Blood, sweat, and pixels
by Jason Schreier · first published 2017
67% recommend29% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Easy, entertaining behind-the-scenes stories of how several games got made, from indie hits like Stardew Valley and Shovel Knight to chaotic AAA projects, with a candid look at crunch. Suits fans and aspiring developers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Examines the development process of such marquee video games as Uncharted 4, Halo Wars, and Destiny, describing the challenges and demands of design.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…real, but the silent part is that insane working hours and crunching are a staple of gaming industry. Pretty much every single project ends up in this state and the stories can get pretty horrifying (Blood, Sweat and Pixels is an interesting read on this topic - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34376766-blood-sweat-and... ). The strange part of this story is the way how it's set to snipe at certain companies - CDProjekt…
on “Cyberpunk 2077 a 'warning' about the future” ↗Appreciate the suggestions in this thread. Adding recommendations for Blake Harris's "Console Wars" on 90s Sega vs. Nintendo competition, and Jason Schreier's "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" for more of the development angle. It looks like he has a new book out just last week, "Press Reset" -- seems to be on studios/projects that shut down and the aftermath. Adding that one to my reading…
on “Great books on classic video games” ↗…super powerful message) - Artemis (Not as good as the martian) - Before Mars (Starts out great, fizzles out) - Down and Out in Magic Kingdom (How reputation based social currency might pan out) - Blood Sweat and Pixels (How games are really made) - Masters of Doom (Awesome story of how the game was made and what it led to) - Foundation [Foundation 1] (Prescient with where the world is, what might happen in reality)…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made : https://www.amazon.fr/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbulen...
on “Ask HN: Recommendations on books and documentaries on tech companies/people?” ↗If you like these sorts of stories be sure to give Blood Sweat and Pixels from Kotaku’s Jason Schreier a read! :)
on “How a Diablo expansion led to behind-the-scenes trouble” ↗I would suggest to read Jason Schreier's book: "blood sweat and pixels" - it opened my eyes about the process of building AAA games - which sometimes is soo chaotic that is hard to believe they could build anything.
on “What is it like working at a company after releasing a negatively-received game?” ↗Lots of classic stories on gamasutra. But I agree, more documentation of historical work is needed. There are some great reads out there about gamedev and gaming history, though: - Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier - Masters of Doom by David Kushner - The Ultimate History of Video Games by Steven L. Kent was required reading for me in college - Game Over by David Sheff - Dungeon Hacks by David…
on “Deus Ex at 20: The oral history of a pivotal PC game” ↗"Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made" by Jason Schreier - especially episode about Stardew Valley - I just enjoy those stories, they are such an inspiration :)
on “Ask HN: Books worth reading multiple times?” ↗…game takes longer to develop than expected, and a release slot opens up, another game must fill that slot, even at the cost of quality, because releasing multiple games at the same time is untenable. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels covers this in great detail: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbule...
on “Cities: Skylines 2's troubled launch, and why simulation games are freaking hard” ↗If you're actually interested in learning more, I highly recommend the book Blood, Sweat, and Pixels :) https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Pixels-Triumphant-Turbule...
on “Microsoft to lay off 1,900 Activision Blizzard, Xbox staff” ↗…into the history of operating system, video games, programming languages, or other parts of the tech industry? Books I've Read: * Androids: The Team that Built the Android Operating by Chet Haase * Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made by Jason Schreier * Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushne * Steve Jobs by Walter…
on “Ask HN: Books like Androids:The Team That Built the Android Operating System?” ↗Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made, by Jason Schreier Not particularly deep, but a pretty good read about more modern AAA games and crunch in the industry.
on “Ask HN: What are some must-read books about video games and gaming history?” ↗Yes. The two books by Schreier: "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels", and the sequel, "Press Reset". Both are worth reading, and better than this article. The article author touches on the gamification of work, but doesn't get very far with it. Games as a "work simulator",…
on “All Work and No Play (2021)” ↗…another and how we can fix them. A very quick read. 4. The Masters of Doom - The story of id Software, the company which spawned an entire genre with games like Doom and Wolfenstwein in its early days. 5. Blood, Sweat and Pixels - The book looks into how video games are made and the many challenges along the way. Focuses on ten games from solo all the way to AAA titles. Really good if you want to know why video games turn out…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2017?” ↗…people have. Thanks for the Turing book suggestion too. I have read lots of non-fiction books about programmers and engineers that have been very inspiring, they're just not technical: "Masters of Doom", "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels", "Coders at Work", "The Idea Factory", "The Soul of a New Machine", "Dealers of Lightning"...
on “Ask HN: Top inspiring books on crucial CS ideas?” ↗