‘Designing 3D Games That Sell!’ by Luke Ahearn
Introduction
Who can resist a title like that? Sometimes I damn myself for not being able to resist the discount table at my favorite computer book store, but this time I didn’t. There is a funny little quirk to this, though: I got it at a 50% discount, and it really, truly feels like this is half of a book.
‘Designing3D Games That Sell!’ is divided into two parts, of which the first looks into the business aspects of game development and the second into the actual designing of the game. I may sound a little unfair here, but here goes. The second part of the book is, in my eyes, of zero value. I don’t think that it will be of value to any Mac programmer, as it covers the Genesis3D game engine and Reality Factor, neither of which are ported to the Mac. Fair enough. However, even for the Windows users, I can’t really understand why the second part of the book is there. It feels like a collection of copied-and-pasted basic Genesis3D and level design tutorials that could be found anywhere on the Internet. It is really misplaced in this book. But, as it is of no worth, I’ll leave it at that and focus on the valuable part of the book, which is of high quality.
Getting a Game Published
For any game developer who hopes to get a few bucks out of his or her production, this book is money well spent. It will definitely kill that naive view of the game industry as the Dream Factory where you become filthy rich by writing a Tetris clone. It focuses on the publisher instead of the developer, and tells you what you need to know to land a deal. I’ve only been into this book for less than a week, but I already feel like I’ve grown as a game developer, maturing. I’ve been told what I have to consider as a developer, how to find my audience, how to market a game (which is basically the old did-you-know-you-can-market-through-the-Internet talk, but pulled off with grace), and what are the common pitfalls while doing so. Then we come to the really interesting stuff, namely, a long talk about the publisher, and a lengthy explanation as to why publishers might be reluctant to give you one million dollars for your Tetris clone, no questions asked. This is the business manual everyone needs to read. There is much wisdom in this portion of the book, and I found use for it after just a few days of reading. It explains what risks the publisher is taking, the costs of marketing a game (and they are way higher than I had ever thought), and what the important goals are. This section is mighty discouraging, and it makes you wonder how anyone has gotten a game published — ever. Good thing the next chapters let you in on the secrets.
You are about to learn what the publisher wants. Ahearn provides instructions on how to write a game proposal (the section on opening lines is invaluable), how to analyze the market, how to make the design document attractive to publishers, and, very important indeed, how to make up a budget and a schedule. And boy, are there a lot of things that I would never have thought of if I hadn’t gotten this book under my fingers. This part is very encouraging, though, as you quickly see where you must improve your game proposal. The irony here is that you need to do a great deal of marketing for your game in order to persuade the publisher to market it.
And then, we go visit the publisher. This chapter is an interview guide that you could probably expect to find in any job interview guide book. However, it is actually quite valuable as it is all focused on getting a game published (rather than a general interview guide). The subheadings for this chapter are: “Things you must get right the first time”, “Let the publisher talk”, “Etiquette”, and “Remove stressful and on-the-spot situations”. It even carries a section on how to handle a rejection letter. Finally, a chapter with legal advice on closing a good deal — and how to avoid getting ripped off.
Conclusion
Actually, this book is excellent. It is well worth its money. It points out what you should do, but also the pitfalls and mistakes to avoid. The language is clear and easy to get through, so this book isn’t one of the business bricks you might expect it to be. Finally, what I very much appreciated is that ‘Designing’ is also directed towards the beginner developer, that might have only a few or no titles in his or her track record. It is a tough thing to land a deal, but it seems to be very possible, and Luke Ahearn sure makes me more confident. Just rip all the pages after page 171 out, and you’ll feel great about this book!
Related Books:
