Developing video games--hero's journey or fool's errand? The creative and technical logistics that go into building today's hottest games can be more harrowing and complex than the games themselves, often seeming like an endless maze or a bottomless abyss. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, Jason Schreier takes listeners on a fascinating odyssey behind the scenes of video game development, where the creator may be a team of 600 overworked underdogs or a solitary geek genius. Exploring the artistic challenges, technical impossibilities, marketplace demands, and Donkey Kong-sized monkey wrenches thrown into the works by corporate, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels reveals how bringing any game to completion is more than Sisyphean--it's nothing short of miraculous.
Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses listeners in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings--even as it nearly ripped their studio apart.
Documenting the round-the-clock crunches, buggy-eyed burnout, and last-minute saves, Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a journey through development hell--and ultimately a tribute to the dedicated diehards and unsung heroes who scale mountains of obstacles in their quests to create the best games imaginable.
About the Author :
Jason Schreier is the news editor at Kotaku, a leading website covering the industry and culture of video games. He has also covered the video game world for Wired, and has contributed to a wide range of outlets including The New York Times, Edge, Paste, Kill Screen, and The Onion News Network. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is his first book.
Ray Chase graduated from the University of Southern California with a BA in theater and a minor in cinema and television. He has since worked extensively as a voice-over artist. Among his dozens of audiobook narrations are Ian Douglas' Heritage trilogy and Robert Olen Butler's Christopher Marlowe Cobb thrillers.
Review :
"A lively, informative look at how a video game gets made...The author, who writes for the video-game website Kotaku, is clearly a huge fan of video games, and his enthusiasm is contagious."
-- "Booklist"
"Making video games is one of most transformative, exciting things I've done in my two decades as a freelance writer. Making video games is also an excruciating journey into Hellmouth itself. Jason Schreier's wonderful book captures both the excitement and the hell. Here, at long last, is a gripping, intelligent glimpse behind a thick (and needlessly secretive) creative curtain."
-- "Tom Bissell, author of Extra Lives and Apostle"
"My only complaint about Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is that there wasn't more to read."
-- "Forbes"
