Guinness World Records will be launching its first-ever video game globally on October 24, 2008 and there will be cross-promotional opportunities with its distributor.
Price=$21.95
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Game Design Foundations, Second Edition covers how to design the game from the important opening sentence, the One Pager document, the Executive Summary and Game Proposal, the Character Document to the Game Design Document. The book describes game genres, where game ideas come from, game research, innovation in gaming, important gaming principles such as game mechanics, game balancing, AI, path finding and game tiers. The basics of programming, level designing, and film scriptwriting are explained by example. The designers understanding of the entire development team and the outlets for even the smallest development team to create fun content is highlighted. Each chapter has exercises to hone in on the newly learned designer skills that will display your work as a game designer and knowledge in the game industry.
Price=$30.36
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The Rough Guide to Videogames is the ultimate guide to the world’s most addictive pastime. Both a nostalgic look at the past and a celebration of the latest in joystick-wrecking wonders, this book covers the full story from the first arcade machines to the latest digital delights. Easy access to 75 of the greatest games of all time, from Civilization and Pro Evolution Soccer to We Love Katamari and World of Warcraft. The guide profiles the stories behind the software giants, famous creators and the world’s favourite characters, including Mario, Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog. All the gadgets and devices for consoles, hand-helds, phones and PCs are explored as well as the wider world of gaming, from websites and movies to books.

The Video Game Theory Reader 2 picks up where the first Video Game Theory Reader (Routledge, 2003) left off, with a group of leading scholars turning their attention to next-generation platforms-the Nintendo Wii, the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360-and to new issues in the rapidly expanding field of video games studies. The contributors are some of the most renowned scholars working on video games today including Henry Jenkins, Jesper Juul, Eric Zimmerman, and Mia Consalvo. While the first volume had a strong focus on early video games, this volume also addresses more contemporary issues such as convergence and MMORPGs. The volume concludes with an appendix of nearly 40 ideas and concepts from a variety of theories and disciplines that have been usefully and insightfully applied to the study of video games.

The Meaning of Video Games takes a textual studies approach to an increasingly important form of expression in today’s culture. It begins by assuming that video games are meaningful–not just as sociological or economic or cultural evidence, but in their own right, as cultural expressions worthy of scholarly attention. In this way, this book makes a contribution to the study of video games, but it also aims to enrich textual studies.

Early video game studies scholars were quick to point out that a game should never be reduced to merely its "story" or narrative content and they rightly insist on the importance of studying games as games. But here Steven E. Jones demonstrates that textual studies–which grows historically out of ancient questions of textual recension, multiple versions, production, reproduction, and reception–can fruitfully be applied to the study of video games. Citing specific examples such as Myst and Lost, Katamari Damacy, Halo, Façade, Nintendo’s Wii, and Will Wright’s Spore, the book explores the ways in which textual studies concepts–authorial intention, textual variability and performance, the paratext, publishing history and the social text–can shed light on video games as more than formal systems. It treats video games as cultural forms of expression that are received as they are played, out in the world, where their meanings get made.

Have fun while getting fit!

Here's how to get the most from your Wii Fitness system

It's a perfect fit — Wii gaming fun designed to improve your overall health and fitness! The advice of these two personal trainers makes it even better. You'll learn to use Wii Fit Plus, EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer, and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010. Find out how to create your own individualized workout and watch yourself improve!

• What's all this stuff? — set up Wii Fit Plus, EA Sports Active: Personal Trainer, and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010

• The right way — learn the safest and most effective way to perform dozens of exercises

• Spice it up — explore different types of exercises to keep your routine fresh

• Take a deep breath — improve health benefits by learning optimal breathing techniques

• Have a heart — strengthen your heart and lungs while enjoying the challenge of sports

• A delicate balance — identify routines that improve your balance while strengthening different muscle groups

• All season sports — experience volleyball, baseball, boxing, tennis, inline skating, and basketball right in your living room

• Keep it interesting — vary your workout by moving among the featured games

Open the book and find:

• Ways to vary your routine

• How to set up your Fitness Profile

• Tips for staying motivated

• The power of yoga and strength training

• What to consider when setting fitness goals

• Warm-up and cool-down routines

• How to build your own workout

• Ten cool Wii Fitness accessories

• Ten other Wii Fitness games to expand your virtual gym

How can Wii Sports teach us about metaphysics?

Can playing World of Warcraft lead to greater self-consciousness?

How can we learn about aesthetics, ethics and divine attributes from
Zork, Grand Theft Auto, and Civilization?

A variety of increasingly sophisticated video games are rapidly overtaking books, films, and television as America's most popular form of media entertainment. It is estimated that by 2011 over 30 percent of US households will own a Wii console - about the same percentage that owned a television in 1953.

In Philosophy Through Video Games, Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox - philosophers with game industry experience - investigate the aesthetic appeal of video games, their effect on our morals, the insights they give us into our understanding of perceptual knowledge, personal identity, artificial intelligence, and the very meaning of life itself, arguing that video games are popular precisely because they engage with longstanding philosophical problems.

Topics covered include:

* The Problem of the External World

* Dualism and Personal Identity

* Artificial and Human Intelligence in the Philosophy of Mind

* The Idea of Interactive Art

* The Moral Effects of Video Games

* Games and God's Goodness

Games discussed include:

Madden Football, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Sims Online, Second Life, Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Elder Scrolls, Zork, EverQuestDoom, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, Mortal Kombat, Rome: Total War, Black and White, Aidyn Chronicles