Videogame, player, text examines the playing and playful subject through a series of analytical essays focused on particular videogames and playing experiences. With essays from a range of internationally renowned game scholars, the major aim of this collection is to show how it is that videogames communicate their meanings and provide their pleasures. Each essay focuses on specific examples of gameplay dynamics to tease out the specificities of videogames as a new form of interaction between text and digital technology for the purposes of entertainment. That modes of engagement with the videogame text are many and varied, and construct the playing subject in different ways, provides the central theme of Videogame,player, text. Online play, clan membership, competitive or co-operative play, player modification of game texts, and the solo play of a single player are each addressed through individual analyses of the gameplay experiences produced by, for example, The Sims, Grand Theft Auto, Prince of Persia, Doom, Quake, World of Warcraft, StreetFighter and Civilisation.

Discover how to use the CryENGINE 3 free SDK, the next-generation real-time game development tool.

You haven't experienced the full potential of Xbox 360 or Windows until you've created your own homebrewed games for these innovative systems. With Microsoft's new XNA Framework, the only thing limiting you is your imagination. Now professional game developer and Microsoft DirectX MVP Benjamin Nitschke shows you how to take advantage of the XNA Game Studio Express tools and libraries in order to build cutting-edge games. Whether you want to explore new worlds or speed down a city block in a souped up dragster, this book will get you up and running quickly. You'll learn how to implement 3D models, generate huge landscapes, map cool-looking shaders to your 3D objects, and much more. Nitschke also steps you through the development of your first fully functional racing game. You'll then be able to apply this information as you write your own XNA cross-platform games. What you will learn from this book Tricks for managing the game engine and user interface How to program an old school shooter game and space adventure Tips for improving racing game logic and expanding your game ideas Methods for integrating amazing visual effects using advanced shader techniques Steps for adding sound and music with XACT-bringing your game to life How to fine-tune and debug your game for optimal performance Who this book is for This book is for anyone who wants to write their own games for the Xbox 360 or Windows platforms. You should have some experience coding with C# or a similar .NET language. Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

The Game Maker's Apprentice shows you how to create nine exciting games using the wildly popular Game Maker game creation tool. This book covers a range of genres, including action, adventure, and puzzle games--complete with professional quality sound effects and visuals. It discusses game design theory and features practical examples of how this can be applied to making games that are more fun to play. Game Maker allows games to be created using a simple drag-and-drop interface, so you don't need to have any prior coding experience. It includes an optional programming language for adding advanced features to your games, when you feel ready to do so. You can obtain more information by visiting book.gamemaker.nl. The authors include the creator of the Game Maker tool and a former professional game programmer, so you'll glean understanding from their expertise.

Aimed at avid and/or highly skilled video gamers, 'Gaming Hacks' offers a guide to pushing the limits of video game software and hardware using the creative exploits of the gaming gurus.

The success of Angry Birds, Peggle, and Fruit Ninja has proven that fun and immersive game experiences can be created in two dimensions. Furthermore, 2D graphics enable developers to quickly prototype ideas and mechanics using fewer resources than 3D.2D Graphics Programming for Games provides an in-depth single source on creating 2D graphics that c

The potential of video games as storytelling media and the deep involvement that players feel when they are part of the story needs to be analysed vis-à-vis other narrative media. This book underscores the importance of video games as narratives and offers a framework for analysing the many-ended stories that often redefine real and virtual lives.

XNA 3.0 brings you the ability to create games that will run not just on the PC and Xbox 360, but also on the Zune mobile device. While creating games for Zune is, in many ways, similar to working on the other platforms, it also presents its own unique set of challenges and opportunities. Smaller screens, limited storage, and less processing power all affect the way you need to think about designing and implementing your games. Zune Game Development Using XNA 3.0 is a comprehensive book that will guide you through the many aspects of XNA game development and their specific implementations on the Zune platform. The book addresses Zune game development concepts in detail and shows you how to apply them in practical, step–by–step examples, building complete, working XNA 3.0 examples along the way that you can download and play.

Book 1: VISUAL BASIC .NET FOR STUDENTS: A Project-Based Approach to Develop Desktop Applications In chapter one, you will get to know the properties and events of each control in a Windows Visual Basic application. You need to learn and know in order to be more familiar when applying them to some desktop applications in this book. In Tutorial 1.1, you will build a dual-mode stopwatch. The stopwatch can be started and stopped whenever desired. Two time traces: the running time when the stopwatch is active (running time) and the total time since the first stopwatch was activated. Two label controls are used to display the time (two more labels to display title information). Two button controls are used to start/stop and reset the application, one more button to exit the application. The timer control is used to periodically (every second) update the displayed time. In Tutorial 1.2, you will build a project so that children can practice basic skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations. This Math Game project can be used to choose the types of questions and what factor you want to use. This project has three timing options. In Tutorial 1.3, you will build Bank Code game. The storage box is locked and can only be opened if you enter the correct digit combination. Combinations can be 2 to 4 non-repetitive digits (range of digits from 1 to 9). After a guess is given, you will be notified of how many digits are right and how many digits are in the right position. Based on this information, you will give another guess. You continue to guess until you get the right combination or until you stop the game. In Tutorial 1.4, you will build Horse Racing game. This is a simple game. Up to 10 horses will race to the finish line. You guessed two horses that you thought could win the race. By clicking on the Start button, the race will start. All horses will race speed to get to the finish line. In chapter two, you will learn the basic concepts of classes and objects. Next, it will demonstrate how to define class and type of enumeration, which shows how both are used in the application. In Tutorial 2.1, you will create a two-level application that uses a form to pass input user to the People class. The form class is the level of representation and the People class is the middle level. You will add controls to the form so people can enter ID, last name, and their height. When the user clicks the Save button, the code will assign input values ​​to the People class properties. Finally, you will display the People object on a label. Figure below shows the form after the user clicks the Save button. In Tutorial 2.2, you will add a parameterized constructor to the People class. The application will ask the user to enter values, which will then be passed to the People constructor. Then, the application will display the values ​​stored on the People object. In Tutorial 2.3, you will create an application that utilizes enumeration type. The user will choose one type of account that is listed in a ListBox control and what he chooses is then displayed in a Label control. In Tutorial 2.4, you will create a simple Bank application. This application has one class, BankAcc, and a startup form. In Tutorial 2.5, you will improve the simple Bank application, by implementing the following two properties in the BankAcc class: TotalDeposit- Total money saved in current account; TotalWithdraw- Total funds that have been withdrawn from current account. In Tutorial 2.6, you will create an application to calculate the time needed for a particular aircraft to reach takeoff speed. You will also calculate how long the runway will be required. For each type of aircraft, you are given (1) the name of the aircraft, (2) the required take-off speed (feet/sec), and (3) how fast the plane accelerates (feet/sec2). In Tutorial 2.7, you will provide a number of programming training for those who want to improve their programming skills. Your task here is to write an object-oriented application so that training manager can display and edit the training services offered. There are several training categories: (1) Application Development, (2) Database, (3) Networking, and (4) System Administration. The training itself consists of: (1) title, (2) training days, (3) category, and (4) cost. Create a class named Training that contains this information, along with its properties and a ToString() method. In chapter three, several tutorials will be presented to build more complex projects. You will build them gradually and step by step. In Tutorial 3.1, you will build Catching Ball game. The bird flew and dropped ball from the sky. User is challenged to position man under the fallen ball to catch it. In Tutorial 3.2, you will build Smart Tic Tac Toe game. The aim of this game is to win the game on a 3 x 3 grid with the victory of three identical symbols (X or O) on horizontal, diagonal, or vertical lines. The players will play alternately. In this game given two game options: player 1 against player 2 or human player against computer. A smart but simple strategy will be developed for computer logic to be a formidable opponent for human. In Tutorial 3.3, you will build a Matching Images game. Ten pairs of images hidden on the game board. The object of the game is to find image pairs. In Two Players mode, players will get turns in turn. In One Player mode, there are two options to choose from: Playing Alone or Against Computer. When Play Alone option is selected, the player will play alone without an opponent. If Against Computer option is selected, then the level of computer intelligence is given with several levels according to the level of difficulty of the game. In Tutorial 3.4, you will build Throwing Fire program. This program can be played by two human players or human player versus computer. In chapter four, tutorials will be presented to build two advanced projects. You will build them gradually and step by step. In Tutorial 4.1, you will build Roasted Duck Delivery simulation. In this simulation, a number of decisions are needed. The basic idea is to read the order by incoming telephone and tell the delivery scooter to go to the location of the order. You also need to make sure that you always provide a roasted duck ready to be transported by the delivery scooter. The delivery area is a 20 by 20 square grid. The more roasted duck is sold, the more profit it gets. In Tutorial 4.2, you will build a Drone Simulation. In this simulation, you control both vertical and horizontal thrusters to maneuver the ride to the landing pad. You will adjust the landing speed so that it is slow enough so that no accident occurs. Book 1: VISUAL C#.NET FOR STUDENTS: A Project-Based Approach to Develop Desktop Applications In chapter one, you will learn to know the properties and events of each control in a Windows Visual C# applications. You need to learn and know in order to be more familiar when applying them to some desktop applications in this book. In chapter two, you will build Throwing Fire program. This program can be played by two human players or human player versus computer. You will use 12 labels, a large control panel, and three control buttons on the form. In the control panel, a smaller panel with two group box controls and a button control are placed. In the first group box, you will use 2 radio buttons; in the second box group, place 4 radio buttons. Next, two timer controls are added to the project. All label controls are used for titles and provide scoring and game information. The large panel (Panel1) is the playing field. Three button controls are used to start / stop a program, set options, and exit the program. One timer control is used to control game animation and another is used to represent the computer's decision process. The second control panel (Panel2) is used to select game options. One group box contains radio buttons which are used to select number of players. A group box contains radio buttons to select the level of difficulty of the game, when playing against a computer. A small button is used to close the options panel. The default properties are set for one-player games with the easiest game difficulty. In chapter three, you will build Roasted Duck Delivery simulation. In this simulation, a number of decisions are needed. The basic idea is to read the order by incoming telephone and tell the delivery scooter to go to the location of the order. You also need to make sure that you always provide a roasted duck ready to be transported by the delivery scooter. The delivery area is a 20 by 20 square grid. The more roasted duck is sold, the more profit it gets. The panel control on the left side of the form contains the delivery grid. On the upper right are group boxes with two label controls to display the time or hour and sale results. The computer monitor (in a picture box) displays order and delivery status using a list box and label control. Another group box contains a roasting oven when the roasted ducks are displayed using eight picture box controls. Two button controls on the group box control the operation of the oven. Group boxes under the oven show how many ducks are ready to be delivered and how many are in the delivery scooter (a button control is to load the roasted duck into the scooter). The two button controls beneath are used to start/pause the game and to stop the game or exit the game. In the area under the form there are several timers for controlling a number of aspects in the program. The delivery grid consists of 400 label controls on 20 rows (marked with numbers) and 20 columns (marked with letters). Here, you will learn how to place controls on a form (or panel in this case) using code (when the program runs, not when designing the form). This mechanism can save time designing the form. In chapter four, you will build a Drone Simulation. In this simulation, you control both vertical and horizontal thrusters to maneuver the ride to the landing pad. You will adjust the landing speed so that it is slow enough so that no accident occurs. You build the form in two stages, the first stage creates two option group boxes, and then the second stage uses both those group boxes as landing controls. Two control panels are placed on the left side of the form: one panel for drawing and another panel for the edge. On the right side of the form, place the two group control boxes. In the first group box, five radio buttons and a check box are added. In the second group box, two radio buttons are placed. In the below section of the form, three buttons are added. Finally, one timer control is added. Then in the form, a group box is added overlap panel. Then, 11 label controls are added to the group box. After that, a progress bar is added. Under the bar, two control panels are added, one high panel and one short panel. In the second (short) panel control, two small label controls are added. Underneath, three button controls are placed. Under these three buttons, a label control is added. For each label control, set the AutoSize property to False to be resized and set (temporarily) the BorderStyle property to FixedSingle so that you can see the edges to facilitate the layout process. In this chapter, you will build Jumper game. In this game, you will move the jumper across the busy road, avoid the tiger, and cross the river with the changing current to get to house safely. You will place four label controls on the top part of the form (set the AutoSize property to False so that it can be resized and the BorderStyle property temporarily becomes FixedSingle so you can see the edges). Then, you use five panel controls below the labels. These panels will be a place for image graphics. Each panel has a width of 16 jumpers or 640 pixels, because one jumper will be given a width of 40 pixels. The first panel will be the jumper house, which will be given a height of 80 pixels. The next panel will become a river, with a height of 120 pixels. The next panel will be a place for tiger, 40 pixels high. Under the snake panel, there is a road panel. This panel will contain three boat lanes. Each boat has a height of 40 pixels, but you will give it a height of 140 pixels (not 120 pixels) to make room for lane markers. The fifth panel is the place where the jumper will begin its journey or leap. This panel will be given a height of 40 pixels. Add the last control panel below the form with three button controls. Then, finally, add four timer controls. Adjust the size of the form so that the panel controls can occupy according to the width of the form. BOOK 3: VISUAL C# .NET : A Step By Step, Project-Based Guide to Develop Desktop Applications In chapter one, you will learn to know the properties and events of each control in a Windows Visual C# application. You need to learn and know in order to be more familiar when applying them to some applications in this book. In chapter two, you will build a project so that children can practice basic skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations. This Math Game project can be used to choose the types of questions and what factors you want to use. This project has three timing options. Random math problems using values ​​from 0 to 9 will be presented. Timing options are provided to measure accuracy and speed. There are many controls used. Two label controls are used for title information, two for displaying scores. There is a wide label in the middle of the form to display math questions. And, long skinny label is used as separator. Two button controls are used to start and stop question and one button to exit the project. There are three group control boxes. The first group box holds four check box controls that are used to select the type of questions. The second group box holds eleven radio buttons that are used to select values ​​that are used as factors in calculations. The third group box contains three radio button controls for timing options. A scroll bar control rod is used to change the time. In chapter three, you will build Bank Code game. The storage box is locked and can only be opened if you enter the correct digit combination. Combinations can be 2 to 4 non-repetitive digits (range of digits from 1 to 9). After a guess is given, you will be notified of how many digits are right and how many digits are in the right position. Based on this information, you will give another guess. You continue to guess until you get the right combination or until you stop the game. On the left side of the form is a large picture box control. On the right side, two group box controls and two button controls are placed. In the picture box, a control panel is placed. In the panel, there are four label controls (set the AutoSize property to False) and nine button controls. In the first group box control, place three radio buttons. In the second group box control, a text box control is placed. The picture box contains an image of bank and a panel. The label controls in the panel are used to display the combinations entered (the BorderStyle property set to FixedSingle to display the label size). The nine buttons on the panel are used to enter combinations. Radio buttons are used to set options. The buttons (one to start and stop the game and another to exit the project) are used to control game operations. The text box displays the results of the combinations entered. In chapter four, you will build Horse Racing game. This is a simple game. Up to 10 horses will race to the finish line. You guessed two horses that you thought could win the race. By clicking on the Start button, the race will start. All horses will race speed to get to the finish line. Labels are used to display instructions and number of horses in a race. Four button controls are used: two buttons to change number of horses, one button to start the game, and one other button to stop the game. The picture box control is used to load the horse image. A timer control is used to update the horse's movement during the race. In chapter five, you will build Catching Ball game. The bird flew and dropped ball from the sky. Users are challenged to position man under the fallen ball to catch it. Labels are used for instructions and to display game information (remaining time, number of balls captured, and game difficulty level). Two buttons are used to change the game difficulty level, one button to start the game, and another button to stop the game. Picture box controls hold images for man, bird, and ball. In chapter six, you will build Smart Tic Tac Toe game. That said, this is the first game ever programmed on a computer and one that had been programmed by Bill Gates himself when he was a teenager while attending Lakeside School in Seattle. The aim of this game is to win the game on a 3 x 3 grid with the victory of three identical symbols (X or O) on horizontal, diagonal, or vertical lines. The players will play alternately. In this game given two game options: player 1 against player 2 or human player against computer. A smart but simple strategy will be developed for computer logic to be a formidable opponent for humans. In chapter seven, you will build Fighting Plane program. This program can be played by two human players or human player versus computer. The controls of the player are done via the keyboard. Player 1 presses A key to move up, Z key to move down, and S key to throw rudal. When you choose Two players from the Options button, this game can be played by two human players. Player 1 presses the same keys, while player 2 presses key K to move up, M to move down, and key J to throw rudal. All label controls are used for titles and provide scoring and game information. The large panel (Panel1) is the playing field. Three button controls are used to start / stop a program, set options, and exit the program. One timer control is used to control game animation and another is used to represent the computer's decision process. The second control panel (Panel2) is used to select game options. One group box contains radio buttons which are used to select number of players. A group box contains radio buttons to select the level of difficulty of the game, when playing against a computer. A small button is used to close the options panel. The default properties are set for one-player games with the easiest game difficulty.

Professional game developer Nitschke shares his experience with the XNA Framework, and teaches readers how to use the free XNA Game Studio Express 2.0 to build cutting edge 2D and 3D games.