29 Books like Blood, Sweat, and Pixels

One Up

by Joost van Dreunen • 2020

Three transformations in four decades, and each one rewarded strategy over creative genius.

4.13

213

🎮 Video Game Industry 🏗️ Platform Economics 📡 Digital Disruption 🎨 Creative Industries 👾 Game Developers

One Up 95%

Three transformations in four decades, and each one rewarded strategy over creative genius.

by Joost van Dreunen 2020

4.13

213 ratings

🎮 Video Game Industry 🏗️ Platform Economics 📡 Digital Disruption 🎨 Creative Industries 👾 Game Developers

Masters of Doom

by David Kushner • 2003

Two coders, one lake house, and the game that turned office workers into after-hours warriors.

4.30

20k+

🎮 Video Game History 🕹️ Game Development 🚀 Tech Startups 🤝 Creative Partnerships 💻 Hacker Ethos

Masters of Doom 95%

Two coders, one lake house, and the game that turned office workers into after-hours warriors.

by David Kushner 2003

4.30

20k+ ratings

🎮 Video Game History 🕹️ Game Development 🚀 Tech Startups 🤝 Creative Partnerships 💻 Hacker Ethos

Level Up!

by Scott Rogers • 2010

A designer's toolbox: how to build games that players love, one rule at a time.

4.09

1k+

🎮 Game Design 🗺️ Level Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🕹️ Game UX 🧩 Behavioral Design

Level Up! 94%

A designer's toolbox: how to build games that players love, one rule at a time.

by Scott Rogers 2010

4.09

1k+ ratings

🎮 Game Design 🗺️ Level Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🕹️ Game UX 🧩 Behavioral Design

Persuasive Games

by Ian Bogost • 2007

A videogame's rules are arguments. Learning to read them changes how you see every screen.

3.84

360

🎮 Game Studies 📺 Media Theory 📜 Rhetorical Theory 🎲 Game Design Theory 📱 Digital Media Criticism

Persuasive Games 94%

A videogame's rules are arguments. Learning to read them changes how you see every screen.

by Ian Bogost 2007

3.84

360 ratings

🎮 Game Studies 📺 Media Theory 📜 Rhetorical Theory 🎲 Game Design Theory 📱 Digital Media Criticism

Gamers at Work

by Morgan Ramsay • 2012

Atari, EA, Blizzard, Valve: the founders reveal the near-death moments behind gaming's biggest hits.

3.69

138

🎮 Game Industry 🚀 Tech Startups 🎙️ Founder Interviews 🏢 Company Culture 🎨 Creative Business

Gamers at Work 94%

Atari, EA, Blizzard, Valve: the founders reveal the near-death moments behind gaming's biggest hits.

by Morgan Ramsay 2012

3.69

138 ratings

🎮 Game Industry 🚀 Tech Startups 🎙️ Founder Interviews 🏢 Company Culture 🎨 Creative Business

Designing Games

by Tynan Sylvester • 2013

Build games as emotion machines: a systems guide to rules, choices, and difficulty.

4.47

517

🎮 Game Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🔄 Iterative Design 🔗 Systems Thinking 📖 Narrative Design

Designing Games 93%

Build games as emotion machines: a systems guide to rules, choices, and difficulty.

by Tynan Sylvester 2013

4.47

517 ratings

🎮 Game Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🔄 Iterative Design 🔗 Systems Thinking 📖 Narrative Design

This is esports (and How to Spell it) – LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK AWARD 2020

by Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner • 2020

Esports started in 1980, runs on modder-built games, and won't push pros out at 25.

4.10

158

🎮 Esports Industry 🕹️ Gaming Culture 🔧 Modding Communities 👩 Women In Gaming 📺 Sports Media

This is esports (and How to Spell it) – LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK AWARD 2020 Summary

This is esports (and How to Spell it) – LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK AWARD 2020 93%

Esports started in 1980, runs on modder-built games, and won't push pros out at 25.

by Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner 2020

4.10

158 ratings

🎮 Esports Industry 🕹️ Gaming Culture 🔧 Modding Communities 👩 Women In Gaming 📺 Sports Media

A Game Design Vocabulary

by Anna Anthropy • 2013

The grammar of game design: how to script a back-and-forth that players lose themselves in.

3.94

134

📗 Game Design ⚙️ Game Mechanics 🧩 Game Systems 🧠 Player Experience 📖 Emergent Narrative

A Game Design Vocabulary 93%

The grammar of game design: how to script a back-and-forth that players lose themselves in.

by Anna Anthropy 2013

3.94

134 ratings

📗 Game Design ⚙️ Game Mechanics 🧩 Game Systems 🧠 Player Experience 📖 Emergent Narrative

Console Wars

by Blake J. Harris • 2014

A toy exec and a blue hedgehog briefly unseated Nintendo. The real fight was inside the company.

3.97

12k+

🎮 Video Game Industry ⚔️ Business Rivalries 🥊 Corporate Infighting 📢 Disruptive Marketing 🐱 Brand Mascots

Console Wars 93%

A toy exec and a blue hedgehog briefly unseated Nintendo. The real fight was inside the company.

by Blake J. Harris 2014

3.97

12k+ ratings

🎮 Video Game Industry ⚔️ Business Rivalries 🥊 Corporate Infighting 📢 Disruptive Marketing 🐱 Brand Mascots

Think Like a Game Designer

by Justin Gary • 2018

A repeatable design loop that turns raw ideas into tested, publishable games, no genius required.

4.01

184

🎮 Game Design 🎨 Creative Industries 💡 Design Thinking 🔧 Rapid Prototyping 🧠 Player Psychology

Think Like a Game Designer 93%

A repeatable design loop that turns raw ideas into tested, publishable games, no genius required.

by Justin Gary 2018

4.01

184 ratings

🎮 Game Design 🎨 Creative Industries 💡 Design Thinking 🔧 Rapid Prototyping 🧠 Player Psychology

Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools

by David Lightbown • 2015

Game tools are an unmeasured productivity drain. A UX method for fixing what studios overlook.

4.13

🛠️ Game Development Tools 🖼️ User Interface Design 👥 User-Centered Design 🔍 Usability Testing 🧠 Cognitive Design

Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools Summary

Designing the User Experience of Game Development Tools 92%

Game tools are an unmeasured productivity drain. A UX method for fixing what studios overlook.

by David Lightbown 2015

4.13

16 ratings

🛠️ Game Development Tools 🖼️ User Interface Design 👥 User-Centered Design 🔍 Usability Testing 🧠 Cognitive Design

Play to Learn

by Sharon Boller • 2017

The step-by-step playbook for designing learning games that slash training time and boost retention.

3.95

🎮 Game Design 🛠️ Instructional Design 🎲 Game-Based Learning 🎯 Serious Games 🏢 Corporate Training

Play to Learn 92%

The step-by-step playbook for designing learning games that slash training time and boost retention.

by Sharon Boller 2017

3.95

42 ratings

🎮 Game Design 🛠️ Instructional Design 🎲 Game-Based Learning 🎯 Serious Games 🏢 Corporate Training

Video Game Storytelling

by Evan Skolnick • 2014

Screenwriting's classic tools applied to games, so story and gameplay pull the same direction.

3.99

503

🎮 Game Writing 📖 Interactive Storytelling 📐 Story Structure 🧑 Character Arcs 🏛️ Mythic Structure

Video Game Storytelling 92%

Screenwriting's classic tools applied to games, so story and gameplay pull the same direction.

by Evan Skolnick 2014

3.99

503 ratings

🎮 Game Writing 📖 Interactive Storytelling 📐 Story Structure 🧑 Character Arcs 🏛️ Mythic Structure

Game Development Patterns and Best Practices

by John P. Doran • 2017

Design patterns that ship games: when to use each and how they prevent late-stage collapse.

3.90

🎮 Game Development 🧩 Design Patterns 🧹 Clean Code 🏗️ Software Architecture ⚡ Performance Optimization

Game Development Patterns and Best Practices Summary

Game Development Patterns and Best Practices 92%

Design patterns that ship games: when to use each and how they prevent late-stage collapse.

by John P. Doran 2017

3.90

20 ratings

🎮 Game Development 🧩 Design Patterns 🧹 Clean Code 🏗️ Software Architecture ⚡ Performance Optimization

A Composer's Guide to Game Music

by Winifred Phillips • 2014

Game music bends to the player. The craft, technology, and business behind interactive scores.

4.21

175

🎮 Game Music Composition 🎧 Interactive Audio 🔄 Adaptive Music 💻 Music Technology 💼 Music Business

A Composer's Guide to Game Music Summary

A Composer's Guide to Game Music 92%

Game music bends to the player. The craft, technology, and business behind interactive scores.

by Winifred Phillips 2014

4.21

175 ratings

🎮 Game Music Composition 🎧 Interactive Audio 🔄 Adaptive Music 💻 Music Technology 💼 Music Business

The Art of Game Design

by Jesse Schell • 2008

Players feel your work, they don't read it. A hundred ways to design what they feel.

4.39

3k+

🎮 Game Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🔄 Iterative Design 🌊 Flow Theory 🌍 World-Building

The Art of Game Design 92%

Players feel your work, they don't read it. A hundred ways to design what they feel.

by Jesse Schell 2008

4.39

3k+ ratings

🎮 Game Design 🧠 Player Psychology 🔄 Iterative Design 🌊 Flow Theory 🌍 World-Building

A Theory Of Fun For Game Design

by Ralph Koster • 2004

Games tap into your brain's learning circuits. The rush of fun is the moment something clicks.

3.90

3k+

🎮 Game Design 📚 Game Studies 🧠 Learning Through Games ⚙️ Game Mechanics 🧩 Player Psychology

A Theory Of Fun For Game Design 92%

Games tap into your brain's learning circuits. The rush of fun is the moment something clicks.

by Ralph Koster 2004

3.90

3k+ ratings

🎮 Game Design 📚 Game Studies 🧠 Learning Through Games ⚙️ Game Mechanics 🧩 Player Psychology

Empire of AI

by Karen Hao • 2025

The AI revolution runs on $2-an-hour labor, stolen water, and a marketing trick from 1956.

4.02

14k+

🏙️ Silicon Valley 🤖 Ai Ethics ⚠️ Big Tech Critique 🔍 Investigative Journalism ⛏️ Extractive Tech

Empire of AI 92%

The AI revolution runs on $2-an-hour labor, stolen water, and a marketing trick from 1956.

by Karen Hao 2025

4.02

14k+ ratings

🏙️ Silicon Valley 🤖 Ai Ethics ⚠️ Big Tech Critique 🔍 Investigative Journalism ⛏️ Extractive Tech

Moral Combat

by Patrick M. Markey • 2017

Crime fell as gaming rose. The evidence never held, and the outrage is a recycled panic.

4.18

173

😱 Media Moral Panics 🎮 Video Game Studies 🔫 Violence And Media 🧠 Gaming Benefits 👴 Generational Divides

Moral Combat 92%

Crime fell as gaming rose. The evidence never held, and the outrage is a recycled panic.

by Patrick M. Markey 2017

4.18

173 ratings

😱 Media Moral Panics 🎮 Video Game Studies 🔫 Violence And Media 🧠 Gaming Benefits 👴 Generational Divides

The Kickstarter Handbook

by Don Steinberg • 2012

Your Kickstarter succeeds on 30 days, a video, and the crowd you build beforehand. The playbook.

3.74

133

🎯 Crowdfunding 💡 Creative Entrepreneurship 👥 Audience Building 📢 Media Outreach 🎬 Video Marketing

The Kickstarter Handbook 92%

Your Kickstarter succeeds on 30 days, a video, and the crowd you build beforehand. The playbook.

by Don Steinberg 2012

3.74

133 ratings

🎯 Crowdfunding 💡 Creative Entrepreneurship 👥 Audience Building 📢 Media Outreach 🎬 Video Marketing

Extremely Hardcore

by Zoë Schiffer • 2024

A $44 billion impulse buy, then mass layoffs, fleeing advertisers. The takeover from inside.

3.97

1k+

🏢 Corporate Takeovers 📱 Social Media Platforms 📰 Tech Journalism ⚖️ Platform Governance 🗣️ Free Speech Debates

Extremely Hardcore 92%

A $44 billion impulse buy, then mass layoffs, fleeing advertisers. The takeover from inside.

by Zoë Schiffer 2024

3.97

1k+ ratings

🏢 Corporate Takeovers 📱 Social Media Platforms 📰 Tech Journalism ⚖️ Platform Governance 🗣️ Free Speech Debates

Working in Public

by Nadia Eghbal • 2020

Open source runs on solo maintainers, not communities. The scarcest resource: attention, not code.

3.92

951

💻 Open Source Software 💰 Creator Economy 👁️ Attention Economics 🔧 Digital Labor 🌐 Community Management

Working in Public 92%

Open source runs on solo maintainers, not communities. The scarcest resource: attention, not code.

by Nadia Eghbal 2020

3.92

951 ratings

💻 Open Source Software 💰 Creator Economy 👁️ Attention Economics 🔧 Digital Labor 🌐 Community Management

No Filter

by Sarah Frier • 2020

Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars, promised independence, then slowly took everything.

4.11

11k+

🏙️ Silicon Valley 🚀 Tech Startups 📸 Influencer Culture 📱 Social Media History 🏗️ Platform Capitalism

No Filter 92%

Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars, promised independence, then slowly took everything.

by Sarah Frier 2020

4.11

11k+ ratings

🏙️ Silicon Valley 🚀 Tech Startups 📸 Influencer Culture 📱 Social Media History 🏗️ Platform Capitalism

Hatching Twitter

by Nick Bilton • 2013

Four friends created Twitter. Then they systematically destroyed each other.

4.04

19k+

🚀 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Social Media ⚔️ Founder Feuds 🕵️ Corporate Intrigue

Hatching Twitter 92%

Four friends created Twitter. Then they systematically destroyed each other.

by Nick Bilton 2013

4.04

19k+ ratings

🚀 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 📱 Social Media ⚔️ Founder Feuds 🕵️ Corporate Intrigue

Glued to Games

by Scott Rigby • 2011

Games grip you longer than movies because they feed deep needs that daily life starves.

4.00

111

🎮 Video Game Psychology 🕹️ Game Design Theory 🧠 Player Motivation 📚 Self-Determination Theory ⚠️ Game Addiction

Glued to Games 91%

Games grip you longer than movies because they feed deep needs that daily life starves.

by Scott Rigby 2011

4.00

111 ratings

🎮 Video Game Psychology 🕹️ Game Design Theory 🧠 Player Motivation 📚 Self-Determination Theory ⚠️ Game Addiction

Without Their Permission

by Alexis Ohanian • 2013

A college project became a top-ten site. Why that path is open to everyone.

3.70

2k+

🚀 Tech Startups 🌐 Internet Culture 📖 Founder Memoir 🛠️ Lean Startup 🗽 Internet Freedom

Without Their Permission 91%

A college project became a top-ten site. Why that path is open to everyone.

by Alexis Ohanian 2013

3.70

2k+ ratings

🚀 Tech Startups 🌐 Internet Culture 📖 Founder Memoir 🛠️ Lean Startup 🗽 Internet Freedom

Like, Comment, Subscribe

by Mark Bergen • 2022

Three PayPal coworkers built a dating site. It became the algorithm deciding what the world watches.

3.72

1k+

💹 Platform Economics 🏢 Tech Company Histories 🤖 Algorithmic Influence 🛡️ Content Moderation 🎬 Creator Economy

Like, Comment, Subscribe 91%

Three PayPal coworkers built a dating site. It became the algorithm deciding what the world watches.

by Mark Bergen 2022

3.72

1k+ ratings

💹 Platform Economics 🏢 Tech Company Histories 🤖 Algorithmic Influence 🛡️ Content Moderation 🎬 Creator Economy

Disrupted

by Dan Lyons • 2016

Hired as the token elder, a journalist records the absurdities of a startup cult losing millions.

3.91

17k+

💻 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 👴 Workplace Ageism 🌀 Corporate Cults 📣 Marketing Hype

Disrupted 91%

Hired as the token elder, a journalist records the absurdities of a startup cult losing millions.

by Dan Lyons 2016

3.91

17k+ ratings

💻 Tech Startups 🌉 Silicon Valley 👴 Workplace Ageism 🌀 Corporate Cults 📣 Marketing Hype

Ruined by Design

by Mike Monteiro • 2019

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

4.11

2k+

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech ✊ Collective Action ⚖️ Platform Accountability

Ruined by Design 91%

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

by Mike Monteiro 2019

4.11

2k+ ratings

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech ✊ Collective Action ⚖️ Platform Accountability

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