The book is extremely engaging, and I finished it very quickly.

Each chapter is an individual story, and Schreier does a great job of outlining who is developing the game, why they are making the game they are making, what problems they encounter along the way, and how they decided to tackle those challenges. The book features 10 chapters in all.Īgain, Schreier’s dedication to a strong narrative is impeccable. The choice of games covers everything from small indie titles like Stardew Valley to some of the largest RPGs ever made (so far) like Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Witcher 3. Rather than sctructure the book around how a game in general is made, Schreier focuses on something more specific (and more accessible): the story of how individual games were made. “Sounds like a miracle that this game was even made,” I said. Up until the day they had to submit a final build, many of them doubted they’d be able to release the game at all. He looked exhausted…Some of them slept in the office so they wouldn’t have to waste time commuting, because every hour spent in the car was an hour not spent fixing bugs. I had drinks with a developer who’d just shipped a new game.

Though the book isn’t an argument, it has a core thesis that intertwines the composite parts of the book together, and that thesis is this: modern video games are incredibly difficult to make. It is the perfect book for those who are interested in how games are made, and because of Schreier’s focus on narrative and excellent ability to distill more obtuse concepts into easy-to-understand chunks of information, it’s perfect for game veterans or n00bs alike. Jason Schreier’s book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is a fantastic insight into the niche, secretive, complicated world of how games are crafted. This is true in part because games are a new medium, but also significantly due to the complexity and difficulty of making modern games. Many gamers–even passionate ones–simply don’t know how games are made, what processes are involved, the time frame needed, or the required building blocks to make a good game. Video games, however, are a different breed. And recording sessions are embedded enough in the public consciousness that they, too, are inherently comprehensible, even if you don’t know the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys.’ Books, poem, and comics are self-explanatory, and significantly less interesting to watch being made. Films have been including ‘how it’s made’ featurettes in DVD releases for years.

Blood sweat and pixels stardew valley