Aspiring game developers need to know how to develop a game that will "really" get published. They need step-by-step instructions on how to conceptualize, design, and develop a saleable game, and that’s what they’ll find here. Written by the developer of Dead Reckoning and Sorcerer, this book teaches developers how to approach game design from the product design viewpoint. Instead of creating a game and then trying to get it published, they’ll learn how to look at their game from the publisher and consumer perspective first. What does a game need to make it publishable? What will make it enticing to the target audience? All of these questions will be answered beginning with the brain storming, market research, and team building stages and then moving to the design, creation, and documentation phases. Plus all of the tools needed to create a game are included on the CD.

Many aspiring game developers are not familiar with the "ins and outs" of the game publishiing industry. As a result, their ideas are often rejected, only because the proposals were not carefully crafted, polished, and presented to the correct publishers -- or the game demos themselves lacked the necessary characteristics and features for serious consideration. Instead of creating a project first -- then attempting to sell it to a developer -- readers will learn the importance of considering their game ideas from the publishers perspective. This book and CD package provides the would-be developer with all of the software for designing, proposing and developing 3D games.

Key Features
- Includes samples of the game treatment, design document, cover letter, press release, and tips on creating a proposal
- The CD contains free, trial, and limited use versions of game creation engines and tools, the tutorials in the book, and a program that allows you to package your game demo into a "professional install" routine
- Covers contract negotiation, budgets, schedules, and assembling the proper team
- Detailed tutoraials walk you through the game development process, describing step by step procedures for level design, creating environments, props, lighting, sound, weapons, special effects, and more
- Up to date information on different game genres and the computer game industry - what’s selling and what’s not

Discusses the business aspects of game development such as intended audience, description of the package, distribution, and promotion considerations
- written by a developer of successful games who wants to share his insights and experiences with aspiring developers

A must for someone New or Old! to game Development

Great book! The first 13 chapters are devoted to getting a game ready for a publisher. It goes into great depth of every thing from your design document to your budget scheduals, and more..

Then the second half of the book teaches you to use Genesis 3D a free 3DEngine. Also has alot about level design, lighting, texturing, etc...

Im not new to game development but this book was really helpful, even if you are an indie developer.

The only complaint I have is that it doesnt have anything on Milkshape 3D(trial version) and Truespace2 wich comes with the CD.

Mixed Bag; Uneven Coverage

This is a typical Charles River Media title: It promises a lot upfront (starting with the title), but goes only so far in delivering it.
In particular, it reads like a glorified (if incomplete) manual for ’Genesis 3D,’ a free, no-programming game development engine for developing Quake-like games - with a few chapters toward the end about the possibilities of another prototyping tool called ’Reality Factory,’ a supposed Genesis 3D enhancement (again free).
The good stuff, however, is in the beginning of the book: the game development (business) process, detailed and put as it is. I liked that, and feel THAT, if nothing else, should be the basis for buying this book. Even the Appendices are moderately useful (Paul Steed’s article on Low-poly tricks, anyone?).
It’s pretty much a mixed bag, really, when seen as a whole: you like some parts, but are left wanting for more in the ’actual’ game development process. The author walks you through the creation of your first level, and you feel - there *could* be more; you *want* to have more; and there *should* have been more. But after reading through the first half about the do’s and don’ts of the gaming business, you expect a fairly even treatment toward actually "designing" a complete, playable and likeable (if basic) game that "could" sell, perhaps at the bargain store down the road... That, unfortunately, just isn’t there. Just, just isn’t there. (Nope, it ain’t). Create the first level, look at the features of the given game engines, check these coupla websites, resources, modeling tools, what’s on the CD, there’s more to come, etc., and that’s it, end of story... Good beginning, directionless middle, disappointing end; a typical Charles River Media title from the year 2001. Beginners might benefit from knowing how easy it to develop a game, yet how hard it is to sell it for some real money. Professionals (even semi-professionals), however - I don’t think they’d be much interested beyond the business half.
Recommendation: This really is a good book and a bad book rolled into one. A sort of 2 1/2 stars book (though I gave it 3). But if you really want to purchase it despite its deficiencies, you might want to look at getting "Game Programming: All In One" by Bruno Miguel Texeira de Sousa too, which, I feel, covers the technical ("necessary") side of game development in much greater detail than Mr. Ahearn’s effort here. In a way, it even complements the information in the latter, and may justify purchasing it for its tips-n-advice value, if nothing else.

A must have for any newbie Game Developer

At first I only bought this book as reference material for the world of game design, however, the provides far more valuable information than how to make a design document. The book gives any new developer/designer an insight as to the whole process of producing games. It also shows how to produce a complete game proposal starting with a conver letter and ending with budgets and shcedules.

A MUST have as far as I am concerned.