For the
past few years, I've considered writing a book on C# and game development, but
I could never get enough into it to be satisfied. I would complete a large portion of it, or
smaller sections that I would use for classes, but for a whole project, I haven't
been able to express as much as I wanted to.
But
that changed. A couple months back, I
decided on a way to write it, starting out with Game Design as the first
section and including how to keep a development team active. Then I went into programming, game
development and even release.
The
book has 5 main characters.
·
The Narrator
o
Me, the Author
·
Kathy Konfident
o
Experienced Game developer, knowledgeable in all
areas, ready to dispense tips and advice
·
Daren Donagry
o
Beginner programmer, no real past experience,
demonstrates a lot of classic mistakes beginners often do (I certainly am
guilty of most of them, early on)
·
Wilma Wannabi
o
Really wants to be involved in the game project
but doesn't have any specific trade skill.
·
Mark Moneybaggs
o
Represents an investor, someone trying to make
sure it can make money.
·
Other random characters
o
Others show up from time to time, including
Socrates and Space Ghost, to help illustrate certain points.
In a short while, I'm going to be
announcing a Kick Starter project about it, so that others can get involved. At 25$ donated, you get your name in the book
on a list of people who helped make the book possible, 75$ donation, and you
also get a copy of the book sent to you as soon as its off the presses, and at 150$,
I'll have my artist draw up a character of you (real or fictitious), and your
character will show up at least once, in a helpful way.
It seems like a great gift idea if
you have a family member or friend that has been interested in game
development, but just hasn't taken it up.
As long as they have started Algebra (A+B=C) they should be good to
learn programming. Imagine getting them
a programming book as a holiday gift, and half way through it, they find
themselves in it as a helpful character in the book.
Anyway, I keep working on the book,
and its closer and closer to completion.
I'm hoping to finish in late November, run it through testing for a few
weeks, and then release before Christmas.
It is a close time line, and it is possible that the dates could
slip. If testers find an area
complicated or confusing, I'm not going to release it as is. I will fix it first. No good going to the printed word, if it is
wrong.
I'll keep everyone posted with updates
as we get to testing, artwork and release, on this blog.
