Author: Elizabeth Moon
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345447573
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
“Marvelously compelling . . . consummate military-adventure science fiction.”—SciFi In the aftermath of the cold-blooded assassinations that killed her parents and shattered the Vatta interstellar shipping empire, Kylara Vatta sets out to avenge the killings and salvage the family business. Ky soon discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness. The only hope against such powerful evil is for all the space merchants to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship that once belonged to a notorious pirate, Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility . . . even from her own cousin. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal. Praise for Engaging the Enemy “A fast-paced space adventure, with a heroine that will captivate readers.”—Omaha World-Herald “Excels in character development as well as in its fast-paced action sequences and intricate plotting.”—Library Journal “You’ll have fun with this one, for Moon keeps things moving.”—Analog
Engaging the Enemy
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345447573
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
“Marvelously compelling . . . consummate military-adventure science fiction.”—SciFi In the aftermath of the cold-blooded assassinations that killed her parents and shattered the Vatta interstellar shipping empire, Kylara Vatta sets out to avenge the killings and salvage the family business. Ky soon discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness. The only hope against such powerful evil is for all the space merchants to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship that once belonged to a notorious pirate, Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility . . . even from her own cousin. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal. Praise for Engaging the Enemy “A fast-paced space adventure, with a heroine that will captivate readers.”—Omaha World-Herald “Excels in character development as well as in its fast-paced action sequences and intricate plotting.”—Library Journal “You’ll have fun with this one, for Moon keeps things moving.”—Analog
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345447573
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
“Marvelously compelling . . . consummate military-adventure science fiction.”—SciFi In the aftermath of the cold-blooded assassinations that killed her parents and shattered the Vatta interstellar shipping empire, Kylara Vatta sets out to avenge the killings and salvage the family business. Ky soon discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness. The only hope against such powerful evil is for all the space merchants to band together. Unfortunately, because she commands a ship that once belonged to a notorious pirate, Ky is met with suspicion, if not outright hostility . . . even from her own cousin. Before she can take the fight to the enemy, Kylara must survive a deadly minefield of deception and betrayal. Praise for Engaging the Enemy “A fast-paced space adventure, with a heroine that will captivate readers.”—Omaha World-Herald “Excels in character development as well as in its fast-paced action sequences and intricate plotting.”—Library Journal “You’ll have fun with this one, for Moon keeps things moving.”—Analog
Characteristics of Games
Author: George Skaff Elias
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262542692
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
Understanding games--whether computer games, card games, board games, or sports--by analyzing certain common traits. Characteristics of Games offers a new way to understand games: by focusing on certain traits--including number of players, rules, degrees of luck and skill needed, and reward/effort ratio--and using these characteristics as basic points of comparison and analysis. These issues are often discussed by game players and designers but seldom written about in any formal way. This book fills that gap. By emphasizing these player-centric basic concepts, the book provides a framework for game analysis from the viewpoint of a game designer. The book shows what all genres of games--board games, card games, computer games, and sports--have to teach each other. Today's game designers may find solutions to design problems when they look at classic games that have evolved over years of playing.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262542692
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
Understanding games--whether computer games, card games, board games, or sports--by analyzing certain common traits. Characteristics of Games offers a new way to understand games: by focusing on certain traits--including number of players, rules, degrees of luck and skill needed, and reward/effort ratio--and using these characteristics as basic points of comparison and analysis. These issues are often discussed by game players and designers but seldom written about in any formal way. This book fills that gap. By emphasizing these player-centric basic concepts, the book provides a framework for game analysis from the viewpoint of a game designer. The book shows what all genres of games--board games, card games, computer games, and sports--have to teach each other. Today's game designers may find solutions to design problems when they look at classic games that have evolved over years of playing.
Victory Conditions
Author: Elizabeth Moon
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345504828
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
Elizabeth Moon’s thrilling Vatta’s War series, featuring the no-holds-barred space-faring heroine Kylara Vatta, has secured her reputation as a master of first-rate military science fiction. Now Commander Vatta is back–locked and loaded and ready to win the fight against the marauding forces of ruthless space pirate Gammis Turek. For Ky, it’s not just about liberating the star systems subjugated by Turek and defending the rest of the galaxy’s freedom. There’s also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty . . . and the slaughter of Ky’s family. But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under way–including the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort. And when a spy ring linked to a wealthy businessman is exposed, a cracked pirate code reveals a galaxywide conspiracy fueling the proliferation of Turek’s warship fleet. Matching the invaders’ swelling firepower will mean marshaling an armada of battle-ready ships for Ky to lead into combat. But a violent skirmish leaves Ky reeling–and presumed dead by her enemies. Now, as Turek readies an all-out attack on the Nexus system–a key conquest that could seal the rest of the galaxy’s doom–Ky must rally to the challenge, draw upon every last reserve of her strategic skills, and reach deep if she is to tear from the ashes of tragedy her most decisive victory.
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN: 0345504828
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 418
Book Description
Elizabeth Moon’s thrilling Vatta’s War series, featuring the no-holds-barred space-faring heroine Kylara Vatta, has secured her reputation as a master of first-rate military science fiction. Now Commander Vatta is back–locked and loaded and ready to win the fight against the marauding forces of ruthless space pirate Gammis Turek. For Ky, it’s not just about liberating the star systems subjugated by Turek and defending the rest of the galaxy’s freedom. There’s also a score to be settled and payback to be meted out for the obliteration of the Vatta Transport dynasty . . . and the slaughter of Ky’s family. But the enemy have their own escalation efforts under way–including the placement of covert agents among the allies with whom Ky and the surviving Vattas are collaborating in the war effort. And when a spy ring linked to a wealthy businessman is exposed, a cracked pirate code reveals a galaxywide conspiracy fueling the proliferation of Turek’s warship fleet. Matching the invaders’ swelling firepower will mean marshaling an armada of battle-ready ships for Ky to lead into combat. But a violent skirmish leaves Ky reeling–and presumed dead by her enemies. Now, as Turek readies an all-out attack on the Nexus system–a key conquest that could seal the rest of the galaxy’s doom–Ky must rally to the challenge, draw upon every last reserve of her strategic skills, and reach deep if she is to tear from the ashes of tragedy her most decisive victory.
The Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game Design
Author: Glenn Ford
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040166636
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
This book presents a much-needed framework for the critical examination of miniatures games and their design. It provides the reader with both a conceptual model for understanding how these games work as well as a toolbox of mechanical approaches to achieving a range of design outcomes and assessing the fit of any given approach within a specific design. Though dating back to the 1820s, tabletop miniatures games have been little explored critically and lack a conceptual vocabulary for their discussion. Active practitioners in the miniature games design community, Glenn Ford and Mike Hutchinson explore what defines these games, proposing the term ‘non-discrete miniatures games’ to encapsulate the essence of these open and immersive hobby gaming experiences. Discarding the term ‘wargame’, they argue against limiting conceptions of these games to direct armed conflict, and champion their diverse narrative potential. The book provides a fresh conceptual framework for miniatures games, abstracting the concepts of positioning and moving markers non-discretely across scale-modelled environments into inclusive and generalised terminology, untethering them from their roots as military simulations and providing the foundations for a fresh consideration of miniatures games design. Written for game designers, and with a foreword by Gav Thorpe, The Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game Design is a handbook for those that wish to design better miniatures games.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040166636
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
This book presents a much-needed framework for the critical examination of miniatures games and their design. It provides the reader with both a conceptual model for understanding how these games work as well as a toolbox of mechanical approaches to achieving a range of design outcomes and assessing the fit of any given approach within a specific design. Though dating back to the 1820s, tabletop miniatures games have been little explored critically and lack a conceptual vocabulary for their discussion. Active practitioners in the miniature games design community, Glenn Ford and Mike Hutchinson explore what defines these games, proposing the term ‘non-discrete miniatures games’ to encapsulate the essence of these open and immersive hobby gaming experiences. Discarding the term ‘wargame’, they argue against limiting conceptions of these games to direct armed conflict, and champion their diverse narrative potential. The book provides a fresh conceptual framework for miniatures games, abstracting the concepts of positioning and moving markers non-discretely across scale-modelled environments into inclusive and generalised terminology, untethering them from their roots as military simulations and providing the foundations for a fresh consideration of miniatures games design. Written for game designers, and with a foreword by Gav Thorpe, The Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game Design is a handbook for those that wish to design better miniatures games.
Paratextualizing Games
Author: Benjamin Beil
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3732854213
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Gaming no longer only takes place as a ›closed interactive experience‹ in front of TV screens, but also as broadcast on streaming platforms or as cultural events in exhibition centers and e-sport arenas. The popularization of new technologies, forms of expression, and online services has had a considerable influence on the academic and journalistic discourse about games. This anthology examines which paratexts gaming cultures have produced – i.e., in which forms and formats and through which channels we talk (and write) about games – as well as the way in which paratexts influence the development of games. How is knowledge about games generated and shaped today and how do boundaries between (popular) criticism, journalism, and scholarship have started to blur? In short: How does the paratext change the text?
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3732854213
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Gaming no longer only takes place as a ›closed interactive experience‹ in front of TV screens, but also as broadcast on streaming platforms or as cultural events in exhibition centers and e-sport arenas. The popularization of new technologies, forms of expression, and online services has had a considerable influence on the academic and journalistic discourse about games. This anthology examines which paratexts gaming cultures have produced – i.e., in which forms and formats and through which channels we talk (and write) about games – as well as the way in which paratexts influence the development of games. How is knowledge about games generated and shaped today and how do boundaries between (popular) criticism, journalism, and scholarship have started to blur? In short: How does the paratext change the text?
Simulating War
Author: Philip Sabin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441162267
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
Over the past fifty years, many thousands of conflict simulations have been published that bring the dynamics of past and possible future wars to life. In this book, Philip Sabin explores the theory and practice of conflict simulation as a topic in its own right, based on his thirty years of experience in designing wargames and using them in teaching. Simulating War sets conflict simulation in its proper context alongside more familiar techniques such as game theory and operational analysis. It explains in detail the analytical and modelling techniques involved, and it teaches you how to design your own simulations of conflicts of your choice. The book provides eight simple illustrative simulations of specific historical conflicts, complete with rules, maps and counters. Simulating War is essential reading for all recreational or professional simulation gamers, and for anyone who is interested in modelling war, from teachers and students to military officers.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441162267
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
Over the past fifty years, many thousands of conflict simulations have been published that bring the dynamics of past and possible future wars to life. In this book, Philip Sabin explores the theory and practice of conflict simulation as a topic in its own right, based on his thirty years of experience in designing wargames and using them in teaching. Simulating War sets conflict simulation in its proper context alongside more familiar techniques such as game theory and operational analysis. It explains in detail the analytical and modelling techniques involved, and it teaches you how to design your own simulations of conflicts of your choice. The book provides eight simple illustrative simulations of specific historical conflicts, complete with rules, maps and counters. Simulating War is essential reading for all recreational or professional simulation gamers, and for anyone who is interested in modelling war, from teachers and students to military officers.
Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers
Author: Ethan Ham
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1317536037
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
Learn the mechanics that take your game from an idea to a playable product. Do you aspire to be a game designer but aren’t sure where to begin? Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers guides you through your initial attempts to design game mechanics. It goes beyond simple description and definition to explore in detail the issues that designers grapple with for every game they create. Learning to design tabletop games builds a solid foundation for game designers and provides methods that can be applied towards creating paper prototypes of computer-targeted games. Presented in a step-by-step format, Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers helps the reader understand how the game design skills that are acquired through creating tabletop games can be used when designing video games. Fully playable games accompany every topic so you can truly understand and experience each component that goes into game creation. Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers includes: Simple, highly focused games that can be played, analyzed, improved, and/or modified in conjunction with a particular topic in the book. Integrated game design exercises, chapter learning objectives, and in-text sidebars to provide further examples to apply directly to your game creation process. A companion website (www.funmines.com) which includes: "print & play" tabletop games, links to online games, game design resources, and articles about designing and developing games.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1317536037
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 349
Book Description
Learn the mechanics that take your game from an idea to a playable product. Do you aspire to be a game designer but aren’t sure where to begin? Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers guides you through your initial attempts to design game mechanics. It goes beyond simple description and definition to explore in detail the issues that designers grapple with for every game they create. Learning to design tabletop games builds a solid foundation for game designers and provides methods that can be applied towards creating paper prototypes of computer-targeted games. Presented in a step-by-step format, Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers helps the reader understand how the game design skills that are acquired through creating tabletop games can be used when designing video games. Fully playable games accompany every topic so you can truly understand and experience each component that goes into game creation. Tabletop Game Design for Video Game Designers includes: Simple, highly focused games that can be played, analyzed, improved, and/or modified in conjunction with a particular topic in the book. Integrated game design exercises, chapter learning objectives, and in-text sidebars to provide further examples to apply directly to your game creation process. A companion website (www.funmines.com) which includes: "print & play" tabletop games, links to online games, game design resources, and articles about designing and developing games.
Learning Video Game Design on the Tabletop
Author: Ethan Ham
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040130151
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Learn the mechanics that take your game from an idea to a playable product. Do you aspire to be a game designer but aren’t sure where to begin? Learning Video Game Design on the Tabletop guides you through your initial attempts to design game mechanics. It goes beyond simple description and definition to explore in detail the issues that designers grapple with for every game they create. Learning to design tabletop games builds a solid foundation for game designers and provides methods that can be applied towards creating paper prototypes of computer-targeted games. Presented in a step-by-step format, this book helps the reader understand how the game design skills that are acquired through creating tabletop games can be used when designing video games. Fully playable games accompany every topic so you can truly understand and experience each component that goes into game creation. The Second Edition includes: Simple, highly focused games that can be played, analyzed, improved, and/or modified in conjunction with a particular topic in the book Integrated game design exercises, chapter learning objectives, and in-text sidebars to provide further examples to apply directly to your game creation process Essays from professional tabletop and video game designers in which they describe their professional journeys and design philosophies.
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1040130151
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
Learn the mechanics that take your game from an idea to a playable product. Do you aspire to be a game designer but aren’t sure where to begin? Learning Video Game Design on the Tabletop guides you through your initial attempts to design game mechanics. It goes beyond simple description and definition to explore in detail the issues that designers grapple with for every game they create. Learning to design tabletop games builds a solid foundation for game designers and provides methods that can be applied towards creating paper prototypes of computer-targeted games. Presented in a step-by-step format, this book helps the reader understand how the game design skills that are acquired through creating tabletop games can be used when designing video games. Fully playable games accompany every topic so you can truly understand and experience each component that goes into game creation. The Second Edition includes: Simple, highly focused games that can be played, analyzed, improved, and/or modified in conjunction with a particular topic in the book Integrated game design exercises, chapter learning objectives, and in-text sidebars to provide further examples to apply directly to your game creation process Essays from professional tabletop and video game designers in which they describe their professional journeys and design philosophies.
Your Turn!
Author: Scott A. Rogers
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119981603
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
Whether you are a novice or experienced pro, this easy-to-follow guide to designing board games is for you! In Your Turn! The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design, veteran game designer Scott Rogers—creator of tabletop games including Rayguns and Rocketships, Pantone the Game and ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo—delivers a practical walkthrough to help YOU create over a half-dozen game prototypes, including dice, card, euro, miniature, and party games. The book is packed with easy-to-follow instructions, charming illustrations, and hands-on lessons based on the author's proven knowledge and experience. And once you've made your game, Your Turn! will teach you how to prepare, pitch and sell it whether through crowdfunding or a publisher. You’ll also learn how to: Write and create elegant and crystal-clear rules of play Playtest your games to improve quality, fix problems, and gather feedback Learn what players want and how to design for it Learn the secrets of the Six Zones of Play and why they are so important to your game design! Your Turn! is the essential guide for practicing and aspiring tabletop game designers everywhere! Why wait to make the tabletop game of your dreams? Grab this book and prepare to take Your Turn!
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119981603
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 602
Book Description
Whether you are a novice or experienced pro, this easy-to-follow guide to designing board games is for you! In Your Turn! The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design, veteran game designer Scott Rogers—creator of tabletop games including Rayguns and Rocketships, Pantone the Game and ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo—delivers a practical walkthrough to help YOU create over a half-dozen game prototypes, including dice, card, euro, miniature, and party games. The book is packed with easy-to-follow instructions, charming illustrations, and hands-on lessons based on the author's proven knowledge and experience. And once you've made your game, Your Turn! will teach you how to prepare, pitch and sell it whether through crowdfunding or a publisher. You’ll also learn how to: Write and create elegant and crystal-clear rules of play Playtest your games to improve quality, fix problems, and gather feedback Learn what players want and how to design for it Learn the secrets of the Six Zones of Play and why they are so important to your game design! Your Turn! is the essential guide for practicing and aspiring tabletop game designers everywhere! Why wait to make the tabletop game of your dreams? Grab this book and prepare to take Your Turn!
Life Is a Game
Author: Edward Castronova
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501359177
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
What if life is a game? Are you winning? Have you even decided what 'winning' is? Game design could be defined in many ways, but here the term is used to denote the practice of creating choices. Designing a game, in this sense, involves crafting limits, rewards, incentives, and risks in such a way that the person who interacts with the game – the player – makes choices that have consequences. Edward Castronova urges readers to think about the fundamentals of the human condition and compare them to different games that we all know. In some ways, life is like an idle game: providing unchallenging distractions that fit easily into a person's daily routine. In other ways, life is like the game Minesweeper: You poke in different places to learn about what you don't know, taking care to avoid big explosions. Or, life is like a role-playing game: You adopt a persona and speak your part, always seeking adventure. Bringing together questions relating to diverse fields – such as politics, economics, sociology and philosophy - Castronova persuades readers to broaden the scope of game design to answer questions about life's everyday obstacles. The object of this book is to take seriously the idea that life is a game. The goal is not to make readers wealthier or healthier. Its goal is to go on a journey into the human condition, with game design as a guide.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1501359177
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 233
Book Description
What if life is a game? Are you winning? Have you even decided what 'winning' is? Game design could be defined in many ways, but here the term is used to denote the practice of creating choices. Designing a game, in this sense, involves crafting limits, rewards, incentives, and risks in such a way that the person who interacts with the game – the player – makes choices that have consequences. Edward Castronova urges readers to think about the fundamentals of the human condition and compare them to different games that we all know. In some ways, life is like an idle game: providing unchallenging distractions that fit easily into a person's daily routine. In other ways, life is like the game Minesweeper: You poke in different places to learn about what you don't know, taking care to avoid big explosions. Or, life is like a role-playing game: You adopt a persona and speak your part, always seeking adventure. Bringing together questions relating to diverse fields – such as politics, economics, sociology and philosophy - Castronova persuades readers to broaden the scope of game design to answer questions about life's everyday obstacles. The object of this book is to take seriously the idea that life is a game. The goal is not to make readers wealthier or healthier. Its goal is to go on a journey into the human condition, with game design as a guide.