Acknowledgments

Although this is not my first book, writing this one has been an especially long process. I am thankful that Laura Lewin, the executive editor on this book, was especially patient throughout the two years this book was in progress. I would also like to thank the rest of the team at Pearson, including Michael Thurston, the development editor on this book.

I would also like to acknowledge the work put in by the technical editors on this book: Josh Glazer, Brian Overland, and Matt Whiting. The technical reviews were critical in making sure both that the content was correct and that it was accessible for the target audience.

I’d also like to thank all my colleagues at the USC Information Technology Program and especially those who helped shape the curriculum of the games courses I teach: Josh Glazer, Jason Gregory, Clark Kromenaker, Mike Sheehan, and Matt Whiting. Much of the inspiration for this book comes from that curriculum. I would also like to thank all my excellent TAs over the years, who are too numerous to name personally.

I would also like to thank the content creators on sites like https://opengameart.org and https://freesound.org for creating excellent game content released under Creative Commons licenses. These sites were critical to finding assets for the game projects in this book.

Finally, I’d like to thank my parents, as well my sister, Nita, and her family. Without their support, inspiration, and guidance, I never would have gotten here in the first place. I’d also like to thank my friends, like Kevin, who understood when I couldn’t go see the latest movie, go to dinner, or really do anything social because I was “working on my book.” Well, I guess I have time now.…