Quickstart Guide to Game Design

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Not quite what I expected from the description, but there is material here.

This is the third book I have read on game development this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.