Mercury Learning and Information is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of the second

edition of Classic Game Design by Franz Lanzinger. I’d be happy to send you a review copy when it arrives in our warehouse. Just reply with your shipping address. This book has been our most popular title at

various gaming conventions such as PAX East and we’ve had positive feedback from a range of experience levels, from middle school students to jaded older programmers wanting to give game development a try.

This is from the book’s page:

You can learn to design and develop classic arcade video games like Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Scramble. Collision detection, extra lives, power ups, and countless other essential design elements were invented by the mostly anonymous designers at the early pioneering companies that produced these great games. In this book you’ll go step by step, using modern, free software tools such as Unity to create five games in the classic style, inspired by retro favorites like: Pong, Breakout, Space Invaders, Scramble, and Pac-Man. All the source code, art, and sound sources for the projects are available on the companion files. You'll discover the fun of making your own games, putting in your own color graphics, adjusting the scoring, coding the AI, and creating the sound effects. You'll gain a deep understanding of the roots of modern video game design: the classics of the ’70s and ’80s. 

Features:

• Uses Unity, C#, Blender, GIMP, and Audacity to make five fun classic games
• 4-color throughout with companion files that include source code, art, and full projects (also available for downloading from the publisher by emailing proof of purchase to info@merclearning.com)
• Includes historical anecdotes direct from one of the fabled Atari coin-op programmers
• Detailed step-by-step instructions, dozens of exercises, and rules of classic game design
• Contains unique insights on applying classic game design concepts to modern games.