Name: Significant Zero
ISBN: 9781501129957

Walt Williams

"An award-winning videogame writer offers a rare behind-the-scenes look inside the gaming industry, and expands on how games are transformed from mere toys into meaningful, artistic experiences"--

Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games

Significant Zero

Todd Luallen

It was good to read a book from the perspective of a game industry writer. I definitely identified with some of the things Walt had to say as my experience in the industry was similar in some respects. I entered the industry at a later age, and as such perhaps I was less willing to deal with weekend work and crazy hours, but I could still appreciate what he had to say. Specifically I appreciated that he was willing to write about the lessons he learned from his success and failures. There is a decent conversation in the book about what games "should" be - or perhaps what they "could" be. I enjoyed that conversation. 

As an artist, I tend to care a lot about the art of the games I play - and yet I would be the first to say that typically art doesn't sell games. I think Walt obviously cares a lot about the story in his games, and yet, he would probably tell you story doesn't sell games (if it did, Spec Ops would likely have sold better). I know plenty of Programmers that will say that bad code can cripple a game, but I don't know too many that have said great code sells games (it might sell an engine though). But I know plenty of people that will say good design sells games. This may be an oversimplification, but it seems like the best way for Walt to get people to play the games that they "should" be playing, is to build those games with great design. "Shirley! It's that easy."

Significant Zero Heroes, Villains, and the Fight for Art and Soul in Video Games

Reviews

Highlights