Books and Book Series That Are Like Games- And Some to Learn About Games
- maths32311
- Dec 16, 2021
- 4 min read
Hello and welcome to this new blog about books related to games or to learn about games. These are recommendations for gamers who wants to get into reading or would like to learn about games design. I hope that there is a book or two for you in the list.
Pleasure Reads
The Summoner Series- Taran Matharu
The Summoner Series by Taran Matharu is one where if Harry Potter meets Pokemon and was put into book form. Fletcher, the main character, finds out that he is a summoner who can summon monsters and is immediately sent to a magical boarding school. Through the series we learn what Fletcher learns and this immersion feels just like we are in the world with him. This is like in RPGs where we learn about the world along with the character and the summoning system is like levelling up in game. I would suggest this game to people who love RPGs and would like a good read.
The Contender Series- Taran Matharu
In this series the main character, Cade, is quickly whisked away to another world to fight against enemies from all across history with aliens controlling what happens. Sound familiar? Yeah, It's basically a pitch for a game but it's a book series. Got get me wrong, it's a great series none the less. There's a lot of suspense and what feels like the characters levelling up throughout which kept me hooked from the beginning. Cade and his friends were well written and I absolutely loved how the enemies were written too. I would highly recommend to people who liked the series above but also story based games.
A Song of Ice and Fire series- George RR Martin
The whole series reminds me of how I would play Sims if it was set in medieval times. There's a lot of drama between families and within them which causes a lot of commotion between the country over gossip. And also there's a lot of murder. Yay fun! But in all seriousness this reminds me of someone playing sims and then remembering that their family tree is far to big so made up stories to get Sims killed. No joke, read it you'll know why. An age rating warning is in place though as it would be only appropriate to people aged 18 or over.
Jinx: The Wizards Apprentice- Sage Blackwood
From one day of being a no one to the next being an apprentice of a strong wizard is reminiscent of a games story. It's also filled with different kinds of wizards, witches, elves, trees & a world bursting with characters. The main wizard is very morally ambiguous and this keeps your interest in the story moving and humorous. This was a different take on a magical realm but nonetheless an excellent read and well written. Anyone who loves the fantasy will like this book and story. I was drawn in from the first line and loved it so please check it out.
Books to Learn From
C++ Programming in Easy Steps/ Game Programming Patterns- different authors
If you would like to become a games programmer then these books are definitely a good place to start. Programming in easy steps is a good way to start to learn C++ if you haven't already and programming patterns can help you to learn how to write good game code. Personally I found these to be a good steeping stone from being an absolute beginner to understanding coding a little bit more. These books would be good to read and learn from if you are interested in becoming a game programmer in the future and want to know where to start.
Level Up!- Scott Rogers
Level Up! is a book about general game design and is very informative at about 520 pages including the recipe for a tasty chilli. It may be long but if your a type that loves drawings in books then there's also a load of them too so don't you worry. Personally I found this to be a great supplement to my games design lessons at college and it greatly improved my confidence in the course. This book covers everything that you need to know so it's good for the people out there who would love to be a games designer.
Video Game Storytelling/ The Ultimate Guide to Video Games Writing and Design- different authors
These books are more for teaching you about the story elements of games rather then the code and design of the game. Game writers and game story designers aren't talked about enough so it is amazing insight into the how's and why's of what they do and how to develop the skills needed to become like them. In my opinion these are good books to read if you want to get into games writing or narrative design as they talk about how to build skills and get into the job.
Thank you for reading this blog and I hope that you found a book or two to read if you feel like it. If you liked this blog go check out my other content and stay tuned for more blogs.
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