Quickstart Guide to Game Design

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

This is the one to get if you are serious about game development.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.