Game Design and Development: Code, Psychology and Analytics (Paperback)

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

The clearest explanation of javascript I have come across.

I have been working with javascript for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Good book. The writing is direct and the author is honest about limits.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.