April 23, 2019

How Video Games Are Made – False Gravity

Now Available at Amazon!

The people who make games — out of necessity — hold so many cards close to their vest that the human element of this multi-billion dollar business gets lost behind the glitz and gloss of marketing the product. I decided early in my career that what I wanted to cover most was the people making the games, not the technology driving them. And recently I got the chance to go deeper than anyone ever has into the making of a game.

For two years in 2013-14 I reported on the making of Hidden Path Entertainment’s Defense Grid 2 for Polygon. You can read all 10 installments of my reporting there. You can also now pre-order my book, How Video Games Are Made: My 16 Months Inside the Development of Defense Grid 2, by Russ Pitts. The book has expanded interviews and additional chapters. And the longer format allowed me to tell the story of making this game from beginning to end, without having to reset every few thousand words. I believe the book stands alone as a different, and probably more complete treatment than the article series. And I think that even you’ve read the articles, you’ll still enjoy the book.

It’s a great read for anyone interested in how video games are made.

The book is available now at Amazon for just $9.99.

HOW VIDEO GAMES ARE MADE: MY 16 MONTHS INSIDE THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEFENSE GRID 2 brings you behind-the-scenes of the creation of a modern video game. Over nearly two years and hundreds of hours of interviews, veteran video game journalist Russ Pitts (Polygon, Kotaku, Joystiq, IGN, Digital Trends, US Gamer, The Escapist) has been given total access to every stage of development of Defense Grid 2, sequel to the cult-hit tower defense game by the makers of the popular online shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and dives deep into the technological innovation, creative artistry and hard-nosed business that combine over weeks, months and years to make a game.

From moments of startling inspiration to times of crushing stress, the author has been present for every aspect of production — major milestones, critical beta tests and sometimes contentious design meetings. HOW VIDEO GAMES ARE MADE is based on the article series written by Pitts for Polygon.com, with expanded interviews and never-before-seen material. The result is a look unlike any other into the hidden world of game development and the high stakes gamble of making games.

This book will be delivered in PDF, EPUB and MOBI versions, all for one price.

© Copyright 2014 Russ Pitts

Cover design: Tyson Whiting

All Rights Reserved.

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express, written permission of the author except for use of brief quotations for purposes of review.

Published in the United States of America.

Defense Grid 2 is a registered trademark of Hidden Path Entertainment.

Defense Grid art used by permission of Hidden Path Entertainment.

All photos copyright Russ Pitts

Portions of this eBook previously appeared as part of the series of articles “How Games are Made: The Making of Defense Grid 2,” at polygon.com ( http://www.polygon.com/the-making-of-defense-grid-2 ) and are reprinted here by permission of Vox Media, LLC.

Order now at Amazon.