Game Design and Development: Code, Psychology and Analytics (Paperback)

An enjoyable and informative read, though it could have been shorter.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I got a lot out of this, even if a few sections felt rushed.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

The clearest explanation of javascript I have come across.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.