Thanks! Yeah, the 8700 is an amazing projector. I went from a InFocus BigPlay72 which was 480p projector and I got to upgrade this year. Upgraded the screen too. Got in on the free lamp bonus too which makes this an even sweeter upgrade.

Anyway, I am intrigued with XBMC. I have known about if for some time about it but have never had a reason to make the switch. But since XBMC is so customizable, I could use a few pointers if you have any on getting it configured properly or some of your best tips to get the most out of XBMC (similar to the IceFilms.info plug-in you mentioned.) So any advice you can give me, I would greatly appreciate it.

As for the arcade, I would say that all told, it probably cost me about $500-$600 worth of materials (does not include spare PC to run MAME software). This cost also depends on the tools you have. I had to purchase some to get things going. It took me about a month and a month and half to get it built with the occasional help from friends. It was a really fun project and would love to build another one based on what I learned from the last one. I would recommend using the following things. I bought the first edition of this book to build my machine. This version was written this year so I am sure it is updated with all the latest technology upgrades. Then I recommend using this site and more specifically the forum. Lot's of great resources and helpful people there. I couldn't have done it without the help from the forum.

If you decide to take on the project, let me know. Like I said, it was fun and would love to offer up any advice if I can. Trade you for some XBMCtips :)

Cool, ok, let's talk about where those devs are at (Disclaimer: I'm not one of these devs, I choose the "Get a stable job, make games in my spare time for fun route", but I've read plenty from them, know a couple, and can hopefully point you in the right direction).

So we'll start technical, and then talk financial.

Technical:

Indie game developers often fill out a lot of roles, art, music, story, design, programming, testing, etc. etc.

I am also a software engineer, the reason I am not explicitly recommending you focus on becoming a better programmer is simple. You might become a 25% better programmer with a lot of effort, and maybe make your game ~5% better, but if you improve in an area that both 1. Really matters to your audience in your games, 2. Sucks consistently in your games, you might invest the same time in that skill (eg: writing story), become 300% better at it and make your games twice as good (pretending we can measure these things for a moment).

See more about this idea here: https://blog.codinghorror.com/how-to-become-a-better-programmer-by-not-programming/

My general opinion on "getting good at making games" is that Game Design is the fundamental skill, and you develop that by thinking a lot, talking a lot with people about it, analyzing, building prototypes, and making those into full games. So my recommendation here is don't go and learn "proper" tools to make "better" games, just make and finish more games.

Celeste being excellent wasn't an accident, as with most excellent games you just see the tip of the iceberg, take a look at how many excellent platforming games Matt released before Towerfall/Celeste: http://www.mattmakesgames.com/ , and those are just the ones he released!

Matt may be one of the best, difficult, 2d platform level designers in the world, see here for more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RlpMhBKNr0&vl=en

TLDR: Don't necessarily learn more programming, programming is just a tool and should be used in service of making great games, go learn something about Game Feel eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJdEqssNZ-U or level design, or more abstract stuff like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138632058/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=7a8f5654-37f5-4688-a266-a74309cad748&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0123694965&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=W1DTX4M2KVJNT3EZ1F2P&pf_rd_r=W1DTX4M2KVJNT3EZ1F2P&pf_rd_p=7a8f5654-37f5-4688-a266-a74309cad748 or whatever will take your games to the next level.

You say you struggle with big games, programming won't help that much, learning about scope and what to cut vs. what to keep will, and game design is what allows you to make those decisions, as per Matt's video.

Also, GML is more than enough as a programming language. You don't need to believe me, just look at Hotline Miami, Undertale, Hyperlight Drifter etc. etc. It struggles at scale, but that scale is far beyond what a single decent programmer will reach in any reasonable period of time.

I've got plenty to say on this topic, but the above is actionable advice that will make your games better quickly.

Hello, and welcome to /r/tabletopgamedesign!

I can see in the comments that you are keeping your idea intentionally close the vest. You don't need to worry about people "stealing" your ideas - that really doesn't happen for three reasons:

• Everyone already has their own ideas they care more about. I'm not going to bother stealing your idea when I already have fifty-billion of my own.
  
• The hard work is everything that comes after the idea. Game ideas are a honestly a dime a dozen, but taking an idea and chiseling away and polishing it until it's a finely tuned machine is the real challenge.
  
• You literally cannot copyright game mechanics. I could release a game that is mechanically identical to Risk but used my own unique art and assets, and could probably get away with it. But, nobody would buy it, because Risk exists.
  
  Eventually, you will need other people to help make your game into a reality, whether it's working with a publisher, a manufacturer, or even emailing your art to staples@printme.com to print them at your local store. Careful! A rogue Staples employee / aspiring game designer might steal your stuff! /s
  
  If you really don't want to share, nobody here can force you, but the quality of advice we can provide will be much lower. FWIW, I'm not just walking the walk - I have a website for my game, IntraSolar that anyone can visit and download the rulebook for. I'll also be releasing a print-n-play version sometime soon!
  
  ---
  
  My #1 piece of advice, however, is that nobody will design your game for you. Game design itself is not a game in that there are no set rules, pieces, or paths. Your path is your own, and will be more rewarding if you take initiative and purposefully move down it, rather than waiting around for someone to guide you.
  
  For now, I can at least share with you some very high-level information that should help get you started. Looking at your user history, I'm going to assume that you have no-to-little experience with tabletop gaming, but this also could be a completely incorrect assumption.
  
  

  Books to Read
  

  
  

• Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design by Geoff Engelstein.
  
• The Game Inventor's Guidebook by Brian Tinsman
  
• Probably most books on this page.
  
  

  Games to Play
  

  
  I'm going to recommend some boardgame staples. Many of these games are older, but all of them have been very well received in the boardgaming community and have valuable lessons to teach if you haven't played them.
  
  There are many other great games out there, many of which are heavier than this, but considering that you are (likely) new to the hobby, this is a great starting point.
  
  

• Seven Wonders
  
• Pandemic
  
• Dominion
  
• Splendor
  
• Secret Hitler
  
• Mysterium
  
• Sushi Go!
  
  

  Podcasts to Absorb
  

  
  You can also find them on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
  
  

• Ludology
  
• Shut Up & Sit Down
  
• Heavy Cardboard
  
• Board Game Barrage
  
  

  Blogs to Follow
  

  
  

• Boardgame Geek's Blog
  
• The Geek Weekly
  
• Meeple Like Us
  
• Meeple Mountain
  
• Punchboard Media
  
• Stonemaier Games' Blog
  
• Pandasaurus Games' Blog
  
  

  Creators to Watch
  

  
  These last two are more videogame-focused but still contain relevant & great ideas / discussions.
  
  

• Shut Up & Sit Down
  
• Board Game Geek
  
• Watch It Played
  
• Game Maker's Toolkit
  
• GDC
  
  ---
  
  There are so many other great games and resources out there that I couldn't possibly hope to put together a comprehensive list, but these are my top picks for beginners. I frequently listen / watch / read many items on this list myself on a daily basis.
  
  Good luck on your journey, and I hope you open a window into your prototype soon!

Ah! Looks like I saw this post a little late but I'll throw in some additional suggestions as I am year into a PhD on a games related subject area (social dynamics of online games are of particular importance to my work).

I would start off by suggesting Johan Huzinga's Homo Ludens and Roger Cailois' Man, Play and Games which often underpin so much of the game studies field. Although many of the assertions made here are often extremely dated in new technological contexts they do provide an excellent reference point to more pure notions of play (as problematic as the concept may be).

Keeping it specific to your interest of social games and mention of T.L. Taylors Play Between Worlds I would recommend Mark Chen’s Leet Noobs; Celia Pearce’s Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds; the recent Routledge compilation Online Gaming in Context: The Social and Cultural Significance of Online Games and also Mia Consalvo’s Cheating: Gaining Advantages in Videogames. All of these books approach the topic of sociality in and around games in different ways but I would highly recommend them all.

I would also recommend T.L. Taylor’s latest book Raising the Stakes: E-sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming for an important study into the burgeoning cultural practices surrounding e-sports in the West. This is a subject matter that is really close to my own personal interests and current work so I might be a little biased, but much the same as Play Between Worlds, it’s a fantastically informed and important book to the field.

I could go on for a while though.. If you would like any more suggestions or have any similar material to share yourself please don’t hesitate to drop a message!

These books are more theoretical and about self growth as a well-rounded designer, if you want game theory others listed some great ones like Rules of Play and Book of Lenses. That said, here's my list:

• Level Design For Games: Creating Compelling Game Experiences by Phil Co (Valve)
  
  It's more of a broad game design book since it talks about all the pipelines / processes of all departments coming together, with an emphasis on scripting / level design for crafting experiences. Portion of the book uses Unreal Engine 2 as a reference, but you can probably use UE4 or something else to follow along the actual game design lessons he's teaching and not have the take away be a technical tutorial.
  
  
• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull (Pixar)
  
  I cannot describe how invaluable this book is, if you're only to get one from the list it'd be this one. While it does covers Pixar's history as a frame of reference for a lot of stuff, it's also more importantly about their ideology for fostering creativity, productivity and work/ life balance -- all of which are important and can be applied to Game Design.
  
  
• Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister.
  
  I read this one after Gabe Newell recommended it one of his interviews and it was at a time in my career when I was working at a AAA studio struggling with the corporate forces that got in the way of creativity / productivity. It was one of those that changed me as a developer. It's more from a management point of view, but seriously applicable if you are collaborating with other people in game development, either on the same level as you or those who rely on your work to do theirs. Or if you are going to work at studio, AAA or indie, it's also an insightful book to evaluate whether the culture cultivated by management is in your best interest so that you have the tools to do your best work without burning out.
  
  
• Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson (Basecamp / Ruby on Rails)
  
  This one is like Peopleware but not as exhaustive, it's an easier read since it's a compilation and edit of blog posts the authors wrote on their old website 37signals. It's more or less about getting stuff done and filtering out noise, simplifying things to make results better -- this one is relatable for planning game project milestones. A lot of it will sound like common sense that a lot of people may say they already know, but it's surprising how many don't actually practice it.

Hey! Sorry for the late answer, I was drowning under school projects.

My personal favorite is Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping and Development. It gives a lot of on-point theory, it explains iterative design and good practices, and it's all clear and much more practical than your average game design book. The first part focuses on game design, the second part on programming (it's meant for beginners, so I just skimmed it) and the third one is a collection of 8 tutorials showing you how to make a prototype for 8 different kind of games. It's very clear and very complete. The only problem is that Unity is evolving so fast that the book might be obsolete too soon.

I have the first edition of that book that came out in 2014, and when I read it (in 2016), there was already several lines of codes that were outdated in the tutorials. (A second edition came out in 2017, I don't know how it is!). There's an official website that lists those lines and tell you what you should put instead, but it's a bit inconvenient. However, if your main interest is the game design part, you're good to go!

Another one that you might like is Challenges for Game Designers. I haven't gone through it yet, so I can't attest how good it is, but basically it's a book that switches between theory and practical exercises. I don't believe there's a book out there that provides that many exercises, so that's really good for sharpening your skills. It's also cool because you can design your games without having to implement them at all (they can even be though as board games!), so you save all the time of production and really just foster your design abilities, which seems to be your focus for the moment.

Finally, while not being a game design book per se, I highly recommend Derek Yu's Spelunky. It's a making-of written by the creator of the game himself, and it's full of great advice about game development in general. Also, as he explains the process of creating the game, if you pay attention to what he's saying, you can learn a lot about the craft without being given straight out theory.

I hope that fits your request! :) If you have any other question, hit me up! Also, I don't know why you asked about books specifically, but if you want any other recommendation in other format (videos, blogs, etc.), I will happily provide them.

First off, read anything by Carl Jung. His theories on archetypes and the collective unconscious form the groundwork upon which not only games, but the entire modern entertainment industry are built.

Basically Jung argues that there is a collective set of symbols and ideas that all humans, regardless of culture or upbringing will respond to. Understanding these symbols, and building your game around them - either as mechanics or story - allows you to influence how the player will respond.

Jung: A Very Short Introduction is a pretty easy way to get started. After you read that I'd suggest getting into the meat of Jung's own words with The Portable Jung (coincidentally edited by Joseph Campbell)

And with that, you should also read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. He takes Jung's ideas, and shows the specific symbols used in the Hero's Journey - one of the most common story types. People talk about the Hero's Journey all the time - but it's a really important concept to understand if you're doing any sort of creative works. Here are two quick video primers on it:

A more serious one: Ted Ed: What Makes a Hero

A more awesome one: Glove and Boots: The Hero's Journey :)

If you want to go further on the narrative route I'd also suggest The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker. He takes the Hero's Journey and shows how it is just one of several different plot archetypes, all of which have their own internal path, rules, and idiosyncrasies.

Now, in case you're thinking "Why are you sharing these books about narrative with me? Games are not stories!" remember that people have been responding to stories for all time - and good storytellers are masters at making people feel the desired emotion at the desired time.

Therefore I'd also direct you to Story By Robert McGee as well as Poetics by Aristotle. Both of these books look at story in a mechanical sense, and explain the precise methods storytellers (both ancient Greek ones and modern Hollywood ones) use to evoke emotions in the audience. These principles almost directly translate to game design.

After that I'd suggest looking at Chris Crawford's list of books all game designers should read. Unfortunately I can't find a copy of the list on the internet, but it's at the end of his book Chris Crawford on Game Design

Buy this book, it was incredibly valuable in my project: http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/047089153X

It also comes with some plans. I personally went with Ultimate Arcade II.

For wood, I actually went with sanded finished birch. 60% of the weight of MDF and doesn't have toxic dust. Easier on blades as well. Ended up paying the same price as mdf and I went through 3 1/2 4x8 sheets.

Controls: never buy from happ. Overpriced and average at best. Groovygamegear.com has buttons for the same price and they're full leaf switches. Better performance and nearly silent. If you want to save some money their standard buttons are still great.

2 - solid plan

3-probably just need one. Joysticks are really subjective. I went with happ competition from GGG because they're cheap and passable. Not a huge fan. Zippy sticks are good and cheap and will probably look similar to the mag stick but there's better sticks out there. If you do get zippy sticks from GGG pay the extra few dollars for quiet switches.

5-ultimarcs trackball is great for a flush mount option. I love it.

Monitor: I have a 27" TV. It's great for 4p. I wouldn't go bigger (27 is pushing it for closeness) and I wouldn't go smaller than 25.
CRT TVs look almost as good arcade monitors. Biggest drawback is if you connect it with anything other than rgb Mame won't be able to adjust the refresh rate of games that are slightly off. Most are close enough and given the cost of the TV (free, I had it) and my video card already did s-video, I'm just fine with it.

I'll start off with some titles that might not be so apparent:

Unexpected Fundamentals

These 2 books provide much needed information about making reusable patterns and objects. These are life saving things! They are not language dependent. You need to know how to do these patterns, and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to implement them in your chosen language.

• Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software
  
  
• Game Programming Paterns
  
   
  
  Good General book
  
  
• Effective C++: 55 Specific Ways to Improve Your Programs and Designs
  
   
  
  This book is great if you're going to make a browser based game
  
  
• HTML5 Canvas Cookbook
  
   
  
  General Knowledge books
  
  
• Pro HTML5 Games (Expert's Voice in Web Development)
  
   
  
  Provide a working moveable 3D model with C++ and DirectX, Very cool.
  
  
• Character Animation With Direct3D
  
   
  
  More general game base building
  
  
• Game Engine Architecture, Second Edition
  
  
• Programming Game AI By Example
  
   
  
  Working product results books, little if any modification needed
  
  Releasing in a couple months (hopefully) 2 Very good books using C++ to develop by.
  
  
• Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 12
  
  
• Introduction to 3D Game Programming with DirectX 11
  
   
  
  Not presented in the best manner but still noteworthy:
  
  
• DirectX 11.1 Game Programming
  
   
  
  I used to love XNA...but now it's not feasible for commercial development. If you're a beginner to game design...starting out with XNA might actually be useful. It's easy to pickup and put out a working product. XNA is C#
  
   
  
  
• Learning XNA 4.0: Game Development for the PC, Xbox 360, and Windows Phone 7
  
  
• XNA Game Studio 4.0 Programming: Developing for Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360
  
  
• XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example: Beginners Guide
  
  
• Beginning XNA 3.0 Game Programming: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in XNA)
  
  
• XNA 3.0 Game Programming Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in XNA)
  
  
• Building XNA 2.0 Games: A Practical Guide for Independent Game Development (Books for Professionals by Professionals)
  
   
  
  Working product books, modification needed to make run on current systems
  
  
  Provides a working FPS game in C++ on DirectX 9. Good for some starting out knowledge for an FPS
  
  
• Programming Mutliplayer FPS Direct X
  
   
  
  Good for 3D Terrain rendering in DX9...however much of this is outdated...some concepts still apply, and it's not the worst idea to see a working example.
  
  
• Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX9 (Charles River Media Game Development)
  
   
  
  TLDR: Click links starting at top, buy, read, profit

Are you looking for how to make games? Not just programming, but actually make them? I have some suggestions, but they often aren't about programming. There is a million books about programming, but finding those that talk about the ideas and ways to successively improve is a better point to start from.

• The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
  
• Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games
  
• Kobold Guide to Board Game Design
  
  Making video games is easy. Put the pitchfork down and let me explain. Anyone can open unity and load some assets and call it a game. Making good games is difficult, and even if you are not looking at card/board games, you should be prepared to test your game on paper. It is easier to make iterative improvement if you can look for mechanical and mathematical issues by scrawling some notes on paper cards.
  
  For a book that covers both programming and game design, I also suggest this one.
  
  These books will cover the psychology, the pitfalls, etc that come with making a game. You do not need a class to make a game portfolio. You can often get things done faster by a book, because it's goal is to teach as you read, not set a timer for 15 weeks. It can assume you will do it over 26 weeks or more if the book is huge.
  
  Anyway, this is a much larger reply than I intended. Hopefully these are informative. If nothing else, they are significantly cheaper than a class.

A two-year degree can be a great way to start. If you plan on going on to a four-year school, look at getting as many of your "general eds" out of the way as you can. You can often do so much cheaper at a two-year school.

Also take whatever design and programming courses they have; this will only help you. A lot of places have programs under names like "Media Arts and Animation." Some claim to be game design when they're really focused on art (and some animation); others have at least intro game design courses too. Basically, anything that helps you make a game is going to be moving you in the right direction. If you don't know Excel for example, and they have a course on it, take it if you can -- you'll need that. Same with public speaking. Intro psych and even theater can help a lot as well.

While I wouldn't recommend going only with online resources, I wouldn't neglect them either. Watch "Extra Credits" and start listening to game design podcasts if you can.

If you don't know programming, Jeremy Gibson Bond's book is very good, as it combines a lot of game design background and Unity programming (like a lot of tools, Unity is free, which helps a lot). I'd recommend my book too of course, as I think it combines the realities of working as a game developer (chapters 11-12) with a thorough look at the game design process (chapters 5-8) and a deep dive into balancing (chapters 9-10), all based on a foundation of systems thinking (chapters 1-2) along with game design and interactivity theory (chapters 3-4). But hey, I may be biased. :)

Of the other game design books out there, Adams and Dormans may work well for you. Jesse Schell's book is the one a lot of people know, but I'm not sure it'd help you -- check it out online and see what you think though.

Game design is hard to do and it's highly competitive, which is why I so strongly recommend creating and finishing a game -- it's the best thing you can do for your career. Spending some time building a good foundation is worthwhile too of course.

There is actually a lot of good reading about level design out there. I can't remember all of the books/articles off hand, but I'll see if I can throw some links together.

Edit:
This one had a lot of good theory and concepts

Great book. If you are going to spend some money to buy a book, get this.

Also, I would recommend playing through games with good level design and breaking down each design choice. Getting a few overhead maps helps too. Start with old games, because their levels/art is often more simple and easier to pick apart. Then move up in generations to get a feel for how people tackle more complicated scenes and designs.

I am not sure what aspect you are interested in. The set dressing or the actual level design, but there are some differences between the too.

Johan Huizinga's work is pretty foundational to the philosophical underpinnings of games.

Man, Play, and Games is another significant work that predates video gaming.

On a less academic level, Inside Game Design is a book of interviews with several studios of varying success on the game design process and how it adapts from game to game.

These titles might be pretty fringe to what you're looking for, but I can recommend some web pages that provide more easily digested, general interest material that would be helpful to you. I also know of a number of relevant academic journals, if that is of interest to you.

Modern Recording Techniques for actual audio. Professor was a wealth of information, so we used a lot of handouts, but he did give us a recommended reading list:

Assistant Engineer's Handbook

Mastering Audio

Master Handbook of Acoustics

personally, i found having a copy of Practical Electronics for Inventors laying around super useful, as it explains circuits and what different diagram symbols mean and how to build basic circuits - awesome if for some reason you need to troubleshoot a piece of gear or you're just curious about what's going on under the hood

1. Can you talk a little about what you do at Bromium? What companies do you work with? What do you do for them specifically? Whats your day to day job like? Is traveling involved?
   
   
2. Your book was a great read, and I definitely recommend people buy it. Are you considering writing a part 2?
   
   
3. What does your ideal second edition of your book look like? Do you have any sections that didn't make the final cut? (I saw you had already mentioned the impact on Tibia chapter getting cut as well as a section on API Monitor)
   
   
4. Are there legal issues surrounding writing about Anti-cheat? What legal issues did you run into when writing the book?
   
   
5. I know your name is out there and I saw you have made numerous videos for your Tibia Bot. Have you ever run into legal issues there?
   
   Thanks again man, I really enjoyed reading your story!

Thanks for the shoutout! The link is dead, but the official is here and Amazon is here.

@OP hacking games is what ignited my passion for coding. It allowed me to make things which were in line with my hobby--gaming--and quickly became my hobby itself. Whether or not you're a gamer, it's important to apply coding to whatever grabs your attention. When you go that route, you can be sure you'll have the drive to get better and make coding a way of life. Luckily for gamers who aspire to hack, game hacking is a popular industry and the techniques have reverse engineering baked right in, so it is a double whammy.

It definitely has a steep learning curve and documentation can be difficult to follow, or find, at times. There's a book available that provides full documentation

I've personally come a long way from when I started developing WoW addons, but I did start from where you're starting now. It's been a journey of using the websites you've listed and a lot of googling.

Feel free to message me with any questions and I'll try my best to help out where possible. Alternatively, I commonly use the developer discussion forums on wowinterface.com to seek a lot of assistance.

Lastly, what software are you using to code with?

Just basic VR is extremely easy to do, and since you're just making a simple environment, we'll have to know more about what you want to do in that environment.

Interactions in VR

This was a helpful tutorial for me though, I can't remember how basic it begins, but if it's not basic enough I know they have others that start from the very beginning that they reference.




VR Cookbook

If you aren't opposed to purchasing a textbook, this is a great option that I used extensively to help get myself started. Handles the basics as well as step by step guides on how he sets up his interactions. His system is very broad to apply to a wide range of interactions, so my suggestion to you would be to read through it first, then toy with the setup to see what parts of his system you want to use, then implement and modify them to fit your demands. Very thorough though, highly recommend.

making maps in source landed me my first level design job :) you can definitely learn much by creating your own level for a popular game. but I'm not sure if learning unreal engine would be more valuable today.

I can also recommend this book here https://www.amazon.com/Level-Design-Games-Compelling-Experiences/dp/0321375971/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1537244630&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=level+design&dpPl=1&dpID=51%2B%2BTIueTAL&ref=plSrch

also a bit old but still .. oh man I think I'm old lol

https://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Approach-Level-Design/dp/1466585412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497126808&sr=8-1&keywords=architecture+of+level+design

I've not read it, but it's been cited several times by prominent level designers in the industry during talks. It is next on my reading list. I can recommend Totten's other book "Level Design: Processes and Experiences" which I'm half way through and is genuinely great.

It isn't an architecture book in the sense that it'll teach you architecture 101 on how buildings are designed. But it goes into solving practical "door problems" that both architects and level designers face, and how that relates to level design.

Really that's a good thing and what they are aiming to do. http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/1584506687 is pretty good to read as well as http://books.google.be/books?id=-BCrex2U1XMC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false . Hope it helps

If you are already a programmer I would recommend spending 1-3 days learning how to do the basics C# (syntax, inheritance, interfaces, classes, etc.) Using an h online resource. C# is not an awfully hard language and im guessing most video series are good enough.

Then I would highly recommend going through XNA Game Studio 4.0 Programming. It is a wonderful book with a focus on building games in C#. I think you'll really enjoy it and will learn a lot about the language and game programming as a whole from it.

There isn't a completely language agnostic book out there like you'd find with say Code Complete, but there are two books that fit your description but neither is really a beginner text.

 

Game Coding Complete

and

Game Programming Patterns, much of which is available on his website.



Once you get a bit more (ok, a lot more experienced), Game Engine Architecture is another great read.

 

Other than those 3 books, almost everything else is technology or language specific... like Learning Unity 5 or Learning Inverse Kinematics for __, etc.

 

While you are just starting out however, you should consider the beginners guide on Gamefromscratch, followed by various tutorial series or game engine overviews, as you aren't at the point where you really need to buy a book yet.

First off, thank you for mentioning the book - the Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design - that Geoff and I wrote. It's now available for pre-order, and should be out some time this summer. https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491/ It will offer readers a shortcut for learning about lots of mechanisms, and will help trace how basic ideas like Worker Placement get elaborated on by later designs.

​

I loved the too-brief conversation about playtesting that happened towards the end. To me, playtesting is the most opaque part of the craft and work of game design. I'm hoping to write my next book on the subject to help shed more light on how it works. From interviews and preliminary research, one thing I'm learning is that there are many ways to do it, and lots of different types of playtesting. The practice itself evolves along with the design.

​

​

> I should get Game Maker

First of all, do not buy anything until you know how you're going to use it.

If you're just starting with basic stuff, grab the free version of Game Maker, Construct, Scratch, or something like that, and learn how to do something, anything, with it. Then try to hit the free version limitations, before you even consider taking the next step.

I would recommend grabbing a book about game development in general, like Fundamentals of Game Design or similar. Something code and tool agnostic, that you can learn general concepts from.

Learn about version control before it bites you in the ass.

Finally take a look at stuff like OOP, data structures and software design patterns.

After that, you should be able to learn some -enough to get by- C#, JavaScript, Java, Python or whatever with minimal effort, decide on your own whether you want to go for Unity or something else, and ask some more concrete questions in general.

I've been following the writings of Chris Crawford for awhile, and he has a lot of interesting things to say about the game industry that you won't hear from anyone else.

Chris Crawford on Game Design was my introduction to him, and still my favorite book on game design. The first half of the book is a lot of insightful rants, but the real unique treat is the second half. The second half is like a game designer's memoir, where he reflects on each individual game in his career and details what challenges he had for each, what decisions he made, his mistakes and successes, etc, and highlighting what he learned from each project. Each game is treated like a short story, and is highly readable. I learned a lot more from these than the vast majority of postmortems I see from other companies. It's not on the Kindle yet, though :(

I downloaded the ACGD PDF ages ago, but I dislike reading books directly on the computer. Two weeks ago I noticed it finally got released on the Kindle for the cheap price of $3, so I snatched it up and I'm currently reading it.

He also has a personal website, with archives of all sorts of old articles he wrote or was involved in, including a journal of computer game design. There is a lot of game design gems buried in there.

His other two recent books are quite good also. Lots of general design insights in The Art of Interactive Design, and thoughts on what he's learned while developing Storytron in Chris Crawford on Interactive Storytelling.

Get into Unity whenever you want. It's extremely intuitive and fun. If you don't have a background I would recommend picking up head first C# or a Unity based book like this.

Once you have a basic understanding of basic data types/loops and inheritance you can move on to building lots of cool stuff with Unity, the tutorials on their website are pretty detailed and easy.

2d and 3d really isn't that big of a deal. 3d requires a bit more maths but if you did a decent amount of precalculus you should be fine. It's mostly vector work, the trickiest thing I found was dealing with quaternions and imaginary numbers but you don't need to delve into the details, conceptually it's pretty simple.

You want the highest clock speed INTEL CPU you can afford. That's really the most important computer stat. Some games in MAME use multiple cores, so a quad-core or dual-core with hyperthreading is worth getting. A good current CPU choice is the Intel Core i3-7350K Dual-Core 4.2 GHz which sells for around $150. If you want to use any of the MAME HLSL shader effects, pick up a discrete video card. I think as long as it supports DirectX 10, it should be fine.

Don't buy a piece of crap computer from 10 years ago off of craigslist and expect it to perform well.

I'd recommend picking up used arcade cabinet with a large control panel rather than building one. Look for something with a 4-player control setup for lots of room. Search for an "amusement auction" in your area and you'll probably get a good deal on an empty cabinet or a broken machine.

Also, I highly recommend this book: Project Arcade: Build Your Own Arcade Machine. It came out in 2011, so it's not totally up-to-date anymore, but there's still lots of good info. The author of the book runs the Build Your Own Arcade Controls (BYOAC) website. Spend some time browsing their forums and asking questions:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com

These days there is only 1 book I would recommend, and a honorary mention:

Buy

• Game Engine Architecture, vol 2. <-- This is the book I wish I wrote. It is excellent bar none. I have Vol. 1 in dead tree, vol 2 in Kindle. You can't go wrong with either version.
  
• Game Coding Complete <-- This is good too
  
  

  Optional
  

  There 2 much older books -- only pick them up used to help give a different perspective
  
  

• 3D Game Engine Design
  
• 3D Games: Real-Time Rendering and Software Technology, Volume 1
  
  

  Avoid
  

• Game Architecture and Design
  
  
  

  Misc.
  

  
  You'll also want to browse our 2nd wiki for specific topics.
  
  

• https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/wiki/resources

I'd recommend this massively:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Design-Vocabulary-Foundational-Principles-x/dp/0321886925/

It's really clear and helps you understand what you are using the levels for.

I'm about half way through this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Level-Design-Concept-Theory-Practice/dp/1568813384/

It's good so far.

My top three books are:


https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Book-Lenses/dp/0123694965

https://www.amazon.com/David-Perry-Game-Design-Brainstorming/dp/1584506687

(more like an index of game design terms, ideal for brainstorming)

https://www.amazon.com/Game-Programming-Patterns-Robert-Nystrom/dp/0990582906

(more related to programming, but can give you a great insight how games should be structured, which can inform some design decisions)

Get into Game Design. Most (not all) game designs don't actually touch code at all but they do help come up with the ideas and mechanics that power the whole game experience. Really tough job to get into as you need connections in the industry. If you want to read some really excellent books on Game Design you can go here and here. Start writing your ideas down:)

Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms is a superb book (the author is well known in the industry). Very detailed, very factual and all about how you'll hear the music in a room. Tons of data and graphs from studies and measurements. Deliciously, also has details on how the specs of a product can be manipulated. You can see a shorter paper by the same author at Loudspeakers and Rooms for Sound
Reproduction—A Scientific Review.


Master Handbook of Acoustics is also good.

Microsoft is absolutely terrible when it comes to documentation. Use their docs but you'll need supplementary material.

I used this book when I first learned the framework:
http://www.amazon.com/XNA-Game-Studio-4-0-Programming/dp/0672333457/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1398350197&sr=8-6&keywords=xna

It's written by someone (Tom Miller) who worked on the team. There's not really too much to it (XNA is super basic) but it offered a better explanation into the library than Microsoft's online documentation.

The below book gives some pretty good beginner types of steps for what to look for and how to do it. Depending on the game, most now days have some pretty advanced protections that will get you caught, or these techniques just won't work any more. https://www.amazon.com/Game-Hacking-Developing-Autonomous-Online/dp/1593276699


For a lot of the folks that are publishing exploits, they have likely been doing it for a while and evolved with the times. Usually they know the classic symptoms of what could cause a duping bug, or glitches in level designs.

Given you're a CS student, I'll assume you have at least a passing enjoyment of video games. /u/nickcano has a great book on game hacking if you're looking for an avenue to intersect learning with an existing hobby.

https://www.amazon.com/Game-Hacking-Developing-Autonomous-Online/dp/1593276699&ved=0ahUKEwi4lq_2y5rZAhURM6wKHfXOB98Q5OUBCF0wBw&usg=AOvVaw18ufFhR9oBAwJTzgMW9gA3

Game Engine Architecture 2nd Edition
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00MMOJ076/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

A great overview of all the engine subsystems that power a modern game. As a bonus, its written
by Jason Gregory (Lead Programmer at Naughty Dog).

Raph Koster wrote a book about his experiences too and it's real good (Although, really really long). It's worth checking out. SWG was such an amazing game and I'll never forgive SoE (or whatever they call themselves now) for what they did.

I only designed levels for my latest game, a short 2D Metroidvania. Before beginning to do anything, I tried to come up with an idea of what I want the player to think/feel as he/she progresses through it. After I have a rough idea drew stuff on the paper. I consider all available mechanics while drawing the layout. Then I create the level in the editor and iterate from there. Also, I recommend reading this book: https://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Approach-Level-Design/dp/1466585412. It is especially useful for FPS and 3d games.

some general thoughts from my side:

• I can recommend these two books:
  
  
  • Everest - Master Handbook of acoustics
    
    
  • Newell - Recording Studio Design
    
    
• room treatment without measuring in pointless imho, so I highly recommend renting a mesurement system for a day and figure out what the exact prolems are
  
  
• you can use some FEM model to simulate your room acoustic situation in order to find possible speaker positioning and sweep spot, BUT it doesn't make real life measures superfluent and it is not trivial to set up such a simulation, because you need to know the physikal behavior of your walls, floor and cieling. But it's absolutely possible to get a first feeling, even as an non-professional.
  
  => only AFTER you have done this, finding proper treatment options and suggestions from other users will be sucessful
  
  Cheers
  

I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this book (either buy it or see if your local library has it). I had no clue what I was doing, and this book explains every facet of the build, and comes with a CD-Rom with tons of plans and tons of pictures. This book was an absolute godsend.

Chris Totten has an excellent book you may find helpful.

https://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Approach-Level-Design/dp/1466585412/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502562900&sr=8-1&keywords=architectural+approach+to+level+design

"Level Design: Concept, Theory, and Practice" by Rudolf Kremers. Here's its Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Level-Design-Concept-Theory-Practice/dp/1568813384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367377785&sr=8-1&keywords=level+design+concept+theory+practice

While we're on the topic, I do recommend this book to anyone who's interested in level design. There are a couple sections that I'm not sure I agree with, but there are some very interesting ideas presented in here that at the very least will make you rethink the level design process.

Best Gamedev book I've read is: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Architecture-Design-Andrew-Rollings/dp/0735713634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525021361&sr=8-1&keywords=game+architecture+and+design

I read it years ago though - not sure if it's held up over the years...Maybe read some recent reviews to make sure it has stayed relevant.

I saw this book on Amazon : Fundamentals of Game Design (3rd Edition).

It also have some add-on book : Fundamentals of Construction and Simulation Game Design and many more.

Any one of you read it already ?
Does it worth it ?

Any other book to suggest about simulation game design ?
Thanks,

lua is the programming language.

if you have addons installed, you have the source code.

the blizzard API is how you access the system.

https://github.com/tekkub/wow-ui-source

http://www.curseforge.com/wiki/

http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=11

There's a book out there on the topic too, although it's a few years old.

• World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons Paperback – February 8, 2010

The Audio engineering sub has a very good ‘fundamentals’ page here.

Some of the following books are about specific aspects of sound design, some focus on acoustics, some on the technical aspects of engineering and some on psychoacoustics. They are all really good references.

Designing Sound. Andy Farnell

Master Handbook of Acoustics. F.Alton Everest

Audio-Vision Sound on Screen. Michel Chion

The Sound Studio - Alec Nisbett

Spectromorphology - Explaining Sound Shapes. Dennis Smalley

An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing. Brian Moore

Sound System Engineering. Davis/Patronis.Jr/Brown

Master Handbook of Acoustics. F.Alton Everest

I googled it and this came up on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Level-Design-Concept-Theory-Practice/dp/1568813384

It's got very good reviews but also there is an abundance of level design books in the suggestions on the page below. I can't speak for any of them but one of them is bound to be good.

Mostly, to keep up with things, I play games. I also read design retrospectives and customer reviews. I use gamasutra a fair bit too. But mostly, it's actually playing games and then thinking about what worked and didn't work.

In regards to books, I'm not a huge fan of "one-size fits all" design, but I found http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Game-Design-Ernest-Adams/dp/0321929675/ a useful book, more geared I think towards starting out though.

Buy this book and read it - it is your arcade bible.

http://www.amazon.com/Project-Arcade-Build-Your-Machine/dp/047089153X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330997076&sr=8-1

Good luck on the build.

> I was just wondering if any of you knew someplace that I could download some Game Development Documents/Scripts?

Did you try google? I was in your position some time ago and found a lot of stuff but really stuck on this one

But as any other Documentation of anything you can really write your own if you just describe what you want to do.

If you are interested in Game Design I can recommend this book

> Building Blocks of tabletop Game Design

Your comment got me curious so I checked Amazon. It looks like a very large percentage of the book is available for preview Here https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491. Gonna definitely read some myself!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0996793747/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

This one. Very interesting stuff, especially the MUD information. If you want a slice of what the content is like, read the A Jedi Saga on Raph's website

"How can I start practising myself by making some simple similar spreadsheets?" In the book "Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development" (http://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B00LIYS9F0?redirect=true&ref_=kinw_myk_ro_title) there is a detailed chapter on building spreadsheets for defining numerical models and balancing games. And also example sheets are provided. Its actually a great book overall.

Read the book A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. It is actually a book for architecture, but you can use allot of it in game design. Another good book is Level design in games by Phil Co.

Depends honestly.. brand new beginner ? YouTube and some udemy classes are best . I know I bought this for up-to-date VR stuff Unreal Engine VR Cookbook: Developing Virtual Reality with UE4 (Game Design) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0134649176/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ka7jzbK1RKRVG

I'm pumped about this announcement, as well. I read his post postmortems here on UO and SWG and honestly they are incredibly insightful.

His involvement in UO IMO was greatly downplayed in the media.

not trying to be snarky, but hire a pro. randomly, and blindly throwing acoustic treatments into an environment is a quick way to waste money.

treatments are not universal, and different treatments and approaches are used to deal with different issues.

what issues are you trying to deal with by using these "clouds"

what dose the architect, GC, acoustician and the HVAC/ mechanical contractor, and the electrical/ lighting contractor? Any of these parties will have something to say, as you need to know flow treatment will be supported by the building structure, not block HVAC ducting or airflow. not obstruct/ interfere with lighting, work esthetically within the space, meets code, dose not interfere with any installed sound/ pa coverage and then control/ adjust the sound of the room.


all that being said heres a decent enough book start with as far as reference material
https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Everest/dp/0071841040/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467930274&sr=1-1

I feel this topic is better suited to r/Gifts.

I always appreciate a Good Game to study, but I can't suggest anything for your nephew without knowing what systems/consoles he has, his preferences, etc.

Or maybe a book about game design.

I haven't checked this book out yet but it might be helpful for you
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1466585412

Find a copy of this and read the section on monitor placement

http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/mixing-secrets-small-studio

And/or a look at

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Everest/dp/0071841040

Literal chapters of information required before anyone can give you anything that resembles a helpful answer to your question, unfortunately. Acoustics are pretty complicated.

In our mechanism book we call this "End-Game Bonuses".

("VIC-06 End-Game Bonuses" to be precise. Defined as "Players earn bonus Victory Points at the end of the game")

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1138365491

We also have a discussion on the difference between public goals and private goals in this chapter, but keep them under the same classification.

If /truegaming were a seminar, Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens and Roger Callois' Man, Play and Games would be the first two books on the syllabus, though they well predate modern video games.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Architecture-Design-NRG-Programming/dp/0735713634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268416485&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programmers-Charles-River-Media-Development/dp/1584502274/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268416506&sr=1-2

Those are my main two sources, I also have been looking at a couple of others as well. I'm only looking to implement one way of doing it. The game concept I have is very simple so it doesn't require some of the more complex solutions.

https://www.amazon.de/Art-Game-Design-Book-Lenses/dp/1138632058/ref=asc_df_1138632058/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=297340156077&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4422221422244686723&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9060705&hvtargid=pla-429498606173&psc=1&th=1&psc=1


Not exactly what you might be looking for, but it talks a lot about the history of Game Design (And Game Design in General), it's a tome but very well written imo

I found these helpful
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Lenses-Second/dp/1466598646/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481045565&sr=1-1&keywords=game+design


https://www.amazon.com/Level-Guide-Great-Video-Design/dp/1118877160/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481045521&sr=1-5&keywords=level+design

https://www.amazon.com/Level-Design-Games-Compelling-Experiences/dp/0321375971/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481045538&sr=1-3&keywords=level+design

This is pretty handy.

This book has been really really helpful for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Approach-Level-Design/dp/1466585412

I have had the same complaint, level design is often too loosey-goosey in the industry for someone like me.

Using architecture as a starting point for level design has been something of a revelation. These days I'm taking looks at random things..engines, lightswitch plates, building facades and seeing how they could be translated into different geometries for levels.

This book gives you a methodology for outlining and planning levels, similar to how you might outline and plan a script or a novel, breaking down design into discrete steps. It's somewhat complex but very helpful..it takes out a lot of the 'do it by feel' mantra you hear a lot in indie dev.

I'll have to check that one out. Another book I found really interesting is Chris Crawford's book

How about a subscription to an online tutorial service like www.digitaltutors.com. This way he can decide which software route to take and how much training he needs. Or maybe a book... Level Design: Concept, Theory and Practice

Hmm that's odd, try here if that doesn't work here's the direct amazon link :)

Acoustics is a huge topic, grab a book: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Everest/dp/0071841040/

I found and updated version on Amazon: See!

You can get it here on Amazon

its available on amazon on both kindle and paperback

The Master Handbook of Acoustics is a solid choice.

You can apparently get the Fifth Edition for $10 used.

Yeah, the book is called Chris Crawford On Game Design. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0131460994/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1483563082&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=On+game+design&dpPl=1&dpID=517ReMCaAlL&ref=plSrch

I don't have time to type up the list sitting at my desk, but I'll do it at home tonight.

Fantastic! He writes about his game Tanktics in his book On Game Design and I thought that was a very old interesting way to combine a boardgame with electronics. Obviously a bit of an evolution of the concept in that article, but using a simple microcomputer, and also it had AI opponents. You input your actions and the computer would tell you about the computer moves and the results of combat. He claims it was the first commercial computer wargame, and I think it quite possibly was?

There is this one that I'm planning to buy and read but still haven't done.

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491/

I'd suggest starting here: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Edition/dp/0071841040

How about a book? F. Alton Everest/Ken Pohlmann - Master Handbook of Acoustics

This one was just released:
BGG redid their mechanics classification system based on this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491

I've bought this one : https://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Approach-Level-Design/dp/1466585412/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482021984&sr=1-2&keywords=level+design

I'm a beginner too, and this book is really complete. I think it's a must read.

You need this, it answers all your questions.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/047089153X

Do your own:

http://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Second-Edition/dp/0240809742

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Game-Design-lenses/dp/0123694965/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Challenges-Game-Designers-Brenda-Brathwaite/dp/158450580X/ref=pd_sim_b_2

http://www.amazon.com/Level-Up-Guide-Great-Design/dp/047068867X/ref=pd_sim_b_2

http://www.amazon.com/David-Perry-Game-Design-Brainstorming/dp/1584506687/ref=pd_sim_b_13

I'm surprised no one has said it yet:

To start with you should buy this book. I may buy the most recent version as I didn't realize he had updated it.

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design by Geoffrey Engelstein is a books that lists a lot of common rule structures for board games. Its useful to reference when design board games. Each chapter lists a number of ways other games tackle design problems and mentions numerous examples of games and their specific implementation.

Here's a podcast where they talk about the book!

David Perry on Game Design: A Brainstorming ToolBox.

http://www.amazon.com/David-Perry-Game-Design-Brainstorming/dp/1584506687

It is EXCEPTIONAL. Breaks down everything from common RPG stat systems to how to write dialog trees, how to create characters, design weapons, design levels, write design documents, put together art bibles..

This is more geared toward board games, but as far as analog mechanisms are concerned, you can't do better than board games.

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Blocks-Tabletop-Game-Design/dp/1138365491

Building blocks of Tabletop Game Design.

It'd be helpful if you gave more context. What is the player's role and perspective in the game? What are the core gameplay elements? What is the set and setting of the game in more detail, e.g. pastoral or city, combat or none, wide variety (e.g. exploration) or more detailed (spend lots of time at one hearthplace), etc.

A blank canvas is harder for most people to start with than if you start with something.

For example, I would suggest swords if it were a fighting game, or including a setting where they might be stuck in the ground or a tree (war zone) or decor or just sitting (house or shed or armory), but not if it's a farming or family management sim during those times. They have lots of overlap, sure, but what about a sea-faring exclusive game? Etc...

I'd also recommend David Perry on Game Design's Part VII "Weapons and Armor"'s "Historical and Cultural Weapons" chapter.

The approach is usually broken into two categories: transmission loss and reverberation.

Transmission Loss is a measure of how much sound (noise) is reduced through partitions (i.e. walls, doors, windows). Increasing the transmission loss of a partition is what most will consider as "blocking" sound.

Reverberation is a measure of the effect of reflections that occur when sound waves interact with walls, doors, windows, ceilings, walls. We can affect reverberation by adding sound absorption panels to a space. Reduction reverberation is what most will consider as "absorbing" sound.

You will need to study up on these concepts to understand why possible options/approaches will or will not be effective and what impact each option will have. https://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Everest/dp/0071841040

Most noise occurs during movement between classes, so we're less concerned about that hindering studying.

Step 1: characterize all noise sources that occur during class activity (from inside the building and outside).

Step 2: characterize the pathway for each of those noise sources.

Step 3: identify possible solutions to mitigate each source-pathway combination with predictions on effect after treatment.

There aren't that many books about level design, but here are two:

https://www.amazon.com/Level-Design-Games-Compelling-Experiences/dp/0321375971

https://www.amazon.com/Level-Design-Concept-Theory-Practice/dp/1568813384

Meanwhile, one of my favorite tips about level design is setting up decision points. This is just one tool of course; there are a lot of things to consider when designing levels, but this is a useful little non-obvious way to spice up a level. Create places where the player has to choose which way to go, and there isn't a clear right answer because both directions have pros and cons.

A classic example is when the high road bypasses a bunch of enemies, while the low road has several enemies and an item pickup. Avoiding the enemies has obvious appeal, but then you also skip over the pickup.