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ZACH-LIKE, A Game Design History

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398 pages, ebook

First published May 1, 2019

2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read

About the author

Zach Barth

1 book

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5 stars
9 (29%)
4 stars
14 (45%)
3 stars
7 (22%)
2 stars
1 (3%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for JP.
1,281 reviews9 followers
October 17, 2019
I've played a number of Zachtronics games. SpaceChem and Opus Magnum. TIS-100 and Ironclad Tactics. For a programmer/code geek/puzzle lover like me, they're a wonderful sort of thing.

And from the standpoint of someone that's made a few very small games, loves to learn about how they're made, and would like to do more with game design, ZACH-LIKE, A Game Design History is a fascinating read.

Basically, it goes through a large chunk of the notes Zach Barth has made for games both released and unreleased, going all the way to middle school. It's a fascinating dig into planning and interesting to see what worked and what didn't work.

I think the main negative is actually that there are a few games I haven't played (EXAPUNKS, Shenzhen I/O, and infinifactory!) and now I want to play them! And I didn't have nearly as much context for what the notes actually meant/what might have changed. So it goes.

An interesting read. And you can't beat the price!
Profile Image for Charlie Harrington.
211 reviews16 followers
June 30, 2019
Stroll through the Zachtronics memory palace, where no idea or fever dream for a game is left behind or forgotten. I’ve heard that learning by teaching is the mark of understanding, but learning by making a game may be the greater insight. You’ll leave this book inspired - and possibly calling your parents to unearth your old notebooks for long lost video game doodles.
Profile Image for Konstantin.
1 review11 followers
May 28, 2024
Zach takes five computer monitors from a college storage area to make a grocery-shopping simulator. I HOPE IT WAS WORTH IT!

And I want Extreme Baseball: "It involves a “pitch clock” that requires the pitcher to throw another ball, even if there are already one or more balls in play. It’s extreme!"
Profile Image for Novikov_Konstantin.
47 reviews
August 11, 2022
Не полноценная книга с повествованием, а море заметок и скетчей, которые использовались при разработке проектов.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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