Halo Encyclopedia : the definitive guide to the Halo universe / Tobias Buckell, Dorling Kindersley, 2009
This is a must-read for fans of the Halo Xbox360 game, with many pictures. There are descriptions of the characters, weapons, and vehicles, but nothing about the underlying technology. Oversize hardcover, 350 pages.
A Casual Revolution : reinventing video games and their players / Jesper Juul, MIT Press, 2010
What attracts people to video games? This very readable book looks into the attraction of games, and how it is changing: the trend towards mimetic interfaces, and the trend towards downloadable casual games. Hardcover, 250 pages.
Fantasy Freaks and gaming geeks : an epic quest for reality among role players, online gamers, and other dwellers of imaginary realms / Ethan Gilsdorf, Lyons, 2009
Here is a tour of the gaming subculture. 300 pages, hardcover.
Game Art Complete : all-in-one : learn Maya, 3ds Max, zBrush, and Photoshop winning techniques / edited by Andrew Gahan, Elsevier/Focal Press, 2009
A user manual for 3D model editing apps. 600 pages.
Good Video Games + Good Learning : collected essays on video games, learning, and literacy / James Paul Gee, P. Lang, 2007
This little book is a very thoughtful comment on how game designers motivate kids to learn complex games, and how the public school education system can learn from them. 200 pages.
Communities of Play : Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and virtual worlds / Celia Pearce, MIT Press, 2009
An academic discussion of MMOG’s that will be useful to online game designers. It defines ‘emergent’. 300 pages, hardcover.
Game Development Essentials : an introduction / Jeannie Novak, Thomson Delmar Learning, 2005
This very dated book appears to be new to the library! Large format, nice illustrations, 400 pages, and a CD.
Beginning XNA 2.0 Game Programming : from novice to professional / Alexandre Lobão, Apress 2008
XNA looks to be the easiest way to learn game development. And this book might be the best on the subject. 400 pages.
DarkBASIC Programming for the absolute beginner / Jerry Lee Ford, Jr, Course Technology PTR, 2008
This book introduces new programmers to game programming. You will need the $70 DarkBASIC tools, or the 30 day trial version. 400 pages.
Emergence in Games / Penny Sweetser, Charles River Media, 2008
Game designers will find this book useful. Emergence refers to gameplay that is open and natural, where players can choose their own strategies and gameplay is limited only by the player’s imagination and creativity. The author completed her PHD on this topic in 2006, so one would expect an academic book, but she has been working in a game design company since then and the book is quite readable. 400 pages, hardcover.