Description: From Windows Solitaire to Bejeweled to Wii Tennis, casual games have radically changed the landscape of games. By simplifying gameplay and providing quick but intense blasts of engaging play, casual games have drawn in huge new audiences of players. To entertain and engage the casual player, game designers must learn to think about what makes casual games work, from game mechanics to narrative content. Through the close examination of a number of casual games, you will learn how to inject the necessary game design elements into your casual games and give your designs the complexity and strategy they need to hook gamers. You will learn:

Description: "Take fundamental principles of psychology. Illustrate. Combine with Fundamental Principles of Design. Stir gently until fully blended. Read daily until finished. Caution: The mixture is addictive." -- Don Norman, Nielsen Norman group, Author of Design of Future Things.

"[This book] is a primer to understand the why of the larger human action principles at work-a sort of cognitive science for designers in a hurry. Above all, this is a book of profound insight into the human mind for practical people who want to get something done." -- Stuart Card, Senior Research Fellow and the manager of the User Interface Research group at the Palo Alto Research Centerfrom the foreword

Description: The text of Visual Servoing via Advanced Numerical Methods has its roots in an invited session presented at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation at Kobe in May 2009. The work presented here has been much expanded and gives a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in this important area of robotics. The latest contributions from well-known experts in visual servoing provide the reader with solutions to the fundamental and specific problems that have to be solved in using camera-derived feedback to control robotic motion and make it imitative of the actions of human beings. These solutions are based on dedicated numerical methods the development of which has been facilitated by recent progress in video devices, computer hardware and optimisation techniques. The book is organised into three parts reflecting: the uses of image processing and computer vision; estimation and path-planning techniques; and control design methods for visual servoing.

Description: This book is a systematical introduction to the development of simulation models and the implementation and evaluation of simulation experiments with Plant Simulation. "Manufacturing Simulation with Plant Simulation and SimTalk" is aimed at all users of Plant Simulation looking for an easy entry into the program. A particular focus is on the introduction into the simulation flow language SimTalk and its use in various areas of the simulation. In over 100 examples the author shows, how the modules for simulation models combined, and how to deal with SimTalk complex control and analysis tasks. The contents of the book ranges from the description of the basic functions of the material flow components to demanding topics such as the realization of a database connection using the ODBC interface or the exchange of data with Microsoft Excel on DDE.

Description: This complete introduction to two-dimensional information theory and coding provides the key techniques for modeling data and estimating their information content. Special emphasis is placed on application to transmission, storage, compression, and error protection of graphic information. Numerous examples illustrate the theory throughout, whilst end-of-chapter exercises test the reader's understanding.

Description: Do you love video games? Do you want to learn how to make them yourself? Welcome to 3D Game Programming for Teens, Second Edition, a how-to resource for anyone interested in creating a video game. Written specifically for beginners in an easy-to-follow way, the book teaches you basic programming, graphic design, and 3D modeling so that you can design and develop your very own games. You’ll begin with an introduction to some simple programming concepts using the Blitz3D language. Then you’ll learn about graphics creation for games using CorelDRAW and PHOTOPAINT. Finally you’ll explore basic 3D modeling with Autodesk 3ds Max, and you’ll learn how to enhance your games with sound effects, collisions, and more.

Description: The world is changing. Where before you needed to purchase and install big and expensive programs on your computer in order to create stunning images, you can now do it all online for free using Aviary. Aviary is an online collection of applications that enable you to upload and modify your own photographs and images, and create new imagery from scratch. It includes a powerful photo-manipulation tool called Phoenix, a vector-drawing application called Raven, an effects suite for creating eye-watering image effects called Peacock, and much more. Introducing Aviary takes you through all of these tools, showing you how to use each tool individually and also how to combine the tools across the suite to create some truly stunning artwork.

Description: This monograph deals with approximation and noise cancellation of dynamical systems which include linear and nonlinear input/output relationships. It also deal with approximation and noise cancellation of two dimensional arrays. It will be of special interest to researchers, engineers and graduate students who have specialized in filtering theory and system theory and digital images. This monograph is composed of two parts. Part I and Part II will deal with approximation and noise cancellation of dynamical systems or digital images respectively. From noiseless or noisy data, reduction will be made.

Description: Bring your video game ideas to life with 2D Game Building for Teens! Written for anyone with an interest in creating video games, this book will show you how to use the Torque Game Builder, a simple drag-and-drop game engine, to make your very own games to play and share. Following easy-to- understand techniques and directions, you’ll work your way through hands-on tutorials that help you put your new skills to use right away as you build simple to more complex games. Everything you need to build your own 2D game can be found in the book, including an introduction to the Torque Game Builder, how to design game graphics, basic programming and scripting techniques, and more. You’ll even find an overview of the game development industry to give you an inside look at what it takes to make games, and information on the history of classic 2D games. If you’ve ever wanted to create your own video games, 2D Game Building for Teens will show you how.

Description: Do you want to learn how to create computer war games, but don't know how to get started or don't have any experience with game programming? "Going to War: Creating Computer War Games" shows you how to use the drag-and-drop game engine, Multimedia Fusion 2, to make your very own computer war games to play and share. After an introduction to the Multimedia Fusion 2 interface and the basics of how to use it, you'll get started on the game that you'll create throughout the course of the book.