Reviews (23)

A very solid basis for game design
I'll start with the bad aspects of the book first. It is very repetitious at times.It also tends to overanalyze some aspects of gaming and game design.That being said. I have no other ill comments about this book.
An Academic who claims to be a designer. . .and then writes a book
Having used this book for a few semesters, I offer you this: Avoid this book, unless you too are an academic who has nothing real to offer the world of video games in terms of game design or actual game production.
INTRODUCTION to Game Design Fundamentals
Rules of Play is an elaborate promotion for SiSSY FiGHT 2000.Though the cover art is cleverly composed of images from Street Fighter II and Super Mario Bros, I had the feelng of being mislead by the end of the book.Everything comes back to SiSSY FiGHT 2000.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Design    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer games    5. Computers    6. Computers - Games    7. Design    8. Interactive & Multimedia    9. Programming    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / Game Programming    11. General Theory of Computing    12. Multimedia   

Reviews (9)

Game Development praise
Jeannie Novak's book Game Development Essentials is an excellent text covering the scope of today's gaming environment. Everything from story development, marketing, character development and audience demographics is covered in this text. She uses highly appropriate first person narratives from industry professionals and has excellent study guide questions at the conclusion of each chapter. The CD included also has great game demos and trials as well as excellent links to web sites that add enrichment to the reading. I look forward to her other upcoming titles.

Not BAD!
I've been making games for 19 years and I couldn't disagree more with Mark Baldwin's criticisms of this book. Jeannie Novak has written a fresh, all-encompassing book on the subject of game development. The industry is rapidly evolving and this is one of the few texts to keep up with current thinking and present it in a manner that is easy to digest.
Excellent introduction to the industry
This book is a great introduction to the game industry in general. It doesn't delve deeply, but does a flyover of what is becoming an increasing complex medium. It hits the points someone seeking to enter the industry needs to know - everything from features of the companies creating games to current styles of development.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Reference - General    6. Art / Graphic Arts    7. Computer Programming    8. Computer games   

Reviews (14)

Microsoft is great with software but not with documentation
I ordered this book as well as Special Addition Using Ms FP 2003The only FP2003 book you'll ever need.This is the book to get!!The microsoft book does not really do a good job of fully explaining the topic.To me it was very confusing.The other book I just mentioned is 3 times as thick and goes from very basic to very advanced.So as you grow the book will be there for all the information.I will be returning this book and keeping the Special Addition.

3 books on learning FrontPage 2003
I actually bought 3 books: Microsoft FrontPage 2003 Step-by-Step, Microsoft FrontPage 2003 Inside-Out, and Que Special Edition Using FrontPage 2003.
Provides Only a Spefic Example Included on The CD
Does not provide directions for "Step-by-Step" creation of your own original web site. It continously refers to the example on the included CD so you recreate that website.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computers    4. Design    5. Electronic publishing    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Internet - Web Site Design - Frontpage    8. Internet - World Wide Web    9. Microcomputer Integrated Application Software    10. Microsoft FrontPage    11. Programming - Software Development    12. Web publishing    13. Web sites    14. Computers / General    15. Home Computing    16. Internet    17. Presentation graphics software   

Reviews (9)

What they mean by "Art"
I think some readers may be confused by the title, "The Art of Maya."This is not a coffe tale book showing some art made by Maya users.The title is a play on Sun Tzu's book, "The Art of War."That is exactly what this book is, it is a soup to nuts explaination of the "art" of using Maya.
On The Money
My Book arrived in great condition and on time.
Very good overall Maya book
It's a very good book if you knew how to use Maya.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Other Applications    7. Desktop Publishing - General    8. Three-dimensional display systems    9. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    10. Computing and Information Technology   

Reviews (3)

Not for Novices
An encyclopedia of helpful information but, this will not be helpful to a novice trying to learn the program for the first time.
Very comphrensive book - CDROM has some problems
The Simulations folder on the CDROM included with the book containssome broken links, probably due to a production problem and it is my understanding that this will soon be corrected.
Dreamweaver 8 Bible
I would highly recommend this new release on Dreamweaver 8
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Subjects:  1. Authoring programs    2. Computer - Internet    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. Computers    5. Design    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Web site development    8. Web sites    9. Computer graphics software    10. Computers / Internet / Web Site Design    11. HTML   

Reviews (2)

Great Resource
The reality is that lots of graphic designers don't have formal design training, which can result in a problematic lack of production and printing knowledge. This book is easy to read (in a day), thoughtfully illustratrated, and covers the most important productino and printing issues that a designer should be aware of.
New to print? You need this book
I know a teeny tiny bit of print. Spot colours - hmm I did know that one, but since I don't do much print (or haven't til this year) I was always at a loss when it came ready for the printer.This book is an essential guide for the non print designer.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Desktop Publish    2. Computers    3. Computers - Desktop Publishing    4. Desktop Publishing    5. Desktop Publishing - General    6. Graphic Design    7. Computer Software Packages    8. Computers / Desktop Publishing / General   

Reviews (4)

Worth buying
Excellant and useful book.My only complaint is the first couple of chapters are basic Mac OS how to stuff and a waste of time/space. Be sure to read the Appendices on the DVD though

Unjust Rip!
Lowering the books rating because the Mac requirements are higher than for FCE 3.0 isn't being very fair.The cover says HD, so it's obviously a new version.The description is certainly enough.I would raise the books rating and lower his.

Only book of its kind right now
To date, this the only book that covers FCE 3.5 HD & I strongly recommend it. The intended audience I think is FCE users who would like to make more professional home videos but I think new filmmakers would also benefit from the lessons. If you're interested in mastering advanced topics like color correction, you'll have to pick up other books in this series. Overall though, this an excellent book for the beginner trying to learn FCE as well as how to craft a cinematic experience.
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Subjects:  1. Cinematography & Videography    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Design    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers    6. Computers - Desktop Publishing    7. Digital Image Processing    8. Graphic Design    9. Interactive & Multimedia    10. Techniques - Digital    11. Computers / Interactive Media    12. Image processing: video   

Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. CAD-CAM - General    3. Cad/Cam    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - General Information    7. Design & Drafting    8. Computer aided design (CAD)    9. Computer graphics software    10. Computers / CAD-CAM / General   

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - Flash    4. Computers    5. Computers - Desktop Publishing    6. Internet - Web Site Design    7. Computers / Computer Animation    8. Image processing    9. Multimedia   

Reviews (2)

This is the best animation book I have seen!
Over the years I have read and browsed many books on animation. Not only does this book cover the basics it explains them. The figures are easy to follow and convey complex concepts well. A lot of other animation books will cover a basic walk cycle from just the side view. Webster's book covers it from the side and front. I have had this book for a year and it has not made it to my bookshelf yet. I use it constantly for reference.

well presented and accessible
A well presented and accessible review of the basic principles of animation and its organization. By encouraging the readers to ask themselves questions about the various proposed tasks the author helps to move them towards self-reliance. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Animation    7. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    8. Image processing: computer animation   

Reviews (4)

The true value of this book . . .
I can only speculate that this book is, as was one of the previous editions I've read, used and loved, is bound to provide an exceptional foundational education in the skill of technical (engineering design) drawing/drafting for those with the natural aptitude for freehand drawing. Readers will indeed learn about and develop precision drawing skills--whether drawing with instruments or computer.
Profoundly Frustrating
As a freshman engineering major, I have been compelled to use Technical Drawing for a graphics course.This has been a profoundly frustrating experience.It seems that the authors, in their zeal to attain unto the dry, lifeless style characteristic of most professional engineering publications, also unintentionally created a text which is superlatively unclear.
One of the best sources available
This book is loaded with technical information for the dratsman and designer. A must have for anyone who is in the mechanical technology field. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. CAD-CAM - General    2. Cad/Cam    3. Drafting & Mechanical Drawing    4. Drafting Technology    5. Engineering - General    6. Mechanical drawing    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Technology    9. Technology & Industrial Arts    10. Computers / CAD-CAM / General    11. Engineering graphics & technical drawing   

Reviews (27)

A Must Have Addition for your Photoshop Library
Squeezed between the covers of this book is an enormous amount of essential information about how to do just about everything with Photoshop with a little bit of Illustrator thrown in for good measure. The author starts the book off with one of the best visual demonstrations of how to use Photoshop to make selections, replace colors, and many more. Using commercial illustrations he has created for national magazines and newspapers he shows how he achieved the effects with just enough information to allow you to be able to create a similar photo treatment without making it so complicated that it puts you into a comma reading it. While the latest edition doesn't cover all of the new CS2 tools, it covers the ones necessary for those that do photo clean-ups or manipulation. He even explains how the 3D model feature in Photoshop works - a topic most authors neatly avoid.
Awesome
This book has many informative tutorials and is very good for anyone, from intermediate to advanced users.Worth the price!

Greatest Book Ever Written
Some people prefer War and Peace, but that doesn't come with a CD, isn't in English and doesn't do a thing for the reader's Photoshop skills. And where are the pictures?
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Subjects:  1. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    2. Computers - Desktop Publishing    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography    5. Techniques - General    6. Photography / Techniques    7. Photoshop   

Reviews (4)

This work contributes to graphic design education
I am particularly impressed with the strength of the sections and introductory texts for each section. It is very cleverly planned and well written. More importantly, the strength of the book for me lies on the fact that the assignments do not illustrate but on the contrary, strengthens your observations, aims/objectives, methodology, structure and propositions for the design education. A Unique Approach to Graphic Design Education
Professor Resnick's new text, Graphic Design for Communication offers a fresh, innovative approach to teaching visual communication in general and graphic design in particular. She presents many conceptual design principles in a format that is easy-to-understand, practical, and clear in its organizational hierarchy. The book provides intelligent, pragmatic lessons about design that will be of use to both students and teachers alike. Design for Communication: Conceptual Graphic Design Basics
This new book, like Elizabeth Resnick's earlier one (Graphic Design: A Problem-Solving Approach to Visual Communication), that was published in the early '80s, has a generous amount of student work on its pages, providing the reader with some wonderful and useful examples of solutions to the problems presented. There's even a section with some of these shown in full color!Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Commercial Art    3. Communication in art    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computers - General Information    6. Drawing    7. General    8. Graphic Arts - General    9. Graphic arts    10. Technique    11. Techniques - Drawing    12. Art / Graphic Arts    13. Graphic design   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (16)

Amazing book
This book uses an easy way to explain system patterns. I think every software developer has to read this book; it's a nice reference to help software architects doing a well-done job. Another great reference that you may have in your list of references is the classical book "Design Pattern", also at Amazon.com.

#2 best book about patterns ? yes.
A lot of the reviewers have said that this is the #2 best book about patterns : just trust them. I have bought it with the hope to learn more about patterns, finally it has given me a larger point of view about the subject and has improved a lot my creativity during software designing processes.
The second best pattern book
Second best isn't bad when the #1 book changed forever the way software architecture is talked about.GoF is not only well-written, but it covers all the basic, most-used patterns.Everybody thereafter is going to have to either re-hash GoF, criticize it, or come up with new patterns which are not as fundamental.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics    4. Computer software    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Development    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Programming Languages - General    9. Computer architecture & logic design    10. Computers / Programming / Software Development    11. Software engineering   

Reviews (10)

Best beginners supplement to product manual
Although I had a lot of experience with CAD programs, I struggled with Illustrator 8. I finally upgraded to v. 10 and bought Classroom In a Book for that version. You CAN teach yourself Illustrator with the manual and this book in a few weeks. ICIAB is a good supplement to the manual, which for reasons that always baffled me, has too few illustrations for information aimed at visually oriented people. Tutorial style book for creating illustrations, artwork, etc
After first determining why I needed Illustrator when I already had Photoshop, I picked up this book because of my positive experience with another book from this Classroom in a Book series (Photoshop 7.0). And this book does not disappoint in the least bit either. If you're going to criticize someone...
This book came highly recommended by an Illustrator 10 instuctor.It's an excellent resource for a very powerful software application.One doesn't need to be very technically oriented to get the most out of this book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Illustrator    2. Adobe Illustrator (Computer fi    3. Adobe Illustrator (Computer file)    4. Computer Books And Software    5. Computer Graphics - General    6. Computer Graphics - Illustrator    7. Computer graphics    8. Computers    9. Computers - Desktop Publishing    10. Desktop Publishing - General    11. Microcomputer Graphics    12. Computer graphics software    13. Computers / Computer Graphics / General   

Reviews (6)

This is a fabulous book!
I bought this book several months ago, but only recently found the time to spend a little time with it.This is a fabulous book!It is impeccibly well-organized and presents in a crystal-clear manner the topics that are the most important.Each major section of each chapter includes an exercise for which all of the necessary files are readily available on the included CD.Each exercise is explained (in the usual crystal-clear fashion) in the book, and by going through the steps that it involves yourself, using the supplied images, you quickly develop a solid understanding of all of the essential ideas that are covered in the corresponding section of the book.

Great PhotoShop book!
Photoshop CS2 is the pretty much standard in web graphic design and digital photograph editing now and is a great tool to know.The author assumes no prior knowledge on knowing Photoshop or any other graphic editing tool.So if you're a novice (like me) or have used other graphic editing tools in the past, this is a great book for you.The other thing that is great about this book is that each chapter includes video tutorials from [...] as well as exercises to work on that review each topic covered. Throughout each chapter there beautiful, color screenshots of what is covered as well.
Excellent resource
I had to purchase this book for a class I'm taking and the book is incredibly helpful. It has easy demonstrations to follow--which really help if you're a "hands on" learner, as I am. The book comes with a CD-ROM that has files you can use for the demonstrations as well as demo movies that you can watch. I also had no previous Photoshop experience and still had no problem. I highly recommend it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - General    3. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Interactive & Multimedia    7. Internet - General    8. Internet - Web Site Design    9. Microcomputer Graphics    10. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    11. Photoshop   

Reviews (24)

This wow book really wows
Lots of tips and tricks on how to perfect your photoshop project. This book suits various levels of users: from begninners who just want to touch up their digital photos to users who want to have professional results on their media projects. Lots of how to's and detailed steps to achieve your final goals.

Get Wow CS2 published!!
Jack Davis:If you are reading this, please release your next book, CS2!!!My version of Wow 7 is worn out!THis is the book I carry everywhere.If I get stuck or forget a technique, I just open to that page and relearn it in under a minute.Photographs, artwork, webdesign artwork, typography, it's all there with plenty of illustrations.Just one to four pages on each issue, no need to read on and on.It's absolutely the best, (and I have almost every book on Photoshop published) book about Photoshop, regardless of version.But an update is greatly needed!!!

WOW! What else CAN you say?!
Jack Davis keeps surprising us with great effects and techniques for Photoshop, in this great step-by-step, easy to learn book. This was required in an advanced Photoshop class and it's one book I'm going to KEEP! Awesome! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adobe Photoshop    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Graphics - General    4. Computer graphics    5. Computers    6. Computers - Languages / Programming    7. Desktop Publishing    8. Electronic Publishing    9. Image processing software    10. Microcomputer Graphics    11. Programming Languages - General    12. Computers / Computer Graphics / General    13. Photoshop   

Reviews (7)

Bridging the Digital Disciplines
Artists create by combining and extracting elements, often employing diverse techniques, to express ideas.Sue Bloom's new book brings her background as a teacher and digital artist and painter to the reader by showing how different artistic methods can be combined to create a work richer than any single medium alone could provide.She does this, not just by describing her own work, but by inviting 21 other major digital artists to share their eyes and techniques.Of course, she provides some excellent chapters on the "basics" of digital creation in Photoshop and Painter, but her book's unique strength, I think, lies in going beyond all of the usual "How to" books.It is a book which bridges these different digital disciplines.It covers collage and panorama creation, along with artistic tools in Photoshop and Painter while at the same time has a large section on "Artistic Considerations" (which includes "Experimentation" ideas).Bloom's first sentence begins with the question:"Where does that kernel of inspiration come from?"She brings us many tools to use.Along the way, she offers inspiring and thoughtful quotations from artists throughout history.I took great comfort from her quote from Emerson that "Every artist was first an amateur."An inspiring and truly unique book.BRAVO.

A great book for learning new techniques and skills
This is a great book for the curious and creative artist who wants to use Photoshop and Painter as their tools for expression. The author provides plenty of information, step-by-step instructions and illustrations to help the reader go through the process and create his/her images. The book is not an introduction to basic Photoshop or Painter.The book is for the artist who wants to improve his techniques and learn new skills using these programs. You can practice, and apply the new skills and I'm sure that you will notice immediately the improvement on your technical skills.
A rich palette to dip into!
Susan Bloom has utilized her talents as a gifted teacher, photographer and artist to produce a book that should be kept within easy reach of those aspiring to take their photography to the fine arts level. The book presents a rich palette of ideas to enhance images and to develop the digital artist. Through clear instruction and illustration she shows the extensive range of possibilities available for digital art production.The artist case studies and "instructional" sections provide inspiration, clarify procedures and highlight software capabilities.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Image Processing    3. Computer Graphics - Painter    4. Computer Graphics - Photoshop    5. Computers    6. Interactive & Multimedia    7. Photography    8. Techniques - Digital    9. Electronic & video art    10. Image processing: graphics (static images)    11. Photography / Techniques    12. Photoshop   

Reviews (2)

very good little handbook, but really ugly
This book is full of information, and is really well laid out. I use it frequently in the 2D class I teach, along with two other 2D design books. I like the clarity and the examples. However, there's no getting away from the fact that although this book is loaded with great stuff, that it is also as ugly and cheesy looking as a bad Xerox. That might be okay for a math book, but ummmmm, 2D design?

A tiny gem
A romp through the construction of visual form and pattern. This book is subtle yet deep. Although the example designs are not exquisitely rendered (but rather student projects), the principles that Wong exposes should be part of any designers knowledge base. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design    3. Design & Drafting    4. Reference    5. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    6. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design   

Editorial Review

One would think that the title of Tomas Moller's and Eric Haines's book, Read more

Reviews (32)</