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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperBusinessPSA: Book Recommendations
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RaconteurNick
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« on: April 13, 2015, 05:18:58 AM »

Hi all! Some of you have seen me posting around here, and I love helping out wherever I can. I'm not your typical dev -- I'm finishing my bachelor's in business (focusing on management) and going straight into my MBA. I don't have coding experience; rather, my job is to lead my team to creating awesome games! (And learning as much as I can about every discipline along the way to make the most informed decisions.)

In my journey, I've found several business books that I would highly recommend to anyone in a leadership role on a project. They're cheap and short, which is excellent news since we're all busy. Smiley

  • The Lean Startup, Eric Ries
  • The One Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard

Lean Startup is a fantastic book even if you're not a lead. It's about how entrepreneurs drive innovation in the modern world, and how to create a "lean" process. It's somewhat similar to agile development, but in a bigger picture perspective.

One Minute Manager is a wonderful, tiny little book filled with nuggets of management advice. It will greatly broaden your perspective on management and give you tons of practical tips on how to be an awesome manager.

I often joke that in a business education, you get the same extraordinarily simple concepts repeated in new ways under different names -- these two books, however, are anything but that. With those two, you're sure to find greater success in your endeavors!

As always, if anyone has any questions, I'm more than happy to assist you with anything you may need. If I don't respond here, I'm more likely to see a PM so try there too.

Make awesome stuff, ladies and gents, because I want to play it! Smiley
« Last Edit: April 13, 2015, 06:26:20 AM by RaconteurNick » Logged

Flubberknuckle
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« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2015, 11:35:44 AM »

I've seen "The Lean Startup" mentioned many times by business professionals as a must-have guide for entrepreneurs. It's about time that I invested in one myself, thanks for the recommendation.
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RaconteurNick
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« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2015, 04:01:38 PM »

I've seen "The Lean Startup" mentioned many times by business professionals as a must-have guide for entrepreneurs. It's about time that I invested in one myself, thanks for the recommendation.

Not a problem! Even if you aren't necessarily an entrepreneur, it can give fantastic ideas about workflow, pivoting, and persevering. Smiley
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MorganRamsay
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« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2015, 04:33:26 PM »

I'm a bit biased, but Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play is a great book about entrepreneurship in the video game industry. In that book, I interviewed 18 founders about the origins of their companies and the challenges they faced. Those interviews include:

  • Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, 3DO, and Digital Chocolate
  • Nolan Bushnell, cofounder of Atari
  • Wild Bill Stealey, cofounder of MicroProse Software
  • Tony Goodman, cofounder of Ensemble Studios and Robot Entertainment
  • Feargus Urquhart, cofounder of Obsidian Entertainment
  • Tim Cain, cofounder of Troika Games
  • Warren Spector, founder of Junction Point Studios
  • Doug and Gary Carlston, cofounders of Broderbund Software
  • Don Daglow, founder of Stormfront Studios
  • John Smedley, cofounder of Verant Interactive (later SOE)
  • Ken Williams, cofounder of Sierra On-Line
  • Lorne Lanning, cofounder of Oddworld Inhabitants
  • Chris Ulm, cofounder of Appy Entertainment
  • Tobi Saulnier, founder of 1st Playable
  • Christopher Weaver, founder of Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Media
  • Jason Rubin, cofounder of Naughty Dog
  • Ted Price, founder of Insomniac Games

The second book, Online Gamers at Work, is due out this year. Online Gamers at Work focuses on 16 founders of major online game companies (e.g., social, mobile, casual, massively multiplayer, cloud, and even serious), such as Gaikai, Kongregate, and Supercell.
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RaconteurNick
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« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2015, 05:10:09 AM »

This would be a great place to distribute free copies... Smiley
« Last Edit: May 02, 2015, 05:22:16 AM by RaconteurNick » Logged

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