Games That Sell! provides a unique approach to game design with its focus on in-depth analyses of top-selling games. Rather than examine programming or three-dimensional art composition, game designer and journalist Mark H. Walker takes a look at the factors that journalists, gamers, and designers feel made games such as Empire Earth, The Sims, Max Payne, and RollerCoaster Tycoon commercial and critical successes, including quality, topic, game play, cool factor, and marketing and public relations.
Additionally, game industry insiders who are outside the technical development loop, as well as more than 100 gamers of all ages, share their insights on what they believe makes a successful game.

• Understand the characteristics of games that have sold well.
• Learn about the importance of choosing your game's genre and topic wisely.
• Discover how to make use of marketing and public relations in order to boost your game's sales.
• Find out how to make your game appeal to the broadest market possible.
• Study the analyses of top-selling games and discover what made them so successful.

Contents

• Part I: Topic: setting the stage
• Part II: Quality
• Part III: Marketing and public relations
• Part IV: Range of ppeal and cool factor
• Part V: Been there and back - Afew games that have sold and some that haven't
• Part VI: Speaking out