Game Development Essentials: Game QA & Testing
Luis Levy, Jeannie Novak
Delmar Cengage Learning
June 2009
Paperback, 288 pages
ISBN: 1435439473
GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS: GAME TESTING & QA is a comprehensive guide to the mysterious game testing profession. Through first–hand experience and deep research, the authors shed light on the history of testing, basic and advanced techniques, job–hunting, and moving up in the ladder of game development. GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS: GAME TESTING & QA is the first book of its kind, preparing would–be testers for an exciting career in the game industry. New Features< br />
- Tightly written by two game industry insiders with first–hand experience producing and developing games.
- Includes testimonies from major players in each chapter, along with graphs and clever illustrations.
- Tells the story of game development from Pong to PlayStation 3 with a focus on game testing.
- Gives would–be testers valuable knowledge on job–hunting, on–the–job training, and strategies for moving up in the game industry.
- Strong focus on work ethics; readers are encouraged to take testing to the next level by becoming consummate professionals.
- Accompanying companion DVD and instructor‘s guide facilitates learning and the application of knowledge and skills.
About the Author:
Luis Levy Growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Luis Levy was an extremely bright child but he had trouble with his fine motor skills. His mother, a progressive psychologist, saw playing video games as the perfect remedy. She knew from early studies that games could help him fine–tune his movements in a fun and effective way – and that‘s precisely what she did. On Luis‘ ninth birthday, he received a Sega Master System as a gift from his parents. The console‘s pioneering 3D graphics with special LCD glasses took Luis‘ imagination and dexterity to a whole new level. Games like "Phantasy Star" and "Space Harrier" also taught him his first words in English. As he grew up, Luis began creating batch programs in DOS for an old PC XT and even played "Prince of Persia" on the computer‘s rusty green screen monitor. He also took a major interest in all kinds of films, becoming a film buff and a member of a very exclusive film club at age 16. By that time, he had become the main "movie critic" for friends and family and also an expert in both hardware and software. Luis wrote intricate short stories and shot award–winning documentaries at Brazil‘s renowned private film school, FAAP receiving a B.A. in Film and Television. He also made a daring trip to Brasilia, the country‘s capital, in a bus filled with homeless children and adults. Jeannie Novak Jeannie Novak is Lead Author and Series Editor of Delmar Cengage Learning‘s widely acclaimed Game Development Essentials series (with 14 published titles). She is also Vice Chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA–LA), Vice President of Women in Games International (WIGI), and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (founded in 1994) –– which oversees the Indiespace social network (one of the first web sites to promote and distribute interactive entertainment) and a game education consulting division. Jeannie has directed programs, developed game–based curriculum, and taught at the Art Institute Online, Art Center College of Design, UCLA Extension, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. Jeannie has developed or participated in game workshops and panels at the Austin Game Developers Conference (GDC Online), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), Macworld Expo, Game Education Summit, and LA Games Conference. She is ANIMIAMI‘s Game Conference Chair, SIGGRAPH 2010 session chair –– and a member of the Game Education Summit advisory board and AIAS Online Excellence and Multiplayer Awards panels. Jeannie received an M.A. in Communication Management from USC‘s Annenberg School (where her thesis focused on using massively multiplayer online games as online distance learning applications) and a B.A. in Mass Communication/Business Administration from UCLA (where she graduated summa cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa and completed an honors thesis focusing on gender role relationships in toy commercials). Jeannie is also an accomplished composer, recording artist, performer, and music instructor (piano/voice).
