iDevGames

Okay, which of you kids prefer discussing game designers, programmers, and artists over movie stars and super models? Raise your hands. Very well, this book is for us. ‘Game Creation and Careers’ is a collection of short and heavily edited interviews with the women and men who shape the games we play. In a feat worthy of military decoration, Marc Saltzman spoke with 162 developers on 24 topics and not only gained behind-the-scenes insights, but has also gotten hold of rare production material to throw into the mix (including concept art for ‘Myst III—Exile’, the script for the opener movie of ‘American McGee’s Alice’, hand-drawn level sketches for DOOM, and a photo of Cliff ‘Cliffy B’ Bleszinski in a bunny suit!). Finally providing Chris Taylor’s legendary design document template as a chapter of its own, Marc certainly has the material to back this book.

It must have been a diabolical task to edit that massive amount of material, but it’s well done. Perfect it is not, but even the flaws have their use. My main grievance with the editing job is its redundancy. There are some truths that are shared amongst almost all game developers, so many of the developers in the book repeat one another and the reader sometimes has to get through a few pages to find something genuinely new. I don’t know about others, but I for one already know that gameplay is more important than technology, and I don’t need five developers pointing it out for me. On the other hand, it provides a bit of closure to each section—each chapter is complete in itself.

Another effect of having so many developers discussing the same topic is the interesting and inevitable contradiction that emerges. An authority’s statement about a particular facet of game design will usually stand on its own. However, when another authority completely mows that view and provides a new one, fresh ideas result.

I recently reviewed ‘Chris Crawford on Game Design’, an excellent book that provides enormous amounts of abstract wisdom on the philosophy and very soul of gaming, and which is the exact opposite of ‘Game Creation’. While Chris offers one man’s view on gaming in a somewhat intangible way, Marc provides specific hands-on tips on game production as told by almost everyone in the industry. This kind of direct, almost physical advice is very refreshing. It includes everything from step-by-step instructions on how to light a deathmatch map as opposed to a single-player map, to Sid Meier’s explanation as to why he tests his code every 20 minutes, to why Greg Thomas had problems using a cylinder for player collision detection in NFL2K, to Chance Thomas telling you to learn ProTools. A particular gem for any game developer hoping to ever run a game company is Tammy Schachter of Konami sharing her Top 10 list for managing Public Relations. Also, towards the end of the book there is a section on game design schools, as well as key internet sites and, most importantly, key conventions, organizations, and awards—a very important topic, despite its apparent dullness. In fact, that section deserves a place in the middle of the book instead of being tucked away with the appendices (although why isn’t iDevGames represented as a key organization, eh?). Get this book and learn how to get a job making games (or be scared away). The chapter “How To Make It Happen” will not disappoint you.

The cover displays an impressive list of contributors to the book. While that list is long, only the most famous of the developers made the front cover—the list continues in three columns down the inside of it. There is virtually no possibility that you could read that list without recognizing at least a few names, but if you do, then you badly need this book. The “personal” aspect makes it an interesting read for gamers themselves. While some technical mumbo-jumbo might pass over their heads, it is really cool to see what Tim Willits is thinking about when designing the levels you play.

The last part of the book contains a biography section, which is essentially a very nice “Who’s who” of the game industry. If you stumble upon an unfamiliar developer name in the main body of the text, chances are that you’ll find information on her in this section. The index at the back is also helpful, as it allows you to look up certain developers, games, and terms.

The word “Careers” in the title suggests that this book is a description of different career choices in the game industry, and while that is partially true, it’s much more than that. For a novice game developer, the true benefit here isn’t the tips, but the insights the book offers into the industry—having Bill Roper of Blizzard Entertainment tell you how to break into the business could be invaluable. For those who already have a foot in the door, the tips, tricks, and advice are more than useful, and for the elders of the game industry this book provides clean industry espionage.

Marc is very thorough, and where other books of this kind deal with programming, art, and possibly game design, his is distinct in that it also covers marketing, testing, technical support and more. Those particular sections separate this book from others, and contribute to its overall quality. Marc also shows journalistic professionalism, refraining from interfering with the material. He acts merely as a reporter and medium, never passing judgement, the perfect bystander. He never talks about game creation himself, but leaves it to those who know their gig. Often, in his closing words on a snippet of text from a certain developer, he also refers to other texts in the book by that same person, which is a nice touch that allows the reader to follow a developer rather than a topic. Once in a while, his enthusiastic comments and filler talk do get rather intrusive, in which case you can safely skip everything written in the Times font.

Apart from the content already discussed, the book is also filled with fun anecdotes told by the contributors, which lend a great lightheartedness throughout; you can open the book on any page find something that interests or amuses you.

Marc Saltzman seems to be a little vague about his target audience. At times the book is very technical—John Slagel’s discourse on the GeoMod technology used in Red Faction is definitely aimed at experienced programmers, but why is he then explaining the difference between scripted and pre-rendered cut-scenes? Most likely Marc is trying to not close anyone out from the book, which is appreciated, but the effect is a little awkward at times.

A small disappointment is that Shigeru Miyamoto only contributed about one page in total (although completely understandable—just scoring an interview with the man is impressive). The same goes for Peter Molyneux, but what both Molyneux and Shigeru lack in quantity they make up for in quality. The book sadly misses out completely on Jeff Minter, though.

In conclusion, ‘Game Creation’ isn’t a vital read, but it is an insightful and interesting one that could prove very helpful.

Related Books:

• ‘Get in the Game: Careers in the Game Industry’ by Marc Mencher

• ‘Game Plan: The Insider’s Guide to Breaking In and Succeeding in the Computer and Video Game Business’ by by Alan Gershenfeld, Mark Loparco, Cecilia Barajas

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