Friday, June 3, 2011
Pause for a sec and check this out
I picked up a good book recently that I'd like to recommend to anyone who loves games, and especially anyone who wants to know more about making games.
All your base are belong to us by Harold Goldberg. Using a tired old meme as a title aside, it's a good read. It features a lot of stories about the people behind many excellent games.
I'm sure I can whet most of your appetites by mentioning there's a fascinating chapter about the development of Bioshock, with some inspirational stories about the early career of Ken Levine (my hero, and yours).
I've read books about gaming history, and technical books about development, but not one like this that really focuses on the people themselves. There's lots of stories that resonate with me like stories about the eternal struggles between creative teams and marketing teams (making a game that's creative and original vs. making a game that's guaranteed profit).
I think it's a must read for anyone in the industry, but also for anyone who just wants to get know the people who make games. I mean, people love "making of" features about movies, so why not games?
Give it a try, if you don't like it... I'll stay still and give you a free headshot next time I'm online.