The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture PDF Author: Randy Pausch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780340978504
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture PDF Author: Randy Pausch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780340978504
Category : Cancer
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

Playing to Win

Playing to Win PDF Author: David Sirlin
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1411666798
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Winning at competitive games requires a results-oriented mindset that many players are simply not willing to adopt. This book walks players through the entire process: how to choose a game and learn basic proficiency, how to break through the mental barriers that hold most players back, and how to handle the issues that top players face. It also includes a complete analysis of Sun Tzu's book The Art of War and its applications to games of today. These foundational concepts apply to virtually all competitive games, and even have some application to "real life." Trade paperback. 142 pages.

The Psychology of Video Games

The Psychology of Video Games PDF Author: Celia Hodent
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000194760
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 105

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Book Description
What impact can video games have on us as players? How does psychology influence video game creation? Why do some games become cultural phenomena? The Psychology of Video Games introduces the curious reader to the relationship between psychology and video games from the perspective of both game makers and players. Assuming no specialist knowledge, this concise, approachable guide is a starter book for anyone intrigued by what makes video games engaging and what is their psychological impact on gamers. It digests the research exploring the benefits gaming can have on players in relation to education and healthcare, considers the concerns over potential negative impacts such as pathological gaming, and concludes with some ethics considerations. With gaming being one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, The Psychology of Video Games shows the importance of understanding the human brain and its mental processes to foster ethical and inclusive video games.

Game Programming Patterns

Game Programming Patterns PDF Author: Robert Nystrom
Publisher: Genever Benning
ISBN: 0990582914
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
The biggest challenge facing many game programmers is completing their game. Most game projects fizzle out, overwhelmed by the complexity of their own code. Game Programming Patterns tackles that exact problem. Based on years of experience in shipped AAA titles, this book collects proven patterns to untangle and optimize your game, organized as independent recipes so you can pick just the patterns you need. You will learn how to write a robust game loop, how to organize your entities using components, and take advantage of the CPUs cache to improve your performance. You'll dive deep into how scripting engines encode behavior, how quadtrees and other spatial partitions optimize your engine, and how other classic design patterns can be used in games.

Games

Games PDF Author: C. Thi Nguyen
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190052082
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Games are a unique art form. They do not just tell stories, nor are they simply conceptual art. They are the art form that works in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be in games and what to care about; they designate the player's in-game abilities and motivations. In other words, designers create alternate agencies, and players submerge themselves in those agencies. Games let us explore alternate forms of agency. The fact that we play games demonstrates something remarkable about the nature of our own agency: we are capable of incredible fluidity with our own motivations and rationality. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on games' unique value in human life. C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part of how we become mature, free people. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. We can pursue goals, not for their own value, but for the sake of the struggle. Playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life, and the fact that we can engage in this motivational inversion lets us use games to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, then, are a special medium for communication. They are the technology that allows us to write down and transmit forms of agency. Thus, the body of games forms a "library of agency" which we can use to help develop our freedom and autonomy. Nguyen also presents a new theory of the aesthetics of games. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. They are unlike traditional artworks in that they are designed to sculpt activities - and to promote their players' aesthetic appreciation of their own activity.

One Night Burn: A FREE Prequel to Up in Smoke

One Night Burn: A FREE Prequel to Up in Smoke PDF Author: Kate Meader
Publisher: Kate Meader LLC
ISBN: 1954107110
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 47

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Book Description
All I wanted was a sweet treat to cap off my evening ... Most people celebrate a milestone like graduating from Chicago’s firefighter academy with shots, clubbing, and … okay, more shots. Me? I party with cherry pie at my local diner. Except this hot guy—and I mean smoking hot—snags the last piece. I won’t be denied, however. Rocking a serious case of pie envy, I give him the sad eyes and jackpot! He offers to share. Before long we’re sharing more than pie: heated glances, sparkling conversation, and a kiss that sends me some place I didn’t know existed before I met him. But after every sugar high comes a crash … and I’m about to find out that this guy is very bad for me indeed. One Night Burn is a short and sweet prequel to the full-length novel, Up in Smoke. It ends on a cliffhanger. Free romance, contemporary romance, new adult, free new adult romance, firefighter romance, firefighters, firemen romance, fireman romance, standalone romance, free romance series starter, forbidden romance, freebie

Level 13 (A Slacker Novel)

Level 13 (A Slacker Novel) PDF Author: Gordon Korman
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 1338286226
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
From the bestselling author of Swindle, Restart, and Slacker is another hilarious story about an underachiever who learns to go above and beyond. Cameron Boxer, king of the slackers, has found something worth his time. By playing video games online in front of an audience he can find both fame AND fortune -- especially with Elvis (a beaver who seems to love video games as much as Cam) at his side.The only problem? Things keep getting in Cam's way. Like school. And the club he accidentally started. And the misguided people in his life who don't think beavers should be playing video games.It's going to take some trickery, some close calls, and a fierce devotion to slacking in order for Cam to get to his goal -- conquering the game's infamous Level 13. But if any slacker can do it, Cam can.

Up in Smoke (A Hot in Chicago Rookies Novel)

Up in Smoke (A Hot in Chicago Rookies Novel) PDF Author: Kate Meader
Publisher: Kate Meader LLC
ISBN: 1954107064
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Lives are on the line at Engine 6 … and so are hearts. Running an engine crew in the Chicago Fire Department is my dream job, and between that, my awesome kid, and my nosy sister, I lead a pretty great life. Bruised and burned by my marriage, I don’t have time for dating or drama, but I always have time for pie. And when I share a slice of cherry with a sweet redhead, followed by the hottest, dirtiest, most pulse-pounding kiss of my life, I start to rethink the possibilities. Until that woman walks into my firehouse and upends my well-ordered world. Abby Sullivan is now a rookie firefighter on my crew and a threat to my self-control more dangerous than a five-alarm blaze. My job is to watch her six when all I want is to watch her fall into my bed. Lust has no place in the firehouse, and a distraction like Abby with her electric blue eyes, waves of flame-red hair, and freckles I want to map with my tongue, is one I can ill afford. Because one wrong move … and it could all go up in smoke. Up in Smoke is the first in the brand new Hot in Chicago Rookies series about firefighters navigating the trials of new jobs and sizzling romances as they find their place in the world and the love of a lifetime. Firefighters; firemen; firefighter romance; hot in chicago; workplace romance; forbidden romance; boss-employee romance; single dad; single father

Theory of Fun for Game Design

Theory of Fun for Game Design PDF Author: Raph Koster
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
ISBN: 1449363172
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why it’s the most vital element in any game. Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years? How do games serve as fundamental and powerful learning tools? Whether you’re a game developer, dedicated gamer, or curious observer, this illustrated, fully updated edition helps you understand what drives this major cultural force, and inspires you to take it further. You’ll discover that: Games play into our innate ability to seek patterns and solve puzzles Most successful games are built upon the same elements Slightly more females than males now play games Many games still teach primitive survival skills Fictional dressing for modern games is more developed than the conceptual elements Truly creative designers seldom use other games for inspiration Games are beginning to evolve beyond their prehistoric origins

The Status Game

The Status Game PDF Author: Will Storr
Publisher: William Collins
ISBN: 9780008354640
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Science of Storytelling comes a bold and ambitious investigation of status that will redefine human culture for our times There's something humans desire even more than gold. It's a fundamental drive that's common to all humanity, cutting across race, gender, age and culture. Our need for it is such that exactly how much of it we possess dramatically effects not only our happiness and well-being but also our physical health. It'sstatus, argues Will Storr. You can't understand human behaviour without understanding The Status Game. This game, which we are all playing, is not only the secret of our success, but also of our most evil behaviour. Everything is subordinate to status, and humans aren't unique in our complicity with it. By reflecting on the various ways humans negotiate this game - through status hierarchies, values, myths and sacred markers, Storr gives readers a master class in this most malevolent of social mysteries.