terça-feira, 31 de julho de 2012

quinta-feira, 26 de julho de 2012

The Valve handbook for new employees

Amazing document about the working methodology of Valve. Click on the image below to download the full content.



About the company: Valve is an entertainment software and technology company founded in 1996. In addition to creating several of the world’s most award-winning games like Portal and Half-Life, Valve is also a developer of leading-edge technologies including the Source® game engine and Steam®, the premier online gaming platform. Valve also is the creator of Steam, the pioneering game platform that distributes and manages over 1,800 games directly to a community of more than 40 million players around the world.

Official site http://www.valvesoftware.com/.

segunda-feira, 9 de julho de 2012

Off Book: Video Games

by PBS Arts

Video games are more important than they seem. They are a storytelling medium, a place for self-expression. The age-old tradition of gaming teaches us strategy, maneuvering, and the importance of making choices. From the cinematic experiences of mainstream gaming, to the hyper-personal environments of indie games, gaming activity defines the way we live and interact with information, and each other.



Featuring:
Eric Zimmerman, Game Designer
Jesper Juul, Game Studies Scholar
Leigh Alexander, Game Journalist
Syed Salahuddin, Game Designer and Curator

Follow Off Book:
Twitter: @pbsoffbook
Tumblr: pbsarts.tumblr.com/
Produced by Kornhaber Brown: kornhaberbrown.com

quarta-feira, 4 de julho de 2012

Game interface

Here comes some good quotes from the book Game Interface Design. I believe they are essential ideas to assist the process of creating games. Let's check these points.



Even more important than the visual aspect of interface design is the funcionality. A poor interface can ruin the entire video game experience. The game experience will be negative if the user is confused and can't figure out how to navigate the front-end menu or if he can't understand where to find information while playing the game. (page 2)

Interface planning helps game design. A detailed plan for a video game interface can really help drive game design. Fleshing out all of the details in the menus and the HUD (heads-up display) will force many game-lay decisions to be made early. (page 10)

Simplicity and organization should still be your design goal. The user will enjoy being able to look at a screen and instantly know what to do. Keep your design simple. (page 69)



REFERENCE
:

FOX, Brent. Game interface design. Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2005.