Postmortems from Game Developers - Insights from the Developers of Unreal Tournament, Black and White, Age of Empires, and Other Top-Selling Games

The popular Postmortem column in Game Deverloper magazine features firsthand accounts of how some of the most important and successful games of recent years have been made. This book offers the opportunity to harvest this expertise with one volume. The editor has organized the articles by theme and added previously unpublished analysis to reveal successful management techniques. Readers learn how superstars of the game industry like Peter Molyneux and Warren Spector have dealt with the development challenges such as managing complexity, software and game design issues, schedule challenges, and changing staff needs.

Contents

Introduction - Tales from the Front Line

• I. Startups
• II. Sequels and Sophomore Outings
• III. Managing Innovation
• IV. Building on a License
• V. Developing for the Online Frontier

Appendix A Game Development Team Roles