7 ms·

Great books on classic video games

152 points by hypnotist 5y ago

alfiedotwtf 5y ago
Not sure what's in them because I can't find their Table of Contents, but if you're looking for other great books on specific games: 1. Masters of Doom 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book
- JoeDaDude 5y ago
  Thanks for the tips. Some of the books have links to the Amazon Kindle store and have previews which sometimes include ToCs.
- MaxBarraclough 5y ago
  I haven't read it, but Racing the Beam also seems well regarded. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam
  - salamandersauce 5y ago
    Racing the beam is very good. Been a while since I read it though but I really enjoyed it at the time.
    - mgkimsal 5y ago
      Another upvote for this. borrowed a copy and ... have never given it back (ed z - if you're reading this, that's who has it!) It may only appeal to a certain niche audience, but it's so full of great details. It's a good balance between describing the technical challenges and then the hacks/tricks/wizardry that got around the sometimes insane limitations!
- sharken 5y ago
  The Making of Prince of Persia and Karateka books by Jordan Mechner are also very good.
- ekianjo 5y ago
  Sid Meier's Memoir, too.
  - veilrap 5y ago
    I agree, this one was a recent joy to read.
- bombcar 5y ago
  The Wolfenstein and Doom Black Books are also highly recommended.
- pengaru 5y ago
  > 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book I'd temper one's expectations on this one. It's a massive, unwieldy book, mostly speaking to old PC VGA graphics programming techniques, in pages taken verbatim from Abrash's previous Zen of Graphics Programming book. It definitely isn't focused on a specific game, but it does go a bit into the BSP tree stuff used in Doom, if memory serves. Maybe it's just because I had already read both his Zen of {Code Optimization, Graphics Programming} books, but I was rather disappointed upon acquiring and skimming the Black Book. Fabien's deep dives are more interesting IMHO, if looking for stuff about tech in classic id games. edit: BTW, if old [34]86/pentium-era PC optimization and VGA programming books is what you're after, the aforementioned Abrash books were goldmines at the time, and much more conveniently sized, physically speaking. I don't intend to throw shade on Abrash, it was just the Black Book that disappointed me, largely because of the high expectations set by his previous books. You can still find used copies of the Zen books readily on Amazon...
  - andrewf 5y ago
    Abrash wrote about Quake in Dr. Dobb's Journal while he was working on it. These columns weren't in the earlier printings of the book but were added as Chapter 62 onwards in later printings (by which point it'd be fair to label the earliest chapters historical). PDFs at: https://www.drdobbs.com/parallel/graphics-programming-black-book/184404919 https://www.drdobbs.com/parallel/graphics-programming-black-...
    - pengaru 5y ago
      Thanks for the tip! My edition didn't contain those, looking forward to when I can check out the PDFs.
  - alfiedotwtf 5y ago
    VGA Mode is where the fun's at. Yeah, the start is essentially Zen of Code Optimization, which was also a great book, but pretty much dated in 2021... but it's interesting to see how he thinks. The best thing to take away is not about picking the right instructions, but to use your brain to pick the right algorithms and use benchmarks
- markus_zhang 5y ago
  A note about Master of Doom: There is a small part about the departure of ID Software guys from Softdisk that is inaccurate and has been corrected by John Remoro himself when he spoke to the blogger who writes the famous CRPG Addict series (btw, completely out of topic but this blog is EXCELLENT if you want a COMPLETE view of pretty much every RPG out there since the 70s). The correction (as the blogger wrote) was a correction about a mistake he made in writing one of his earlier post about Dark Design, but I think it also corrects the claim made in Master of Doom. The link to Romero's correction is as following: http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2020/09/game-378-goodcodes-cavern-1982-and.html http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2020/09/game-378-goodcodes-ca... You will need to scroll down to the second part, or just search "But since I was only able to get 1,200 words out of Goodcode's Cavern" on the page. To simplify things I'm pasting the paragraphs: >I had consulted several sources to assemble that paragraph, including one that purported to have interviewed both Carmack and Romero in detail, and I was pretty confident in what I had. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when John Romero (who I didn't even know was aware of my blog) invited me to participate in a podcast interview of Stuart Smith. (We're recording in mid-September; I'll let you know when it's out.) I took the opportunity to run the paragraph by him and found out that almost everything I'd written was wrong. To wit: - I was a year late; 1990 was the year most of this happened. Romero worked at Softdisk prior to Carmack and was actually the one who hired Carmack, not because of Dark Designs but because of a tennis game plus his obvious facility with programming. - Romero and Carmack loved working at Softdisk and only left because it was the wrong sort of publisher to take advantage of the horizontal scrolling technology that the duo would use in Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM. - It was actually the president of Softdisk, Al Vekovius, who suggested that Carmack, Romero, and Tom Hall start their own company. There were no lawsuits and no threats; Carmack and Romero kept working for Softdisk for a year to avoid leaving the company in a lurch. - The reason Carmack and Romero are credited on so many Softdisk titles stretching into the mid-1990s is that those titles used technology and code that Carmack and Romero had created. They otherwise had no involvement in games like Cyberchess and Dangerous Dave Goes Nutz!
  - joshthecynic 5y ago
    Also, Masters of Doom reads like it was written by a 14-year-old. It's so bad that I couldn't finish it.
- boneitis 5y ago
  In the same vein as Masters of Doom, I enjoyed `Stay Awhile and Listen` for a peek into Blizzard.
- reidrac 5y ago
  On the spirit of Masters of Doom, I recommend "It's behind you - The making of a computer Game" by Bob Pape. The author explains how he made the R-Type conversion for the ZX Spectrum 48k and provides an interesting view of the "bedroom coders" and the early video game industry in the UK back in the 80s. Self-published and downloadable for free here: http://bizzley.com/ http://bizzley.com/
autarch 5y ago
I really enjoyed the Spelunky book.
- nightowl_games 5y ago
  I, unfortunately, did not. It felt very mechanical. Like Derek agreed to write the book, and then just kinda... wrote it. It's very dry, matter of fact. It was clear that it was written after the fact by someone who is not a masterful wordsmith. I dont want to take anything away from Derek, or Spelunky, or Boss Fight Books, but I think that having a ghost writer would have helped the Spelunky book.
smoldesu 5y ago
I love the O'Reily design cues here, particularly the vague cover art and uniform cover elements. Had I not known this was a website, I probably would have killed to have a book titled "Super Mario Bros 3" with a racoon on the cover, but now I can just spend $15.
hnal943 5y ago
I recommend They Create Worlds for a comprehensive view of the early industry. Great insights into the causes of the twin crashes of consoles and arcades in the early 80's https://theycreateworlds.com/ https://theycreateworlds.com/
mister_tee 5y ago
Appreciate the suggestions in this thread. Adding recommendations for Blake Harris's "Console Wars" on 90s Sega vs. Nintendo competition, and Jason Schreier's "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" for more of the development angle. It looks like he has a new book out just last week, "Press Reset" -- seems to be on studios/projects that shut down and the aftermath. Adding that one to my reading list. For the link to Boss Fight books: FYI the selector defaults to paperback; ebooks are a very reasonable $5 if anyone prefers digital. They're that price at Amazon for Kindle, too. But IIRC and based on reviews out there, they vary quite a bit in style and quality. Supposedly the Spelunky one is great and written by the creator himself. I bounced off the series because one book was mostly personal anecdotes from the author, a random person who just liked the game, rather than anything about the topic you wouldn't get from playing it or even reading wikipedia. Some of the books do have more research and interviews.
- otachack 5y ago
  Right, Boss Fight books are a mixed bag IMO but I suggest to anyone, especially HN, to read Spelunky. It's a well balanced account straight from the Spelunky dev himself, Derek Yu. Only con about it is it's so short!
- mdbauman 5y ago
  While I enjoyed what I've read of the series so far, I think it's a valid criticism that some books read more like a love letter from a fan than a history or notes from the developers. If you're considering reading some of these but are specifically interested in the developer's point of view, I suggest reading some reviews and/or a bit about the [author] so you know what you're getting into. For example: I liked the ZZT book very much, but that may be because I was briefly involved in the ZZT community in the early 2000s; it feels good to have a part of my history written down. If you've just read the Spelunky book (written by the developer Derek Yu) and are hoping the ZZT book is something similar from Tim Sweeney, you [may] be disappointed.
  - fmoralesc 5y ago
    I had no connection to the ZZT community, and I loved the ZZT book. I think it captures very well the feeling of being a sort of outcast and trying to express oneself through art. I always remember the bit about being excited about a project and then waking up to the next day and feeling just so... inadequate to the task.
LucidLynx 5y ago
I highly recommend both Wolfenstein3D and Doom black books, from Fabien Sanglard, which are very technical and describe really well a ton of things around those games: how they have been developed, the tools they have been developed on / with, the context, ... Wolfenstein 3D Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ Doom Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/ https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/
- superjan 5y ago
  What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) or as a free but bitmapped Pdf, so bloated that it used to crash my iPad. I did not mind paying, but would like to get some more flexible format.
  - danShumway 5y ago
    Their current Google Book is listed as DRM free[0]. Is that still restricted to only be downloadable in the Google app, or does that mean I could buy it and just download from the Google Play website itself as an EPUB? [0]: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Fabien_Sanglard_Game_Engine_Black_Book_DOOM?id=wel6DwAAQBAJ https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Fabien_Sanglard_...
  - LucidLynx 5y ago
    > What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) It is a DRM free book. I am using another app to read it.
  - endgame 5y ago
    Good thing you're using the past tense, as he's published source code for both black books: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebb/index.html https://fabiensanglard.net/gebb/index.html
dejv 5y ago
I read Spelunky book from this series and found it extremely well written and very insightful in areas of game design. I've actually play the game after I've read the book.
- RhysU 5y ago
  I really like the Spelunky book's content on "Finishing a Game". I think it applies to nearly any extended, difficult endeavor.
bishnu 5y ago
Has anyone read Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia journal? Was thinking of checking it out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578627310?pf_rd_r=HMREHVABQXQXVW97F1V0&pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pldnSite=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578627310?pf_rd_r=HMREHVA...
- fraencko 5y ago
  I read and enjoyed it. Definitely recommended.
- cableshaft 5y ago
  I've read his Karateka journal, but not that one yet. It wasn't super technical for the most part, at least not that I can remember, but it did give across the vibe of 'regular guy getting to do some cool things and find some success' and I found it extremely conversational, relatable, and inspiring. I do intend to read the Prince of Persia one at some point. It probably also got me to start recording my own game design journal. I'm still kicking myself for not doing one earlier like I initially intended to while I got a pretty cool job working for a video game publisher as a producer (instead I wrote like, 5 or 6 journals total... that was 11 years ago now, so a lot of it has gotten fuzzy...maybe if I sit down and try my best to remember at some point). But my game design journal (plus some personal stuff) journal, despite me still not having anything published during that time yet, is sitting at over 300,000 words over four years. I generated a ton of ideas and prototypes and consumed lots of lectures and playtested a bunch of other designer's games and had several 'almost' opportunities during that time, so there was plenty to talk about anyway. Pandemic really stunted that habit, though, and I'm struggling to get back into the habit of it (taking a break from writing an entry right now, actually, only the third one this year so far :/).
- criddell 5y ago
  It's really good. I bought it after reading about Stripe Press (yes, the payments company publishes books). I also picked up The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop. I really enjoyed both books. The quality of the Stripe Press books is outstanding, although the type size is a little small in the Dream Machine book.
- 5y ago
nairodd 5y ago
David Craddock's "Stay a While and Listen" series.
bondant 5y ago
The Reverse Design series by Patrick Holleman is quite good in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the one on Chrono Trigger.
corysama 5y ago
If you are interested in material like this, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMakingOfGames/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMakingOfGames/
baby 5y ago
I realize now that I would read a book on half life or counter strike and its inception.
- bondant 5y ago
  For half-life you might like: http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/rd_hl_1.html http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/rd_hl_1.html
- jccalhoun 5y ago
  Not a book but Geoff Keighley has done articles on Half-Life 1 + 2, a kind of app of Portal 2 and Alyx https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Fi... https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Fi...
bigbillheck 5y ago
I can recommend "I Am Error", Nathan Altice's book about the NES: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/i-am-error https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/i-am-error
- rchoudhury 5y ago
  I Am Error was excellent, as was Racing the Beam by Montfort and Bogost. That's from the same "platform studies" series as the Altice book, but focused on the technical and social development of the Atari 2600.
rvba 5y ago
Reverse Design: Diablo II is an interesting book about what makes Diablo 2 so addictive and nice to play. It is a relatively short book (less than 150 pages), where author starts with the way difficulty is set-up (with exaple of Galaxian, where afte4 ewch increase there is a moment of decrease and stability). Then author looks why the game is a "feel good" game - the character becomes better and better. Enemies get better too, but not so fast. There is also a nice chapter about the different types of randomness in the game: used to generate loot. As far as I remmember he also briefly mentions the "5 out of 10" quest system used in Diablo 1. What is really simple but good for replayability. For those interested in Blizzard/Blizzard North/Diablo 2 history you can also check the 2nd book called Stay awhile and listen: heaven, hell and secret cow levels. Author goes more into what wenr wrong during Diablo 2 development (and obviously what went good). The 1st book is about Diablo 1 and is much weaker: it is mlstly quotes "we made a great game". The second book repeats a lot of info from first and focuses more on why Blizzard North fell.
_the_inflator 5y ago
A lot of old book gems can be found over at archive.org Really a treasure trove for old and "forgotten" classics.
billytetrud 5y ago
I like how almost every one of these books has a somewhat random picture on the cover
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
mentos 5y ago
I’m enjoying Once Upon Atari about ‘the game that caused the collapse of the video games industry’ in the early 80s Some fun descriptions/stories of early life at Atari
thrower123 5y ago
Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings by Ken Williams is another interesting one. It's more focused on the business side of the early game industry (especially the end of Sierra, and the author's side of the story relating to all the shenanigans involved), but it's a quick, interesting read. Probably people who weren't around in the 90s have forgotten how huge Sierra was in PC gaming.
baud147258 5y ago
I was checking the description of the books and I can't resist rolling my eyes at the idea that KOTOR offered" complex morality choices". I mean the game follows the binary morality system from Star Wars with its Light/Dark sides, which were translated in-game as being a nice guy or a jerk.
darren_ 5y ago
I see a lot of comments about other book series but not many about the specific bossfightbooks ones. Has anyone read any of them other than the Spelunky one? I read the Spelunky one and enjoyed it, and grabbed the Baldur's Gate II one because I was under the mistaken impression that all these books were by developers or people otherwise involved in the game's creation, and they'd be war stories or other interesting insights. It wasn't, it's just some guy (he's written a D&D novel but not related to BG in any way) writing general stuff about the game - nothing really in any depth - and a whole lot of stuff about himself. Not at all what I was looking for (my fault, should've read the blurb). Some of the other books seem to have interviews with creators or serious research done - are these good?
jccalhoun 5y ago
In addition to the books mentioned here, I would also suggest Atari Inc. Business is Fun which is a super well researched book about the early days of Atari. They were going to write a second one but one of the coauthors died last year so I don't know if work continues on it or not.
gerlofs 5y ago
John Staats's diary on the development of World of Warcraft. A great book on game development culture, the craft of creating a truly 'massive' game, and, ultimately, a sad story of crunch-time and burnout.
bwb 5y ago
Very nice, and you might like these lists too: The Best Books For Understanding The Video Game Industry By Doug Walsh (who wrote over one hundred officially licensed video game strategy guides) https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-video-game-industry https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-video-game-industry or The Best Video Game Narrative Histories And A Couple Of Others By Harold Goldberg, he is an author/journalist in the industry and wrote 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' https://shepherd.com/best-books/video-game-narrative-histories https://shepherd.com/best-books/video-game-narrative-histori...

152 points by hypnotist 5y ago

Not sure what's in them because I can't find their Table of Contents, but if you're looking for other great books on specific games: 1. Masters of Doom 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book

JoeDaDude 5y ago
Thanks for the tips. Some of the books have links to the Amazon Kindle store and have previews which sometimes include ToCs.
MaxBarraclough 5y ago
I haven't read it, but Racing the Beam also seems well regarded. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/racing-beam
- salamandersauce 5y ago
  Racing the beam is very good. Been a while since I read it though but I really enjoyed it at the time.
  - mgkimsal 5y ago
    Another upvote for this. borrowed a copy and ... have never given it back (ed z - if you're reading this, that's who has it!) It may only appeal to a certain niche audience, but it's so full of great details. It's a good balance between describing the technical challenges and then the hacks/tricks/wizardry that got around the sometimes insane limitations!
sharken 5y ago
The Making of Prince of Persia and Karateka books by Jordan Mechner are also very good.
ekianjo 5y ago
Sid Meier's Memoir, too.
- veilrap 5y ago
  I agree, this one was a recent joy to read.
bombcar 5y ago
The Wolfenstein and Doom Black Books are also highly recommended.
pengaru 5y ago
> 2. Michael Abrash's Graphics Programming Black Book I'd temper one's expectations on this one. It's a massive, unwieldy book, mostly speaking to old PC VGA graphics programming techniques, in pages taken verbatim from Abrash's previous Zen of Graphics Programming book. It definitely isn't focused on a specific game, but it does go a bit into the BSP tree stuff used in Doom, if memory serves. Maybe it's just because I had already read both his Zen of {Code Optimization, Graphics Programming} books, but I was rather disappointed upon acquiring and skimming the Black Book. Fabien's deep dives are more interesting IMHO, if looking for stuff about tech in classic id games. edit: BTW, if old [34]86/pentium-era PC optimization and VGA programming books is what you're after, the aforementioned Abrash books were goldmines at the time, and much more conveniently sized, physically speaking. I don't intend to throw shade on Abrash, it was just the Black Book that disappointed me, largely because of the high expectations set by his previous books. You can still find used copies of the Zen books readily on Amazon...
- andrewf 5y ago
  Abrash wrote about Quake in Dr. Dobb's Journal while he was working on it. These columns weren't in the earlier printings of the book but were added as Chapter 62 onwards in later printings (by which point it'd be fair to label the earliest chapters historical). PDFs at: https://www.drdobbs.com/parallel/graphics-programming-black-book/184404919 https://www.drdobbs.com/parallel/graphics-programming-black-...
  - pengaru 5y ago
    Thanks for the tip! My edition didn't contain those, looking forward to when I can check out the PDFs.
- alfiedotwtf 5y ago
  VGA Mode is where the fun's at. Yeah, the start is essentially Zen of Code Optimization, which was also a great book, but pretty much dated in 2021... but it's interesting to see how he thinks. The best thing to take away is not about picking the right instructions, but to use your brain to pick the right algorithms and use benchmarks
markus_zhang 5y ago
A note about Master of Doom: There is a small part about the departure of ID Software guys from Softdisk that is inaccurate and has been corrected by John Remoro himself when he spoke to the blogger who writes the famous CRPG Addict series (btw, completely out of topic but this blog is EXCELLENT if you want a COMPLETE view of pretty much every RPG out there since the 70s). The correction (as the blogger wrote) was a correction about a mistake he made in writing one of his earlier post about Dark Design, but I think it also corrects the claim made in Master of Doom. The link to Romero's correction is as following: http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2020/09/game-378-goodcodes-cavern-1982-and.html http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2020/09/game-378-goodcodes-ca... You will need to scroll down to the second part, or just search "But since I was only able to get 1,200 words out of Goodcode's Cavern" on the page. To simplify things I'm pasting the paragraphs: >I had consulted several sources to assemble that paragraph, including one that purported to have interviewed both Carmack and Romero in detail, and I was pretty confident in what I had. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when John Romero (who I didn't even know was aware of my blog) invited me to participate in a podcast interview of Stuart Smith. (We're recording in mid-September; I'll let you know when it's out.) I took the opportunity to run the paragraph by him and found out that almost everything I'd written was wrong. To wit: - I was a year late; 1990 was the year most of this happened. Romero worked at Softdisk prior to Carmack and was actually the one who hired Carmack, not because of Dark Designs but because of a tennis game plus his obvious facility with programming. - Romero and Carmack loved working at Softdisk and only left because it was the wrong sort of publisher to take advantage of the horizontal scrolling technology that the duo would use in Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM. - It was actually the president of Softdisk, Al Vekovius, who suggested that Carmack, Romero, and Tom Hall start their own company. There were no lawsuits and no threats; Carmack and Romero kept working for Softdisk for a year to avoid leaving the company in a lurch. - The reason Carmack and Romero are credited on so many Softdisk titles stretching into the mid-1990s is that those titles used technology and code that Carmack and Romero had created. They otherwise had no involvement in games like Cyberchess and Dangerous Dave Goes Nutz!
- joshthecynic 5y ago
  Also, Masters of Doom reads like it was written by a 14-year-old. It's so bad that I couldn't finish it.
boneitis 5y ago
In the same vein as Masters of Doom, I enjoyed `Stay Awhile and Listen` for a peek into Blizzard.
reidrac 5y ago
On the spirit of Masters of Doom, I recommend "It's behind you - The making of a computer Game" by Bob Pape. The author explains how he made the R-Type conversion for the ZX Spectrum 48k and provides an interesting view of the "bedroom coders" and the early video game industry in the UK back in the 80s. Self-published and downloadable for free here: http://bizzley.com/ http://bizzley.com/

autarch 5y ago

I really enjoyed the Spelunky book.

nightowl_games 5y ago
I, unfortunately, did not. It felt very mechanical. Like Derek agreed to write the book, and then just kinda... wrote it. It's very dry, matter of fact. It was clear that it was written after the fact by someone who is not a masterful wordsmith. I dont want to take anything away from Derek, or Spelunky, or Boss Fight Books, but I think that having a ghost writer would have helped the Spelunky book.

smoldesu 5y ago

I love the O'Reily design cues here, particularly the vague cover art and uniform cover elements. Had I not known this was a website, I probably would have killed to have a book titled "Super Mario Bros 3" with a racoon on the cover, but now I can just spend $15.

hnal943 5y ago

I recommend They Create Worlds for a comprehensive view of the early industry. Great insights into the causes of the twin crashes of consoles and arcades in the early 80's https://theycreateworlds.com/ https://theycreateworlds.com/

mister_tee 5y ago

Appreciate the suggestions in this thread. Adding recommendations for Blake Harris's "Console Wars" on 90s Sega vs. Nintendo competition, and Jason Schreier's "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" for more of the development angle. It looks like he has a new book out just last week, "Press Reset" -- seems to be on studios/projects that shut down and the aftermath. Adding that one to my reading list. For the link to Boss Fight books: FYI the selector defaults to paperback; ebooks are a very reasonable $5 if anyone prefers digital. They're that price at Amazon for Kindle, too. But IIRC and based on reviews out there, they vary quite a bit in style and quality. Supposedly the Spelunky one is great and written by the creator himself. I bounced off the series because one book was mostly personal anecdotes from the author, a random person who just liked the game, rather than anything about the topic you wouldn't get from playing it or even reading wikipedia. Some of the books do have more research and interviews.

otachack 5y ago
Right, Boss Fight books are a mixed bag IMO but I suggest to anyone, especially HN, to read Spelunky. It's a well balanced account straight from the Spelunky dev himself, Derek Yu. Only con about it is it's so short!
mdbauman 5y ago
While I enjoyed what I've read of the series so far, I think it's a valid criticism that some books read more like a love letter from a fan than a history or notes from the developers. If you're considering reading some of these but are specifically interested in the developer's point of view, I suggest reading some reviews and/or a bit about the [author] so you know what you're getting into. For example: I liked the ZZT book very much, but that may be because I was briefly involved in the ZZT community in the early 2000s; it feels good to have a part of my history written down. If you've just read the Spelunky book (written by the developer Derek Yu) and are hoping the ZZT book is something similar from Tim Sweeney, you [may] be disappointed.
- fmoralesc 5y ago
  I had no connection to the ZZT community, and I loved the ZZT book. I think it captures very well the feeling of being a sort of outcast and trying to express oneself through art. I always remember the bit about being excited about a project and then waking up to the next day and feeling just so... inadequate to the task.

LucidLynx 5y ago

I highly recommend both Wolfenstein3D and Doom black books, from Fabien Sanglard, which are very technical and describe really well a ton of things around those games: how they have been developed, the tools they have been developed on / with, the context, ... Wolfenstein 3D Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbwolf3d/ Doom Black Book: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/ https://fabiensanglard.net/gebbdoom/

superjan 5y ago
What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) or as a free but bitmapped Pdf, so bloated that it used to crash my iPad. I did not mind paying, but would like to get some more flexible format.
- danShumway 5y ago
  Their current Google Book is listed as DRM free[0]. Is that still restricted to only be downloadable in the Google app, or does that mean I could buy it and just download from the Google Play website itself as an EPUB? [0]: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Fabien_Sanglard_Game_Engine_Black_Book_DOOM?id=wel6DwAAQBAJ https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Fabien_Sanglard_...
- LucidLynx 5y ago
  > What I did not like about them was you could either buy a google book (only readable via a google app) It is a DRM free book. I am using another app to read it.
- endgame 5y ago
  Good thing you're using the past tense, as he's published source code for both black books: https://fabiensanglard.net/gebb/index.html https://fabiensanglard.net/gebb/index.html

dejv 5y ago

I read Spelunky book from this series and found it extremely well written and very insightful in areas of game design. I've actually play the game after I've read the book.

RhysU 5y ago
I really like the Spelunky book's content on "Finishing a Game". I think it applies to nearly any extended, difficult endeavor.

bishnu 5y ago

Has anyone read Jordan Mechner's Prince of Persia journal? Was thinking of checking it out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578627310?pf_rd_r=HMREHVABQXQXVW97F1V0&pf_rd_p=ab873d20-a0ca-439b-ac45-cd78f07a84d8&pldnSite=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578627310?pf_rd_r=HMREHVA...

fraencko 5y ago
I read and enjoyed it. Definitely recommended.
cableshaft 5y ago
I've read his Karateka journal, but not that one yet. It wasn't super technical for the most part, at least not that I can remember, but it did give across the vibe of 'regular guy getting to do some cool things and find some success' and I found it extremely conversational, relatable, and inspiring. I do intend to read the Prince of Persia one at some point. It probably also got me to start recording my own game design journal. I'm still kicking myself for not doing one earlier like I initially intended to while I got a pretty cool job working for a video game publisher as a producer (instead I wrote like, 5 or 6 journals total... that was 11 years ago now, so a lot of it has gotten fuzzy...maybe if I sit down and try my best to remember at some point). But my game design journal (plus some personal stuff) journal, despite me still not having anything published during that time yet, is sitting at over 300,000 words over four years. I generated a ton of ideas and prototypes and consumed lots of lectures and playtested a bunch of other designer's games and had several 'almost' opportunities during that time, so there was plenty to talk about anyway. Pandemic really stunted that habit, though, and I'm struggling to get back into the habit of it (taking a break from writing an entry right now, actually, only the third one this year so far :/).
criddell 5y ago
It's really good. I bought it after reading about Stripe Press (yes, the payments company publishes books). I also picked up The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop. I really enjoyed both books. The quality of the Stripe Press books is outstanding, although the type size is a little small in the Dream Machine book.
5y ago

nairodd 5y ago

David Craddock's "Stay a While and Listen" series.

bondant 5y ago

The Reverse Design series by Patrick Holleman is quite good in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the one on Chrono Trigger.

corysama 5y ago

If you are interested in material like this, check out https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMakingOfGames/ https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMakingOfGames/

baby 5y ago

I realize now that I would read a book on half life or counter strike and its inception.

bondant 5y ago
For half-life you might like: http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/rd_hl_1.html http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/rd_hl_1.html
jccalhoun 5y ago
Not a book but Geoff Keighley has done articles on Half-Life 1 + 2, a kind of app of Portal 2 and Alyx https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Fi... https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Fi...

bigbillheck 5y ago

I can recommend "I Am Error", Nathan Altice's book about the NES: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/i-am-error https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/i-am-error

rchoudhury 5y ago
I Am Error was excellent, as was Racing the Beam by Montfort and Bogost. That's from the same "platform studies" series as the Altice book, but focused on the technical and social development of the Atari 2600.

rvba 5y ago

Reverse Design: Diablo II is an interesting book about what makes Diablo 2 so addictive and nice to play. It is a relatively short book (less than 150 pages), where author starts with the way difficulty is set-up (with exaple of Galaxian, where afte4 ewch increase there is a moment of decrease and stability). Then author looks why the game is a "feel good" game - the character becomes better and better. Enemies get better too, but not so fast. There is also a nice chapter about the different types of randomness in the game: used to generate loot. As far as I remmember he also briefly mentions the "5 out of 10" quest system used in Diablo 1. What is really simple but good for replayability. For those interested in Blizzard/Blizzard North/Diablo 2 history you can also check the 2nd book called Stay awhile and listen: heaven, hell and secret cow levels. Author goes more into what wenr wrong during Diablo 2 development (and obviously what went good). The 1st book is about Diablo 1 and is much weaker: it is mlstly quotes "we made a great game". The second book repeats a lot of info from first and focuses more on why Blizzard North fell.

_the_inflator 5y ago

A lot of old book gems can be found over at archive.org Really a treasure trove for old and "forgotten" classics.

billytetrud 5y ago

I like how almost every one of these books has a somewhat random picture on the cover

deleted 5y ago

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mentos 5y ago

I’m enjoying Once Upon Atari about ‘the game that caused the collapse of the video games industry’ in the early 80s Some fun descriptions/stories of early life at Atari

thrower123 5y ago

Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings by Ken Williams is another interesting one. It's more focused on the business side of the early game industry (especially the end of Sierra, and the author's side of the story relating to all the shenanigans involved), but it's a quick, interesting read. Probably people who weren't around in the 90s have forgotten how huge Sierra was in PC gaming.

baud147258 5y ago

I was checking the description of the books and I can't resist rolling my eyes at the idea that KOTOR offered" complex morality choices". I mean the game follows the binary morality system from Star Wars with its Light/Dark sides, which were translated in-game as being a nice guy or a jerk.

darren_ 5y ago

I see a lot of comments about other book series but not many about the specific bossfightbooks ones. Has anyone read any of them other than the Spelunky one? I read the Spelunky one and enjoyed it, and grabbed the Baldur's Gate II one because I was under the mistaken impression that all these books were by developers or people otherwise involved in the game's creation, and they'd be war stories or other interesting insights. It wasn't, it's just some guy (he's written a D&D novel but not related to BG in any way) writing general stuff about the game - nothing really in any depth - and a whole lot of stuff about himself. Not at all what I was looking for (my fault, should've read the blurb). Some of the other books seem to have interviews with creators or serious research done - are these good?

jccalhoun 5y ago

In addition to the books mentioned here, I would also suggest Atari Inc. Business is Fun which is a super well researched book about the early days of Atari. They were going to write a second one but one of the coauthors died last year so I don't know if work continues on it or not.

gerlofs 5y ago

John Staats's diary on the development of World of Warcraft. A great book on game development culture, the craft of creating a truly 'massive' game, and, ultimately, a sad story of crunch-time and burnout.

bwb 5y ago

Very nice, and you might like these lists too: The Best Books For Understanding The Video Game Industry By Doug Walsh (who wrote over one hundred officially licensed video game strategy guides) https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-video-game-industry https://shepherd.com/best-books/the-video-game-industry or The Best Video Game Narrative Histories And A Couple Of Others By Harold Goldberg, he is an author/journalist in the industry and wrote 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' https://shepherd.com/best-books/video-game-narrative-histories https://shepherd.com/best-books/video-game-narrative-histori...