Best Computer & Video Game Design Books
Whether you want to create your own indie games or work in the gaming industry you’ll need to know about game design.
1. Press Reset: Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
Author: by Jason Schreier
B08HLYK3PG
May 11, 2021
English
From the bestselling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade’s most renowned studios fell apartand the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.
Jason Schreier’s groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.
The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark gamesBioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and moreon to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely.
2. The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters: An A – Z Book of Tips and Tricks the Official Guides Don't Teach You
Author: by Megan Miller
Sky Pony (June 16, 2015)
English
176 pages
By New York Times bestselling author and Minecraft expert, Megan Miller, a full-color book full of practical advice that boys and girls will refer to again and again! Minecraft is the one game that children, parents, and teaches all agree on.
It’s great fun and a wonderful teaching tool. The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters reveals expert tricks of the trade for gamers. This exciting book will cover everything players need to know about mining, farming, building, villagers, the Nether, and more!
Young gamers will be surprised at how quickly they can learn hundreds of new tricks and tips! Want to know where you’ll find the most diamonds or how to protect your villagers at night? This AZ reference is a quick guide to all the tips you want to know, including:How to spawn and kill the Wither bossHow to rescue a baby zombie villagerHow to make a portal without a diamond pickaxeHow to make a secret passageway using paintingsA big book of players’ hacks organized in an easy-to-reference encyclopedia format, this book will show readers the ins and outs of the game, how to survive and thrive, and various mods that can improve play.
3. Minecraft: Guide Collection 4-Book Boxed Set: Exploration; Creative; Redstone; The Nether & the End
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey (October 16, 2018)
English
368 pages
The ultimate gift for any Minecraft fana box set featuring definitive guides to four different aspects of the blockbuster videogame, packed with insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang. The world of Minecraft is waiting to be explored, but danger lurks around every corner.
The official Minecraft: Guide to Exploration will help you survive. Learn how to find resources, craft equipment, and protect yourself from hostile mobs. Minecraft is so varied and limitless that incredible creations can often be daunting to think about, let alone to build.
The official Minecraft: Guide to Creative will teach you all you need to know to create builds more impressive than you could have dreamed of. Survival is difficult in the perilous Nether and End dimensions, and you’ll need to up your game if you want to make it back to the Overworld.
The official Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End will teach you how to navigate the alien terrain, battle the native mobs, and find rare blocks and items. Become a master engineer and create awesome contraptions with the official Minecraft: Guide to Redstone.
4. Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Procreate: How to Create Art on an iPad®
Author: by 3dtotal Publishing
English
200 pages
1912843145
Learn how to paint on your iPad like the professionals in Beginner’s Guide to Procreate, a comprehensive introduction to this industry-standard software. Accessible and versatile, Procreate is an ideal tool for anyone wanting to give digital painting a go. Step-by-step tutorials, quick tips, and inspiring artwork ensure you’ll have all you need to create stunning concept art quickly and easily.
5. Minecraft: Guide to Survival
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey (April 7, 2020)
English
96 pages
Learn how to survive and thrive. Previously published as Guide to Exploration, the revised and updated Guide to Survival has even more insider info and tips from the experts at game-creator Mojang, making this is the definitive, fully illustrated guide to survival in Minecraft.
The mysterious world of Minecraft is just waiting to be explored. But danger lurks around every corner and survival can prove difficult for even the bravest adventurer. Learn how to find resources, craft equipment, and protect yourself. Discover which biomes to avoid when starting out, how to build a mob-proof shelter, where to look for naturally-generated structures laden with loot, and so much more.
Collect all of the official Minecraft books:Minecraft: The IslandMinecraft: The CrashMinecraft: The Lost JournalsMinecraft: The Survivors’ Book of SecretsMinecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval FortressMinecraft: Guide to ExplorationMinecraft: Guide to CreativeMinecraft: Guide to the Nether & the EndMinecraft: Guide to RedstoneMinecraft: MobestiaryMinecraft: Guide to Enchantments & PotionsMinecraft: Guide to PVP MinigamesMinecraft: Guide to FarmingMinecraft: Let’s Build!
6. Minecraft: Guide to Redstone (2017 Edition)
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey
English
96 pages
Discover new and exciting Minecraft builds made easy, broken down into manageable pieceswritten in official partnership with the experts at game-creator Mojang. Learn how to design, build and customize 20 mini-projects in Minecraft, from firefighter planes and deep-sea submarines to hidden bunkers and mini arcade games.
There’s even a superhero flying school! Each build is accompanied by exploded views and step-by-step, fully-illustrated guides and detailed instructions to show you how to complete each build from start to finish. Informative text will help you with your construction understanding and encourage you to use your new knowledge to create your very own builds.
8. Minecraft: Guide to Farming
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey
English
80 pages
The official Minecraft: Guide to Farming will teach you about everything from basic crop farming and animal breeding to hostile mob and block farming. In Survival mode you’re constantly in need of food and other useful items, and true survivors know the importance of setting up their own farming systems.
With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to becoming self-sufficient in Minecraft. Collect all of the official Minecraft books:Minecraft: The IslandMinecraft: The CrashMinecraft: The Lost JournalsMinecraft: The Survivors’ Book of SecretsMinecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval FortressMinecraft: Guide to ExplorationMinecraft: Guide to CreativeMinecraft: Guide to the Nether & the EndMinecraft: Guide to RedstoneMinecraft: MobestiaryMinecraft: Guide to Enchantments & PotionsMinecraft: Guide to PVP MinigamesMinecraft: Guide to FarmingMinecraft: Let’s Build!
Theme Park AdventureMinecraft for Beginners
9. Minecraft: Guide to Ocean Survival
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey
English
80 pages
The official Minecraft: Guide to Ocean Survival will teach you how to breathe underwater, find valuable sunken loot and fight off guardians and other menacing mobs of the deep. Minecraft’s oceans are teeming with colorful life and rare treasures, but new dangers lurk beneath the water and survival can prove difficult.
With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to underwater survival. Collect all of the official Minecraft books:Minecraft: The IslandMinecraft: The CrashMinecraft: The Lost JournalsMinecraft: The Survivors’ Book of SecretsMinecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval FortressMinecraft: Guide to ExplorationMinecraft: Guide to CreativeMinecraft: Guide to the Nether & the EndMinecraft: Guide to RedstoneMinecraft: MobestiaryMinecraft: Guide to Enchantments & PotionsMinecraft: Guide to PVP MinigamesMinecraft: Guide to FarmingMinecraft: Let’s Build!
Theme Park AdventureMinecraft for BeginnersMinecraft: Guide to Ocean Survival
10. Minecraft: Guide to Creative (2017 Edition)
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey
English
96 pages
The official Minecraft: Guide to Creative will teach you all you need to know to create builds more impressive than you could’ve dreamed of. The world of Minecraft is so varied and limitless that incredible creations can often be daunting to think about, never mind to build.
With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to creation in Minecraft. Collect all of the official Minecraft books:Minecraft: The IslandMinecraft: The CrashMinecraft: The Lost JournalsMinecraft: The Survivors’ Book of SecretsMinecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval FortressMinecraft: Guide to ExplorationMinecraft: Guide to CreativeMinecraft: Guide to the Nether & the EndMinecraft: Guide to RedstoneMinecraft: MobestiaryMinecraft: Guide to Enchantments & PotionsMinecraft: Guide to PVP MinigamesMinecraft: Guide to FarmingMinecraft: Let’s Build!
Theme Park AdventureMinecraft for Beginners
11. Minecraft: Epic Bases
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey (October 6, 2020)
English
92 pages
Discover new and exciting Minecraft base builds, with construction tips, blueprint spreads, and fun locationswritten in official partnership with the experts at game-creator Mojang. Are you an expert builder? Looking for inspiration for your next epic build? Then the search is over!
Visit the legendary bases of The Twelve, a guild of expert builders, who are ready to showcase their most stunning creations, including flying airships and underwater lairs. Learn their top tips and tricks for making incredible bases in a variety of themes, and follow their expert advice to create challenging structures and complex redstone mechanisms.
Full of thematic builds and unique features, this book of exceptional bases will spark the imagination of Minecrafters young and old.
12. Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End
Author: by Mojang Ab
Del Rey
English
80 pages
Presents over 100 sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game’s design. Written by one of the world’s top game designers, this book describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design, demonstrating how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in video games.
It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again. New to this edition: many great examples from new VR and AR platforms as well as examples from modern games such as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us, Free to Play games, hybrid games, transformational games, and more.
14. The Making of Prince of Persia: Journals 1985-1993–Illustrated Edition
Author: by Jordan Mechner
Stripe Press
English
336 pages
A deep dive into the origins of the epic, best-selling video game, featuring previously unreleased content, in the game creator’s own words “Mechner’s journey is a universal one for anyone creating something brand new… I’m excited to revisit these journals in newly illustrated form.”- Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram The creator of one of the most innovative and best-selling video games of all time gives an unvarnished look into the process in this one-of-a-kind compilation.
Before Prince of Persia was a best-selling video game franchise and a Disney movie, it was an Apple II computer game created and programmed by one person, Jordan Mechner. Mechner’s candid and revealing journals from the time capture the journey from his parents’ basement to the forefront of the fast-growing 1980s video game industry…
And the creative, technical, and personal struggles that brought the prince into being and ultimately into the homes of millions of people worldwide. Now, on the 30th anniversary of Prince of Persia’s release, Mechner looks back at the journals he kept from 1985 to 1993, offering new insights into the game that established him as a pioneer of cinematic storytelling in the industry.
15. The Advanced Roblox Coding Book: An Unofficial Guide: Learn How to Script Games, Code Objects and Settings, and Create Your Own World! (Unofficial Roblox)
Author: by Heath Haskins
Adams Media
English
256 pages
Clear and easy-to follow instructions for using coding and scripting tools to create new, more advanced Roblox games. Take your game design to the next level, with this complete guide to Roblox coding and scripting! Learn how to code using the programing language Lua to create new objects and games in the Roblox world: from teleporting objects (or PCs/NPCs!, to adding and applying power ups, to creating a leaderboard, and allowing players to save their games.
This book walks you through the basics of the studio tool, provides tutorials for specific actions and creations, then explains how to use all of that knowledge to create your own unique game world! With detailed instructions, example screenshots, and simple explanations of what code to use and how to use it, this book is a must-have guide for any Roblox game designerfrom beginners to expert coders!
16. Roblox Game Development in 24 Hours: The Official Roblox Guide (Sams Teach Yourself)
Author: by Roblox Corporation
Sams Publishing
English
472 pages
Every month, hundreds of millions of people around the world are spending billions of hours on Roblox-and Roblox’s fast-growing community of developers has already earned hundreds of millions of dollars from their creations. For every burgeoning game developer who is looking to take their Roblox skills to the next level fast, look no further than Roblox Game Development in 24 Hours: The Official Roblox Guide.
In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you will deepen your understanding of virtually every facet of Roblox game development. Each short and easy lesson builds upon everything that has come before, helping you take full advantage of this remarkable platform.
Step-by-step instructions walk you through common questions, issues, and tasks; Q&As, Quizzes, and Exercises build and test your knowledge; “Try It Yourself” exercises encourage independent practice. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be a true Roblox game development expert.
Learn how to * Build immersive natural environments using built-in terrain and lighting tools * Model and import assets, models, weapons, and textures * Code game mechanics, animations, and camera movement * Design GUIs for store fronts, player HUDs, and interactive elements * Teleport players between multiple game places * Publish your game to multiple platforms with cross-platform play * Attract players, monetize your game, and earn real cash
