Video game development

A manual for independent developers covering all aspects related to the development cycle of a video game, from its initial creation to its publication and commercialization on virtual platforms.

_{Hill-Whittall, R. (2015) The indie game developer handbook. Burlington, Mass: Focal Press. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/the-indie-game/9781138828421/xhtml/Cover.xhtml (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A practical book that explains how to create and improve the interaction design of a video game, to make it more fun, entertaining and addictive for players.

_{Koster, R. (2013) A theory of fun for game design. 2nd edition. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media Inc.Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/theory-of-fun/9781449363208/index.html (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A theoretical approach to game design, which will help you analyse them in depth and apply new methodologies and strategies to create innovative products.

_{Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2004) Rules of play: game design fundamentals. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press}

A study of game design that encompasses a wide range of different disciplines. It offers question sets and other materials that should help you appreciate the cornerstones of game design and create increasingly attractive products.

A theoretical and practical approach to the creative process of game design based on examples, technical illustrations and exercises. It covers design, production, programming and visual design.

_{Fullerton, T., Swain, C., & Hoffman, S. (2008) Game design workshop: a playcentric approach to creating innovative games. London: CRC Press. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/ 34CSUC_UOC/166h2gj/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC330258 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A toolkit of ideas for game designers, with solutions and ideas for solving the most common problems in the field of game design.

A guide to the skills needed for storyboarding, character and environment creation, level design, programming and testing.

_{Mitchell, B. L. (2012) Game design essentials. 1st edition. Indianapolis, Ind: John Wiley & Sons. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/34CSUC_UOC/1asfcbc/alma991000732450306712 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

This manual will teach you the basics of game design by learning specific vocabulary from the field.

_{Anthropy, A. & Clark, N. (2014) A game design vocabulary exploring the foundational principles behind good game design. 1st edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/34CSUC_UOC/1asfcbc/alma991000732765706712 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A theoretical and practical manual that follows a methodology focusing on the development of games based on functionality and establishing coherent rules.

_{Burgun, K. (2015) Clockwork Game Design. 1st edition. Routledge. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/34CSUC_UOC/1asfcbc/alma991000732805406712 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A bachelor's degree final project that encapsulates the basic theory of video game design, analyses the player experience in qualitative terms, and extracts game mechanics to apply solutions to design problems.

A practical manual for learning the essential principles of game design. You will learn how to conceptualize an idea, define the scope and structure of your project, and present and communicate it effectively.

_{Kramarzewski, A. & De Nucci, E. (2018) Practical Game Design. 1st edition. Packt Publishing. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/practical-game-design/9781787121799/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

Gain in-depth your knowledge using this manual, which will teach you to think like a designer in order to solve problems effectively and efficiently.

A glossary of terms from the field of video game development and the Unity game engine.

A glossary of terms from the Unreal Engine.

The "video game engine" Wikipedia entry.

The English Wikipedia entry containing a glossary of terms frequently used in the video game industry.

A book on how to design levels in 2D, 3D and multiplayer video games. Theoretical knowledge about architecture and spatial experience is introduced and applied in a practical way to ensure memorable user experiences.

_{Totten, C. W. (2018) An architectural approach to level design. A K Peters/CRC Press. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/an-architectural-approach/9781466585416/ (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

An open-source tool for creating interactive, non-linear stories with variables, logical conditionals, CSS and JavaScript. The projects are published in HTML, and can be used commercially free of charge.

Buy and download free 2D and 3D assets of people and animals for your video games.

A collection of different types of 3D models that will save you time during the game development process. Some of them are animated or specially designed for specific software.

A bank of different types of digital objects to incorporate into your video game: images, sounds, textures, etc.

They can be used in commercial projects as long as the terms of the licence are complied with.

A marketplace for high-quality and affordable digital objects for indie game developers. You can download assets in 2D, 3D, audio, icons, fonts, etc.

Download and buy textures for your video games, which are essential for creating alternate-world scenarios.

The official Unity asset store. You will find tools, audio, add-ons, special effects and templates in 3D and 2D for the popular game engine.

Download free 2D, 3D, audio and UI assets under a CC0 1.0 Universal licence for your personal and commercial projects.

A portal to purchase video game assets built using the Construct 2 and Construct 3 engines.

A sound bank containing recordings, samples, clips, etc. which can be downloaded for free under a Creative Commons licence, allowing them to be reused.

A portal for buying music for indie video games, which acts as a meeting point for musicians and video game developers.

A website where sound clips can be downloaded free of charge and without royalties.

A sound library containing over 19,000 tracks available for free download. Royalty-free music is also available at no cost.

A digital archive with royalty-free music free of charge. You can search by genre, or purchase tracks made by independent artists.

An introduction to the basic technical principles of sound in video games and multimedia resources using Unity.

_{Sinclair, J.-L. (2020) Principles of game audio and sound design: sound design and audio implementation for interactive and immersive media. 1st edition. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/principles-of-game/9781351731126/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=Catalunya (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

Enhance and expand your knowledge of sound techniques applied to video games.

_{Zdanowicz, G. i Bambrick, S. (2019) The game audio strategy guide. 1st edition. Focal Press. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/the-game-audio/9781351016414/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=Catalunya (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

Find out about methods and techniques for designing immersive experiences from scratch.

_{Kumar, A. (2021) Immersive 3D design visualization: with autodesk maya and unreal engine 4. 1st edition. New York, New York State: APress. Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/immersive-3d-design/9781484265970/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=Catalunya (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A masterclass from award-winning video game music composer Chance Thomas, in which he explains the skills needed to succeed.

Learn the basics of creating environments in Blender 3D, from texture design to placement.

_{Mendoza Guevarra, E. T. (2020) Creating game environments in Blender 3D: learn to create low poly game environments. Berkeley, CA: Apress L. P. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/ 34CSUC_UOC/166h2gj/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9781484261743 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

An introduction to playing sounds and music for your video games in the GameMaker game engine.

_{Tyers, B. (2016) ‘Sounds and Music’. In: Practical GameMaker: Studio. Berkeley, CA: Apress. p. 121–128.}

An introduction to the creation of quality audio pieces for AAA video games in Unity. It explains the basic concepts in development and implementation for creating spatial sound, effects, dialogue, etc.

_{Lanham, M. (2017) Game audio development with Unity 5.X : design a blockbuster game soundtrack with Unity 5.X. 1st edition. Birmingham, England: Packt Publishing. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/34CSUC_UOC/1asfcbc/alma991000734118806712 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

A course aimed at teaching sound designers and composers how to create and implement immersive audio pieces for your video games.

_{Stevens, R. (2011) The game audio tutorial : a practical guide to sound and music for interactive games. 1st edition. Amsterdam: Focal Press/Elsevier. Available at: https://discovery.biblioteca.uoc.edu/permalink/34CSUC_UOC/1asfcbc/alma991000731901306712 (Accessed: January 31, 2023).}

Unreal Engine official documentation on the integration of audio into projects.

Unreal Engine official documentation on the integration of multimedia objects into projects.

A help portal for developers providing information on how to submit applications to the App Store.

The Google Play information portal with tips and links to tutorials to improve the quality of applications developed, and how to publish them.

A help portal for developers providing information on how to submit applications to the Amazon Appstore.

A portal with resources and services developed for publishing and making your game operable on the Steam platform.

The form to submit a video game to the GOG distribution platform.

Link to the Humble Bundle developer portal.

The Epic Games Store game publishing portal.

The PlayStation Partners Program, aimed at developers looking to self-publish their game.

The Xbox Creators Programme, aimed at students and industry professionals.

The Nintendo eShop developer portal.

Guidelines for the Unreal Engine asset marketplace, where you can publish and sell your digital creations.

Guidelines for the Unity asset store, where you can publish and sell your digital creations.