What really makes a video game story interactive? What's the best way to create an interactive story? How much control should players be given? Do they really want that control in the first place? Do they even know what they want-or are their stated desires at odds with the unconscious preferences? All of these questions and more are...

• Get to grips with Python techniques that address commonly encountered problems in general application development.
• Develop, package, and deploy efficient applications in a fun way.
• All-practical coverage of the major areas of application development, including best practices,...

I had been playing the Ultima series of games by Richard Garriott since I was in high school, and I was a die-hard fan. Every game he published, I played all the way through, from Ultima I on the Apple ][ to Ultima V on the IBM PC. Ultima VI came out right as I graduated from college, and I noticed that the contact information for Origin...

• Illustrated with real-world examples, we embark on a journey of a comic's creation from initial idea to finished page
• Discover methods for emulating analog creation digitally and investigate ways...

The mind is unique in its interest to people from all walks of life. This interest is not new; throughout written history people have observed, described, and pondered strange behaviors and thoughts within themselves and their neighbors. The questions that people have posed about these experiences seem so simple and basic. Why do we seek to...

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Don’t they want to win? Every sports fan asks that question. And no wonder! Teams have an immense amount of detailed, quantifiable information to draw upon. They have powerful incentives for making good decisions. Everyone sees the results of their choices, and the consequences for failure...

The dollar has failed; the grid is wiped out. Walmarts are looted and homes are abandoned as common folk flee and bloodthirsty militias fight for power. In a twenty-first century America gone haywire,...

Real time 3D games have been around for well over ten years now. We’ve played them, created assets in the style of our favorites, and maybe even “mod”ed a few of them. But until recently, the cost of licensing one of the premier game engines has ranged from several hundred thousand to several million dollars per title...