industry.

Learn from industry insiders at Sony, Pixar, InfoGames, Electronic Arts and Midway about how they got in the game. Despite the fact that the games industry has now surpassed films in terms of size and revenues, there is a dearth of information on how to get a job in the industry.This book answers those questions.

Welcome to the Computer Game Development & Animation field! If you are interested in a career in the computer gaming field, you've come to the right book. So what exactly do these people do on the job, day in and day out? What kind of skills and educational background do you need to succeed in these fields? How much can you expect to make, and what are the pros and cons of these various fields? Is this even the right career path for you? How do you avoid burnout and deal with stress? This book can help you answer these questions and more. This book, which includes interviews with professionals in the field, covers the following areas of this field that have proven to be stable, lucrative, and growing professions. -Artist/Animator -Producer -Sound Designer -Video Game Designer -Video Game Developer -Video Game Tester -Writer

If you're a gamer, you have probably thought that it might be fun to make games instead of just playing them! While the video game industry is highly competitive, it is also growing. There have never been more opportunities to make video games for a living than right now. It's hard to take advantage of these opportunities, however, if you do not understand the industry: how games are made and what people in the field actually do. Veteran game developer Rob Howard describes how games are made, what the common job types are, and what skills are required to be hired in these positions. This book is an easv-to-read, non-technical overview of how the industry works. Anyone from high school students to professionals in other industries can benefit from its clear, friendly explanations of this large and growing field.

Since the 1950s, video games have become a billion dollar industry. Find out what it takes to have a successful career as a video game designer—and if it’s the right job for you.