Game Over Press Start To Continue by David Sheff

The riveting story of Nintendo's conquest of the interactive entertainment industry offering true tales filled with cocky arrogance, confidence and international intrigue that rival any novel. Whether it is recounting the struggles over the game"Tetris," offering blow-by-blow narrative of Nintendo's bitter legal warfare or its see-saw competition with Sega, Sony and other videogames companies for market leadership, Game Over is a masterful piece of business journalism and technical reportage-a book both cautionary and hugely entertaining.

Revolutionaries at Sony: The Making of the Sony Playstation and The Visionaries Who Conquered The World of Video Games by Reiji Asakura

Revolutionaries at Sony is the authorized case history of how Sony came to enter and become a leader in the video game business in the 1990s. Many people despair about the potential for large companies to produce entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial results from within major corporations. Even more people would despair about that occurring with fast-changing technologies in the slow-moving, consensus-driven cultures of Japanese companies. The latest look at this general subject is found in the well-done book, The Innovator's Dilemma.

Trigger Happy : Videogames and the Entertainment Revolution by Steven Poole

Steven Poole's substantial examination of the world inside your console combines an exhaustive history of the games industry with a subtle look at what makes certain kinds of games more engaging than others. For example, what works in which genres--the RPG (role-playing game) versus the god game--and the relationship of video games to other forms of media.

Game Design: Secret of the Sages by Marc Saltzman

They say that the best way to excel in a trade is to find a position as an apprentice under a great mentor who you would like to emulate. Wouldn't it be great to have Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux or Warren Spector at your disposal, to learn the trade of Game Design? These three game designers alone are responsible for some of the greatest hits ever in the computer games industry. About the next best thing to actually obtaining employment at one of their respective companies, is to get a chance to interview them and find out what some of those trade secrets are, that have made them a blatant success. Well, Marc Saltzman has done just that! He not only interviewed the luminaries mentioned above, but others including: David Cage, Toby Gard, Richard Garriot, Ron Gilbert, Tom Hall, Marc LeBlanc, The Levelord, Shigeru Miyamoto, David Perry, Bobby Prince, George Sanger, Chris Taylor, Roberta Williams and over 100 others!

Game Design: Theory and Practice (With CD-ROM) by Richard Rouse

One of the most important but least discussed elements of a computer game is the gameplay that makes a game compelling and entertaining. Game Design: Theory & Practice focuses on this elusive Topic and how you can ensure your title has the best gameplay possible. Richard Rouse discusses in detail key game design topics including game balancing, storytelling, non-linearity, player motivations, input/output, artificial intelligence, level design, and playtesting. This book delves into the entire breadth of interactive games, covering computer, console, and arcade titles, and spanning a variety of gaming genres Including strategy, adventure, simulation, action, role-playing, sports, and wargames.

Follow the entire game development process, from brainstorming a game idea, establishing the focus, and determining the storytelling mode to getting the gameplay working, documenting the design, and playtesting. Learn the techniques of top game designers through in-depth interviews:

Chris Crawford, Balance of Power, Eastern Front (1941)
Ed Logg, Asteroids, Centipede, Gauntlet
Jordan Mechner, Prince of Persia, Karateka, The Last Express
Sid Meier, Civilization, Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, Gettysburg!
Steve Meretzky, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall
Will Wright, SimCity, The Sims