Game Development Essentials: Game Story & Character Development

Game Story & Character Development-the newest installment in Cengage Learning's acclaimed Game Development Essentials series-shows how to create compelling stories and characters specifically for games. The book examines the history of storytelling, traditional and game-specific story structure, and all aspects of character development, including physical, psychological, sociological, and verbal. Filled with commentary from game industry professionals-and featuring a companion CD containing game story documentation and demos-Game Story & Character Development is an essential guide for game designers, writers, students, and professionals.

As a professional writer, Marianne Krawczyk has successfully transitioned from television to the world of video games. Marianne wrote the story for Sony�s highly acclaimed God of War. She was also hired to rewrite the dialogue for Midway�s Area 51 -- a military sci-fi first-person shooter. Marianne is currently working on several non-disclosed game projects.

Jeannie Novak is the lead author and series editor of the widely acclaimed GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS series (with over 15 published titles), co-author of PLAY THE GAME: THE PARENT'S GUIDE TO VIDEO GAMES, and co-author of three pioneering books on the interactive entertainment industry--including CREATING INTERNET ENTERTAINMENT. She is also co-founder of Novy Unlimited and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (dbaIndiespace), providing curriculum development and consulting services for corporations, educators, and creative professionals in games, music, film, education, and technology.Novak served as director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online and has taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. She holds a B.A. in mass communication/business administration from UCLA and an M.A. in communication management from the Annenberg School at USC. She also serves on the Online Gameplay Committee for the Academy of Interactive Arts &Sciences and has served on the executive boards of the International Game Developers Association (Los Angeles) and Women in Games International. An accomplished composer and performer, Novak was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in technology by MicroTimesmagazine and has been profiled by CNN, Billboard Magazine, the Sundance Channel, Daily Variety, and the Los Angeles Times.