Developer's dilemma The secret world of videogame creators

The navigational conceit O'Donnell (Michigan State) proposes is a video game. He organized the book into "worlds" and then individual sections that allow readers to explore as though they were areas inside a game. The conceit is not particularly successful, given the traditional format of the book. The description of the game industry and what working in it is like, however, is fascinating. Readers glean detailed information about how the creative, collaborative, and innovative practices deployed in game companies differ from other kinds of work in both positive and negative ways. O'Donnell explains why workers tolerate often very demanding work environments and discusses how the secrecy and concern for intellectual property and copyright that characterize game development affect those who work in the field. He uses interviews with game industry professionals and his own experience doing ethnographic research in the US and India to support and explain all his theses. The text alternates between casual language in certain sections in which the putative game is speaking to the player and somewhat pedantic language elsewhere. Abundant citations support the academic analysis. There are some fair-quality black-and-white illustrations. Part of the "Inside Technology" series. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Elena Bertozzi, Quinnipiac University