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How To Make The Next Game (The Lazy Designer Book 2) Kindle Edition

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

Practical advice for designers already working in the games industry and wishing to hone their skills as well as for those aspiring to such a career.
The author, an industry veteran with over ten years experience (lead designer Dragon Age - Origins) explains how companies decide which videogames to make, how to build designer-friendly game engines and pipelines and how to prototype and test.
Along the way the author explores his own experiences with game development and the difficulties he encountered adjusting to life at his dream job. With practical and blunt advice, the Lazy Designer will give you the skills necessary for becoming a valued, and maybe even essential, member of any development team.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Want to learn how to be a successful designer in the videogame industry? This book will provide pointers and anecdotes from the author's own experiences.

About the Author

Brent Knowles is a writer, programmer, and game designer.

He worked at the role-playing game studio BioWare for ten years (Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age), during most of which he was a Lead Designer/Creative Director.

Now he writes full time.

He has been published in a variety of magazines including Neo-Opsis, On Spec, and Tales of the Talisman.

In 2009 Brent placed first in the third quarter of the Writer's of the Future Contest with his story 'Digital Rights'.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00755SZK0
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ YourOtherMind Media; 1.1 edition (February 1, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 1, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 737 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 173 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

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Brent Knowles
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Current Project - Raiders of the Serpent Sea 5e Norse-myth inspired campaign https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcanumworldscanada/raidersoftheserpentsea

Hi. I'm a game designer -- the bulk of my career was at BioWare (Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age). In recent years I have returned to game design, working at N-Space and then Beamdog. I am open to fielding questions from readers... writers ... game developers... so feel free to contact me.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
12 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2017
    This book highlights the importance of software engineering in game development. It does so with a sufficient amount of facts based on the author's experiences. Brent also shared the constraints working in indie vs. mainstream developers, e.g., indie developers have more latitude as to the genre and content of their games. This will help those considering a career as game designers based on their personality. This doesn't mean that creativity and innovation are 'dead' in mainstream developers, it just means that creativity and innovation are limited by boundaries set by top management. Those with formal software engineering backgrounds will find the familiar disciplines needed to make game development efficient: planning, communicating with those involved; unbiased assessments of work in progress by 3rd parties, prioritization of requirements (features/functionalities), version control, etc.

    What I liked about the book is that it also introduces Kaizen (continuous improvement). While there are formal lessons learned meetings where formal improvements are uncovered, Brent encourages personal improvements as well such as playing games you don't necessarily like or by a competitor, reading books (that may or may not be related to work), learning new skills, or just taking a well deserved vacation to clear one's head. I have seen so many engineers burn out because there are no 'rest and relaxation' in between projects. Neuroscientists have already proven the benefits of taking short breaks and most of all, a good night's sleep in maintaining performance.

    What I'd like to see improved in future editions: (1) Provide a bird's eye view of the game development pipeline and the elements making up and supporting the pipeline via an illustration. I assume though that this pipeline is similar to the life cycles in other disciplines, e.g., sprints (Scrum). (2) Better proofreading (some minor spelling and grammatical mistakes).

    I recommend this book to new game designers or to indie game developers who find their development work chaotic. This book will point you in the right direction in terms of the processes and people (project managers, database experts, technical writers) you need.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2014
    Brent has another great book here with Design Prototype and Test. I recently started trying to figure out what it takes to even just build a game. I have found Brent's books to be easy to read, concise but fairly explicit and with plenty of inside knowledge form the industry to help avoid pitfalls.

    If you're looking to build, design or help plan a game, Brent's books are awesome!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2013
    No fluff. To the point. This is a great introductory series on how to be a game designer. I only wish Knowles would hurry up and finish the next one.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2012
    Brent Knowles combines a decade of experience with game design at BioWare, and his passion for writing to bring us the second installment in his Lazy Designer Game Design series. How To Make The Next Game.

    While I wouldn't call this the Bible of Game Design, Brent's knowledge in the field will appeal to both novice and seasoned designers alike. We are presented with information on the various stages one will encounter in the process.

    What I personally like about this author is that he doesn't present with an air of superiority. In fact it is quite the opposite. He invites us to engage and share with him. I'm sure we will see many gems from Brent in the years to come.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2012
    I'm not planning on creating games, but I did take a look at what Brent Knowles had to offer in his Lazy Designer Design Prototype and Test two-part book on how to make the next game. It was written so a novice could understand what steps were necessary in what order to accomplish the goal. What amazes me is the thorough, well-written information you get for $3.99. It's not a big decision and you certainly won't regret it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2012
    Great insight to the intellectual battle between developers and publishers. Both seeing each other as necessary evel but not always are they on the same page.

    Also a great insight into the time it takes to defeat piracy...

    Great read... thanks How To Make The Next Game (Lazy Designer Game Design)
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2012
    This book is invaluable for those wishing to learn more in this area. I have found it highly helpful and I would definitely recommend it!
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Rikki Arundel
    5.0 out of 5 stars An easy read for aspiring game designers
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2012
    I got this for my stepson who aspires to be a game designer but am fascinated by the topic and read the book because I want to support his dreams. I found the book easy to read for a complete novice like myself and more importantly the ideas in the book are completely transferable to general web design. If you have aspirations to become a game designer or if you are just fascinated be the process of game design I can heartily recommend this easy read.

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