Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been an amazing journey, and it’s only through the efforts of many other people that you are reading this today. Without these people, I don’t believe the book would have even been published, let alone become the valuable resource I believe it to be. For this reason, I would like to acknowledge those people who have supported me on this journey:

• First of all, I’d like to thank my editor at Addison-Wesley, Chuck Toporek, and his faithful sidekick/editorial assistant, Romny French. Chuck stumbled upon the video tutorials on my blog and encouraged me to write this book based on what he saw there. Along the way, Romny helped keep things moving, chased/supported me in getting my tax information in place so I could get paid, and helped us deliver the book to production. Without their support, guidance, and encouragement, I would never have been able to make the leap from game development blogger to author.

• John Bloomfield is a professional web designer and is responsible for the design and administration of the 71Squared.com blog. Without his great work on the blog, Chuck would never have seen my tutorials, and the opportunity to write this book may never have arisen. John is also my oldest and closest friend, and even though he is now living on the other side of the world in Australia, it didn’t stop him from supporting and contributing to this project.

• Tom Bradley, a good friend, talented developer, and creator of TBXML,¹ spent many hours working with me, even into the early hours of the morning, helping me track down bugs and improve performance. Tom’s support helped me through some sticky moments in the development of Sir Lamorak’s Quest and was instrumental in getting the game finished on time.

• Ryan Sumo is a freelance video game artist residing in Manila, The Philippines. He created all the artwork used in Sir Lamorak’s Quest that gives the game its retro look. He is a true professional and a pleasure to work with. His rapid delivery of art and great feedback and suggestions really helped give the game its great look. If you ever run into Ryan in Manila and show him a copy of this book, he is sure to buy you a drink. Examples of Ryan’s work can be found at ryansumo.carbonmade.com.

• Vince Webb is an award-winning composer currently enrolled on an undergraduate music course in London and is the creator of the music and sound effects used in Sir Lamorak’s Quest. His ability to create an atmosphere with his music really took Sir Lamorak’s Quest to a new level. Vince is currently working on a number of projects, and more information about him and his work can be found at www.vincewebb.com. Vince is a real talent, and I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him.

• Games such as Sir Lamorak’s Quest need a lot of testing, and through my 71Squared.co.uk blog, I was able to get help from a great team of beta testers. These testers were all followers of the iPhone game development tutorials on the blog and provided fantastic feedback and suggestions. This feedback really helped polish the final product. Details of all those involved can be found in the credits in Sir Lamorak’s Quest: The Spell of Release game.

• Saving the best for last, I want to thank my family. Developing Sir Lamorak’s Quest and writing this book have taken a considerable amount of time. Throughout this period, my wife, Alison, and fantastic children, Caragh, Alex, and Matthew, have had to deal with me being locked away for hours and days at a time. Without their patience, love, and support, I would still be hunting for the game-development book of my dreams.

I certainly hope that you find this book to be the useful resource I believe it is, and I would appreciate any suggestions or feedback you have.

—Michael Daley
[email protected]