13 replies to this topic

[Terevil]

Hi guys,
This is probably a bit off topic but I need help with a gift idea and I dont know where else to ask
My boyfriend is interested in game development - he loves reading about it, watching movies about it (the movie about Meatboy etc.). He is a programmer (he doesn't program games though) so he is more into the technical stuff - engines etc. He has subscription to gdmag but is there anything else (a book, good e-course...) that you could recommend for someone like him? I need to figure out some Christmas present and I know almost nothing about these things but I am sure he would really appreciate a present related to game dev.
So pleaaase if you have any tips... share.
Thank you,
T.

[karwosts]

Any particular price range you're looking for?

[Terevil]

Up too 300$. Maybe a bit more if it would be really worth it.

[Servant of the Lord]

Maybe some game design books would fit his personality? Not being specifically development focused, you can neatly avoid accidentally getting books or software focused to a programming language he doesn't know.

A Theory of Fun is supposed to be good, and the game design lense book has gotten decent reviews.
And you then have $250 left over for more important things (the personal preferences of your boyfriend may vary).

Edited by Servant of the Lord, 19 November 2012 - 01:47 PM.

[frob]

There are so many topics it is too easy to get books that are good, yet not of value to him. I know I've received several books like that over the years. Good books, just not for me, causing me to go through the hassle of returning them assuming they left a receipt in the book.


I know it is more sentimental to get a physical object, but when it comes to software development books it is easier to stick with an amazon gift card with a nice handwritten note.

[way2lazy2care]

You could get him a GDC vault subscription. I can't remember how much it is, but that's probably a better resource than most other things I can think of that aren't free.

[Paul Franzen]

Team $300 worth of jelly beans

[Inukai]

What about a gdmag subscription?

[Waterlimon]

Could he be interested in one of those small programmable computers like rasberry pi and whatever there are? Not necessarily game developement related but people seem to want them for some reason... >_>

[Terevil]

Thank you guys for helping!

Jellybeans - well that would definitely be a surprise

I will look into the books, but you are right that is hard to guess which he would be really interested in. The books Servant of the Lord mentioned actually sound interesting to me but I am afraid it is not technical enough for him.

He already has Raspberry Pi and Arduino - he took some robotic e-courses so he was really into that one time.

The GDC vault subscription might be interesting.

Is there any good online course on game development you know about..? I think he is more into the technical stuff - he keeps showing me vids of what various engines can do . I dont thing he would be interested in game theory, story design etc.

[Paul Franzen]

Would this game/program be interesting to him, or is it too low-level for him? http://primerlabs.com/codehero0

[Michael Tanczos]

Start here: http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/

You may want to go with things that are game-related than necessarily development related for the reason frob suggested. If my wife picked out game development books I'd probably be pretty underwhelmed unless I asked for specific titles. Most of the time it's easier to dig through code samples and online resources anyway.

If he's a redditor.. http://www.shapeways.com/model/736420/success-kid.html
Slightly more for a Ghostbusters Proton Backpack - http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/ghostbusters-proton-backpack-prop

[hybrid_ham]

If he liked the meatboy series, the wife of Edmund Mcmillen used to do video casts at their house and he was in them too.
He might like a link to their site to watch as a side gift. I used to hang out on their casts because they were funny, especially the karaoke lol (a karaoke highlight http://www.twitch.tv/danielleorama/b/329164176) Both of them were quite candid and one time he showed off his collection of toys so the videos might still be there for those things.
http://www.twitch.tv...lleorama/videos
If they do start casting again, that's probably where you would find them.
This is her twitter.
https://twitter.com/danielleorama

Edited by hybrid_ham, 02 December 2012 - 11:11 AM.

[ManuelMarino]

I would make a mix of different objects, like books, miniatures of important videogame characters, a cool videogame collector edition, posters and also "gamedev" music, I mean probably ambience music for relaxing the mind during programming.