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Index
THE LEVEL UP! EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO OUR READERS
Copyright Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRESS START!
IF YOU ARE ANYTHING LIKE ME…
NO, YOU CAN’T HAVE MY JOB
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT WRITING A BOOK
LEVEL 1 - WELCOME, N00BS!
A BRIEF HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES
GAME GENRES
WHO MAKES THIS STUFF?
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT PUBLISHING?
LEVEL 2 - IDEAS
IDEAS: WHERE TO GET THEM AND WHERE TO STICK THEM
WHAT DO GAMERS WANT?
WHY I HATE “FUN”
BRAINSTORMING
BREAKING WRITER’S BLOCK
LEVEL 3 - WRITING THE STORY
THE TRIANGLE OF WEIRDNESS
TIME TO WRAP IT UP
CREATING CHARACTERS
A FEW POINTERS ON WRITING FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES
WRITING FOR LICENSES
LEVEL 4 - YOU CAN DESIGN A GAME, BUT CAN YOU DO THE PAPERWORK?
WRITING THE GDD, STEP 1: THE ONE-SHEET
WRITING THE GDD, STEP 2: THE TEN-PAGER
THE GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT (AND THE AWFUL TRUTH ABOUT WRITING THEM)
GAMEPLAY PROGRESSION
THE BEAT CHART
ABOVE ALL, DON’T BE A SCHMUCK
LEVEL 5 - THE THREE CS, PART 1—CHARACTER
PERSONALITY: DO WE REALLY NEED ANOTHER BADASS?
LET’S GET PERSONAL
FINALLY, WE TALK ABOUT GAMEPLAY
WHY WALK WHEN YOU CAN RUN?
THE ART OF DOING NOTHING
MIGHT AS WELL JUMP
HOISTS AND TEETERS
WHAT GOES UP, MUST FALL DOWN
THE WATER’S FINE… OR IS IT?
BE KIND TO OUR FOUR-LEGGED FRIENDS
USING ALL OF THE PARTS
WE ARE NOT ALONE
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?
LEVEL 6 - THE THREE CS, PART 2—CAMERA
GET IT RIGHT: CAMERA VIEWS
FIRST PERSON CAMERA
THIRD PERSON CAMERA
GIVING UP CONTROL
TWO AND A HALF D
ISOMETRIC CAMERA
TOP-DOWN CAMERA
SPECIAL CASE CAMERAS
TUNNEL VISION
CAMERA SHOT GUIDE
CAMERA ANGLE GUIDE
CAMERA MOVEMENT GUIDE
OTHER CAMERA NOTES
MULTIPLE PLAYER CAMERAS
LEVEL 7 - THE THREE CS, PART 3—CONTROLS
DANCE, MONKEY, DANCE
CHARACTER OR CAMERA RELATIVE?
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
LEVEL8 - SIGN LANGUAGE—HUD AND ICON DESIGN
HEALTH BAR
TARGETING
AMMO GAUGE
INVENTORY
SCORE
RADAR/MAP
CONTEXT-SENSITIVE PROMPT
THE CLEAN SCREEN
ICON HAS CHEEZBURGER?
DON’T GET QTE
HUDS, AND WHERE TO STICK ‘EM
THERE ARE OTHER SCREENS THAN THE HUD
THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES
A FINAL WORD ON FONTS
LEVEL 9 - EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT LEVEL DESIGN, I LEARNED FROM LEVEL 9
THE TOP 10 CLICHÉ VIDEO GAME THEMES
THE NAME GAME
EVERYTHING I LEARNED ABOUT LEVEL DESIGN, I LEARNED FROM DISNEYLAND
THE BEAT CHART
RE-USING RE-USE
THE GARY GYGAX MEMORIAL MAPPING SECTION
THE DAVE ARNENSON MEMORIAL MAPPING SECTION
WRAPPING UP MAPPING
ILLUSIONAL NARRATIVE
GRAY MATTERS
LEAVE THE TRAINING LEVEL FOR LAST
LEVEL 10 - THE ELEMENTS OF COMBAT
400 QUATLOOS ON THE NEWCOMER!
NOW YOU HAVE TO KISS ME
ON MOVING
ON GUARDING
STATE OF THE ART BANG BANG
THE BEST GUN FOR YOU
RUN AND GUN
NOT JUST SHOOTING
DAMMIT JONES, WHERE DOESN’T IT HURT?
DEATH: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
LEVEL 11 - THEY ALL WANT YOU DEAD
BRING ON THE BAD GUYS
I LOVE DESIGNING ENEMIES
I HATE YOU TO PIECES
NON-ENEMY ENEMIES
HOW TO CREATE THE WORLD’S GREATEST BOSS BATTLE
WHO’S THE BOSS?
SIZE MATTERS
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
WHY NOT TO CREATE THE WORLD’S GREATEST BOSS BATTLE
LEVEL 12 - THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF MECHANICS
HOLY DEATH TRAP!
TIME TO DIE
THE MUSIC OF MECHANICS
A NICE LITTLE CALM SPOT
RIDDLE ME THIS
A SHORT WORD ON MINIGAMES AND MICROGAMES
LEVEL 13 - NOW YOU’RE PLAYING WITH POWER
“LOVE THY PLAYER”
MORE WEALTH THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!
LEVEL 14 - MULTIPLAYER—THE MORE THE MERRIER
HOW MANY IS THE RIGHT NUMBER?
MMORPGS, OR HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
LEVEL 15 - SOME NOTES ON MUSIC
SOUNDS LIKE A GAME TO ME
LEVEL 16 - CUTSCENES, OR NO ONE’S GONNA WATCH ‘EM ANYWAY
HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY IN EIGHT EASY STEPS
LEVEL 17 - AND NOW THE HARD PART
NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR STUPID LITTLE WORLD
VIDEO GAMES IS A HAAAARD BUSINESS
WHAT TO DO FOR AN ENCORE?
CONTINUE?
BONUS LEVEL 1
BONUS LEVEL 2
BONUS LEVEL 3
BONUS LEVEL 4
BONUS LEVEL 5
BONUS LEVEL 6
BONUS LEVEL 7
BONUS LEVEL 8
BONUS LEVEL 9
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: EXACTLY LIKE MAKING CHILI
INDEX
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