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.
Microsoft XNA Game Studio 2.0 : learn programming now / Rob Miles, Microsoft Press, 2008
If you are designing games for the Xbox or PC this book will be useful. However, programmers will find it quite basic: it introduces the conditional statement. 300 pages.
Game Feel : a game designer’s guide to virtual sensation / Steve Swink, Morgan Kaufmann, 2009
Game designers or developers will definitely want to read this. It is well written, 350 pages.
The race for a new game machine : creating the chips inside the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 / David Shippy, Citadel Press, 2009
Shippy was the architect for the PowerPC processor in the PS3. Here is a first hand account of the high-stakes race told by the tireless leader. hard cover, 200 pages.
Flash of genius : and other true stories of invention / John Seabrook, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2008
This book by a journalist is mostly interesting for its profile of Will Wright, the designer of the games Sims and Spore.
The ecology of games : connecting youth, games, and learning / edited by Katie Salen, MIT Press, 2008
This book is about the psychology of computer games. What makes a game addictive? How can games be useful in education? The book is a collection of 9 essays by academics, and conveys many interesting ideas, though game designers will not find any practical how-to. 250 pages.