{"id":18867,"date":"2019-03-08T00:01:07","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T00:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=18867"},"modified":"2019-02-27T02:01:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:01:13","slug":"mercury-learning-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/08\/mercury-learning-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury Learning Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When I was at PAX South<\/strong><\/a>, I visited Mercury Learning Books.\u00a0 They publish all sorts of books about game design, and I got the opportunity to review a couple of them.\u00a0 So here we\u2019ll take a look at three books I got.\u00a0 The first is Classic Game Design, which teaches you how to make examples of popular early arcade games.\u00a0 The second book is Video Game Writing, which explains what to expect if you go into that field.\u00a0 The third book is a treat, as I had my dad, Randy Woodham, review it here!\u00a0 It\u2019s Basic Electronics: Theory and Practice!\u00a0 So let\u2019s dive in and take a look at each book!<\/p>\n

Classic Game Design: From Pong to Pac-Man With Unity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I visited Mercury Learning Books at PAX South, I was intimidated by all the books they had.\u00a0 I love video games, but I\u2019d rather play them, not make them.\u00a0 So I was a bit skittish at first when the lady at the booth offered the chance for me to review a couple.\u00a0 Here is a picture of the Mercury Learning booth so you have an idea of some of the books they publish.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But the lady at the booth must\u2019ve been psychic, because she picked out the perfect book to hook me into reviewing them, because it had a picture of Pac-Man on it!\u00a0 Classic Game Design: From Pong to Pac-Man With Unity, teaches you how to make versions of classic arcade games using programs you can download for free. \u00a0The book was written by Franz Lanzinger, who helped make the classic arcade game Crystal Castles.\u00a0 Back in my Dallas Morning News days, I also reviewed a later game he made called Gubble, which plays a lot like Crystal Castles.\u00a0 Anyway, here\u2019s a picture of the book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The book introduces you to classic arcade games as well as the programs you\u2019ll download to code your own.\u00a0 These include free versions of Unity, Javascript, GIMP, Blender, Audacity, and more to create graphics and sound.\u00a0 The book explains how to download and install them, too.\u00a0 Each subsequent chapter features a different classic arcade game, like Pong, Breakout, Space Invaders, Scramble, and Pac-Man.\u00a0 After a brief introduction of each game, the book goes on to explain how to code your own versions of those titles with step by step directions.\u00a0 It concludes with an index of other tools and instructions to use when coding, as well as an included DVD with files that will be useful as you read and learn.<\/p>\n

The only problem I had with this book is that while they say you don\u2019t need to know anything about coding and programming to use it, I think I\u2019d prefer to have some prior knowledge of those programs, just for my own sake.\u00a0 For instance, if I made a mistake in the code I just copied from the book, how I would I know where to look for the error?\u00a0 Also I don\u2019t know how much room for creativity they give you in this book when coding.\u00a0 I was also worried that this book might become outdated soon, but after talking with some folks more familiar with programming, they said it wouldn\u2019t be outdated for a very long while, if ever.\u00a0 But even so, if I didn\u2019t have a full time job and needed to sleep, I\u2019d definitely try and make the games found in this book.\u00a0 I think I could do it!\u00a0 So if you\u2019ve ever wanted to dabble in creating your own classic games, this book is a good place to start.<\/p>\n

Video Game Writing: From Macro to Micro<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next book I reviewed features more of my talents: writing.\u00a0 So I figured it would be a good fit for me to try out.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a picture of the front of the book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This book really reads more like a college textbook.\u00a0 It even has assignment ideas and class project suggestions after each chapter.\u00a0 So if you are a college professor teaching game design, you should definitely look at this book, too.\u00a0 The book gives a brief history of stories in games, and explains what game writers do.\u00a0 There are chapters on NDAs and contracts, outlines, character documents, scriptwriting, editing, and more.\u00a0 I found this book a little harder to read, as it has less practical applications than the first book, plus the text is smaller (I did like the cartoons scattered every so often, though). This book is prone to being outdated faster, as I\u2019m already reviewing the second edition. Also I didn’t see any chapters on video game journalism or PR.\u00a0 I\u2019m still going to keep this book as a reference tool, though, as it has examples of NDAs and contracts in case I ever expand my writing to other fields.\u00a0 And one problem I had with both books is that they are a bit pricey, but I think they\u2019re considered to be more like educational college textbooks so that may be why.<\/p>\n

Basic Electronics: Theory and Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the last book I have a treat for you!\u00a0 My dad, Randy Woodham, is going to review it!\u00a0 He bought this book at PAX South and I suggested he write a small review of it.\u00a0 Here is a bigger picture of the front of the book:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This book explains basic electrical engineering concepts and even has instructions on putting those concepts to practical use, like building a robot!\u00a0 Here\u2019s a sneak peek at one of the pages:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So anyway, here\u2019s a short review of that book by my dad.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad he got to review it, because even though I knew he is very smart, I had no idea my dad is such a good writer, too!<\/p>\n

I have a degree in electrical engineering and have worked with electricity for many years.\u00a0 While I still have a working knowledge, I have always found it difficult to explain the many complex concepts of electronics to a non-technical person.\u00a0 Therefore, I was very pleased with how Sean Wescott and Jean Riescher Westcott were able to present and explain basic electronics so clearly and thoroughly in layman\u2019s terms.\u00a0 It is really brilliant how they laid out the various components of the subject without needing to use advanced mathematics to back up these explanations.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The many practical exercises and projects that are included build on these basic explanations and make the whole subject really fun.\u00a0 For example, in chapter 13 the authors supply step by step instructions and other resources to build a direct current variable power supply.\u00a0\u00a0 This power supply was then used to help launch more advance projects including a couple of different robot models that really work.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has always viewed electronics as mysterious and somewhat magical but also for the person who may think they already have a firm grasp on the subject.\u00a0 For me, this book clarified many aspects of electronics that I had never truly mastered with my engineering degree and many years of experience.\u00a0 -Randy Woodham<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And those are all the books!\u00a0 Thanks to Mercury Learning for allowing me to review these, and to my dad for reviewing one of the books.\u00a0 Later!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was at PAX South, I visited Mercury Learning Books.\u00a0 They publish all sorts of books about game design, and I got the opportunity to review a couple of them.\u00a0 So here we\u2019ll take a look at three books I got.\u00a0 The first is Classic Game Design, which teaches you how to make examples […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reader-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18867"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18870,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18867\/revisions\/18870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}