Torque in Education Uber Resource Kit
by Davey Jackson · 07/02/2008 (3:41 pm) · 1 comments
Hi folks, 
This post is focused on summer study materials for teachers. When I joined GarageGames in 2005, the resources for games instructors were scant. The IGDA Education SIG was loosely organized and tough to find, there were only a couple of books about game programming and development on the market. For GaraegeGames' Torque software, we only had one book on Torque which was published. Fast forward to 2008. We now have a fantastic IGDA Curriculum Knowledge Base*, dozens of books from AK Peters, Cengage and other publishers including SIX books specifically on Torque (plus several more in production!) In this post I want to highlight some particularly useful articles, books, and web videos to assist you with forming your fall courses. As always you should feel free to email me with any questions or follow up requests to the material presented here.
===========================================
*The IGDA Curriculum Knowledge Base
Probably one of the greatest successes of the re-invigorated IGDA Education SIG. The Curriculum Knowledge Base has sample sylabi, degree and course outlines complete with recommended course materials and author citations. This is a free resource and borrowing from the uploaded material is highly encouraged. The IGDA Education SIG is also a fantastic place to find other schools and instructors who are teaching gaming, simulation, and game art. A must read resource!
===========================================
Book Recommendations
General:
Paid to Play: An Insider's Guide to Video Game Careers. By Bryan Stratton, David Hodgson and Alice Rush. Published by Prima Games
This is my number one book recommendation. It is a short, entertaining read which covers almost every career in the games industry. It also addresses qualifications for those careers and interview with insiders. If your students want to know what it really takes to break into the games industry and what will be expected of them once they get there, Paid to Play is a must read.
Game Design Workshop, Second Edition: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. By Tracy Fullerton.
At the recent Game Education Summit in Dallas Texas, this was the number one recommended design book by attending teachers. Quoting from Ian Bogost's review: "Game design is something of a black art. The trick to doing it well is retaining the black magic but training oneself to control it. There are a lot of books on game design out there, but "Game Design Workshop" is among the very few that develops a wizard rather than a drone."
Torque Specific:
Torque for Teens. By Mike Duggan
Don't let the title fool you into thinking this book is unsuitable for college courses. Torque is a sophisticated game engine and Torque for Teens is hands down the best guide for new users. Longtime GarageGames community member Kevin McLaughlin says:
"Teens nothing. This is a good book for most folks using Torque. Just bought it, starting to read it over, and my initial take is that anyone except the most experienced users will be able to get something out of this book. This plus the Maurina book [Game Programmer's Guide to Torque by Ed Maurina] are the essential handbooks at this point."
Prof. Willis Denis adds:
"I am a professor that teaches Torque and I have just about every book including this one. It is great and even has an chapter on Constructor... It points out the most important things very clearly. This book is great...I hope you continue to write more because I learned a thing or too from it myself..."
Multiplayer Gaming and Engine Coding for the Torque Game Engine. By Ed Maurina.
A follow up title to The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque (GPGT), author Ed Maurina utilizes his expert knowledge of the engine to write the most technically in depth book on Torque to date. There are few people in the world who know Torque as well as Ed, and we feel very fortunate to have his knowledge documented here. A basic understanding of TGE prior to starting this book is assumed. Pat Wilson, Lead Console Programmer for Marble Bast Ultra, reviewed the book succinctly "This book Sooo needed to be written. WOW!"
=======================================
Developer Interview Video Series
This set of Google Videos were recorded in the summer of 2007 at a Torque Boot Camp training session. They are short interviews with our internal developers, producers, founders and artist as well as representatives from our partners at Pronto Games. Through these videos you will gain insight into the "indie" game market and the vision which drives our technology and company forward.
Randy Dersham
Executive Producer
Google Video
Joe Maruschak
Head of GarageGames Studios, Game Artist
Google Video
Matt Fairfax
Lead Tool Designer, Torque Constructor
Google Video
Chris Calef
GarageGames R&D
Google Video
Ben Garney
Torque Technologies Director
Google Video
Mark Frohnmayer
Founder GarageGames
Google Video
Adam Larson
Lead Designer, Torque X
Google Video
Ryan Loewen
Programmer Pronto Games, Torque Wii
Google Video
======================================================
Plastic Games' Gem-A-Day
Plastic Games is an independent game development company that thrives from contract game development primarily focused on Torque. They have been building games with Torque for several years now and have a policy of giving back to the community of Torque developers. They contribute "gems" of code or art, often along with some useful conventions, that solve particular problems in a way that makes their solutions highly reusable. The name "gems" comes from the famous Graphics Gems and Game Programming Gems series of books.
Over the years, Plastic Games have made quite a few useful gems for Torque. It saves many developers in the community time and effort. This month, Plastic Games have outdone themselves and presented "Gem A Day!" to continue for 30 days. These are free resources and solutions compiled by one of GarageGames longest standing partner studios.
Enjoy!
This post is focused on summer study materials for teachers. When I joined GarageGames in 2005, the resources for games instructors were scant. The IGDA Education SIG was loosely organized and tough to find, there were only a couple of books about game programming and development on the market. For GaraegeGames' Torque software, we only had one book on Torque which was published. Fast forward to 2008. We now have a fantastic IGDA Curriculum Knowledge Base*, dozens of books from AK Peters, Cengage and other publishers including SIX books specifically on Torque (plus several more in production!) In this post I want to highlight some particularly useful articles, books, and web videos to assist you with forming your fall courses. As always you should feel free to email me with any questions or follow up requests to the material presented here.
===========================================
*The IGDA Curriculum Knowledge Base
Probably one of the greatest successes of the re-invigorated IGDA Education SIG. The Curriculum Knowledge Base has sample sylabi, degree and course outlines complete with recommended course materials and author citations. This is a free resource and borrowing from the uploaded material is highly encouraged. The IGDA Education SIG is also a fantastic place to find other schools and instructors who are teaching gaming, simulation, and game art. A must read resource!
===========================================
Book Recommendations
General:
Paid to Play: An Insider's Guide to Video Game Careers. By Bryan Stratton, David Hodgson and Alice Rush. Published by Prima Games
This is my number one book recommendation. It is a short, entertaining read which covers almost every career in the games industry. It also addresses qualifications for those careers and interview with insiders. If your students want to know what it really takes to break into the games industry and what will be expected of them once they get there, Paid to Play is a must read.
Game Design Workshop, Second Edition: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. By Tracy Fullerton.
At the recent Game Education Summit in Dallas Texas, this was the number one recommended design book by attending teachers. Quoting from Ian Bogost's review: "Game design is something of a black art. The trick to doing it well is retaining the black magic but training oneself to control it. There are a lot of books on game design out there, but "Game Design Workshop" is among the very few that develops a wizard rather than a drone."
Torque Specific:
Torque for Teens. By Mike Duggan
Don't let the title fool you into thinking this book is unsuitable for college courses. Torque is a sophisticated game engine and Torque for Teens is hands down the best guide for new users. Longtime GarageGames community member Kevin McLaughlin says:
"Teens nothing. This is a good book for most folks using Torque. Just bought it, starting to read it over, and my initial take is that anyone except the most experienced users will be able to get something out of this book. This plus the Maurina book [Game Programmer's Guide to Torque by Ed Maurina] are the essential handbooks at this point."
Prof. Willis Denis adds:
"I am a professor that teaches Torque and I have just about every book including this one. It is great and even has an chapter on Constructor... It points out the most important things very clearly. This book is great...I hope you continue to write more because I learned a thing or too from it myself..."
Multiplayer Gaming and Engine Coding for the Torque Game Engine. By Ed Maurina.
A follow up title to The Game Programmer's Guide to Torque (GPGT), author Ed Maurina utilizes his expert knowledge of the engine to write the most technically in depth book on Torque to date. There are few people in the world who know Torque as well as Ed, and we feel very fortunate to have his knowledge documented here. A basic understanding of TGE prior to starting this book is assumed. Pat Wilson, Lead Console Programmer for Marble Bast Ultra, reviewed the book succinctly "This book Sooo needed to be written. WOW!"
=======================================
Developer Interview Video Series
This set of Google Videos were recorded in the summer of 2007 at a Torque Boot Camp training session. They are short interviews with our internal developers, producers, founders and artist as well as representatives from our partners at Pronto Games. Through these videos you will gain insight into the "indie" game market and the vision which drives our technology and company forward.
Randy Dersham
Executive Producer
Google Video
Joe Maruschak
Head of GarageGames Studios, Game Artist
Google Video
Matt Fairfax
Lead Tool Designer, Torque Constructor
Google Video
Chris Calef
GarageGames R&D
Google Video
Ben Garney
Torque Technologies Director
Google Video
Mark Frohnmayer
Founder GarageGames
Google Video
Adam Larson
Lead Designer, Torque X
Google Video
Ryan Loewen
Programmer Pronto Games, Torque Wii
Google Video
======================================================
Plastic Games' Gem-A-Day
Plastic Games is an independent game development company that thrives from contract game development primarily focused on Torque. They have been building games with Torque for several years now and have a policy of giving back to the community of Torque developers. They contribute "gems" of code or art, often along with some useful conventions, that solve particular problems in a way that makes their solutions highly reusable. The name "gems" comes from the famous Graphics Gems and Game Programming Gems series of books.
Over the years, Plastic Games have made quite a few useful gems for Torque. It saves many developers in the community time and effort. This month, Plastic Games have outdone themselves and presented "Gem A Day!" to continue for 30 days. These are free resources and solutions compiled by one of GarageGames longest standing partner studios.
Enjoy!
About the author
Associate Andy Hawkins
DrewFX
www.amazon.com/Game-Development-Essentials-Gameplay-Mechanics/dp/1418052698/ref=...